Abstract
changes in that area during the Quaternary. Most of the work was conducted in the southwestern portion of Egypt, in the area known as the Nubian Desert. Numerous playas, basins, and fossil springs occur in this area and testify to more abundant water resources in the past. These sediments are frequently associated with numerous faunal remains and traces of human activity. It is now evident that there were several moist intervals when the area supported the large herbivores hunted by men. These moist intervals were separated by periods of hyperaridity when there appears to have been little or no life in the Egyptian Sahara. Distinct moist intervals are recorded during the Late Acheulean, Final Acheulean, Mousterian, Aterian, Terminal Palaeolithic-Neolithic, and Late Neolithic. The present hyper-arid climate did not develop until after c. 3000 BC. It is believed that most of the moisture responsible for the high water tables during these inter? vals was the result of local precipitation sufficient to provide the ground cover needed to support the abundant megafauna. Some movement of underground water from higher elevations outside Egypt is also likely, but the relative con? tributions of these two sources cannot be evaluated.
Published Version
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