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www.niger-meteorite-recon.de
Niger 2002 - illustrated report
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Pickups of the "Conterbande" loaded with cigarettes and fuel drums. Because the Tuareg tribe is largely excluded from education and career perspectives the smuggling business is very attractive esspecially for the young generation.
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Immediately they recognize Aoutchiki "The Locust". Everyone wants to shake his hand, a large powwow begins. Abu Yussuf, the leader of the troop shows us his brand new Toyota pickups. Camouflaged with foliage and heavily laden with coated cardboard boxes and fuel drums the jeeps are hidden under the branches. "Gasoline powered", he proudly declares. Every driver is allowed to store his own box of contraband in his truck bed. "In Algeria they can sell it for a handsome profit" Abu Yussuf explains. In addition to his pay the driver banks this revenue and is therefore not only a worker but also participating in the financial benefits of the business.
Despite these promising opportunities most of the young men give another answer when asked about their motivation. It's the danger and the adventure of the business that tempts them. "Always in the risk" is their motto. And as a matter of fact they suffer losses from time to time. During the day the parties are forced to seek cover in the ravines and oasis from the Algerian gunships that keep chasing them far into Niger territory. If a convoy is spotted and attacked the tactic then is to separate and take refuge in different directions. Normally the helicopters concentrate on a single target. If this target is destroyed they fly back to their bases at Tam or Djanet. Then the surviving smugglers return to the scene to collect the bodies and rescue what's left of the contraband and supplies.
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The Fennek, worlds smallest canidae predator
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Operating under the cover of darkness provides no more safety. The distances from one hideout to another are long and the remaining time is used to full extent. High on amphetamines and cocaine, Abu Yussuf's men traverse the flat desert at speeds in excess of 110 mph. If the driver misses one of the flat sand rims or steers over the fox hole of a Fennek a serious accident is the consequence. The sand dune fields are tricky as well. At night, rollovers are common but since the tempo is normally adjusted these are "no big deal" for drivers and cars, Abu Yussuf tells us.
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Abu Yussuf and author (left)
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As he notices our camera he invites me to join him on his tour. He would like us to shoot a film he could sell as a spectacular advertising movie to Toyota. "These corporate types don't have a clue how their cars really perform". "La Contrebande" with more than thousand active vehicles is the largest client of Toyota in all of Africa, he says. He refuses to believe that we're on our way to the Ténéré to search for meteorites. To convince me of his plan, he promises to request a gris gris for me from the doctor in his tribe. With such power, I would be bullet-proof and all projectiles fired at me would surely miss their target. I suspect that I should no longer worry about the Algerian gunships.
However we begin to worry for a completely different reason. A strong wind comes up as we continue to our search area. Soon visibility is reduced to a small area surrounding our jeep. Yet the feared Ghibbli, the sandstorm that can last several days at this time of the year holds off. Towards dawn the wind lets up and we can setup camp for the night and plan our search the next day.
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Stone meteorite in situ at Timmersoi
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At noon the following day Aoutchikis jeep radios the first find. It's the campsite of a prehistoric hunting party. Probably during the last sandstorm the wandering dunes revealed this particular area. Heaps of stone tools, flakes and petrified bones cover the place, unchanged and untouched as they have been left by their previous owners about 12,000 years ago. Two black arrowheads can be easily dated because of their distinct retouche pattern. They typically represent the microlithics of the Second Intermediare, the transition of Epipaleolithic and Neolithic age.
Back then, a relatively humid climate prevailed over the Sahara. There were lakes and small creeks and a savannah vegetation covered most of the area east and west of the Air. These conditions offered an excellent habitat for extensive big game populations and those in turn provided sustenance for the hunters near the end of the Epipaleolithic age. Our archaeologist, "Wellington" Hecker marks the GPS coordinates and collects a few samples to date the place more exactly in the lab. We are eager to determine a minimum age of the soil to complete our surface data for the area.
Throughout the afternoon we repeatedly come across ancient gravel plains undetectable on the satellite images. These areas consist of pitch black rocky gravel spread abundantly as far as the eye can see. They date in a time when frequent rainfalls in the Air Mountains formed wide alluvial fans and transported river deposits deep into the Tamesna plain. Since these rocks predominantly show the dark lithologies of mafic and volcanic rocks they are initially indistinguishable from the equally black meteorites we search for. The discovery means a serious setback for us since prospecting from the comfort of the jeep is almost impossible under these circumstances.
www.niger-meteorite-recon.de
Niger 2002 - illustrated report
go to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Team | Area Map
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