About 400 miles south of Cairo and 170 miles west of the Nile valley, the Dakhleh Oasis rises like a mirage out of the sands of the great Sahara desert. In this fascinating study—which is equal parts travelogue, archeological treatise, detective story, environmental white paper and historiography—journalist Thurston reveals the long history of this phenomenal oasis, which has supported life for over 400,000 years. Drawing on 30 years of archeological findings, Thurston reconstructs the various cultures that have passed through the oasis since prehistoric times. The earliest inhabitants, based on ax-tool remains, were likely Homo erectus. In the Middle Stone Age, Homo sapiens began to take over, disrupting the Dakhleh's flourishing floral and faunal life. According to archeologist C.S. Churcher, the oasis had provided refuge for African fauna for tens of thousands of years, but cattle-breeding humans gradually moving into the area destroyed them. Some archeologists believe nomadic people brought the designs for the pyramids and the Sphinx from this area when they were driven out by drought. The Roman occupation further disrupted the Edenic oasis as aqueducts were built to divert water to crops and settlements in the nearby desert. Thurston takes this gradual destruction of the Dakhleh Oasis as a case study for what its future holds if the people now living there do not start to practice good water conservation techniques. Thurston's tale would have been even more valuable if he had spent less time on environmental lessons and focused more on the human history of this incredible area that is just being uncovered. (Oct.)
