| Dhar Tichitt | |
|---|---|
  Dhar Tichitt | |
| Location | Mauritania |
| Coordinates | 18°27′06″N 9°24′19″W / 18.4517°N 9.40528°W |
Dhar Tichitt is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the southwestern region of the Sahara Desert in Mauritania. It is one of several settlement locations along the sandstone cliffs in the area. Tichitt culture includes Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Néma, and Dhar Tagant,[1] and possibly sites from the Malian Lakes Region.[2] Dhar Tichitt, which includes Dakhlet el Atrouss, may have served as the primary regional center for the multi-tiered hierarchical social structure of the Tichitt Tradition,[3] and the Malian Lakes Region, which includes Tondidarou, may have served as a second regional center of the Tichitt Tradition.[2] The cliffs of Dhar Tichitt were inhabited by farmers and pastoralists between 4000 BP and 2300 BP,[4] or between 2000 BCE and 300 BCE.[5][6]
Dhar Tichitt is one of the oldest known archaeological occupation sites in West Africa. About 500 stone settlements littered the region in the former savannah of the Sahara. In addition to herding livestock (cattle, sheep, goats), its inhabitants hunted, fished, collected wild grain, and grew bulrush millet. The inhabitants and creators of these settlements during these periods thought to have been ancestors of the Soninke people. Plateau settlements consisted of multiple stone-walled compounds containing houses and granaries/"storage facilities", sometimes with street layouts. Large livestock enclosures were erected in proximity of some sites. And around some settlements, larger stone common "circumvallation walls" were built, suggesting that "special purpose groups" cooperated as a result of decisions "enforced for the benefit of the community as a whole."[7][8]
- ^ Sterry, Martin; Mattingly, David J. (26 March 2020). "Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Southern Sahara". Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond. Cambridge University Press. p. 318. doi:10.1017/9781108637978.008. ISBN 9781108494441. OCLC 1128066278. S2CID 243375056.
- ^ a b Vernet, Robert; Gestrich, Nikolas; Coutros, Peter R. (27 September 2023). "The Tichitt Culture and the Malian Lakes Region". African Archaeological Review. doi:10.1007/s10437-023-09554-5.
- ^ Linares-Matás, Gonzalo J. (13 April 2022). "Spatial Organization and Socio-Economic Differentiation at the Dhar Tichitt Center of Dakhlet el Atrouss I (Southeastern Mauritania)". African Archaeological Review. 39 (2): 167–188. doi:10.1007/s10437-022-09479-5. ISSN 1572-9842. OCLC 9530792981. S2CID 248132575.
- ^ Holl, Augustin F. C. (2009-08-01). "Coping with uncertainty: Neolithic life in the Dhar Tichitt-Walata, Mauritania (ca. 4000–2300 BP)". Comptes Rendus Geoscience. Histoire climatique des déserts d'Afrique et d'Arabie. 341 (8): 703–712. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2009.04.005. ISSN 1631-0713.
- ^ Holl, Augustin (1985). "Background to the Ghana empire: Archaeological investigations on the transition to statehood in the Dhar Tichitt region (mauritania)". Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 4 (2): 73–115. doi:10.1016/0278-4165(85)90005-4. ISSN 0278-4165.
- ^ Holl, Augustin F. C. (2002). "Time, Space, and Image Making: Rock Art from the Dhar Tichitt (Mauritania)". African Archaeological Review. 19 (2): 75–118. doi:10.1023/A:1015479826570. hdl:2027.42/43991. S2CID 54741966.
- ^ Holl, Augustin (August 2009). "Coping with uncertainty: Neolithic life in the Dhar Tichitt-Walata, Mauritania, ( ca. 4000–2300 BP)". Comptes Rendus Geoscience. 341 (8–9): 703–712. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2009.04.005.
- ^ Hall A (1985). "Background to the Ghana Empire: archaeological investigations on the transition to statehood in the Dhar Tichitt region (Mauritania)". Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 4 (2): 108. doi:10.1016/0278-4165(85)90005-4.
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