Geologic contexts of the Acheulian (Middle Pleistocene) in the Eastern Sahara

Abstract

The Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East region of northeast Africa contains sedimentary remnants associated with Acheulian artifacts. The geology of these localities can be used to help examine paleobiogeographic and taphonomic contexts and paleoclimatic chronologies related to Middle Pleistocene hominids. Recognized by the presence of handaxes, Acheulian occurrences in the Eastern Sahara have been found with paleosols, cemented gravels, and tufas, and are often found as deflationary lags. In the Tarfawi region, handaxes were found embedded in sands overlain by carbonates, embedded in limestones, and in deflated contexts. These Acheulian sites likely date to before 300 ky B.P. The lithostratigraphic sequences indicate that paleoclimatic conditions in the Sahara during the Pleistocene were wetter than in the Holocene. The geologic context (stratigraphy, sedimentology, dating) of the Acheulian in the Eastern Sahara seems to indicate wet paleoclimatic intervals during the Pleistocene when biogeographic conditions were favorable for hominid habitation in the region. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.