Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Convenors:
Chiamaka Mangut, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Columbia University, NY, lca2146@columbia.edu, chiamakanyanwu01@gmail.com
Alemseged Beldados Aleho, Department of Archaeology and Tourism Studies, Addis Ababa University, alemseged.beldados@aau.edu.et, beldadosalemseged@gmail.com
Human resilience and adaptation in past environments are among the most important topics in human history and are becoming central to major archaeological investigations around the world. This session aims to explore innovative methodologies and theoretical frameworks used to reconstruct past environments and understand human adaptation dynamics across Africa during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. We welcome contributions that employ diverse approaches, including but not limited to isotopic analysis, sedimentology, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geoarchaeology and ethnographic studies. Papers focusing on technological advancements, interdisciplinary collaborations, and novel interpretations of archaeological and environmental data are particularly encouraged.
This session provides a platform for researchers to share their findings, discuss methodological challenges, and engage in fruitful dialogue about the complex interactions between humans and their environments throughout Africa’s prehistory and historic periods.
We invite submissions from scholars at all career stages, including graduate students and early career researchers. We look forward to a stimulating and insightful session that advances our understanding of past environments and human adaptation in Africa.
Papers:
The 8.2k Event: A Paleoenvironmental Study of Waterfall Bluff Rock Shelter and Strathalan Cave A Using Zooarchaeology and Stable Light Isotopes
Sandee Oster, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Jerome Reynard, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Erich Fisher, Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, US; African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Grant Hall, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa
The 8.2k event was a well-documented, abrupt, and globally occurring climatic shift that resulted in environmental changes, including drier and cooler conditions in the northern Sahara and the United States Great Plains, Greenland, parts of Europe, China, Oman, and over the Aegean Sea. These environmental changes likely led to various adaptive responses, such as shifts in demographics, intensification, or change in resource procurement, by humans who experienced faunal and flora changes within their environments. The effects of the 8.2k event, although well studied in the northern hemisphere, are less well understood in the southern hemisphere, especially southern Africa, where only limited work has been done to understand the effects of this global phenomenon. This paper attempts to reconstruct the climatic changes during the 8.2k event on a regional and inter-regional scale at two sites, Waterfall Bluff Rock Shelter (WB) and Strathalan Cave A (SCA) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Since it is likely the event had varying effects on different regional environments, the adaptive response of humans would have been regionally specific. Moreover, the time required for these adaptations would have differed from one region to another. The paper attempts to reconstruct the past climatic shifts experienced during the 8.2k event by means of zooarchaeological study and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses as these provide insights into local faunal composition, human subsistence behaviour, local aridity, and vegetation type composition pre-, during, and post-8.2k.
Living with Climate Change in North African Prehistory: Human Adaptation Dynamics in the Green Mountain of Cyrenaica, Libya
Graeme Barker, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK
Chris O. Hunt, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Libya’s Gebel Akhdar (‘Green Mountain’) midway along the North African littoral measures some 300 km west-east and 100 km north-south and rises to almost 1000 m above sea level. An annual rainfall of more than 200 mm results in a semi-arid Mediterranean landscape much like that of Crete or the southern Greek mainland, creating a veritable island of green separated from the rest of North Africa by hundreds of kilometres of arid steppe or waterless desert. Home to many endemic species, it has often been regarded as a likely refugium for North African hominin populations at times of increased aridity. The Cyrenaican Prehistory Project has used a multi-disciplinary methodology, much of it novel, to reconstruct climate change and human adaptations to it through the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene, the centrepiece of the project being the re-excavation of the Haua Fteah cave excavated by Charles McBurney in the 1950s. The cave’s 150,000-year chronostratigraphy, excavations of other occupation sites and geomorphological and palaeoecological investigations in the landscape have enabled the project to assess how successfully (or not) past populations of the Gebel Akhdar adapted to changing climates, landscapes and resources, and what we can learn from this in terms of resilience debates.
Human-Environment Interactions in the Highland Environmental of Southwest Ethiopia’s Moist Afro-Montane Forests During the Mid-Late Holocene: Insights from Archaeological Charcoal Analysis at the Kumali Sites
Tefera Tarekegn Bayu, Université Côte d’Azur, CEPAM Laboratory (Cultures – Environments: Prehistory, Antiquity, Middle Ages), Saint-Jean d’Angély Campus, Nice, France
The southwest Ethiopian highlands, recognised for their rich biodiversity and complex vegetation, present a significant yet underexplored context for understanding human-environment interactions during the mid-late Holocene. This study investigates the dynamic relationship between humans and their environment in this region, focusing on archaeological charcoal analysis as a proxy for past vegetation and climatic conditions. The research also incorporates ethnoarchaeological studies on firewood collection and the development of modern wood reference collections to improve the accuracy of paleoenvironmental reconstructions. By analysing charcoal remains from the Kumali archaeological site, the study reconstructs vegetation history. It explores how early hunter-gatherers and pastoralists adapted to environmental shifts, such as those following the African Humid Period. This interdisciplinary approach integrates archaeological, botanical, and ecological data to fill critical gaps in understanding how climatic changes influenced human subsistence strategies, including the transition from foraging to agriculture. The research also sheds light on human impacts on forest composition, land-use practices, and resource management over the past 5,000 years. Ultimately, the findings contribute to broader narratives of human adaptation and resilience, providing valuable insights into southwest Ethiopia’s ecological and cultural history. This work underscores the significance of the region as a biodiversity hotspot and cultural nexus.
The Advantages and Limitations of Using Phytoliths as a Proxy for Human Activities at Cave Sites in Southern Africa
Tanya Hattingh, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Sarah Wurz, Dept of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jerome Reynard, Dept of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Phytoliths are microscopic silica units that form in the cellular and intercellular spaces of living plants and are a popular tool in paleoenvironmental studies. Despite phytoliths’ popularity in international research, their use as a proxy for environmental conditions and plant usage at southern African archaeological sites is limited. This, in part, stems from a shortage of research into several key areas, including the phytoliths produced by indigenous African plants. In this paper, we explore the advantages and limitations of phytoliths as a proxy for human activities by looking at phytolith assemblages from archaeological deposits from two cave sites, namely the Klasies River and Strathalan caves. We identify methodological challenges linked to phytolith analysis, propose solutions, and discuss future endeavours.
Shark Hunters of the Arabian Sea: Isotopic Evidence from the Neolithic Nafun Burials (Sultanate of Oman)
Tina Lüdecke, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany
Maria Pia Maiorano, Institute of Archaeology Prague of the CAS, Czech Republic
Nicolas Duprey, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany
Jennifer Leichliter, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany
David Daněček, Institute of Archaeology Prague of the CAS, Czech Republic
Jiří Šneberger, Institute of Archaeology Prague of the CAS, Czech Republic
Samuel Kertés, Institute of Archaeology Prague of the CAS, Czech Republic
Alfredo Martínez-García, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany
Alžběta Danielisová, Institute of Archaeology Prague of the CAS, Czech Republic
The Neolithic in South Arabia is characterised by high population mobility and increasing cultural and technological complexity. Despite the growing number of sites, dietary trends remain poorly understood. Arid conditions in central Arabia hinder collagen preservation, limiting conventional nitrogen isotope analyses, which provide information about the consumption of terrestrial and marine animal resources. Instead, we utilise a novel biogeochemical method that allows us to perform nitrogen isotope measurements of diagenetically resistant tooth enamel.
Recent excavations in the coastal alluvial plain of Wadi Nafun, south-central Oman, uncovered a unique megalithic collective burial structure, used for long-term interments (5000-4600 cal. BCE). This structure contained the remains of multiple individuals alongside worked shark teeth and molluscs, providing a rare opportunity to investigate subsistence strategies in the region.
Dietary isotope analyses on enamel reveal striking nitrogen isotopic patterns. Human nitrogen isotope values were exceptionally high, exceeding even those of associated shark teeth and mollusc shells, suggesting significant reliance on high-trophic-level marine resources, possibly including systematic shark hunting. These results, together with the presence of worked shark teeth, often shaped into pendants, and marine-related rock art in the region highlight the interconnectedness of subsistence and symbolic practices in coastal communities.
Hunter-gatherer Sea Voyages Extended to Remotest Mediterranean Islands
Mathew Stewart, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution Australia, Griffith University, Australia
Eleanor M.L. Scerri, Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Germany
James Blinkhorn, Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Germany
Huw S. Groucutt, Dept of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Faculty of Arts, Msida, Malta
Nicholas C. Vella, Dept of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Faculty of Arts, Msida, Malta
The Maltese archipelago, which forms part of the African plate, is one of the most remote island chains in the Mediterranean. It has been assumed that humans only reached and settled such small, isolated islands with the transition to Neolithic lifeways around 7,500 years ago. The dominant view held that limit resources, ecological fragility, and technological challenges of long-distance seafaring deterred hunter-gatherers from undertaking such voyages. Here, we present the first evidence of hunter-gatherers in Malta, dated to approximately 8,500–7,500 years ago. At that time, Malta’s geographic configuration and sea levels were like today, requiring seafaring distances of around 100 km from Sicily, the nearest landmass. This aligns with recent genetic studies indicating European hunter-gatherer ancestry in North Africa around 8,000 years ago, likely reflecting movement across the Strait of Sicily. These two recent findings, along with other traces of archaeological evidence, point to a greater cross-Mediterranean connectivity between southern Europe and the Maghreb during the Early Holocene. These seafaring hunter-gatherers appear to have been able to sustain themselves on Malta, at least temporarily, by exploiting a wide range of resources, including terrestrial fauna as well as the island’s abundant marine and bird life.
The Early Homini Spread to Asia: Evidence from Oman
Jiri Chlachula, Institute of Geoecology and Geoinformation, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
The Arabian Peninsula belongs to the archaeologically least explored places. Because of the geographical proximity to the African mainland with >2.5 Ma old human anthropological and cultural records, some of the most ancient indices of the early homini would there be expected. Yet, until recently, the first finds were represented by non-numerous artefacts from below sand dunes and ancient river valleys dated to Final Pleistocene (15,000–12,000 years ago). The recent (2023–2025) geoarchaeological investigations in the Rustaq area (North-Central Oman) documented several Early and Middle Palaeolithic sites found on the former surface of an ancient river wadi. The cultural evidence is manifested by numerous stone tools and lithic waste found in concentrations on the present rocky desert. The archaic oblique and the diagnostic stone-flaking technology of the collections, including typical bifaces (hand axes) and other tool types, show a clear linkage to the Acheulian Tradition of Homo erectus.On-site experimental stone flaking by employment of the original Palaeolithic techniques confirmed the cultural authenticity of the lithic assemblages. The early sites were positioned close to local mineral (chert) outcrops in vicinity of ancient streams (use of hard limestone cobbles for large expedient tools), likely under more humid climatic conditions than at present. The multi-sequenced Stone Age locality at Manaqi provides, for the first time, proof that pre-modern humans lived in Oman at least several hundreds of thousands of years ago.