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The beginning of time? Evidence for catastrophic drought in Baringo in the early nineteenth century
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Anderson, David (2016) The beginning of time? Evidence for catastrophic drought in Baringo in the early nineteenth century. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 10 (1). pp. 45-66. doi:10.1080/17531055.2015.1134532
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2015.1134532
Abstract
New developments in the collection of palaeo-data over the past two decades have transformed our understanding of climate and environmental history in eastern Africa. This article utilises instrumental and proxy evidence of historical lake-level fluctuations from Baringo and Bogoria, along with other Rift Valley lakes, to document the timing and magnitude of hydroclimate variability at decadal to century time scales since 1750. These data allow us to construct a record of past climate variation not only for the Baringo basin proper, but also across a sizable portion of central and northern Kenya. This record is then set alongside historical evidence, from oral histories gathered amongst the peoples of northern Kenya and the Rift Valley and from contemporary observations recorded by travellers through the region, to offer a reinterpretation of human activity and its relationship to environmental history in the nineteenth century. The results reveal strong evidence of a catastrophic drought in the early nineteenth century, the effects of which radically alters our historical understanding of the character of settlement, mobility and identity within the Baringo–Bogoria basin.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor | ||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Droughts -- Kenya -- Baringo District, Water levels -- Baringo, Lake (Kenya), Water levels -- Environmental aspects -- Baringo, Lake (Kenya), Baringo District (Kenya) -- Environmental conditions -- History -- 19th century, Climatic changes -- History -- 19th century, Droughts -- History | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Eastern African Studies | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Routledge | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1753-1055 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | 2016 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 10 | ||||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 45-66 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1080/17531055.2015.1134532 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Eastern African Studies on 08 Mar 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17531055.2015.1134532 | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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