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The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey 1979–1981: Palaeoeconomy and Environmental Archaeology in the Pre-Desert

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2015

G. W. W. Barker ,
G. D. B. Jones ,
D. Gilbertson  and
D. Jones
G. W. W. Barker
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
G. D. B. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Manchester
D. Gilbertson
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
D. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
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Abstract

Three seasons of intensive survey in the central Tripolitanian pre-desert, primarily in the regions of the Wadis Sofeggin and Zem Zem, have provided a new basis for the study of pre-desert cultures. Not only have hundreds of new sites been discovered, but the combination of environmental and geomorphological studies with archaeological survey is now providing important information about the underlying mechanisms which supported them. An increasing settlement density and social complexity can be identified in the Romano–Libyan period together with the development of intensive farming and elaborate irrigation systems. There is little evidence for significant climatic change to account for this increased settlement intensity or for its subsequent decline. The explanation for this must probably be sought in a complex relationship between social organisation, population change, and the agricultural system, and its impact on the environment.

Type
Articles
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 13 , 1982 , pp. 1 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 1982

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