Editing History of Niger (section)

===Probable ancient regional ecology===
North Africa enjoyed a fertile climate during the subpluvial era; what is now the Sahara supported a [[savanna]] type of ecosystem, with [[elephant]], [[giraffe]], and other grassland and woodland animals now typical of the [[Sahel]] region south of the desert. Historian and Africanist [[Roland Oliver]] has described the scene as follows:

<blockquote>[In] the highlands of the central Sahara beyond the [[Libyan desert]],... in the great [[massif]]s of the [[Tibesti]] and the [[Ahaggar Mountains|Hoggar]], the mountaintops, today bare rock, were covered at this period with forests of [[oak]] and [[walnut]], [[Lime (fruit)|lime]], [[alder]] and [[elm]]. The lower slopes, together with those of the supporting bastions – the [[Tassili]] and the [[Tadrart Acacus|Acacus]] to the north, [[Ennedi]] and [[Aïr Mountains|Air]] to the south – carried [[olive]], [[juniper]] and [[Aleppo pine]]. In the valleys, perennially flowing rivers teemed with fish and were bordered by seed-bearing grasslands.<ref>[[Roland Oliver|Oliver, Roland]] (1999), ''The African Experience: From Olduvai Gorge to the 21st Century'' (Series: History of Civilization), London: [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson|Phoenix Press]], revised edition, pg 39.</ref></blockquote>