An international team has discovered the oldest Acheulean in North Africa, a prehistoric man who lived 1.3 million years ago, near Casablanca, Morocco, Moroccan researchers who took part said Wednesday (July 28th). to the research program.
Until now, archaeologists estimated that the Acheulean culture, one of the hallmarks of which is the invention of two-sided tools, during the Lower Paleolithic, was established 700,000 years ago in this part of North Africa. .
This "major" discovery "enriches" the debate on the emergence of its civilization on the continent, according to Moroccan researchers.
"With this new chronological rebound, almost double, the country is positioned on the scale of the (African) continent where the Acheulean is documented almost 1.8 million years ago in East Africa and 1.6 million years ago. years in South Africa ", explained Moroccan archaeologist Abdelouahed Ben Ncer.
This research, published in the British journal Scientific Reports, mobilized 17 Moroccan, French and Italian researchers.
It is based on the study of lithic (bifaces, cleavers or pikes) and geological tools extracted from the site of the "Thomas I" quarry, not far from Casablanca, where research has been carried out since the 1980s.
On this excavation site of approximately 1000 m², archaeologists have discovered "one of the richest Acheulean assemblages in Africa", underlined the co-director of the Franco-Moroccan program "Prehistory of Casablanca", Abderrahim Mohib, during of a press conference in Rabat. "This is very important because we are talking about prehistoric time, a complex period with little data."
The prehistoric man who lived in this region assimilated "the concept of predetermination", he explains.
"He designs the shape of the tool he wants to have. It is a very important technological advance for this ancient Acheulean."
In addition to 5,000 cut stones, the researchers found some remains of the fauna: hippos, elephants, zebras, gazelles, without exhuming human remains for the time being.
An Acheulean from the East?
Did the Acheulean migrate from the east to the north of the African continent because of possible climate change?
According to the researcher, the question arises "because we have very little information on the Acheulean dated 1.3 million years ago in East Africa".
Moreover, the geochemical study made it possible to identify dust from the Sahara "but at present, it is premature to decide".
The research also found that the oldest inhabitants of Morocco were "variants of Homo Erectus", according to Abderrahim Mohib.
The "Prehistory of Casablanca" program is the result of collaboration between the Moroccan Institute of Archeology (INSAP), the University Paul Valéry 3, in Montpellier, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
French and Italian laboratories also took part in this project.
In 2017, at the prehistoric site of Jebel Irhoud, in the southwest, archaeologists discovered the remains of 300,000-year-old "Homo Sapiens", the oldest in the world.
This discovery had turned the view of human evolution upside down.
The Paleolithic is the first and longest period of prehistoric times, which begins over 3 million years ago and ended 12,000 years ago.
With AFP
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