Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara
Neolithic agro-pastoral (2000–500 BCE Tichitt Tradition)·Tichitt Tradition (Soninke antecedent, Ghana Empire ancestor)·🇲🇷 Tagant Plateau, Tichitt-Walata-Néma escarpment, Dhar Tichitt, Mauritania
About
About Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara
Tichitt excavated by Munson 1971, 400 Dhar sites 2000–500 BCE, Ghana Empire antecedent, UNESCO tentative.
Why it mattersKey Tichitt Tradition (Soninke antecedent, Ghana Empire ancestor) ancient-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of enclosure
Theories
- 01Territorial marker
- 02Ceremonial centre
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2000 BCE early hamlets; 1000 BCE walled villages
- Period
- Neolithic agro-pastoral (2000–500 BCE Tichitt Tradition)
- Culture
- Tichitt Tradition (Soninke antecedent, Ghana Empire ancestor)
- Purpose
- 400 dry-stone villages (Dhar) cliff chain 150 km — Africa's earliest stone villages (2000 BCE) millet farming and cattle pastoral on Saharan cliff
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1877
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2000 BCE early hamlets; 1000 BCE walled villages
Initial construction / first occupation at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara
c. 1200 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara
On the ground
Structures & features
18.4330° N · 9.4850° W · 320 m · 4 mapped features
Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — Principal Structure
structurestructure at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — subsidiary complex
18.4335° N · 9.4839° WTichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — Complex Annex 2
complexcomplex at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — subsidiary complex
18.4320° N · 9.4834° WTichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — Southern Rock Art
rock artrock art at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — outlier feature
18.4339° N · 9.4838° WTichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — Eastern Structure
structurestructure at Tichitt — Stone Walled Village Cliff Neo-Sahara — primary structure
18.4336° N · 9.4859° W