The Abbassia Pluvial was an extended
wet and rainy period in the
climate history
Paleoclimatology ( British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth's history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important t ...
of
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, lasting from c. 120,000 to 90,000 years ago.
As such it spans the transitional period connecting the
Lower and
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleol ...
.
As with the subsequent
Mousterian Pluvial (c. 50,000 to 30,000 years ago), the Abbassia Pluvial brought wet and fertile conditions to what is now the
Sahara Desert, which bloomed with lush vegetation fed by lakes, swamps, and river systems, many of which later disappeared in the drier climate that followed the pluvial.
African wildlife that is now associated with the grasslands and woodlands south of the Sahara penetrated the entire North African region during the Abbassia Pluvial.
Stone Age cultures (notably the
Mousterian and the
Aterian
The Aterian is a Middle Stone Age (or Middle Palaeolithic) stone tool industry centered in North Africa, from Mauritania to Egypt, but also possibly found in Oman and the Thar Desert. The earliest Aterian dates to c. 150,000 years ago, at the sit ...
industries) flourished in North Africa during the Abbassia Pluvial.
The shift to harsher climate conditions that came with the end of the pluvial may have promoted the emigration of modern ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture ...
'' out of Africa
to the rest of the globe.
See also
*
Neolithic subpluvial
*
North African climate cycles North African climate cycles have a unique history that can be traced back millions of years. The cyclic climate pattern of the Sahara is characterized by significant shifts in the strength of the North African Monsoon. When the North African Monso ...
Sources
* Burroughs, William J., ed. ''Climate: Into the 21st Century.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
*{{cite book , isbn = 978-0-8129-7146-0 , title = The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey , last1 = Wells , first1 = Spencer , year = 2004 , publisher = Random House Trade Paperbacks , location = New York, NY
* Wilson, R. C. L., S. A. Drury, and J. L. Chapman. ''The Great Ice Age: Climate Change and Life.'' London, Routledge, 2000.
History of climate variability and change
History of the Sahara
Prehistoric Africa