the green Sahara: its lakes, its fishers and herders, its drying, and Africa's own crops

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

• Rock paintings at Tadrart Acacus

  Luca Galuzzi (Lucag)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.5

  Resized for video.

  Photo taken by Luca Galuzzi — http://www.galuzzi.it

• Aerial view of Gobero — Figure 2

  Paul C. Sereno, Elena A. A. Garcea, Hélène Jousse, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jean-François Saliège, Abdoulaye Maga, Oumarou A. Ide, Kelly J. Knudson, Anna Maria Mercuri, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., Thomas G. Kaye, Carlo Giraudi, Isabella Massamba N'siala, Enzo Cocca, Hannah M. Moots, Didier B. Dutheil, Jeffrey P. Stivers

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.5

  Resized for video.

  Figure 2, Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change. PLoS ONE 3(8): e2995 (2008).

• Dabous giraffe engravings

  MRF-Freund

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Cropped to the engraved rock, excluding modern visitors and vehicle; resized for video.

• Cave of the Beasts paintings, Gilf Kebir

  Roland Unger

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

  First published at Wikivoyage.

• Guelta Maya, Ennedi

  Sven Oehm (Sven.oehm)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Dabous giraffes, Niger

  Albert Backer

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Lake Yoa

  anmede

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Resized for video.

• Lothagam North Pillar Site

  Ninafundisha

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Grand dieu du Sefar

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Dance scene with cattle

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Daily scene with cattle

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video; the closing appearance isolates the two cattle at the left of the panel.

• Sunrise rays over pearl millet

  Martin Hipangwa

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Pearl millet in summer

  Herovaclicks

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Takarkori rock shelter — Figure 5B

  Wim Van Neer, Francesca Alhaique, Wim Wouters, Katrien Dierickx, Monica Gala, Quentin Goffette, Guido S. Mariani, Andrea Zerboni, Savino di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Figure 5B selected; resized for video.

  Aquatic fauna from the Takarkori rock shelter reveals the Holocene central Saharan climate and palaeohydrography. PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228588 (2020).

• Rock art at the caves of Archéi, Chad

  Emilien Lebourgeois

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Resized for video.

• Equestrian Warriors

  David Stanley

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized for video.

• Gilf Kebir rock engravings

  Ilan Molcho

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Cropped to giraffes and other wild animals, excluding the herder-and-cow figure; resized for video.

• Saharan rock art, Algeria

  Gruban

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Resized for video.

• Jabbaren rock art

  Yangar

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• N'Dama herd in West Africa

  ILRI

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized for video.

• Early Neolithic pottery fragments from Nabta

  Anthony Huan

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Resized for video.

  British Museum collection.

• Early Neolithic artifacts from Nabta Playa

  ALFGRN

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

  British Museum collection.

• Nabta Playa pottery with impressed decoration

  ALFGRN

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

  British Museum collection.

• Middle Neolithic pottery and stone tools from Nabta Playa

  ALFGRN

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

  British Museum collection.

• Saharan dust plume, November 1998

  SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Resized for video.

  Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE. NASA Visible Earth.

• Sunset over Lake Turkana

  Predatorywasp

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Resized for video.

• Petroglyphs at Tadrart Acacus

  Luca Galuzzi (Lucag)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.5

  Resized for video.

  Photo taken by Luca Galuzzi — https://www.galuzzi.it

• Somali wild ass at Réserve africaine de Sigean

  H. Zell

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Tanzoumaitak cave painting, Tassili n'Ajjer

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Rock painting of a dance performance

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Saharan rock art

  Andrew Smith

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

  Photograph by Andrew Smith and used with Smith's permission.

• Desert Crocodile

  David Stanley

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized for video.

• Lake Yoa

  Jacques Taberlet

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Lake Yoa and its escarpment

  Jacques Taberlet

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Ostrich-eggshell beads in Holocene Africa — Figure 6

  Jennifer M. Miller, Elizabeth A. Sawchuk

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Figure selected and resized for video.

  Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa. PLoS ONE 14(11): e0225143 (2019).

• Aswan and the First Cataract

  Antonio Beato

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Resized for video.

  Archivio fotografico Museo Egizio, Turin.

• Giraffe engravings at Wadi Mathandous

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Sorghum

  Zyance

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Crocodile engraving at Wadi Mathandous

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Dust storm in the Bodélé Depression

  Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory; MODIS Rapid Response team

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Resized for video.

  NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.

• Elephant engraving at Wadi Mathandous

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Bovid engraving at Wadi Mathandous

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Cropped to the engraved bovid, excluding later Arabic inscriptions; resized for video.

• Rhinoceros engraving at Wadi Mathandous

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized for video.

• Bowl

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized for video.

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1932.

• Palette in the Form of a Fish

  The Cleveland Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized for video.

  The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Elizabeth M. Skala.

• Black-Topped Beaker

  The Cleveland Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized for video.

  The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust.

• Space radar image of Safsaf Oasis, Egypt

  NASA/JPL

  View original source ↗Source licence: NASA media usage guidelines

  Resized for video.

  NASA/JPL.

• Early pottery sites in Saharan Africa — Figure 1

  Rocco Rotunno, Enrico R. Crema

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Site clusters interpreted as three broad highlighted regions in an original animated map; individual points and numbers were not reproduced.

  Rotunno and Crema (2025), Nature Communications, Figure 1.

• Gobero — Figure 9

  Paul C. Sereno, Elena A. A. Garcea, Hélène Jousse, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jean-François Saliège, Abdoulaye Maga, Oumarou A. Ide, Kelly J. Knudson, Anna Maria Mercuri, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., Thomas G. Kaye, Carlo Giraudi, Isabella Massamba N'siala, Enzo Cocca, Hannah M. Moots, Didier B. Dutheil, Jeffrey P. Stivers

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.5

  Figure selected and resized for video.

  Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change. PLoS ONE 3(8): e2995 (2008), Figure 9.

• Remnants of an Ancient Lake

  Joshua Stevens, NASA Earth Observatory; U.S. Geological Survey; SRTM

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (NASA Earth Observatory)

  Resized for video.

  NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and SRTM topography.

• Dust storm at the Algeria–Niger border

  NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC)

  View original source ↗Source licence: NASA media usage guidelines

  Resized for video.

  NASA/JSC.

• Former Saharan wetlands — Figure 4D

  Wim Van Neer, Francesca Alhaique, Wim Wouters, Katrien Dierickx, Monica Gala, Quentin Goffette, Guido S. Mariani, Andrea Zerboni, Savino di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panel D selected: carbonate lake mud between dunes of the Erg Titersine; resized for video.

  Van Neer and colleagues (2020), PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228588, Figure 4.

• Takarkori aquatic fauna — Figure 6

  Wim Van Neer, Francesca Alhaique, Wim Wouters, Katrien Dierickx, Monica Gala, Quentin Goffette, Guido S. Mariani, Andrea Zerboni, Savino di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Figure selected and resized for video.

  Van Neer and colleagues (2020), PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228588, Figure 6.

• Wild and domesticated pearl millet — Figure 2

  Dorian Q. Fuller, Aleese Barron, Louis Champion, Christian Dupuy, Dominique Commelin, Michel Raimbault, Tim Denham

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Drawings of spikes, involucres and grains selected from Figure 2; resized for video.

  Transition From Wild to Domesticated Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Revealed in Ceramic Temper at Three Middle Holocene Sites in Northern Mali. African Archaeological Review 38:211–230 (2021). Spike and involucre of P. violaceum after Kunth (1835); P. glaucum, middle, and stalked involucres after Engler (1895); P. glaucum spike, right, after Reale Accademia di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (1786). Chaff and grain drawings in lower row by DQ Fuller.

• Early Holocene Saharan waterways — Figure 13

  Wim Van Neer, Francesca Alhaique, Wim Wouters, Katrien Dierickx, Monica Gala, Quentin Goffette, Guido S. Mariani, Andrea Zerboni, Savino di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Reconstructed waterway geometry redrawn and animated on an original terrain map; original figure image is not displayed.

  Van Neer and colleagues (2020), PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228588, Figure 13 (HydroSHEDS-based).

• Early pearl millet sites in Africa and South Asia — Figure 1

  Carolina Jiménez-Arteaga, Óscar Parque, Carla Lancelotti, Marco Moderato, Ghulam Mohiuddin Veesar, Tasleem Abro, Amin Chandio, Marco Madella

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0 (Figure 1 map)

  Figure 1 map selected and resized for video.

  New evidence reveals dispersal of pearl millet from West Africa to South Asia by 2500 BCE (2025), Scientific Reports, Figure 1. Map derived from public-domain data produced by the U.S. Geological Survey.

• Lothagam North Pillar Site orthoimage — Figure 1

  Elisabeth A. Hildebrand, Katherine M. Grillo, Elizabeth A. Sawchuk, Susan K. Pfeiffer, Lawrence B. Conyers, Steven T. Goldstein, Austin Chad Hill, Anneke Janzen, Carla E. Klehm, Mark Helper, Purity Kiura, Emmanuel Ndiema, Cecilia Ngugi, John J. Shea, Hong Wang

  View original source ↗Source licence: PNAS license

  Main orthoimage panel selected from Figure 1; resized for video.

  A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya. PNAS 115(36):8942–8947 (2018), Figure 1.

• Ounjougou confluence

  Ounjougou

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized for video.

• Stone monument on the Messak plateau — Figure 5A

  Savino di Lernia, Mary Anne Tafuri, Marina Gallinaro, Francesca Alhaique, Marie Balasse, Lucia Cavorsi, Paul D. Fullagar, Anna Maria Mercuri, Andrea Monaco, Alessandro Perego, Andrea Zerboni

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 3.0

  Lower part of panel A selected; resized for video.

  Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56879 (2013), Figure 5.

• Takarkori basketry and cordage — Figure 4

  The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara; Savino di Lernia, Fabrizio Buldrini, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Varinia Nardi, Rocco Rotunno

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panels A–D selected; resized for video.

  Photos ©The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. Spatial analyses of archaeobotanical record reveal site uses and activities at Early to Middle Holocene Takarkori (Libya, Central Sahara). PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310739 (2024), Figure 4.

• Plant remains from Takarkori — Figure 3

  The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara; Savino di Lernia, Fabrizio Buldrini, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Varinia Nardi, Rocco Rotunno

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panels A–D selected; resized for video.

  Photos ©The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. Spatial analyses of archaeobotanical record reveal site uses and activities at Early to Middle Holocene Takarkori (Libya, Central Sahara). PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310739 (2024), Figure 3.

• Takarkori rock shelter from the west

  Archivio Missione Archeologica nel Sahara, Sapienza Universita di Roma

  View original source ↗

  Cropped to the shelter landscape, excluding the modern walker; resized for video.

• Excavation at Takarkori rock shelter

  Archivio Missione Archeologica nel Sahara, Sapienza Universita di Roma

  View original source ↗

  Cropped to the gridded excavation trench, excluding the caption block; resized for video.

• Gobero fishing tools — Figure 7

  Paul C. Sereno, Elena A. A. Garcea, Hélène Jousse, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jean-François Saliège, Abdoulaye Maga, Oumarou A. Ide, Kelly J. Knudson, Anna Maria Mercuri, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., Thomas G. Kaye, Carlo Giraudi, Isabella Massamba N'siala, Enzo Cocca, Hannah M. Moots, Didier B. Dutheil, Jeffrey P. Stivers

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.5

  Panels C, D and E, with part of F, selected to show bone barbed points and a fish hook; resized for video.

  Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change. PLoS ONE 3(8): e2995 (2008), Figure 7.

• Dabous giraffe engraving — detail

  MRF-Freund

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Cropped to the engraved rock, excluding modern visitors and vehicle; resized for video.

• Gobero bone barbed points and fish hook

  Paul C. Sereno, Elena A. A. Garcea, Hélène Jousse, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jean-François Saliège, Abdoulaye Maga, Oumarou A. Ide, Kelly J. Knudson, Anna Maria Mercuri, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., Thomas G. Kaye, Carlo Giraudi, Isabella Massamba N'siala, Enzo Cocca, Hannah M. Moots, Didier B. Dutheil, Jeffrey P. Stivers

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.5

  Panels C, D and E, with part of F, selected from Figure 7; resized for video.

  Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change. PLoS ONE 3(8): e2995 (2008), Figure 7.

• Ancient lake mud between dunes of the Erg Titersine

  Wim Van Neer, Francesca Alhaique, Wim Wouters, Katrien Dierickx, Monica Gala, Quentin Goffette, Guido S. Mariani, Andrea Zerboni, Savino di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panel D selected from Figure 4; resized for video.

  Van Neer and colleagues (2020), PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228588, Figure 4.

• Takarkori basketry and twisted cordage

  The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara; Savino di Lernia, Fabrizio Buldrini, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Varinia Nardi, Rocco Rotunno

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panels A–D selected from Figure 4; resized for video.

  Photos ©The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. di Lernia and colleagues (2024), PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310739, Figure 4.

• Twig, grass, stems and fruit from Takarkori

  The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara; Savino di Lernia, Fabrizio Buldrini, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Varinia Nardi, Rocco Rotunno

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Panels A–D selected from Figure 3; resized for video.

  Photos ©The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. di Lernia and colleagues (2024), PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310739, Figure 3.

• Archaeologists excavating at Takarkori

  Archivio Missione Archeologica nel Sahara, Sapienza Universita di Roma

  View original source ↗

  Cropped to the gridded excavation trench, excluding the caption block; resized for video.

• Excavated stone structure on the Messak plateau

  Savino di Lernia, Mary Anne Tafuri, Marina Gallinaro, Francesca Alhaique, Marie Balasse, Lucia Cavorsi, Paul D. Fullagar, Anna Maria Mercuri, Andrea Monaco, Alessandro Perego, Andrea Zerboni

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 3.0

  Lower part of panel A selected from Figure 5; resized for video.

  Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56879 (2013), Figure 5.

• Wild-animal engravings at Gilf Kebir

  Ilan Molcho

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Cropped to giraffes and other wild animals, excluding the herder-and-cow figure; resized for video.

• Bovid engraving at Wadi Mathandous — detail

  Franzfoto

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Cropped to the engraved bovid, excluding later Arabic inscriptions; resized for video.

• Lothagam North mortuary platform and stone circles

  Elisabeth A. Hildebrand, Katherine M. Grillo, Elizabeth A. Sawchuk, Susan K. Pfeiffer, Lawrence B. Conyers, Steven T. Goldstein, Austin Chad Hill, Anneke Janzen, Carla E. Klehm, Mark Helper, Purity Kiura, Emmanuel Ndiema, Cecilia Ngugi, John J. Shea, Hong Wang

  View original source ↗Source licence: PNAS license

  Main orthoimage panel selected from Figure 1; resized for video.

  A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya. PNAS 115(36):8942–8947 (2018), Figure 1.

• Wild and domesticated pearl millet: spikes, involucres and grains

  Dorian Q. Fuller, Aleese Barron, Louis Champion, Christian Dupuy, Dominique Commelin, Michel Raimbault, Tim Denham

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Drawings selected from Figure 2; resized for video.

  Fuller and colleagues (2021), African Archaeological Review 38:211–230, Figure 2. Spike and involucre of P. violaceum after Kunth (1835); P. glaucum, middle, and stalked involucres after Engler (1895); P. glaucum spike, right, after Reale Accademia di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (1786). Chaff and grain drawings in lower row by DQ Fuller.

• Early pearl millet sites across Africa and South Asia

  Carolina Jiménez-Arteaga, Óscar Parque, Carla Lancelotti, Marco Moderato, Ghulam Mohiuddin Veesar, Tasleem Abro, Amin Chandio, Marco Madella

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0 (Figure 1 map)

  Figure 1 map selected and resized for video.

  New evidence reveals dispersal of pearl millet from West Africa to South Asia by 2500 BCE (2025), Scientific Reports, Figure 1. Map derived from public-domain data produced by the U.S. Geological Survey.

• Takarkori shelter landscape from the west

  Archivio Missione Archeologica nel Sahara, Sapienza Universita di Roma

  View original source ↗

  Cropped to the shelter landscape, excluding the modern walker; resized for video.

• Takarkori Middle Pastoral potsherds — Supplementary Figure 3

  J. Dunne, R. P. Evershed, M. Salque, L. Cramp, S. Bruni, K. Ryan, S. Biagetti, S. di Lernia

  View original source ↗Source licence: All rights reserved

  Middle Pastoral rows selected from Supplementary Figure 3; resized for video.

  First dairying in green Saharan Africa in the fifth millennium BC. Nature 486:390–394 (2012), Supplementary Figure 3. ©2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

• Two painted cattle, Tassili — detail

  IssamBarhoumi

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Cropped to the two cattle at the left of Daily scene with cattle; resized for video.

• MicroCT visualization of sorghum in pottery — Supplementary Video 4

  Aleese Barron, Dorian Q. Fuller, Chris Stevens, Louis Champion, Frank Winchell, Tim Denham

  View original source ↗

  Video excerpt.

  Snapshots in time: MicroCT scanning of pottery sherds determines early domestication of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in East Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 123:105259 (2020), supplementary video mmc4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105259

• MicroCT visualization of sorghum in pottery — Supplementary Video 5

  Aleese Barron, Dorian Q. Fuller, Chris Stevens, Louis Champion, Frank Winchell, Tim Denham

  View original source ↗

  Video excerpt.

  Snapshots in time: MicroCT scanning of pottery sherds determines early domestication of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in East Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 123:105259 (2020), supplementary video mmc5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105259

• Satellite Tracks Saharan Dust to Amazon in 3-D: Dust Transport

  Joy Ng, Kel Elkins, Greg Shirah, Horace Mitchell, Hongbin Yu, Kayvon Sharghi, Brian Monroe, Norman Kuring, Ellen T. Gray; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

  View original source ↗Source licence: NASA media usage guidelines

  Video excerpt.

  NASA/GSFC.

• Predynastic C-Ware Bowl with Hippos

  danderson4

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  3D model rendered as a turntable animation by AgentHouse; video excerpt.

  Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London, accession UC15337. Photographed in June 2018 with the permission and assistance of the Petrie Museum. The model's unavailable base was false colored by its creator.

• Earth day map texture

  Solar System Scope

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Texture mapped onto a procedurally rendered globe with original lighting, orbit graphics and labels.

  Textures by Solar System Scope (solarsystemscope.com), CC BY 4.0.

• Natural Earth 1:50m country boundaries

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m lakes

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m land and coastlines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m rivers and lake centerlines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• GEBCO 2021 Grid — North Africa terrain subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

  Subset obtained through Ifremer ERDDAP and sampled every tenth grid cell; used for land hill shading, sea-depth tone and computed Mega-Chad shorelines in original animated maps.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f).

• NGRIP oxygen-isotope record on GICC05, 20-year resolution

  NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate group, Niels Bohr Institute

  View original source ↗

  Selected data plotted in an original animated ice-core curve; excerpt of the animation.

  NGRIP dating group (2008), NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series 2008-034; Andersen et al. (2006), Rasmussen et al. (2006), Svensson et al. (2006, 2008). NOTE: PLEASE CITE CONTRIBUTORS WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!!

• Eemian green Sahara — Figure 4b

  Juan C. Larrasoaña, Andrew P. Roberts, Eelco J. Rohling

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Eemian panel selected; vegetation belts, palaeolakes and palaeorivers georeferenced and redrawn in an animated map. Original figure image is not displayed.

  Dynamics of Green Sahara Periods and Their Role in Hominin Evolution. PLoS ONE 8:e76514 (2013), Figure 4b.

• Eemian vegetation and drainage reconstruction

  Juan C. Larrasoaña, Andrew P. Roberts, Eelco J. Rohling

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Figure 4b selected; vegetation belts, palaeolakes and palaeorivers georeferenced and redrawn in an animated map. Original figure image is not displayed.

  Dynamics of Green Sahara Periods and Their Role in Hominin Evolution. PLoS ONE 8:e76514 (2013), Figure 4b.

• Natural Earth 1:50m lakes

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps, including inherited map scenes.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m land and coastlines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector geometry projected and styled in original animated maps, including inherited map scenes.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m country boundary lines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Vector boundaries projected and styled in the animated Sahara map.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• GEBCO 2021 Grid — Eurasia terrain subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

  Subset obtained through Ifremer ERDDAP and sampled every sixteenth grid cell; rendered as soft terrain shading and sea-depth tone in the inherited Eurasia map animation.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f).

• Natural Earth 1:50m rivers and lake centerlines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Major rivers selected, projected and drawn faintly in the inherited world map animation.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Earth normal map texture

  Solar System Scope

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Used for soft land hill shading in the inherited world map animation.

  Textures by Solar System Scope (solarsystemscope.com), CC BY 4.0.

Licensed stock footage used in this film, with each item’s creator and source page.

• Sandstone Rocks And Cliffs At Sunrise In Tassili n'Ajjer National Park, Illizi, Algeria. drone shot

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Foggy Landscape Of Tassili n'Ajjer National Park At Sunrise In Djanet, Algeria. - aerial

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Large Pod of Hippos Wallowing in Watering Hole

  ivanves88

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sahara Desert And Sandstone Cliffs At Dawn In Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Illizi, Algeria. drone

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Crocodile Jumps From Bank Into Murky River

  SRGraphics101

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Picturesque Desert River Scene with Palm Trees

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sand Blowing in Sand Dunes in Wind, Sahara Desert

  Kokhanchikov

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Captivating Catfish Grazing Vegetation Underwater

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Large Dark Catfish Gliding Through Clear Green Water Underwater

  borisproduction12

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• School of Fish Swimming in Shallow Clear Water

  EcoSound

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Aerial shot over salt pan located in the Sahara desert, Morocco,

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Giraffe Walking Across the African Savanna

  Stockagent_io

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Dry Cracked Mud Pan in Desert

  forrestbro

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Fly over Turkana Lake Coast. Kenya

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• A tranquil shoreline on Lake Turkana, Kenya

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Expansive Desert Plain with Towering Dunes Beneath Sweeping Clouds

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Giraffe in Kgalagadi transfrontier park, South Africa

  PACO-COMO

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Elephants Gathering at Watering Hole in African Desert

  ronib1979

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sorghum Stalks, Close Up, Grain

  spamas

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Close-Up of Ripening Sorghum Grains Swaying in a Field

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Grass and Seed Heads Blowing in the Wind

  LV4260

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Close Up of a Green Millet Stalk

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Hartebeest in Kgalagadi transfrontier park, South Africa

  PACO-COMO

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• Decorating a Brown Clay Pot With Wooden Tool

  ukrainestock

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Hands Making Natural Brown Rope

  ayeshafernando

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sahara landscape view with rock formations in Djanet Algeria

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Big dunes and rock formations in Sahara desert located in Mauritania, Africa

  Reinis-Kaspars

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sunrise Over Tassili n'Ajjer National Park In The Sahara Desert. UNESCO Heritage Site In Illizi, Alg

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• desert stars starlapse cosmos sahara astronomy

  dubassy

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Cattle Herd Moving Across Desert Landscape

  Keyfame

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Desert Sand Dunes Under Dramatic Stormy Sky

  antonpetrus

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Cattle Herd Walking Through a Rural Pasture

  vagoart

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Cattle Grazing at Sunset in Rural Field

  EcoSound

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Aerial View of a Large Herd of Cattle Walking Across Dusty Ground

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Dramatic Desert Dust Storm Sweeping Arid Landscape

  CineGeek

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Dust Cloud Rises in Desert Landscape

  CineGeek

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Goats Grazing in a Rural Desert Landscape

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Desert Landscape with Pools of Water Under Cloudy Sky

  Pro-Stock

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Goats Grazing Freely in Desert Landscape

  02lab

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Rural Landscape with Acacia Trees Under Cloudy Sky

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Expansive Savanna Landscape with Acacia Trees

  dolgachov

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Panoramic landscape view of stormy clouds over the savannah, Kenya, Africa

  MatthewWilliams-Ellis

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Aerial Panning Shot Of The Marshlands In Mozambique

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Aerial View of the Waterways and Lagoons Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Revealing shot of rock formations in Sahara desert in South Algeria

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Sheep Grazing on a Rocky Mountainside in Morocco

  studiostocks

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Spectacular red and orange sunset over Sahara desert horizon at Tassili Najjer Algeria

  Pro-Stock

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Hands Making Clay Pot

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• One lonely donkey standing in the center of the frame on a dune in the Agafay desert in Morocco

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• White Pelicans Taking Flight from a Lake

  Soyesceptico

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Scenic desert landscape in Sahara of Mauritania during sunrise

  Reinis-Kaspars

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• AERIAL: Sand Dunes Sahara Desert

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Desert Sand Dune Meets Calm Lake Water

  alkir_vh

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• African Savanna Landscape Aerial with Acacia Trees Dotting the Red Kalahari Sand During a Cloudy

  21aerials

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Rare African Wild Ass Grazing in Enclosure

  operator1975

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Misty Mountains Aerial Landscape in Winter

  video80x

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Vegetation and birds on the banks of the Nile River. Panoramic of vegetation floating on the waters

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

1. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601503 ↗
2. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1417655112 ↗
3. Quade 2018 ↗
4. Drake 2022 ↗
5. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120120 ↗
6. Larrasoaña 2013 ↗
7. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10336-7 ↗
8. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-3791(99 ↗
9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1154913 ↗
10. PNAS e2419122122 ↗
11. Nature Communications 17:8181 ↗
12. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002995 ↗
13. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.70262 ↗
14. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228588 ↗
15. DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2016.194 ↗
16. DOI: 10.1038/s41477-017-0098-1 ↗
17. DOI 10.1007/BF01956304 ↗
18. DOI: 10.1017/S0003598X00099245 ↗
19. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63887-0 ↗
20. DOI: 10.1007/s10963-017-9112-9 ↗
21. DOI: 10.1038/nature11186 ↗
22. Timing and pace of dairying inception and animal husbandry practices across Holocene North Africa ↗
23. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056879 ↗
24. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08793-7 ↗
25. Simões et al. 2023 ↗
26. Lipson et al. 2025 ↗
27. Nabta/Bir Kiseiba interpretation ↗
28. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106202 ↗
29. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08112-6 ↗
30. DOI: 10.1126/science.abo3503 ↗
31. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0709692105 ↗
32. Megaliths and Neolithic astronomy in southern Egypt ↗
33. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105259 ↗
34. Gilabert 2025 ↗
35. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-20110-w ↗
36. 2012 sorghum synthesis ↗
37. 2021 pearl-millet publication ↗
38. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721975115 ↗
39. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw6275 ↗
40. DOI: 10.1017/S0003598X00099294 ↗
41. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5 ↗
42. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310739 ↗
43. DOI: 10.1007/s10437-021-09428-8 ↗
44. Mega-Chad shoreline image ↗
45. NASA/JPL PIA01711 ↗
46. Met bowl 32.2.43, object 551018 ↗
47. Met belt 32.2.26, object 547333 ↗
48. Pexels 29233321 ↗
49. Chandan and Peltier 2020 ↗
50. 2023 dust modelling synthesis and experiment ↗
51. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024898118 ↗
52. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62769-9 ↗
53. author deposit ↗
54. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41219-4 ↗
55. radar paper ↗
56. Zenodo 13912623 ↗
57. EGUsphere 2026-2587 ↗
58. Earth-Science Reviews 105614 ↗
59. AJBA e24948 ↗
60. early fibre-technology catalogue ↗
61. basketry study ↗
62. publisher record ↗
63. Early Khartoum review ↗
64. the German National Library copy ↗
65. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108070 ↗
66. Changing Responsibilities and Collective Action ↗
67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-017-9112-9)** ↗
68. Iron age genomic data from Althiburos–Tunisia renew the debate ↗
69. genome-wide admixture/demographic analysis ↗
70. Distinct adaptation and ancestral retention signals ↗
71. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3503)** ↗
72. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709692105)** ↗
73. DOI: 10.3390/arts2040350 ↗
74. publisher PDF ↗
75. chronology account ↗
76. Daily_scene_with_cattle.jpg ↗
77. Dance_scene_with_cattle.jpg ↗
78. Grand_dieu_du_Sefar_01.jpg ↗
79. Libya_4924_Pictograms_Tadrart_Acacus_Luca_Galuzzi_2007.jpg ↗
80. Tadrart_Acacus_1.jpg ↗
81. WadiSuraSwimmers.jpg ↗
82. FogginiBeasts.jpg ↗
83. Giraffen_von_Dabous.jpg ↗
84. DabousGiraffe.jpg ↗
85. Felsbildzeichnung_im_Ennedi,_Terkei.jpg ↗
86. Förster et al. 2012 contextual study ↗
87. University of Cologne volume record ↗
88. Zboray's regional context chapter ↗
89. Author chapter record ↗
90. Tin-Tazarift entries ↗
91. RockArtVR terms ↗
92. Antiquity 71:932–941 ↗
93. DOI: 10.1086/693898 ↗
94. Peer Community Journal 5:e96, DOI 10.24072/pcjournal.613 ↗
95. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.007 ↗
96. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0643-y ↗
97. Winchell et al. 2018 ↗
98. DOI: 10.1023/A:1019954903395 ↗
99. fuller 2007 ↗
100. institution crop page ↗
101. eastern Sudan dental calculus ↗
102. Pleurdeau et al. 2012 ↗
103. Sadr 2015 ↗
104. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108517 ↗
105. UCL's Badarian account ↗
106. DOI: 10.1007/s10814-016-9094-7 ↗
107. chronology chapter ↗
108. regional synthesis ↗
109. Atbai Enclosure Burials ↗
110. Maadi/contact study ↗
111. 2026 La Beleña study ↗
112. Artioli et al. 2017 ↗
113. DOI: 10.3389/feart.2017.00004 ↗
114. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06321-y ↗
115. malville 2007 ↗
116. NASA 2026 geological account ↗
117. Takakori_Rock_Shelter.jpg ↗
118. Gobero.jpg ↗
119. Lake_Yoa_2018_01.jpg ↗
120. Ounianga_Serir.jpg ↗
121. Ounianga_Lakes_from_ISS.jpg ↗
122. Guelta_Maya,_Ennedi,_Tschad.jpg ↗
123. The_Ennedi_Massif_in_Northern_Chad_(iss072e404551).jpg ↗
124. Lothagam_North_Pillar_Site.jpg ↗
125. Calendar_aswan.JPG ↗
126. Megaliths_Aswan_Nubia_museum.JPG ↗
127. Pearl_millet_in_summer.jpg ↗
128. Sunrise_rays_over_pearl_millet_(Mahangu).jpg ↗
129. Matmar grave 3005 record ↗
130. Blue_Nile_Sudan.webm ↗
131. ISS evening Sahara pass ↗
132. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ennedi_Massif_in_Northern_Chad_(iss072e404551).jpg ↗
133. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sunrise_rays_over_pearl_millet_(Mahangu).jpg ↗
134. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/551018): ↗
135. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547333): ↗
136. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/remnants-of-an-ancient-lake-146304/): ↗
137. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Nile_Sudan.webm): ↗
138. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evening_Pass_over_the_Sahara_Desert_and_the_Middle_East.ogv): ↗
139. barron 2020 main ↗
140. brunton caton thompson 1928 ↗
141. dabous erratum 1999 ↗
142. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1012231108 ↗
143. DOI: 10.1126/science.1130989 ↗
144. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2329 ↗
145. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47921-1 ↗

Music

• Original score
  AgentHouse · Project-made score (From Cosmos to Civilization score catalog v4 with bespoke opening and closing)
  Impulse responses: Detmold University of Music SRIR database, CC BY 4.0.