International workshop on human occupations of the Nile Valley and neighboring regions between 75,000 and 15,000 years ago

Abstract

The end of the Pleistocene (~75–15 ka) is an intriguing period for the Nile Valley prehistory. The global shift to more arid conditions regionally translated into the lowering of the Mediterranean Sea level, the desiccation of some major eastern African lakes and the expansion of the Sahara. These climatically induced environmental changes influenced the behavior of the Nile river and the valley s role as an ecological refugium for human populations living in its vicinity. Genetic studies suggest that this period saw several dispersals of modern humans “out-of” and “backinto” Africa. Although the Nile Valley constitutes one of the possible routes for these dispersals, archeological evidence for contacts between the Nile Valley and its neighboring regions remain scarce and debated.