Dhar Tichitt is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the southwestern region of the Sahara Desert, in Mauritania. It is one of several settlement locations along the sandstone cliffs in the area. The cliffs were inhabited by pastoralists starting at around 4000 BP and lasted to around 2300 BP before present (BP)[1]. About 500 stone settlements are found in the region. In addition to herding livestock, its inhabitants fished and grew millet.

The climate of the Dhar Tichitt region today is very arid and hot. However, this was not always the case. The area was much more temperate during a humid phase referred to as the Nouakchottian, c. 5000-3000 BP. During this time, the region experienced two different seasons per year, a dry season and a shorter rainy season. Around 2500 BP, the climate began to change, and it became too dry for people to stay in the area.[1]

The faunal evidence at the Dhar Tichitt area is highly diverse. Cattle, sheep, and goats are the most common faunal remains. Other faunal remains include crocodile, hippopotamus, ostrich, gazelle, fish, and very few representative bones of other animals. Given the amount of faunal remains that are from domesticated animals it is safe to say that this was a pastoralist society.

The botanical remains at the site reveal that the pastoralists society practiced some cultivation. Pennisetum or bulrush millet is the only domesticate found at this site, and was most commonly cultivated during the rainy season at upland settlements. During the dry season, wild grains and fruits were collected in the lowlands to supplement the otherwise pastoralist diet.[2]

The Dhar Tichitt site had become a complex culture by 3600 BP and had architectural and material culture elements that seemed to match the site at Koumbi Saleh. Koumbi Saleh, sometimes Kumbi Saleh is the site of a ruined medieval town in south east Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhar_Tichitt