Radiocarbon chronologies for prehistoric human occupation and hydroclimatic change in Egypt and Northern Sudan

This article compiles 536 published, uncalibrated radiocarbon ages from well-studied localities in the presently hyperarid Western Desert, or Arba'in Desert, in northeast Africa. The synthesis of these records frames the spatial and temporal context of prehistoric cultural activity during wet periods when the region was habitable (9000–6000 yr B.P.). The variability of records by region indicates that the Holocene was not marked by uniform hydroclimatic conditions; lacunae, or gaps in the record formerly attributed to arid intervals, are not regionally consistent. Since rapid hydroclimatic changes (i.e., “wet–dry” cycles) have played a key role in the geomorphic evolution and human history of Egypt and northern Sudan, the precise definition of arid periods will be important in the further analysis of hydroclimatic change as a driver of cultural innovation, migration, and settlement.