Droughts, Food and Culture

Ecological Change and Food Security in Africa's Later Prehistory
1. Auflage. Softcover version of original hardcover Auflage 2002
ISBN: 978-1-4419-3380-5
Verlag: Springer US

Buch, Englisch, 347 Seiten, Previously published in hardcover, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 557 g

Recent droughts in Africa and elsewhere in the world, from China to Peru, have serious implications for food security and grave consequences for local and international politics. The issues do not just concern the plight of African peoples, but also our global ecological future.
Global climatic changes become manifest initially in regions that are marginal or unstable. Africa's Sahel zone is one of the most sensitive climatic regions in the world and the events that have gripped that region beginning in the 1970's were the first indicator of a significant shift in global climatic conditions.
This work aims to bring archaeology with the domain on contemporary human affairs and to forge a new methodology for coping with environmental problems from an archaeological perspective. Using the later prehistory of Africa as a comparison, the utility of this methodological strategy in interpreting culture change and assessing long-term response to current, global climatic fluctuations is examined and understood.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hassan, Fekri A.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Umweltgeschichte & Umweltarchäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Palaeoclimate, Food and Culture Change in Africa: An Overview.- Climatic Change.- Rapid Holocene Climate Changes in the Eastern Mediterranean.- Climate During the Late Holocene in the Sahara and the Sahel: Evolution and Consequences on Human Settlement.- Late Pleistocene and Holocene Climatic Changes in the Central Sahara. The Case Study of the Southwestern Fezzan, Libya.- Late Holocene Climatic Fluctuations and Historical Records of Famine in Ethiopia.- Environmental and Human Responses to Climatic Events in West and West Central Africa During the Late Holocene.- Plant Cultivation.- Regional Pathways to Agriculture in Northeast Africa.- From Hunters and Gatherers to Food Producers: New Archaeological and Archaeobotanical Evidence from the West African Sahel.- Holocene Climatic Changes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Spread of Food Production from Southwest Asia to Egypt.- Sustainable Agriculture in a Harsh Environment: An Ethiopian Perspective.- Pastoralism.- The Evidence for the Earliest Livestock in North Africa: or Adventures with Large Bovids, Ovicaprids, Dogs and Pigs.- Cultural Responses to Climatic Changes in North Africa: Beginning and Spread of Pastoralism in the Sahara.- Dry Climatic Events and Cultural Trajectories: Adjusting Middle Holocene Pastoral Economy of the Libyan Sahara.- Food Security in Western and Central Africa During The Late Holocene: The Role of Domestic Stock Keeping, Hunting and Fishing.- Bovines in Egyptian Predynastic and Early Dynastic Iconography.- Conclusion.- Conclusion: Ecological Changes and Food Security in the Later Prehistory of North Africa: Looking Forward.