Tichit

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Tichit
Commune and village
Tichit
Location in Mauritania
Coordinates: 18°26′30″N 9°29′30″W / 18.44167°N 9.49167°W / 18.44167; -9.49167Coordinates: 18°26′30″N 9°29′30″W / 18.44167°N 9.49167°W / 18.44167; -9.49167
Country Mauritania
Region Tagant
Official name: Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata
Type: Cultural
Criteria: iii, iv, v
Designated: 1996 (20th session)
Reference No. 750
State Party:  Mauritania
Region: Arab States

Tichit (or Tichitt) (Arabic: تيشيت‎) is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture. The main agriculture in Tichit is date farming, and the village is also home to a small museum.

Archaeological significance

The Dhar Tichitt region forms part of a long sandstone cliff formation that define the northern limit of the Hodh depression. The area was settled by late stone age agropastoral communities around 2000 BC.[1] The settlements were generally situated on the cliffs and included stone building. The area was abandoned around 500 BC probably because of the onset of more arid conditions. Hundreds of rock art images have been discovered, depicting various animals and hunting scenes.[2] Archaeologists such as P.J. Munson, Augustin F.C. Holl, and S. Amblard have found some evidence that millet was farmed seasonally as early as 2000 BC.

The region contains the oldest surviving archaeological settlements in West Africa and the oldest of all stone base settlements south of the Sahara. They are thought to have been built by the Soninke people and were possiby the precursor of the Ghana empire.[3][4][5]

Tichit is a World Heritage Site.

Climate

Climate data for Tichit
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 29.8
(85.6)		 32.9
(91.2)		 37.5
(99.5)		 40.4
(104.7)		 42.5
(108.5)		 42.0
(107.6)		 38.6
(101.5)		 35.8
(96.4)		 37.5
(99.5)		 38.7
(101.7)		 35.3
(95.5)		 31.6
(88.9)		 36.88
(98.38)
Average low °C (°F) 16.2
(61.2)		 19.2
(66.6)		 23.8
(74.8)		 26.9
(80.4)		 29.9
(85.8)		 30.5
(86.9)		 28.2
(82.8)		 26.6
(79.9)		 27.0
(80.6)		 27.0
(80.6)		 22.2
(72)		 18.1
(64.6)		 24.63
(76.35)
Precipitation mm (inches) 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 1
(0.04)		 6
(0.24)		 15
(0.59)		 32
(1.26)		 19
(0.75)		 3
(0.12)		 1
(0.04)		 0
(0)		 79
(3.12)
Source #1: http://www.storm247.com/weather/110676228/climate (temperature)
Source #2: http://www.levoyageur.net/weather-city-TICHITT.html (precipitation)

Notes

  1. ↑ Holl 2009.
  2. ↑ Holl 2002.
  3. ↑ Munson 1980.
  4. ↑ Fage, J.D (1976), The Cambridge history of Africa, Volume 5, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 338, 339, ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3 .
  5. ↑ Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine (2005), The History of African Cities South of the Sahara, Princeton: Markus Wiener, pp. 42, 43, ISBN 1-55876-303-1 .

References

Further reading

External links

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