Late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial archives in the Southwestern Mediterranean:: Changes in fluvial dynamics and past human response

Cohesive floodplains from the semiarid Southwestern Mediterranean (Morocco, Tunisia) exhibit excellent preservation toward lateral erosion and present a continuous record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene flood dynamics. Holocene mean sedimentation rates and C-14 cumulative probability plots from cohesive Tunisian floodplain sequences reveal a coupling with North Atlantic Bond events. Short-term periods of fluvial activity match well with North Atlantic coolings. The findings indicate a strong climatic link from 4.8 ka until today. Unlike fluvial archives from the humid mid-latitudes, semiarid Southwest Mediterranean alluvial archives exhibit phases of increased fluvial dynamics under generally drier conditions. The C-14 cumulative probability plot of archeological sites in Mediterranean North Africa indicates correlations with alluvial records. Therefore, prehistoric societies seemed to be very sensitive to past shifts in landscape dynamics. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.