Caves Unveil Green Sahara From 8,000 Years Ago

Scientists analyzing stalagmites from caves south of the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco find rainfall persisted from 8,700 to 4,300 years ago, signaling a greener Sahara; uranium-thorium dating and oxygen isotope analysis tie the wetter period to tropical moisture plumes, and archaeological records show Neolithic communities expanding there as grazing lands widened.