Glossary

Aterian A North African tradition with lithic assemblages, often made with the Levallois technology, consisting of side-scrapers and denticulates, as well as end-scrapers, perforators, and burins. Tanged tools and bifacial foliates are considered as the diagnostic features, but other, more frequent, elements include bulbar basal thinning and bifacial retouching.

Cultivation Any form of human activity that increases the yield of harvested or exploited plants without domestication.

Delayed return strategy A long-term system of resource exploitation based on delayed and planned consumption, involving food processing and storage.

Dotted wavy line pottery Ceramic impressed decoration made with a rocker technique using a toothed comb to produce alternately upwards and downwards fans of dotted curved lines.

Middle Stone Age (MSA) A specific African age/stage system, which comprises the Early Stone Age (ESA), the Middle Stone Age (MSA), and the Later Stone Age (LSA). European-based terms such as Middle Paleolithic and Mousterian are often used to describe North African industries, even though they relate to specific cultural units and particular stratigraphic positions that do not apply to Africa.

Pastoralism The economic subsistence strategy that relies on the exploitation of domestic livestock for food production. It implies raising and moving herds for grazing according to seasonal availability of pasture.

Western Desert This is a desert located west of the Nile River that occupies western Egypt and eastern Libya. Its main regions are the Great Sand Sea and several oases, including Siwa, Farafra, Baharia, Dakhleh, and Kharga.