Potential Interactions between Climate and Prehistoric Populations in Southern Morocco: Insights from Archaeological and Paleoclimatic Evidence

Southern Morocco contains a rich archaeological record: engraving, painted rocks, and funerary monuments. This pre-historic and proto-historical heritage offers valuable information about the environmental context of pre-historic settlements. However, the Southern Moroccan archaeological record suffers from dating scarcity. And hence, the difficulty in establishing a reliable chronology. Most of the archaeological sites date from 7000 to 1000 years BP and are marked by a transition period from a humid to dry climate during the late Holocene. The relatively drier conditions likely resulted in adopting a new lifestyle characterized by cattle ranching, agriculture, and animal domestication. Ho…