The North African Middle Stone Age settlement dynamics at the Aïn Beni Mathar – Guefaït basin (Eastern Morocco) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Archaeological sites in northern Africa provide a rich record of increasing importance for the origins of modern human behaviour and for understanding human dispersal out of Africa. However, the timing and nature of Palaeolithic human behaviour and dispersal across northwestern Africa (the Maghreb), and their relationship to local environmental conditions, remain poorly understood. The cave of Rhafas (northeast Morocco) provides valuable chronological information about cultural changes in the Maghreb during the Palaeolithic due to its long stratified archaeological sequence comprising Middle Stone Age (MSA), Later Stone Age (LSA) and Neolithic occupation layers. In this study, we apply optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating on sand-sized quartz grains to the cave deposits of Rha-fas, as well as to a recently excavated section on the terrace in front of the cave entrance. We hereby provide a revised chronostratigraphy for the archaeological sequence at the site. We combine these results with geological and sedimentological multi-proxy investigations to gain insights into site formation processes and the palaeoenvironmental record of the region. The older sedimentological units at Rhafas were deposited between 135 ka and 57 ka (MIS 6 –MIS 3) and are associated with the MSA technocomplex. Tanged pieces start to occur in the archaeological layers around 109 ka, which is consistent with previously published chronological data from the Maghreb. A well indurated duricrust indicates favourable climatic conditions for the pedogenic cementation by carbonates of sediment layers at the site after 57 ka. Overlying deposits attributed to the LSA technocomplex yield ages of ~21 ka and ~15 ka, corresponding to the last glacial period, and fall well within the previously established occupation phase in the Maghreb. The last occupation phase at Rhafas took place during the Neolithic and is dated to ~7.8 ka.
The Holocene archaeological sequence and sedimentological processes at Ifri Oudadane, NE Morocco
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2012
The coastal site of Ifri Oudadane is one of the most important sites in the Mediterranean Maghreb. Recent excavations have provided a stratigraphy featuring the transition from Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic food producers. This transitional process could be defined by various features. The sedimentological field description revealed a change from homogenous sediment to more structured deposits, and similar to the so-called "fumiers" that are characteristic of animal husbandry in caves and shelters around the Mediterranean. Sedimentary units identified in the deposits were confirmed by geochemical and micromorphological studies. Within the Early Neolithic deposits coprolites and calcite spherulites testify to the penning of ovicaprides inside the shelter. Radiocarbon analyses date the change from Epipalaeolithic to Neolithic to approximately 7.6 ka calBP. Preliminary results from archaeozoological and archaeobotanical studies prove the existence of domesticated species in Neolithic deposits. Finally, together with pottery and notched blades, new artefact categories appear, reflecting changing settlement behaviour associated with Neolithic lifeways. Given the richness of the archaeological material from Ifri Oudadane, which is still under study, the sequence is a key site for the Mediterranean zone of NW-Africa. It has a considerable role to play in the development of future Neolithisation models for the western Mediterranean.
Middle Paleolithic occupation of the Moroccan Sahara: Open air sites of the Tafilalt
Quaternary International, 2013
The Tafilalt region and the Drâa Valley (Moroccan Sahara) have been prospected since 2006 by an Italian eMoroccan team with the aims of identifying and describing important prehistoric sites dating from the Acheulean to the Iberomaurusian. Although the lithic industries were found in surface contexts, the total absence of data for the region means that the data obtained are an important contribution to a better definition of the prehistoric occupation in the Tafilalt region. The purpose of this paper is to highlight, where possible, the similarities/differences between the different Middle Paleolithic complexes as well as to identify productive strategies adopted, also in terms of raw materials exploitation.
Hespéris, Tamuda, 2019
espanolEn la region de Casablanca, la evolucion de los depositos litorales de la secuencia cuaternaria es exceptional, empezo alrededor de 6 millones de anos (Mioceno superior) y se extiende a lo largo de los periodos plio-cuaternarios con un registro detallado de las variaciones de niveles de los oceanos testigos de la evolucion del clima global. Estas unidades morfo-sedimentarias han conservado un patrimonio paleontologico y arqueologico extraordinario. En 1961, despues de 50 anos de investigacions, Pierre Biberson establecio un cuadro estratigrafico del Cuaternario del Marruecos atlantico y definio un esquema cultural que representaba desde entonces la referencia para la prehistoria antigua del norte de Africa. Sin embargo, desde 1978, un programa de investigacion arqueologica marroqui-francesa ha llevado a cabo un trabajo de campo en la region de Casablanca que ha permitido la revision estratigrafica y cultural de los sitios clasicos y el descubrimiento de nuevos sitios. En el p...
CATENA
Our study focuses on the ephemeral stream deposits of Wadi Selloum to identify phases of morphodynamic stability (pedogenesis) and activity (flooding) in the direct vicinity of the rock shelter of Ifri n'Ammar (NE Morocco). As one of the oldest settlement sites of anatomically modern humans (AMH) in North Africa, Ifri n'Ammar documents periodical occupations since~170 ka. Since the discontinuous settlement record may reflect climate forcing with subsequent landscape changes, we aim at reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental variability recorded in the ephemeral stream deposits. In addition to the use of micromorphological, sedimentological, geochemical and mineralogical methods, the geochronological framework of ephemeral stream deposits was established by the application of different luminescence dating techniques. The deposition ages between 102 ± 8 ka and 1.3 ± 0.2 ka span different morphodynamically stable and active phases. Periods of enhanced aggradation occurred around~100 ka,~75 ka,~55 ka, after the LGM, and during the Holocene, whilst sedimentation ended after~1.3 ka. The Wadi Selloum might be characterised by enhanced flooding during humid phases. Pedogenesis may be used as environmental indicator for more humid climate conditions during MIS 3 (palaeo-Calcisol), the early Holocene (Calcisol) and the late Holocene (Fluvisol). This study thus provides first insights into the palaeoenvironmental changes around the rock shelter of Ifri n'Ammar during the last glacial-interglacial cycle.
We provide a detailed chronological framework for the Early Neolithic of the Eastern Rif of Morocco. Neolithic innovations such as pottery and domestic plants begin ca. 7.6 ka calBP, at which time plant cultivation is clearly documented for cereals (Triticum monococcum/dicoccum, Triticum aestivum/durum, Hordeum vulgare) and pulses (Lens culinaris, Pisum sativum, Vicia faba). This represents the earliest evidence for Africa as a whole. The Early Neolithic ends ca. 6.3 ka calBP and is marked by the definitive disappearance of Cardium-decorated pottery. The disintegration of the Early Neolithic dates to the interval 6.6e6.0 ka calBP, during which time a gradual desiccation of the Sahara has been observed. In the Eastern Rif of Morocco, Saharan influences become visible after 6.0 ka calBP. These are characterised by the presence of ivory objects and the appearance of comb-impressed pottery with so-called herringbone motives.
Middle Stone Age human occupation and dispersals in the Messak plateau (SW Libya, central Sahara)
Cancellieri, E. and di Lernia, S., Middle Stone Age human occupation and dispersals in the Messak plateau (SW Libya, central Sahara). Quaternary International, Volume 300, Pages 142–152 Research conducted since the 1990s in SW Libya has provided wide-ranging data on the Pleistocene archaeology of this vast region, which principally relies on surface scatters of lithic artefacts, a series of soundings and two MSA/Aterian dated sites. The Middle Stone Age of the region is thought to date from roughly MIS 6/5 to approximately 60 ka (the latest dated Aterian occurrence). Its distribution varies from sand seas to mountain ranges, with different states of preservation and archaeological visibility. This paper presents data from the last surveys (2010–2011) carried out on 46 transects across the Messak massif. One component of the research strategy was specifically designed to handle the impressive Pleistocene record through sampling a series of spots placed at fixed distances along predetermined survey strips. Field documentation of the techno-typological traits allowed the creation of a territorial data-set used to infer patterns of raw material exploitation, technological variability and the significance of the principal chrono-cultural markers. Quartzarenite, the most available and used raw material, is a diffusely distributed resource. This should have played a role in patterns of land use and mobility and, ultimately, in the composition of archaeological assemblages, mostly characterised by complete reduction sequences. Variability in the application of the Levallois method highlights widespread adoption of recurrent and lineal schemes. Among the latter, point production is extremely rare. The retouched blanks inventory is dominated by scrapers and notches, whereas more specialised tool classes (i.e., tanged pieces, points, foliates) are less common. The dimensions of a small sample of Aterian artefacts provisionally signal a higher degree of homogeneity among pointed tanged specimens than other types. Despite the overwhelming presence of roughly labelled MSA contexts, these show little evidence of a MSA stricto sensu chrono-cultural signature, among which scanty but precise elements are comparable with the sub-Saharan and Nile valley early Middle Stone Age, reinforcing the picture of multiple dispersals across the Sahara and North Africa around MIS 6/5. The evolution of MSA occupation and its cultural trajectories is difficult to assess, while the last phases, represented here by the Aterian, can be framed in hyperarid MIS 4 – after the dates from Acacus – and likely represent the adaptation of residual groups almost confined to mountain environments.
The Early and Middle Holocene Lithic Industries of Ifri n’Etsedda (Eastern Rif, Morocco)
African Archaeological Review
Archaeological research has been carried out in the Eastern Rif (Morocco) since 1995 by a collaborative Moroccan-German research team. A major topic of the project is the transition from hunting-gathering to food production and related cultural developments. Innovations such as pottery and domesticated species appeared around 7.6 ka calBP. The cultivation of cereals and pulses is evident at that time. Two of the most important sites in the area are Ifri Oudadane and Ifri n’Etsedda. Both provide Epipaleolithic as well as Neolithic deposits. While innovative technologies such as pottery production and cultivation indicate external influences, lithic artifacts demonstrate local technological and behavioral traditions. Therefore, the study of lithic industries is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural continuity and discontinuity between the hunting-gathering and agricultural populations in the Eastern Rif. Ifri n’Etsedda provides two distinct Epipaleolithic deposits and thus o...