PALAEOECOLOGY OF AFRIC A AND THE SURROUNDING ISLANDS Established by E. M.van Zinderen Bakker Sr

The archaeozoological record of terminal Pleistocene to Middle Holocene sites in the Central Sudanese Nile and Upper Atbara regions is interpreted in terms of environmental change. On the basis of the species composition of the faunal assemblages, shifts in climate and Vegetation can be observed. Using the present-day position of the Vegetation zones, the extent of their north-south movements during the late Quaternary has been assessed. In view of this development, the introduction of livestock in Central and Eastern Sudan has been evaluated. I N T R O D U C T I O N Since the middle of this Century, archaeological research in Central and Eastern Sudan focuses on the Nile and Atbara river Valleys and their hinterlands (e.g. Arkell 1949,1953; Shiner 1971; Haaland 1981; Caneva 1983; Geus 1983, Marks et al. 1985,1987). Especially the Central Nile Valley north of Khartoum (Fig. 1, A , B) and the Upper Atbara region (Fig. 1, C) have been target areas for numerous archaeological projects. These resulted in a series of excavations that produced, besides artefacts, ceramics, polished stones etc., collections of animal bones. Some of these faunal samples have been analysed by colleagues, others have been dealt with by ourselves (cf. Table 1). The faunal samples considered can be arranged in five groups on the basis of the location of the sites were they have been collected (cf. Table 1; Fig. 1,2): (1) the Central Nile Valley between Khartoum and el Kadada; (2) its hinterland formed by the western Butana; (3) the junction of the Nile and the Atbara and the area north of it; (4) the Upper Atbara valley; (5) its hinterland comprising a