Simulations with a synchronously coupled atmosphere-land-ocean-sea ice model indicate El Ni¿o/La Ni¿a-like events in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean during the middle Holocene (6 ka) with similar intensities and frequencies as at present (0 ka). July-August-September Sahel precipitation shifts northward as expected from proxy data. For present-day, interannual-decadal variability of western Sahel precipitation is correlated with both Pacific El Ni¿o/La Ni¿a sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and the Atlantic dipole. Teleconnections at 6 ka between Sahel precipitation and El Ni¿o/La Ni¿a SST anomalies are absent with tropical Atlantic SSTs asserting a dominant influence. These results illustrate potential problems with using present-day teleconnection patterns in interpreting past climate variability from proxy data. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union