Revisiting the Epipalaeolithic-Neolithic Transition in the Extreme NW of Africa : The Latest Results of the Chronological Sequence of the Cave of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tétouan, Morocco)
[EN] This study focuses on the chronostratigraphic sequence of the Cave of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Dar Ben Karrich, Tétouan, Morocco) excavated in 2012 in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED research project. The broad sequence reveals a series of occupations ranging from the Pleistocene (Moroccan Aterian) to recent historical times. Our research identifies a rich Early Neolithic phase (sixth millennium cal BC) containing the earliest pottery and domesticated animal and plant remains in the western Maghreb. However, this Early Neolithic level is not an immediate successor of the last traces of the Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer occupation, which started at the end of the Younger Dryas (10,900–9700 …
Pottery decoration in the Neolithic of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tetouan, Morocco). AGRIWESTMED Works 2012
Presentamos el estudio de los restos cerámicos de la fase neolítica de Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Mechrouha, Tetuán, Marruecos), enfocado principalmente en el análisis de técnicas y patrones decorativos. Ello cuenta con el interés añadido de corresponder, en su fase antigua, a las cerámicas asociadas a las primeras evidencias de agricultura y ganadería en el Magreb Occidental, encuadradas en el tercer cuarto del VI milenio cal AC. En dichas decoraciones dominan impresiones variadas, en particular las realizadas con concha estriada y lisa, peine y de cypraea. El uso de tales técnicas podría incluir estas primeras producciones cerámicas dentro del mundo impresso-cardial de la Europa mediterránea centr…
Reflections on the Other Side. A Southern Iberia Origin for the First Pottery Production of Northern Morocco?
Archaeological works in Morocco (the Spanish-Moroccan team) were funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant AGRIWESTMED (Origins and spread of agriculture in the western Mediterranean region) coordinated by L.P.-CH. Processing works were performed thanks to a IJCI-2016-27812 -Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-Universidad de Granada, Juan de la Cierva-Incorporacion Agreement (2016, by RMMS), and by funding provided in the framework of project "Archaeobiology of the Neolithic of the Southern Iberian Peninsula" (NeArqBioSI) A-HUM-460-UGR18 by Consejeria de Economia, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad. FEDER Programme - Andalusian CouncilGranada University. Fi…
Late glacial-postglacial North African landscape and forestmanagement : Palynological and anthracological studies in the caves of Kaf Taht el-Ghar and El Khil (Tingitana Peninsula, Morocco)
This work presents the anthracological and archeopalynological results obtained within the project AGRIWESTMED (ERC AdG 230561), which has involved a comprehensive retrieval of archeobiological remains based on a systematic sampling strategy, beyond the recovery of the usual archeological materials. These surveys were conducted on three sites located in the North of Morocco: the cave of Kaf Taht-el-Ghar, 8 km southeast from Tetuan, and two caves within the El Khil complex, close to Tanger. Both plant micro- and macro-remains (charred wood) were studied through palynological and anthracological analyses, respectively.
Phytolith analyses from Khil and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Western Maghreb): Plant use trajectories in a long-term perspective
In this paper we present the results of phytolith investigations at two archaeological sites in northwestern Morocco: Khil (Tangier) and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tétouan). The two sites located in Western Maghreb, one on the Atlantic and one on the Mediterranean coast, were investigated in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED project. Phytolith analysis complemented archaeobotanical, geoarchaeological and archaeological investigations to better identify plant use during the entire occupation sequence. At Khil 16 samples have been studied, coming from two profiles excavated in two different caves of the same system – grotte B and grotte C – that span a chronology comprised between the early Neolithic a…