People of the Green Sahara

From November 19-December 23, 2011, Dr. Paul Sereno will lead an archaeological and paleontological expedition to Niger’s Sahara Desert, returning to Gobero, the site of the People of the Green Sahara. The international expedition team will assemble researchers from across the United States, Europe and Africa and include  Project Exploration youth-ambassador, Kaitlin Judkins.

Gobero is arguably the single-most important Early- to mid-Holocene site in the Sahara, predating the Egyptian mummies.  Two physically and culturally distinct populations are present among the burials—Early Holocene Kiffians and mid Holocene Tenereans.  Radiometric dating of the human occupants, bone and ceramic artifacts and sediments of the site has established a chronology for a dramatic and nearly unparalleled range of cultural activities and artifacts—from burial practices to pottery and tools.

Kaitlin Judkins, a veteran Junior Paleontologist and a current board member, will participate in the archaeological expedition and serve as Project Exploration’s expedition ambassador, posting updates to the People of the Green Sahara website and visiting with Chicago Public School students upon her return to the States. Kaitlin is a recent graduate of DePaul University and currently finishing an internship at Exelon exploring alternative energy. Kaitlin’s participation as a team member on this expedition represents not only the (well-deserved) experience of a lifetime for Kaitlin, but an important watermark in Project Exploration’s youth science work.

ABOUT THE GOBERO SITE

The recently discovered burial complex at Gobero in Niger has provided a unique window onto the successive peoples and cultures that once lived lakeside, when the Sahara Desert was considerably greener than today, some 10,000 to 5,000 years ago.  The quality and number of burials, artifacts, faunal remains and the duration of time preserved at Gobero have no match anywhere else in the Sahara.  Our initial work, summarized in Sereno et al. (2008), provides an outline and temporal framework for the site complex.

The present project aims to analyze new lines of evidence in several laboratories and finish the field work at the site in Niger.  Laboratory analysis includes CT scanning of skeletons to better visualize burial postures and bone wounds, analyzing dental calculus for clues regarding diet, and sampling teeth (dentine) for ancient DNA to better understand where Gobero’s inhabitants originated.  Field work aims to collect the remaining skeletons, ceramic vessels and artifacts we have mapped at the site and laser-scan the area to digitally refill Paleolake Gobero.