ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the study area: the Tadrart Acacus massif and the surrounding regions in the Fezzan, southwestern Libya. The area lies in the heart of the Sahara, equidistant from the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Sahel belt to the south, from the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Red Sea to the east. It covers approximately 60,000 km2, encompassing different physiographic units. An overview of current environmental features is framed within present and past climate changes: during the Holocene, the area was affected by several oscillations between wet and dry phases. Still inhabited by a few families of the Tuareg kel Tadrart ethnic group, the region has been visited by westerners since the late 18th century; after the increase in travel across North Africa in the 19th century and the intensification of research during the colonial period, southwestern Libya definitively became a major centre of archaeological and rock art studies after World War II. Today, this area and the Sahara in general are strongly affected by the outcome of the Arab Spring: nonetheless, recent discoveries and novel approaches to archaeological research have continued to greatly improve our understanding of past cultural pathways.
