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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Elena Marinova ,
Veerle Linseele  and
Pierre Vermeersch
Elena Marinova*
Affiliation:
Center for Archaeological Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Veerle Linseele
Affiliation:
Center for Archaeological Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Pierre Vermeersch
Affiliation:
Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +32 0 16 32 29 00. E-mail address:[email protected] (E. Marinova).
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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.

Keywords

Eastern DesertNeolithic EgyptArid environmentsWood charcoalDomestic ovicaprines
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 70 , Issue 3 , November 2008 , pp. 392 - 397
Copyright
University of Washington

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