Tichit
| Tichit | |
|---|---|
| — Commune and town — | |
 Tichit
|
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| Coordinates: 18°26′30″N 9°29′30″W / 18.44167°N 9.49167°WCoordinates: 18°26′30″N 9°29′30″W / 18.44167°N 9.49167°W | |
| Country |  Mauritania |
| Region | Tagant |
| Official name: Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata | |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | iii, iv, v |
| Designated: | 1996 (20th session) |
| Reference #: | 750 |
| State Party: |  Mauritania |
| Region: | Arab States |
Tichit (or Tichitt) (Arabic: تيشيت) is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture. The main agriculture in Tichit is date farming, and the village is also home to a small museum.
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[edit] Archaeological significance
The Dhar Tichitt region forms part of a long sandstone cliff formation that define the northern limit of the Hodh depression. The area was settled by late stone age agropastoral communities around 2000 BC.[1] The settlements were generally situated on the cliffs and included stone building. The area was abandoned around 500 BC probably because of the onset of more arid conditions. Hundreds of rock art images have been discovered, depicting various animals and hunting scenes.[2] Archaeologists such as P.J. Munson, Augustin F.C. Holl, and S. Amblard have provided some indication that millet was farmed seasonally as early as 2000 BC.
It is the oldest surviving archaeological settlements in West Africa and the oldest of all stone base settlements south of the Sahara. It is thought to have been built by the Soninke people and is thought to be the precursor of the Ghana empire, thought to have been built by Wolof people or Wolof-related ancestors.[3][4]
It is a World Heritage Site.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Holl 2009.
- ^ Holl 2002.
- ^ Fage, J.D(1976). The Cambridge history of Africa, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press: pp. 338,339 ISBN 0521215927, 9780521215923.
- ^ Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine. The History of African Cities South of the Sahara. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005, pp. 42,43 ISBN 1-55876-303-1
[edit] References
- Holl, Augustin F.C. (2002), "Time, Space, and Image Making: Rock Art from the Dhar Tichitt (Mauritania)", Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19: 75–118, http://www.springerlink.com/content/3jh5t3c95hd672tf/fulltext.pdf.
- Holl, Augustin F.C. (2009), "Coping with uncertainty: Neolithic life in the Dhar Tichitt-Walata, Mauritania, (ca. 4000–2300 BP)", Comptes Rendus Geoscience 341: 703–712, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6X1D-4WM051X-1-K&_cdi=7240&_user=217827&_orig=search&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2009&_sk=996589991&view=c&wchp=dGLbVlW-zSkWz&md5=f03fbc27ca3a4495425ec97cd38d24bc&ie=/sdarticle.pdf.
[edit] Further reading
- Holl, Augustin (1985), "Subsistence patterns of the Neolithic, Mauritania", African Archaeological Review 3: 151–162, http://www.springerlink.com/content/t760x024v21582k2/fulltext.pdf. Link requires subscription.
- Holl, Augustin F.C. (1998), "Livestock husbandry, pastoralisms, and Territoriality: The West African record", Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 17: 143–165, http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/aa/1998/00000017/00000002/art00321?crawler=true.
- Munson, Patrick J. (1980), "Archaeology and the Prehistoric Origins of the Ghana Empire", Journal of African History 21: 457–466, JSTOR 182004.
- MacDonald, Kevin; Vernet, Robert; Fuller, Dorian; Woodhouse, James (2003), "New light on the Tichitt tradition: A preliminary report on survey and excavation at Dhar Nema", Oxford University School of Archaeology Monograph 57: 73–80, http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~tcrndfu/articles/McDonaldVernetFullerWoodhouse.pdf.
[edit] External links
- TICHIT: The living ghost of yesterday's glory
- Map showing Tichit: Fond Typographique 1:200,000, République Islamique de Mauritanie Sheet NE-29-XV, http://ml-datos.com/4/ficheros/mapas/mauritania/Tichit.PNG.
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