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Ait Brahim Y, Sha L, Wassenburg JA, Azennoud K, Cheng H, Cruz FW, Bouchaou L. The spatiotemporal extent of the Green Sahara during the last glacial period. iScience 2023; 26:107018. [PMID: 37416475 PMCID: PMC10320408 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The Sahara Desert, one of today's most inhospitable environments, has known periods of enhanced precipitation that supported pre-historic humans. However, the Green Sahara timing and moisture sources are not well known due to limited paleoclimate information. Here, we present a multi-proxy (δ18O, δ13C, Δ17O, and trace elements) speleothem-based climate record from Northwest (NW) Africa. Our data document two Green Sahara periods during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a and the Early to Mid-Holocene. Consistency with paleoclimate records across North Africa highlights the east-west geographical extent of the Green Sahara, whereas millennial-scale North Atlantic cooling (Heinrich) events consistently resulted in drier conditions. We demonstrate that an increase in westerly-originating winter precipitation during MIS5a resulted in favorable environmental conditions. The comparison of paleoclimate data with local archaeological sequences highlights the abrupt climate deterioration and the decline in human density in NW Africa during the MIS5-4 transition, which suggests climate-forced dispersals of populations, with possible implications for pathways into Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yassine Ait Brahim
- International Water Research Institute, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir, Morocco
| | - Lijuan Sha
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong Uniersity, Xi’an, China
| | - Jasper A. Wassenburg
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea
| | - Khalil Azennoud
- International Water Research Institute, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir, Morocco
| | - Hai Cheng
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong Uniersity, Xi’an, China
| | - Francisco W. Cruz
- Instituto de Geociências, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lhoussaine Bouchaou
- International Water Research Institute, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir, Morocco
- Laboratory of Applied Geology and Geo-Environmental, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
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2
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The relevance of late MSA mandibles on the emergence of modern morphology in Northern Africa. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8841. [PMID: 35614148 PMCID: PMC9133045 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12607-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
North Africa is a key area for understanding hominin population movements and the expansion of our species. It is home to the earliest currently known Homo sapiens (Jebel Irhoud) and several late Middle Stone Age (MSA) fossils, notably Kébibat, Contrebandiers 1, Dar-es-Soltane II H5 and El Harhoura. Mostly referred to as “Aterian” they fill a gap in the North African fossil record between Jebel Irhoud and Iberomaurusians. We explore morphological continuity in this region by quantifying mandibular shape using 3D (semi)landmark geometric morphometric methods in a comparative framework of late Early and Middle Pleistocene hominins (n = 15), Neanderthals (n = 27) and H. sapiens (n = 145). We discovered a set of mixed features among late MSA fossils that is in line with an accretion of modern traits through time and an ongoing masticatory gracilization process. In Northern Africa, Aterians display similarities to Iberomaurusians and recent humans in the area as well as to the Tighenif and Thomas Quarry hominins, suggesting a greater time depth for regional continuity than previously assumed. The evidence we lay out for a long-term succession of hominins and humans emphasizes North Africa’s role as source area of the earliest H. sapiens.
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Cancellieri E, Bel Hadj Brahim H, Ben Nasr J, Ben Fraj T, Boussoffara R, Di Matteo M, Mercier N, Marnaoui M, Monaco A, Richard M, Mariani GS, Scancarello O, Zerboni A, di Lernia S. A late Middle Pleistocene Middle Stone Age sequence identified at Wadi Lazalim in southern Tunisia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3996. [PMID: 35304482 PMCID: PMC8933421 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07816-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The late Middle Pleistocene, starting at around 300 ka, witnessed large-scale biological and cultural dynamics in hominin evolution across Africa including the onset of the Middle Stone Age that is closely associated with the evolution of our species—Homo sapiens. However, archaeological and geochronological data of its earliest appearance are scarce. Here we report on the late Middle Pleistocene sequence of Wadi Lazalim, in the Sahara of Southern Tunisia, which has yielded evidence for human occupations bracketed between ca. 300–130 ka. Wadi Lazalim contributes valuable information on the spread of early MSA technocomplexes across North Africa, that likely were an expression of large-scale diffusion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuele Cancellieri
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | | | - Jaafar Ben Nasr
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia
| | - Tarek Ben Fraj
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.,Laboratoire de Cartographie Géomorphologique des Milieux, des Environnements et des Dynamiques (CGMED), Université de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | | | - Martina Di Matteo
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Archéosciences-Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France
| | - Marwa Marnaoui
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia
| | - Andrea Monaco
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Archéosciences-Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France.,Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Guido S Mariani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Olivier Scancarello
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Zerboni
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra "A. Desio", Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Savino di Lernia
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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4
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Ben Arous E, Philippe A, Shao Q, Richter D, Lenoble A, Mercier N, Richard M, Stoetzel E, Tombret O, El Hajraoui MA, Nespoulet R, Falguères C. An improved chronology for the Middle Stone Age at El Mnasra cave, Morocco. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261282. [PMID: 35148324 PMCID: PMC8836329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
North African coastal Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites are key to study the development and expansion of early H. sapiens. El Mnasra cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco (Témara region) is a crucial site associated with MSA archaeological materials considered advanced cognitive hallmarks of behavioural innovation, such as numerous Nassariidae perforated shells, hematite pigments, bones industry and coastal resources exploitation. We provide new trapped-charges dates (OSL and combined US-ESR ages). Our Bayesian modelling strengthens the new lithostratigraphic interpretation of the cave stratigraphic units (US) and we propose an updated chronostratigraphic model for the Middle Stone Age archaeo-sequence of El Mnasra Cave. We confirm a human presence between 124-104 ka, earlier than what the previous OSL and US-ESR data showed. Our time range intervals allowed us to also extend the age of the MSA occupations considerably to the MIS 4/3 (~62-30 ka), marked by the disappearance of the Nassariidae perforated shells. Outstandingly, our model pushed back the age of the largest record of Nassariidae perforated shells and placed the age of their use by the Aterian groups at El Mnasra from the MIS 5d-5b (~115-94 ka).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eslem Ben Arous
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human Evolution, Jena, Germany
- Geochronology and Geology Programme, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Anne Philippe
- Laboratoire de Mathématiques Jean Leray, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, China
| | - Daniel Richter
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arnaud Lenoble
- De la Préhistoire à l’Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, CNRS, Université Bordeaux, MCC, UMR 5199 PACEA, Pessac, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, Pessac, France
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, Pessac, France
- Abteilung für Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Emmanuelle Stoetzel
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, Paris, France
| | | | - Roland Nespoulet
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
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5
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Schmid VC, Douze K, Tribolo C, Martinez ML, Rasse M, Lespez L, Lebrun B, Hérisson D, Ndiaye M, Huysecom E. Middle Stone Age Bifacial Technology and Pressure Flaking at the MIS 3 Site of Toumboura III, Eastern Senegal. THE AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW 2022; 39:1-33. [PMID: 35535307 PMCID: PMC9046311 DOI: 10.1007/s10437-021-09463-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Over the past decade, the increasing wealth of new archaeological data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Senegal and Mali has broadened our understanding of West Africa's contributions to cultural developments. Within the West African sequence, the phase of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, ca. 59-24 ka) yielded so far the best known and extensive archaeological information. The site of Toumboura III encompasses an occupation dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to between 40 ± 3 ka and 30 ± 3 ka. It provides the largest, well-dated, and stratified lithic assemblage in West Africa for the MSA and sheds light on an unprecedented cultural expression for this period, adding to the notable diversity of the late MSA in this region. We conducted a technological analysis of the lithic components following the chaîne opératoire approach. The lithic assemblage features a prevalence of bifacial technology and the exploitation of flakes as blanks for tool production. The craftspeople manufactured distinct types of bifacial tools, including small bifacial points shaped by pressure technique. The new data from Toumboura III demonstrate behavioral patterns that are entirely new in the region. By revealing behavioral innovations and technological particularities, these results on the techno-cultural dynamics during the MIS 3 phase of the MSA enhance our understanding of the complex Pleistocene population history in this part of Africa. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10437-021-09463-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola C. Schmid
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa (APA), Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
| | - Katja Douze
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa (APA), Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- Research Institute on Archaeological Materials-Center of Research on Physics Applied to Archaeology (IRAMAT-CRP2A), CNRS-UMR 5060, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | | | - Michel Rasse
- Laboratory Archéorient, CNRS-UMR 5133, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, University Lumière Lyon 2, 7 Rue Raulin, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Laurent Lespez
- Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP), CNRS-UMR 8591, Department of Geography, University Paris-Est Creteil, 1 place Aristide Briand, 92195 Meudon, France
| | - Brice Lebrun
- Research Institute on Archaeological Materials-Center of Research on Physics Applied to Archaeology (IRAMAT-CRP2A), CNRS-UMR 5060, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - David Hérisson
- Anthropologie des Techniques, des Espaces et des Territoires au Pliocène et au Pléistocène (ArScAn-AnTET), CNRS-UMR 7041, MSH Mondes, Paris Nanterre University, 21 Allée de l’Université, 93023 Nanterre Cedex, France
| | - Matar Ndiaye
- Laboratory of Prehistory and Protohistory, Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire, University of Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, 33 Route de la Corniche Ouest, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Eric Huysecom
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa (APA), Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
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A worked bone assemblage from 120,000-90,000 year old deposits at Contrebandiers Cave, Atlantic Coast, Morocco. iScience 2021; 24:102988. [PMID: 34622180 PMCID: PMC8478944 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of Homo sapiens in Pleistocene Africa is associated with a profound reconfiguration of technology. Symbolic expression and personal ornamentation, new tool forms, and regional technological traditions are widely recognized as the earliest indicators of complex culture and cognition in humans. Here we describe a bone tool tradition from Contrebandiers Cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, dated between 120,000-90,000 years ago. The bone tools were produced for different activities, including likely leather and fur working, and were found in association with carnivore remains that were possibly skinned for fur. A cetacean tooth tip bears what is likely a combination of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic modification and shows the use of a marine mammal tooth by early humans. The evidence from Contrebandiers Cave demonstrates that the pan-African emergence of complex culture included the use of multiple and diverse materials for specialized tool manufacture.
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A New Chronology for Rhafas, Northeast Morocco, Spanning the North African Middle Stone Age through to the Neolithic. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0162280. [PMID: 27654350 PMCID: PMC5031315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
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 north-western 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 Rhafas, 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.
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Backwell L, d’Errico F. Osseous Projectile Weaponry from Early to Late Middle Stone Age Africa. OSSEOUS PROJECTILE WEAPONRY 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-024-0899-7_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Nouet J, Chevallard C, Farre B, Nehrke G, Campmas E, Stoetzel E, El Hajraoui MA, Nespoulet R. Limpet Shells from the Aterian Level 8 of El Harhoura 2 Cave (Témara, Morocco): Preservation State of Crossed-Foliated Layers. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137162. [PMID: 26376294 PMCID: PMC4574309 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The exploitation of mollusks by the first anatomically modern humans is a central question for archaeologists. This paper focuses on level 8 (dated around ∼ 100 ka BP) of El Harhoura 2 Cave, located along the coastline in the Rabat-Témara region (Morocco). The large quantity of Patella sp. shells found in this level highlights questions regarding their origin and preservation. This study presents an estimation of the preservation status of these shells. We focus here on the diagenetic evolution of both the microstructural patterns and organic components of crossed-foliated shell layers, in order to assess the viability of further investigations based on shell layer minor elements, isotopic or biochemical compositions. The results show that the shells seem to be well conserved, with microstructural patterns preserved down to sub-micrometric scales, and that some organic components are still present in situ. But faint taphonomic degradations affecting both mineral and organic components are nonetheless evidenced, such as the disappearance of organic envelopes surrounding crossed-foliated lamellae, combined with a partial recrystallization of the lamellae. Our results provide a solid case-study of the early stages of the diagenetic evolution of crossed-foliated shell layers. Moreover, they highlight the fact that extreme caution must be taken before using fossil shells for palaeoenvironmental or geochronological reconstructions. Without thorough investigation, the alteration patterns illustrated here would easily have gone unnoticed. However, these degradations are liable to bias any proxy based on the elemental, isotopic or biochemical composition of the shells. This study also provides significant data concerning human subsistence behavior: the presence of notches and the good preservation state of limpet shells (no dissolution/recrystallization, no bioerosion and no abrasion/fragmentation aspects) would attest that limpets were gathered alive with tools by Middle Palaeolithic (Aterian) populations in North Africa for consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Nouet
- Université Paris Sud, CNRS UMR GEOPS 8148, bâtiment 504, campus universitaire, 91405 Orsay cedex, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Corinne Chevallard
- CEA, CNRS IRAMIS, UMR SIS2M 3299, LIONS, CEA-Saclay, F- 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Bastien Farre
- ISTO, CNRS UMR 7327, 1A rue de la Férolerie 45071 Orléans cedex 2, France
| | - Gernot Nehrke
- Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Emilie Campmas
- Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, CNRS UMR TRACES 5608, Maison de la Recherche, 5 allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse, France
| | - Emmanuelle Stoetzel
- Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département de Préhistoire, CNRS UMR 7194, Musée de l’Homme, bureau 345, Paris, France
| | - Mohamed Abdeljalil El Hajraoui
- Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, angle rues 5 et 7 Rabat Instituts, Madinat Al Irfane, Rabat Hay Riyad, Morocco
| | - Roland Nespoulet
- Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département de Préhistoire, CNRS UMR 7194, Musée de l’Homme, bureau 345, Paris, France
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Were Upper Pleistocene human/non-human predator occupations at the Témara caves (El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra, Morocco) influenced by climate change? J Hum Evol 2014; 78:122-43. [PMID: 25281232 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2014] [Revised: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The influence of climate change on human settlements in coastal areas is a central question for archaeologists. This paper addresses this issue by focusing on the Témara region in Morocco. The study area was selected for two main reasons. First, it contains numerous caves with Upper Pleistocene deposits, which have yielded remains of anatomically modern humans in association with Aterian and Iberomaurusian artifacts. Second, these caves are currently located on the shore, thus this region is particularly sensitive to major climate change and sea level fluctuations. Diachronic taphonomic study of faunal remains from two sites in the region, El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra caves, shows alternating human/non-human predator occupations. The lower layers of El Mnasra Cave dating to Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 5 have yielded diverse ungulate remains with significant anthropogenic impact marks, together with numerous mollusk shells, Nassarius shell beads, hearths, lithics, some bone tools and used pigments. Faunal remains from the upper layers dating to OIS 4, 3 and 2 of El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra caves, largely dominated by gazelles, provide evidence of carnivore activities, such as tooth marks, numerous semi-digested bones and coprolites alongside some anthropogenic signatures (cut marks and burnt bones). Non-human predators appear to be the main agents responsible for faunal modifications and accumulations. The 'non-intensive' nature of human occupation is confirmed by analyses of the lithic industry at El Harhoura 2. The 'intensive' human occupations date to OIS 5 and could have taken place during wet periods in connection with high sea levels, which allowed the exploitation of shellfish in this area. 'Non-intensive' human occupations generally correspond to arid periods and lower sea levels, during which the Témara area was further inland and may have been less attractive to humans.
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11
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Aldeias V, Goldberg P, Dibble HL, El-Hajraoui M. Deciphering site formation processes through soil micromorphology at Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco. J Hum Evol 2014; 69:8-30. [PMID: 24650737 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2013] [Revised: 12/11/2013] [Accepted: 12/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Contrebandiers Cave preserves a Late Pleistocene sequence containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) so-called Maghrebian Mousterian and Aterian occupations, spanning from ∼126 to 95 ka (thousands of years ago), followed by spatially restricted Iberomaurusian industries. Micromorphological analyses, complemented by instrumental mineralogical identification and fabric orientation, allowed for the reconstruction of the main site formation processes at the site. Initial deposition is characterized by local reworking of marine shelly sands dating to Marine Isotopic Stage 5e (MIS5e). The subsequent stratification reveals sedimentary dynamics predominantly associated with gravity-driven inputs and contributions from weathering of the encasing bedrock, at the same time that anthropogenic sediments were being accumulated. The allochthonous components reflect soil degradation and vegetation changes around the cave during the last interglacial. Human occupations seems to be somewhat ephemeral in nature, with some stratigraphic units apparently lacking archaeological components, while in others the human-associated deposits (e.g., burned bones, charcoal, and ashes) can be substantial. Ephemeral breaks in sedimentation and/or erosion followed by stabilization are mainly discernible microscopically by the presence of phosphatic-rich laminae interpreted as short-lived surfaces, peaks of increased humidity and colonization by plants. More substantial erosion affects the uppermost Aterian layers, presumably due to localized reconfigurations of the cave's roof. The subsequent Iberomaurusian deposits are not in their primary position and are associated with well-sorted silts of aeolian origin. While the effects of chemical diagenesis are limited throughout the whole stratigraphic sequence, physical bioturbation (e.g., by wasps, rodents, and earthworms) is more pervasive and leads to localized movement of the original sedimentary particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Aldeias
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Hayden Hall 240 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316, USA.
| | - Paul Goldberg
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Archaeology, 675 Commonwealth Ave., Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Harold L Dibble
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398, USA; Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Box 874101, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85282, USA
| | - Mohamed El-Hajraoui
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine, 10001 Rabat, Morocco
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Douka K, Jacobs Z, Lane C, Grün R, Farr L, Hunt C, Inglis RH, Reynolds T, Albert P, Aubert M, Cullen V, Hill E, Kinsley L, Roberts RG, Tomlinson EL, Wulf S, Barker G. The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya). J Hum Evol 2013; 66:39-63. [PMID: 24331954 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2012] [Revised: 10/25/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The 1950s excavations by Charles McBurney in the Haua Fteah, a large karstic cave on the coast of northeast Libya, revealed a deep sequence of human occupation. Most subsequent research on North African prehistory refers to his discoveries and interpretations, but the chronology of its archaeological and geological sequences has been based on very early age determinations. This paper reports on the initial results of a comprehensive multi-method dating program undertaken as part of new work at the site, involving radiocarbon dating of charcoal, land snails and marine shell, cryptotephra investigations, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments, and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tooth enamel. The dating samples were collected from the newly exposed and cleaned faces of the upper 7.5 m of the ∼14.0 m-deep McBurney trench, which contain six of the seven major cultural phases that he identified. Despite problems of sediment transport and reworking, using a Bayesian statistical model the new dating program establishes a robust framework for the five major lithostratigraphic units identified in the stratigraphic succession, and for the major cultural units. The age of two anatomically modern human mandibles found by McBurney in Layer XXXIII near the base of his Levalloiso-Mousterian phase can now be estimated to between 73 and 65 ka (thousands of years ago) at the 95.4% confidence level, within Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. McBurney's Layer XXV, associated with Upper Palaeolithic Dabban blade industries, has a clear stratigraphic relationship with Campanian Ignimbrite tephra. Microlithic Oranian technologies developed following the climax of the Last Glacial Maximum and the more microlithic Capsian in the Younger Dryas. Neolithic pottery and perhaps domestic livestock were used in the cave from the mid Holocene but there is no certain evidence for plant cultivation until the Graeco-Roman period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Douka
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
| | - Zenobia Jacobs
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
| | - Christine Lane
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
| | - Rainer Grün
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia.
| | - Lucy Farr
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK.
| | - Chris Hunt
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Ireland.
| | - Robyn H Inglis
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP, UK.
| | - Tim Reynolds
- Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck College, University of London, 26 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ, UK.
| | - Paul Albert
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Maxime Aubert
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
| | - Victoria Cullen
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
| | - Evan Hill
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Ireland.
| | - Leslie Kinsley
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia.
| | - Richard G Roberts
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
| | - Emma L Tomlinson
- Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Sabine Wulf
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.2 - Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Graeme Barker
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK.
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Gowlett JAJ. Elongation as a factor in artefacts of humans and other animals: an Acheulean example in comparative context. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20130114. [PMID: 24101633 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Elongation is a commonly found feature in artefacts made and used by humans and other animals and can be analysed in comparative study. Whether made for use in hand or beak, the artefacts have some common properties of length, breadth, thickness and balance point, and elongation can be studied as a factor relating to construction or use of a long axis. In human artefacts, elongation can be traced through the archaeological record, for example in stone blades of the Upper Palaeolithic (traditionally regarded as more sophisticated than earlier artefacts), and in earlier blades of the Middle Palaeolithic. It is now recognized that elongation extends to earlier Palaeolithic artefacts, being found in the repertoire of both Neanderthals and more archaic humans. Artefacts used by non-human animals, including chimpanzees, capuchin monkeys and New Caledonian crows show selection for diameter and length, and consistent interventions of modification. Both chimpanzees and capuchins trim side branches from stems, and appropriate lengths of stave are selected or cut. In human artefacts, occasional organic finds show elongation back to about 0.5 million years. A record of elongation achieved in stone tools survives to at least 1.75 Ma (million years ago) in the Acheulean tradition. Throughout this tradition, some Acheulean handaxes are highly elongated, usually found with others that are less elongated. Finds from the million-year-old site of Kilombe and Kenya are given as an example. These findings argue that the elongation need not be integral to a design, but that artefacts may be the outcome of adjustments to individual variables. Such individual adjustments are seen in animal artefacts. In the case of a handaxe, the maker must balance the adjustments to achieve a satisfactory outcome in the artefact as a whole. It is argued that the need to make decisions about individual variables within multivariate objects provides an essential continuity across artefacts made by different species.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A J Gowlett
- ACE, School of Histories, Languages and Cultures, University of Liverpool, , Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
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