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Title
Aeolian and fluviolacustrine landforms and prehistoric human occupation on a tectonically influenced floodplain margin, the Méma, central Mali |
Full text
http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40661 |
Date
2007 |
Author(s)
Makaske, B.; Vries, E. de; Tainter, J.A.; McIntosh, R.J. |
Abstract
The Méma is a semi-arid region in central Mali with a rich archaeological heritage indicating the former existence of large urban settlements.The archaeological data suggest millennia of occupation history of the Méma preceding relatively sudden abandonment by the 14th or 15thcentury AD. Population numbers have remained low since then and today's human presence in the area is sparse and largely mobile.Geomorphologically, the Méma can be characterized as a graben hosting various generations of aeolian landforms and (presently mostly dry)interdunal channels and lakes, linked to the neighbouring Inland Niger Delta floodplain. Given this setting, and the variability of the Sahelianclimate, climatic contributions to the region's sudden abandonment are likely. A geomorphological survey of the region, and interpretation ofthe observed geomorphological record in terms of climatic history, aimed at providing a basis for understanding the intensive occupation andsubsequent abandonment of the Méma. The results of this study underscore dramatic Holocene climatic variability, leading to the region's presentgeomorphological diversity, but also suggest that neotectonic movements constitute an important additional cause of regional desiccation. Bothmay have encouraged prehistoric people to abandon the Méma after a long period of occupation. |
Subject(s)
Earth Sciences; neotectonics; Méma; Mali; geomorphology; archaeology; palaeoclimatology |
Language
en |
Relation
0016-7746 |
Type of publication
Article |
Format
text/plain |
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
Identifier
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences / Geologie en Mijnbouw 86(3) (2007) |
Repository
Utrecht - University of Utrecht
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Added to C-A: 2010-06-21;14:23:05 |
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