The Sahara Past, Present and Future

About this book

This collection examines the Sahara holistically from the earliest (prehistoric) times through the `historical' period to the present and with political direction into the future. The contributions cover palaeoclimatology, history, archaeology (cultural heritage), social anthropology, sociology, politics and international affairs. Structured chronologically, the volume can almost be read as a narrative of the Sahara from the earliest times to the present, i.e. from the past climates of the Sahara in prehistoric times to the current `war on terror' and its implications for the peoples of the Sahara. Importantly, the collection shows how the region must be approached `holistically', highlighting the importance of each of these subject areas (palaeo-climates, history, politics, etc.) in relation to each other. Indeed, the first contribution is a remarkable (and unique) paper, bringing together the work of some 8-9 internationally recognised scientists to tell the story and show the relevance to the present day of the Sahara's past climates etc. Nearly all the contributions stand in their own right at the cutting edge of research in their respective fields (e.g. archaeology, history, politics, etc.).

This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of North African Studies.

Contents

1. Introduction. (Jeremy Keenan) 2. The Climate-Environment-Society Nexus in the Sahara from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. (Nick Brooks, Isabelle Chiapello, Savino di Lernia, Nick Drake, Michel Legrand, Cyril Moulin, Joseph Prospero) 3. "Writing Trans-Saharan History: Methods, Sources and Interpretations Across the African Divide" (Ghislaine Lydon) 4. The North African Factor In Tajdeed Tradition In Hausa Land, Northern Nigeria. (Mukhtar Umar Bunza) 5. "The Question of 'Race' in the Pre-colonial Southern Sahara" (Bruce S. Hall) 6. Conceptualising the Sahara: the World of Nineteenth-Century Beyrouk Commerce. (E. Ann McDougall) 7. Briefing. Approaches to the Archaeology and Environment of the Sahara: The Fazzan Project (1997-2002). (David Mattingly) 8. Garamantian agriculture and its significance in a wider North African context: the evidence of the plant remains from the Fazzan Project. (Ruth Pelling) 9. Cultural heritage and conflict: the threatened archaeology of Western Sahara. (Nick Brooks) 10. Incoming Tourism, Outgoing Culture: Tourism, Development and Cultural Heritage in the Libyan Sahara. (Savino di Lernia) 11. Funerary monuments and horse paintings: a preliminary report on the archaeology of a site in the Tagant region of south east Mauritania - near Dhar Tichitt. (William Challis, Alec Campbell, David Coulson and Jeremy Keenan) 12. La Mauritanie : un 'Etat-frontiere' au Sahara. (Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem) 13. From Tamanrasset: The Struggle of Sawaba and the Algerian Connection (1957-1966). (Klaas Van Walraven) 14. Clerics, Rebels and Refugees: Mobility Strategies and Networks among the Kel Antessar. (Alessandra Giuffrida) 15. The struggle for Western Sahara: what future for Africa's last colony? (Laura E. Smith) 16. Nationalism, Identity And Citizenship In The Western Sahara. (Pablo San Martin) 17. The UNDP, the World Bank and Biodiversity in the Algerian Sahara. (Dina Giurovich and Jeremy Keenan) 18. Libya (Title to Come) (George Joffe) 19. Waging war on terror: the implications of America's 'New Imperialism' for Saharan peoples. (Jeremy Keenan) Briefing. Looting the Sahara: the material, intellectual and social implications of the destruction of cultural heritage. (Jeremy Keenan). Abstracts Personal bios.

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