ABSTRACT
Hyperarid conditions are attested in the central Sahara during the Final Pleistocene by deep accumulations of aeolian sand in caves and rock shelters. The last Aterian groups, dated to around 61,000 calBP at Uan Tabu in southwestern Libya, were confined to ecological refugia in the Tadrart Acacus and other mountain ranges. The later human presence is suggested by blade-based lithic assemblages in isolated spots across the Messak, likely related to the procurement of quartzarenite: the chronology is uncertain, but humid events around 30,000 calBP may have permitted brief incursions into the area. The long gap – lasting tens of thousands of years – between the last Pleistocene occupation and the first Early Holocene occupation makes the latter a true colonisation of long uninhabited regions. The first Early Holocene human presence in the area is dated to ˜11,600 calBP and relates to small groups of specialised hunter-gatherers. Site organisation, the features of lithic assemblages, the focus on Barbary sheep exploitation, and the absence of pottery suggest a northern provenance for these human groups, also favoured by the reactivated hydrographic system connecting the northern Sahara to the central mountain ranges through a series of rivers, ponds, and lakes. Despite the environmental ameliorations, these small bands of Early Holocene central Saharan hunter gatherers, called Early Acacus, do not seem to have made intensive use of water food resources – a practice more widespread in contemporary southern Saharan contexts.
