Radiocarbon chronology of Holocene hydrologic changes in northeastern Mali

A detailed chronology of hydrological changes that occurred in northeastern Mali during the Holocene is based on approximately 30 ¹⁴C dates of molluscs which were collected from the lacustrine and paludal deposits of the Ine Sakane sand sea. The presence of cemented paleodunes indicates that the end of the Pleistocene was and arid period. This was followed by an early Holocene lacustrine episode (ca. 9500–6500 yr B.P.) during which numerous lakes occupied depressions formed in the Cretaceous limestones and between the sand ridges. These lakes reflect a significant rise in the water table. Between ca. 6500 and 5500 yr B.P. the lakes dried up, although the water table remained close to the ground surface in several areas. Calcareous concretions formed at the water table fringe during this time, thereby “fossilizing” some of the middle Holocene dunes. A second lacustrine episode is dated between ca. 5500 and 4500 yr B.P.; it corresponds to the establishment of numerous Neolithic settlements in the area. Arid conditions have developed since about 4500 yr B.P. to attain the conditions of the present day. The isotopic composition (¹⁸O and ¹³C) of the fauna reflects highly variable hydrological conditions. Groundwaters were recharged by precipitation which was occasionally very depleted in heavy oxygen (δ¹⁸O ? ?13%.). Evaporation induced an enrichment in ¹⁸O; high concentrations characterize some lakes. The ¹³C content of fossil shells reflect: (1) species ecological requirements, (2) isotopic composition of the total inorganic dissolved carbon (TIDC) in groundwaters, and (3) the lake metabolism.