Abstract

The onset of the Acheulean, marked by the emergence of large cutting tools (LCTs), is considered a major technological advance in the Early Stone Age and a key turning point in human evolution. The Acheulean originated in East Africa at ~ 1.8–1.6 Ma and is reported in South Africa between ~ 1.6 and > 1.0 Ma. The timing of its appearance and development in North Africa have been poorly known due to the near-absence of well-dated sites in reliable contexts. The ~ 1 Ma stone artefacts of Tighennif (Algeria) and Thomas Quarry I-Unit L (ThI-L) at Casablanca (Morocco) are thus far regarded as documenting the oldest Acheulean in North Africa but whatever the precision of their stratigraphical position, both deserve a better chronology. Here we provide a chronology for ThI-L, based on new magnetostratigraphic and geochemical data. Added to the existing lithostratigraphy of the Casablanca sequence, these results provide the first robust chronostratigraphic framework for the early North African Acheulean and firmly establish its emergence in this part of the continent back at least to ~ 1.3 Ma.

Details

Title
First high resolution chronostratigraphy for the early North African Acheulean at Casablanca (Morocco)
Author
Gallotti Rosalia 1 ; Muttoni Giovanni 2 ; Lefèvre, David 3 ; Jean-Philippe, Degeai 3 ; Geraads Denis 4 ; Zerboni, Andrea 2 ; Andrieu-Ponel Valérie 5 ; Maron Matteo 6 ; Perini Serena 2 ; Mohssine, El Graoui 7 ; Sanz-Laliberté Séverine 3 ; Daujeard Camille 8 ; Fernandes, Paul 9 ; Rué Mathieu 10 ; Magoga Lionel 11 ; Mohib Abderrahim 12 ; Raynal Jean-Paul 13 

 CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 9282); Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, LabEx Archimède, Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.440910.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2196 152X); Université Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Pessac Cedex, France (GRID:grid.440910.8) 
 Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “Ardito Desio”, Milan, Italy (GRID:grid.4708.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1757 2822) 
 CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 9282); Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, LabEx Archimède, Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.440910.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2196 152X) 
 Sorbonne Université, CR2P-UMR 7207, CNRS, MNHN, Paris Cedex 05, France (GRID:grid.462844.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2308 1657) 
 CNRS, IRD, IMBE - Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie Marine et Continentale, Technopôle Arbois-Méditerranée, Aix Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 04, France (GRID:grid.4708.b) 
 Università “G. d’Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara, Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Geologia, Chieti, Italy (GRID:grid.412451.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2181 4941) 
 Rabat-Institut, Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Rabat, Morocco (GRID:grid.31143.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2168 4024) 
 Sorbonne Université, HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Paris, France (GRID:grid.462844.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2308 1657) 
 Université Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Pessac Cedex, France (GRID:grid.462844.8); Rabat-Institut, Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Rabat, Morocco (GRID:grid.31143.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2168 4024); Paléotime, Villard-de-Lans, France (GRID:grid.31143.34) 
10  CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 9282); Paléotime, Villard-de-Lans, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) 
11  Mission archéologique Littoral-Maroc, Vichy, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) 
12  Rabat-Institut, Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Rabat, Morocco (GRID:grid.31143.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2168 4024); Centre d’interprétation du Patrimoine du Gharb, Direction Provinciale de la Culture, Kenitra, Morocco (GRID:grid.31143.34) 
13  Université Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Pessac Cedex, France (GRID:grid.31143.34); Rabat-Institut, Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Rabat, Morocco (GRID:grid.31143.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2168 4024); Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany (GRID:grid.419518.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2159 1813) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2555779192
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.