10,000 years ago, the Sahara Desert was one of the wettest areas on Earth

Rainier conditions than previously thought turned the Sahara Desert into grasslands, lakes and rivers from 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a new study finds. A brief return to aridity around 8,000 years ago set the stage for cattle herders to spread across North Africa, researchers suspect.

Updated 09/05/2020

Study shows the Sahara swung between lush and desert conditions every 20,000 years, in sync with monsoon activity


The Sahara desert is one of the harshest, most inhospitable places on the planet, covering much of North Africa in some 3.6 million square miles of rock and windswept dunes. But it wasn't always so desolate and parched. Primitive rock paintings and fossils excavated from the region suggest that the Sahara was once a relatively verdant oasis, where human settlements and a diversity of plants and animals thrived. Notes phys.org

Thousands of years ago, it didn’t just rain on the Sahara Desert. It poured.

Camp in the Sahara Desert at Merzouga, Morocco in North Africa 123RF.com

Grasslands, trees, lakes and rivers once covered North Africa’s now arid, unforgiving landscape. From about 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, much higher rainfall rates than previously estimated created that “Green Sahara,” say geologist Jessica Tierney of the University of Arizona in Tucson and her colleagues. Extensive ground cover, combined with reductions of airborne dust, intensified water evaporation into the atmosphere, leading to monsoonlike conditions, the scientists report January 18 in Science Advances.

Study shows the Sahara swung between lush and desert conditions Phys.org 

Tierney’s team reconstructed western Saharan rainfall patterns over the last 25,000 years. Estimates relied on measurements of forms of carbon and hydrogen in leaf wax recovered from ocean sediment cores collected off the Sahara’s west coast. Concentrations of these substances reflected ancient rainfall rates.

Credit: Boing Boing

Rainfall ranged from 250 to 1,670 millimeters annually during Green Sahara times, the researchers say. Previous estimates — based on studies of ancient pollen that did not account for dust declines — reached no higher than about 900 millimeters. Saharan rainfall rates currently range from 35 to 100 millimeters annually.

Leaf-wax evidence indicates that the Green Sahara dried out from about 8,000 to at least 7,000 years ago before rebounding. That’s consistent with other ancient climate simulations and with excavations suggesting that humans temporarily left the area around 8,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherers departed for friendlier locales, leaving cattle herders to spread across North Africa once the Green Sahara returned (SN Online: 6/20/12), the investigators propose. 

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The discovery of a 5,000 year old stone raises a big question about the birth of Christianity

Researchers discovered 5,000-year-old rock art on the ceiling of a cave in the Egyptian Sahara desert. Credit: Marco Morelli

Italian researchers have discovered what might be the oldest nativity scene ever found — 5,000-year-old rock art that depicts a star in the east, a newborn between parents and two animals. The scene, painted in reddish-brown ochre, was found on the ceiling of a small cavity in the Egyptian Sahara desert, during an expedition to sites between the Nile valley and the Gilf Kebir Plateau.

"It's a very evocative scene which indeed resembles the Christmas nativity. But it predates it by some 3,000 years," geologist Marco Morelli, director of the Museum of Planetary Sciences in Prato, near Florence, Italy

Nativity of Jesus - Wikipedia

Morelli found the cave drawing in 2005, but only now his team has decided to reveal the amazing find. "The discovery has several implications as it raises new questions on the iconography of one of the more powerful Christian symbols," Morelli said.

The scene features a man, a woman missing the head because of a painting detachment, and a baby.

"It could have been interpreted as a normal depiction of a family, with the baby between the parents, but other details make this drawing unique," Morelli said.

He noted the newborn is drawn slightly above as if raising to the sky. Such a position, with the baby not yet between the parents, would have meant a birth or a pregnancy.

"As death was associated with Earth in contemporary rock art from the same area, it is likely that birth was linked to the sky," Morelli said.

The scene becomes more symbolically complex if the other figures, two animals and a small circular feature, are taken into consideration

On the upper part is a headless lion, a mythical beast that appears in several rock art drawings from the same area, while below in the scene a baboon or an anthropomorphic monkey can be seen.

In the east, the Neolithic artist drew what appears to be the star.

The researchers called the site the "Cave of the Parents."

"No doubt it's an intriguing drawing," Morelli said. "We didn't find similar scenes until the early Christian age."

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The King of Africa Mansa Musa: the richest ( $ 400 billion ) man who ever lived

Who would believe that the richest man in history (much richer than Bill Gates or Carlos Slim ) lived over 600 years ago ? Moreover , it was a black man and he reigned in Black Africa without ever knew that in his lifetime became the man in the planet. It's about the First Mansa Musa , ruler of Mali and ruler who had more gold than any contemporary European kings with him.

 Forgotten Africa

Remained under the dust of history for centuries, sub-Saharan Africa was formed into a special world, highly diversified and advanced in many ways unexpected . Unlike in Europe , North Africa and Asia , sub- Saharan Africa has never been united under one or more monotheistic religions state or a huge empire .

Some human societies African features not present a unitary state , but rather coalesced around a prince or ruling families , who still exercised central authority over their subjects. The very act of rule over such companies do not behave the goals and obligations of a European monarch .

African tribes and tribal confederations had large armies or ambitious construction projects and large-scale political organization . In this world there were not even proper conditions of organized long-distance trade with people in other parts of the world . As we know, the Silk Road has avoided tropical Africa and the vastness of the Sahara for centuries off the African contact with Europe and Asia.

Traditional Map of Africa

However, not all African human populations at that time were at a level of strict tribal organization . Some of them have established empires with nothing less than their contemporary .

 From an economic perspective, North Continenutului Black was already integrated Mediterranean trade and the Arab world . Instead, the Africa below the Sahara was could not be more different. The savings here were some of subsistence, and sometimes just local , regional .

Musa I of Mali | Biography, Wealth, Slaves, Pilgrimage, & Facts photo: Britannica

 Most African populations had the same animistic belief system . It was their religious universe . People believed in a world controlled by spirits and gods. Ancestor worship was also very important .

With the spread of Islam in North Africa remained still some pockets of Christianity in the area. After all , Christianity penetrated here long before Islam. Egypt , Nubia and Ethiopia ( then known as the Aksum ) had strong Christian communities had important links with Byzantium .

The Spread of Islam in Ancient Africa - World History Encyclopedia

 Surrounded by Muslim and animist , Christian communities were isolated itself in the Ethiopian highlands where they successfully survived over time and created a culture of its own , mainly characterized by fabulous churches carved into the rock .

Golden age of African kingdoms

South of the Sahara occurred so called African kingdoms gold. The largest and most powerful kingdoms of Mali and Ghana were, who had the same boundaries as modern states bearing the same names, but some with much larger.

Trans-Saharan trade was revolutionized between 3-5 centuries AD, Pein the Berber tribes who introduced dromedary camel in the region. Later, traders in Ghana and Mali have created a path between salt resources of northern continent and huge deposits of gold in the sub-Saharan Africa. Link to the integrated sphere of influence of the Mediterranean world.

Supervision by Ghanaian and Malin quickly catapulted into the role of regional great powers who quickly managed to have powerful armies and build settlements impressive.

Mosque of Djenne

After the 7th century, northern partners of Africans were Muslims. At the beginning Islam was a religion tolerated in the region, to the beginning of the 11th century, almost all the kings of Ghana and Mali had converted to the religion of Prophet Muhammad. However, Islam rejects the general population, although the kings understood the economic benefits of tolerating Islam, given that this put them ideal relations with trading partners in the North.

Ghana royal dynasty of the golden period, came from Soninke clan, whose power depended on centuries of huge quantities of gold in their possession.

Ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu

By royal decree , Soninke kings of the house had the right of possession of any gold nuggets discovered , while the population was allowed to keep her gold dust .  

This unique form of taxation of the population has consolidated his power for centuries.The situation was to change around 1200 , when the Malinke clan leader defied the authority of the Soninke families .

The famous king Sundiata Keita ( Prince Leo ) Malinke , Soninke defeated and conquered kingdom with Mali Empire .The story , is currently the largest West African fiction , some commentators considered it a real King Arthur of Africa .

 King Sundiata was to be the grandfather's brother who became , as all historians and statisticians richest man who has lived on this planet , King Mansa Musa !

 King of the world's gold

 Mansa Musa , meaning King of Kings , the local dialects, came to power in 1312 over the Mali Empire , which stretched then Mali 's territory , Ghana , Senegal, Sudan and Nigeria today. When Musa took power , Mali Empire already control the trade routes linking northern and southern high in salt rich in gold deposits .

 Conqueror skillful , Mansa Musa managed to occupy the territories crossed by the River Niger , including in his empire and important orşe Timbuktu and Gao . He led armies north to the city rich in salt Taghaza and east beyond city limits Gao to its territory Hausa tribes .

Home of the famous Catalan Atlas of 1375 , representing King Mansa Musa with a gold nugget in  hand.

Brilliant strategist , he has occupied a part of Sudan and managed to impose his whole empire within a highly effective legal system which provided very harsh punishment for any act of violence and theft. The system was so effective that the famous Muslim traveler Ibn Batuta , who crossed the Mali Empire to twelve years after the death of Musa , was stunned by that rule there everywhere.

 Making King had a strong commercial success that led to unprecedented prosperity for the empire . Like all the kings who preceded him Musa was a Muslim , although it proved to be an extremely tolerant in a historical period in which religious tolerance was rare. The vast majority of his subjects were faithful religious pantheon of Mandinka tribes , which did not prevent the richest man in the world to support their religion just as claimed and Islam .

  His pilgrimage to Mecca made ​​history with unprecedented pomp and opulence . Its halt Cairo was one fabulous. Soon , news of the king black gold throw people without caring about their rank , spanned the Muslim area .

 When his caravan arrived in Egypt , King Mansa Musa gave much gold lot of people that caused the fall in the price of gold in the region. In Mecca and Medina , his gifts have destabilized the local economy. The influx of gold brought by Musa in the heart of Islam led to the depreciation of gold in the coming decades . Fire particularly generous , Musa offered to buy some of the gold gifted to balance local currencies . For the first time in history, one man had unwittingly control the price of gold throughout the Mediterranean .

 The chroniclers described by all as the most powerful weather , luck, wealth and feared African leader , enjoys deserved this status based on its wise choices in establishing trade and diplomatic relaţiilro and because of huge gold deposits in the region at that time .

 Trade in gold , salt , ivory and kola nuts brought an unprecedented flowering ever in any African kingdom .Mali Empire was no longer a local authority but a regional one . Under King Mansa Musa of Mali ambassadors were sent to Morocco , Egypt , Syria, and Byzantium .

Traditional writing the name of Allah in Arabic

He also ordered the construction of many mosques, and is due to start lifting his brick houses in sub-Saharan Africa.

After his death, which occurred in 1331, Mali Empire gradually collapsed under numerous civil wars and external attacks.

According to recent studies by historians and economists, Mansa Musa has a fortune of over $ 400 billion, which propels him on their first among the richest men in history. To realize how rich was this man, you should know that occupants second place, only less famous Rothschild family, managed to accumulate from 1740 to the present, the amount of 350 billion dollars.

It was Mansa Musa and his remarkable works. As African gold king, it disappeared long before his fame to reach the courts of Europe.

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