BBC Science Focus - 03.2020

DISCOVERIES

An investigation into the animal remains

in the Sahara Desert has revealed that

humans living there 10,000 years

ago were eating fish for their supper.

Researchers from the Natural History

Museum in Belgium and the Sapienza

University of Rome excavated a total of

17,551 bones, including those of fish,

toads or frogs, crocodiles and birds.

Archaeologists have previously found

evidence that for much of the early

Holocene (around 10,200 to 8,000 years

ago) the Tadrart Acacus mountains in

the Saharan Desert were more humid

than they are today. “It is hard to say

how much water was there,” said Prof

Savino di Lernia, the lead author of the

study along with Prof Wim Van Neer.

“During the early Holocene there were

permanent water bodies with plenty of

fish, but things changed around 5,900

years ago, with the onset of present desert

conditions.”

Humans were known to have settled

in the region during the early Holocene,

as archaeologists have found stone

structures and fireplaces in the area.

The team focused on excavating parts of

the Takarkori rock shelter, one of many

shelters in the Tadrart Acacus mountains,

to identify and date animal remains there.

Almost 80 per cent of the remains found

were fish, two-thirds of which were

members of theClariidaegenus of catfish.

The others were of the genusTilapia.

The study found that the consumption of

fish decreased over time, as the humans

started to concentrate on hunting and

livestock. Yet the catfish decline was less

significant thanTilapia, as the catfish can

live in warm, shallow waters.

According to the authors, this study

reveals crucial information about the

dramatic climate changes that led to the

formation of the largest hot desert in

the world. “Takarkori rock shelter has

once again proved to be a real treasure

for African archaeology and beyond: a

fundamental place to reconstruct the

complex dynamics between ancient

human groups and their environment in

a changing climate,” they said.

Humans living

in the Sahara

Desert 10,000

years ago ate

fish for supper

ANTHROPOLOGY

ALAMY, GET T Y IMAGES, SAVINO DI LERNIA

During the Holocene, the

Tadrart Acacus mountains

in the Sahara Desert

were humid with many

permanent water bodies

Fish remains from the Takarkori rock shelter