Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta
Geoarchaeological information presented here pertains to a subsidiary Nile channel that once flowed west of the main Sebennitic distributary and discharged its water and sediments at Egypt’s then north-central deltaic coast. Periodical paleoclimatic episodes during the later Middle and Upper Holocen...
Published in: | Quaternary |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 https://doaj.org/article/ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 2023-05-15T17:34:23+02:00 Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta Jean-Daniel Stanley Tobias Ullmann Eva Lange-Athinodorou 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 https://doaj.org/article/ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/4/39 https://doaj.org/toc/2571-550X doi:10.3390/quat4040039 2571-550X https://doaj.org/article/ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 Quaternary, Vol 4, Iss 39, p 39 (2021) Nile delta Sebennitic paleoenvironment paleoclimate Nile flow geoarchaeology Human evolution GN281-289 Stratigraphy QE640-699 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 2022-12-31T16:26:02Z Geoarchaeological information presented here pertains to a subsidiary Nile channel that once flowed west of the main Sebennitic distributary and discharged its water and sediments at Egypt’s then north-central deltaic coast. Periodical paleoclimatic episodes during the later Middle and Upper Holocene included decreased rainfall and increased aridity that reduced the Nile’s flow levels and thus likely disrupted nautical transport and anthropogenic activity along this channel. Such changes in this deltaic sector, positioned adjacent to the Levantine Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean, can be attributed to climatic shifts triggered as far as the North Atlantic to the west, and African highland source areas of the Egyptian Nile to the south. Of special interest in a study core recovered along the channel are several sediment sequences without anthropogenic material that are interbedded between strata comprising numerous potsherds. The former are interpreted here as markers of increased regional aridity and reduced Nile flow which could have periodically disrupted the regional distribution of goods and nautical activities. Such times occurred ~5000 years B.P., ~4200–4000 years B.P., ~3200–2800 years B.P., ~2300–2200 years B.P., and more recently. Periods comparable to these are also identified by altered proportions of pollen, isotopic and compositional components in different radiocarbon-dated Holocene cores recovered elsewhere in the Nile delta, the Levantine region to the east and north of Egypt, and in the Faiyum depression south of the delta. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Quaternary 4 4 39 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Nile delta Sebennitic paleoenvironment paleoclimate Nile flow geoarchaeology Human evolution GN281-289 Stratigraphy QE640-699 |
spellingShingle |
Nile delta Sebennitic paleoenvironment paleoclimate Nile flow geoarchaeology Human evolution GN281-289 Stratigraphy QE640-699 Jean-Daniel Stanley Tobias Ullmann Eva Lange-Athinodorou Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
topic_facet |
Nile delta Sebennitic paleoenvironment paleoclimate Nile flow geoarchaeology Human evolution GN281-289 Stratigraphy QE640-699 |
description |
Geoarchaeological information presented here pertains to a subsidiary Nile channel that once flowed west of the main Sebennitic distributary and discharged its water and sediments at Egypt’s then north-central deltaic coast. Periodical paleoclimatic episodes during the later Middle and Upper Holocene included decreased rainfall and increased aridity that reduced the Nile’s flow levels and thus likely disrupted nautical transport and anthropogenic activity along this channel. Such changes in this deltaic sector, positioned adjacent to the Levantine Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean, can be attributed to climatic shifts triggered as far as the North Atlantic to the west, and African highland source areas of the Egyptian Nile to the south. Of special interest in a study core recovered along the channel are several sediment sequences without anthropogenic material that are interbedded between strata comprising numerous potsherds. The former are interpreted here as markers of increased regional aridity and reduced Nile flow which could have periodically disrupted the regional distribution of goods and nautical activities. Such times occurred ~5000 years B.P., ~4200–4000 years B.P., ~3200–2800 years B.P., ~2300–2200 years B.P., and more recently. Periods comparable to these are also identified by altered proportions of pollen, isotopic and compositional components in different radiocarbon-dated Holocene cores recovered elsewhere in the Nile delta, the Levantine region to the east and north of Egypt, and in the Faiyum depression south of the delta. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jean-Daniel Stanley Tobias Ullmann Eva Lange-Athinodorou |
author_facet |
Jean-Daniel Stanley Tobias Ullmann Eva Lange-Athinodorou |
author_sort |
Jean-Daniel Stanley |
title |
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
title_short |
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
title_full |
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
title_fullStr |
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta |
title_sort |
holocene aridity-induced interruptions of human activity along a fluvial channel in egypt’s northern delta |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 https://doaj.org/article/ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Quaternary, Vol 4, Iss 39, p 39 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/4/39 https://doaj.org/toc/2571-550X doi:10.3390/quat4040039 2571-550X https://doaj.org/article/ff7b2bf3b35a49d5abbdf65c8e528554 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 |
container_title |
Quaternary |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
39 |
_version_ |
1766133208367235072 |