Species composition and human exploitation of terrestrial gastropods from Taghit Haddouch, an Early Holocene archaeological site in NE Morocco

摘要

Terrestrial gastropods from Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic levels of the archaeological site Taghit Haddouch (NE Marocco) were studied. A total of 416 shells were recovered from 8 successive levels dating from calendar ages 4.898 ± 45 calBP (level 1) to 9.717 ± 105 calBP (level 8). Five species were found in the archaeological context: Otala punctata, Otala tigri, Alabastrina soluta, Sphincterochila maroccana, and Cernuella globuloidea. No significant size differences of shells were found within the 5.000 years sequence, but relative frequency of species changed drastically within the sequence. Sphincterochila maroccana prevailed in the older levels 8 to 4 but was replaced by Otala spp. in the upper levels 3 to 1. This faunal change reflects the onset of a pluvial phase around 8.000 years calBP. Shells of Otala tigi from levels 4 to 1 frequently show signs of intentional perforation, with an increase in abundance in the uppermost levels. Two types of perforation, puncture and slot, are interpreted as part of the preparation of the snail for consumption. The significance of the technique is unknown but it was probably an invention of an Early Neolithic population in the eastern Rif.