100th century BCE
Sidi Abderrahman, near Casablanca, Morocco
A stratified Lower Palaeolithic archaeological sequence preserved in shoreline deposits and consolidated dunes at Sidi Abderrahman near Casablanca. The sequence contains pebble-tool and Acheulian industries associated with repeated marine transgressions and regressions, as well as fragmentary early human fossils. Its chronological framework is important but remains less secure than earlier schemes suggested.
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The Story
Sidi Abderrahman, near Casablanca, preserves one of the best-known stratified archaeological sequences on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The gently inclined continental margin recorded repeated advances and retreats of the sea. Shoreline deposits were repeatedly overlain by consolidated dunes, creating separated layers in which stone artifacts could be preserved and compared across the sequence.
The archaeological assemblages came from several kinds of setting, including beach deposits, karstic caves cut into consolidated dunes, and small-stream deposits crossing marshy coastal plains. At the STIC site, an early Acheulian industry was found with fauna. Fragmentary fossils attributed to Homo erectus or early Homo sapiens were recovered from the broader suite of deposits at Rabat, Sidi Abderrahman, Temara, and Sale.
The sequence has been interpreted as evidence for continuous technological and cultural development across the Pleistocene in the area. Thorium–uranium measurements supplied estimates for the ages of some marine transgressions and associated industries, but those results require caution because the method presents significant difficulties. Later Quaternary research also suggests that the apparent resolution of the sequence is too complete, since many more interglacials and transgressions may have occurred than earlier chronological tables allowed.
100th century BCE
Sidi Abderrahman, near Casablanca, Morocco
A stratified Lower Palaeolithic archaeological sequence preserved in shoreline deposits and consolidated dunes at Sidi Abderrahman near Casablanca. The sequence contains pebble-tool and Acheulian industries associated with repeated marine transgressions and regressions, as well as fragmentary early human fossils. Its chronological framework is important but remains less secure than earlier schemes suggested.
Continue exploring
The Story
Sidi Abderrahman, near Casablanca, preserves one of the best-known stratified archaeological sequences on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The gently inclined continental margin recorded repeated advances and retreats of the sea. Shoreline deposits were repeatedly overlain by consolidated dunes, creating separated layers in which stone artifacts could be preserved and compared across the sequence.
The archaeological assemblages came from several kinds of setting, including beach deposits, karstic caves cut into consolidated dunes, and small-stream deposits crossing marshy coastal plains. At the STIC site, an early Acheulian industry was found with fauna. Fragmentary fossils attributed to Homo erectus or early Homo sapiens were recovered from the broader suite of deposits at Rabat, Sidi Abderrahman, Temara, and Sale.
The sequence has been interpreted as evidence for continuous technological and cultural development across the Pleistocene in the area. Thorium–uranium measurements supplied estimates for the ages of some marine transgressions and associated industries, but those results require caution because the method presents significant difficulties. Later Quaternary research also suggests that the apparent resolution of the sequence is too complete, since many more interglacials and transgressions may have occurred than earlier chronological tables allowed.