Western Desert (western + desert)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A reconstruction of Quaternary pluvial environments and human occupations using stratigraphy and geochronology of fossil-spring tufas, Kharga Oasis, Egypt

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2004
Jennifer R. Smith
We carried out a geologic survey and a preliminary archaeological survey of four fossil-spring tufa localities in Kharga Oasis, Egypt, to constrain the timing of pluvial episodes in the Western Desert, and to document prehistoric occupation contemporaneous with times of increased rainfall. Uranium-series dating of the tufas confirms that at least five episodes of tufa deposition are represented in Kharga, although not every event is represented at each locality. Across the region studied, tufas were most frequently deposited as part of a fluvial barrage system, characterized by terraced, vegetated pools impounded by arcuate tufa dams and separated by small waterfalls. Available water resources during pluvial phases would have included not only spring-fed streams but also small freshwater lakes. While Earlier Stone Age (ESA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic artifacts may be found either as surficial lags on tufas, or, less commonly, encased within tufas, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic artifacts are generally found in or on silts within surface deflation depressions in the tufas, principally at Wadi Midauwara. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Near Eastern Neolithic genetic input in a small oasis of the Egyptian Western Desert

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Martina Kujanová
Abstract The Egyptian Western Desert lies on an important geographic intersection between Africa and Asia. Genetic diversity of this region has been shaped, in part, by climatic changes in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs marked by oscillating humid and arid periods. We present here a whole genome analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and high-resolution molecular analysis of nonrecombining Y-chromosomal (NRY) gene pools of a demographically small but autochthonous population from the Egyptian Western Desert oasis el-Hayez. Notwithstanding signs of expected genetic drift, we still found clear genetic evidence of a strong Near Eastern input that can be dated into the Neolithic. This is revealed by high frequencies and high internal variability of several mtDNA lineages from haplogroup T. The whole genome sequencing strategy and molecular dating allowed us to detect the accumulation of local mtDNA diversity to 5,138 ± 3,633 YBP. Similarly, theY-chromosome gene pool reveals high frequencies of the Near Eastern J1 and the North African E1b1b1b lineages, both generally known to have expanded within North Africa during the Neolithic. These results provide another piece of evidence of the relatively young population history of North Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The Field of Art Production and Western Desert Acrylics,

THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
Caroline Holmstrom Hoban
Following the logic of Bourdieu's notion of ,field', acrylic art production in the Western Desert of Australia is positioned as a sub-field in the field of Western art production. The significance of the cultural identity of the producer subordinates Western Desert acrylic art within the field and the shift in the criteria of legitimation constitutes it as a sub-field. The capital at stake in the sub-field of Western Desert acrylic art is differentiated and contingent upon legitimation of authenticity as defined by the Western field of art production. This capital is constituted through the positioning of Western Desert acrylics within the field of art production and is a manifestation of the struggle to maintain domination within the field. [source]


A world of relationships: itineraries, dreams, and events in the Australian Western Desert , Sylvie Poirier

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 3 2006
Francesca Merlan
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