Middle Paleolithic occupation of the Moroccan Sahara: Open air sites of the Tafilalt

摘要

The Tafilalt region and the Draa Valley (Moroccan Sahara) have been prospected since 2006 by an Italian —Moroccan team with the aims of identifying and describing important prehistoric sites dating from the Acheulean to the Iberomaurusian. Although the lithic industries were found in surface contexts, the total absence of data for the region means that the data obtained are an important contribution to a better definition of the prehistoric occupation in the Tafilalt region. The purpose of this paper is to highlight, where possible, the similarities/differences between the different Middle Paleolithic complexes as well as to identify productive strategies adopted, also in terms of raw materials exploitation. The Middle Paleolithic sites of the Tafilalt are characterized by a differential utilization of raw material (in terms of the morphometry of the exploited pebbles/outcrops and physical characteristics of raw materials), by a coexistence of different reduction sequences, and by an opportunistic behavior. All sites, including those in which Aterian elements were identified, are characterized by the presence of Levallois, discoid and opportunistic (cf. S.S.D.A.) methods. In the sites where the tanged pieces are attested, the laminar method seems to acquire greater significance. It is important to emphasise that the substrate of the production is homogeneous in all sites, indicating an entrenched technological continuity during the Middle Palaeolithic of the region. All sites were sampled in a systematic way in order to maximize knowledge on the technical behavior that characterized the Middle Paleolithic in South-East Morocco.