Les tumulus à couloir et enclos de la Tassili du Fadnoun, Tassili Azger (Algérie) : Premières datations par la méthode du radiocarbone

Abstract

Among the countless funerary monuments present in the Sahara, the corridor and enclosure tumulus (CET) display particularly original architectural features. Their chronology is now well established for the Nigerien Sahara, but remains poorly known for the Tassili Azger in south-eastern Algeria, despite the abundance of monuments identified. This article presents the first results of direct AMS 14C dating of the mineral fraction (bioapatite) of human bones from three CET excavated in different sites of the Tassili Fadnoun in 2011. The results indicate that these burials date from the late 4th or early 3rd mill BCE and are of similar age to the ones of the CET of Emi Lulu in northern Niger. Despite an extensive geographic distribution across the Sahara, it appears that CET share several common characteristics especially in terms of architecture, burial practices and chronology.