Holocene environment and subsistence patterns near the Tree Shelter, Red Sea Mountains, Egypt

Abstract

The Tree Shelter site dates to the Early to Mid-Holocene (8000 to 4900 14C yr BP). Present conditions around the site are hyperarid, but charcoal remains indicate less severe aridity at the time of its occupation. The environment around the site then supported a rich wadi vegetation, which allowed hunting during the Epipaleolithic and herding during the Neolithic occupation. Although more favorable than today, the environmental conditions also displayed a desert character and seem to have limited the range of domestic herbivores introduced in the area.