Re-entering the central Sahara at the onset of the Holocene: A territorial approach to Early Acacus hunter–gatherers (SW Libya)

The central Sahara was intensely occupied at the very onset of the Holocene, when moister conditions re-established after the Younger Dryas. In the study area (SW Libya), a solid 14C chronology dates the occupation of Early Acacus H/G between 9800 and 8900 BP. It is likely that the colonization by these small groups of specialized hunter–gatherers was rapid, entering unfamiliar areas characterized by the presence of lakes and ponds. Whether or not the very first re-entry was a uniquely Holocene phenomenon is still debated, we favour an arrival from the North considering current palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and possibly genetic evidences. The archaeological record consists of around ninety sites: surface occurrences and a few excavated sequences standing as regional and supra-regional references. Sites are located on different geomorphological contexts and are task-specifically organized. Subsistence relied on specialized hunting of Barbary sheep and on some vegetal species. The provenance and circulation of lithic raw materials reveals a high mobility, at a regional but also at a wider scale. Tool-kits are light, bladelet-based, curated and dominated by backed armatures. Early Acacus occupation reveals strong differences compared to the subsequent Late Acacus phase (8900–7400 BP) when a profound reorganization in the subsistence-settlement system, featuring an increase in the delayed use of resources – i.e. corralling of Barbary sheep and storage of wild cereals – occurred. In this work we present an overview of the Early Acacus archaeological data, with an emphasis on the territorial analysis of lithic assemblages.