Chapter 10 the Oldowan in North Africa Within a Biochronological Framework
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CHAPTER 10 THE OLDOWAN IN NORTH AFRICA WITHIN A BIOCHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK MOHAMED SAHNOUNI AND JAN VAN DER MADE ABSTRACT havioral signifi cance. In fact, excavations of Oldowan sites in primary context have allowed archaeologists to Much of the Plio-Pleistocene data on the Oldowan address major questions regarding early hominin way of is primarily from sites in East Africa. However, although life, such as food acquisition, signifi cance of concentra- North Africa is well underexplored compared to East Af- tions of stone artifacts and fossil bones, the role of lithic rica, there is a fairly good Oldowan record in this part technology in hominin adaptation and intelligence. These of the African continent. There are a number of locali- questions have generated heated scientifi c debates, such ties in sealed stratigraphic sequence with Oldowan arti- as the hunting/scavenging (Binford, 1981; Bunn, 1981, facts that provide evidence of early human presence in Bunn & Kroll, 1986), “home base” and “food sharing” North Africa. Yet, unlike East Africa, they lack a sound hypothesis (Isaac, 1978), and site formation processes absolute chronological framework. Therefore, dating of paleolithic sites relative to hominin activities (Schick, of the North African Oldowan depends on associated 1986, 1987). faunas with taxa of biostratigraphic signifi cance. Using In contrast, North African Early Palaeolithic was re- the well dated East African fossil records, faunas from garded as providing scanty evidence and little informa- North Africa and East Africa are compared to help dating tion on a scarce early human presence in this part of the the North African Plio-Pleistocene localities, especially African continent. For example, Desmond Clark (1992: those yielding Oldowan occurrences such as Ain Hanech 33) wrote “the great majority are surface occurrences and El-Kherba in Algeria. Dated minimum to 1.77 Ma, that cannot be tied to a stratigraphic sequence”. Actu- Ain Hanech and El-Kherba document clearly Oldowan ally, this situation primarily was a consequence of lack artifacts associated with a savanna-like fauna, indicating of systematic investigations and less emphasis on under- that early hominins geographically ranged in wider areas standing of past human behavior. Current studies have outside East and South Africa. shown that there are a number of Early Palaeolithic sites in North Africa that are in sealed stratigraphic sequences INTRODUCTION providing ample possibilities for tackling early hominin behavior and adaptation in this region of the African The primary information on early hominin behavior continent. In fact, the sites of Ain Hanech and El-Kherba and adaptation derives chiefl y from a number of Plio- in Algeria, encased in fi ne-grained sediments, permit to Pleistocene sites in East Africa. Modern investigations address various aspects of hominin behavior, including undertaken at Olduvai in Tanzania (Leakey, 1971; 1975, manufacture, use and discard of artifacts; acquisition and Potts, 1988) and at Koobi Fora in Kenya (Bunn et al., processing of animal carcasses; and vertical and hori- 1980; Harris, 1978; Isaac, 1972; 1978) have allowed ar- zontal distribution patterns of archaeological remains. chaeologists to concentrate on the horizontal aspect of Unlike East Africa, the North African Plio-Pleisto- the accumulation of the archaeological materials, study cene paleontological and archaeological localities suffer its spatial distribution, and attempt to understand its be- from the lack of an accurate chronological framework due 180 The Cutting Edge: New Approaches to the Archaeology of Human Origins to the absence of radiometrically dateable materials. Ab- geologists. Neuville and Rhulman (1941) studied the solute dating techniques are possible only for the Middle Sidi Abderrahman Quarry and established the strati- and Upper Pleistocene deposits. Consequently, the dat- graphic chronology of Atlantic Morocco for dating the ing of the Plio-Pleistocene deposits depends primarily prehistoric industries known from the region. Choubert on associated faunas with taxa of biochronological sig- et al. (1956) proposed a general stratigraphic framework nifi cance. In contrast, the East African Plio-Pleistocene for the Moroccan continental Pleistocene deposits; and fossil records are derived from a radiometrically well Biberson (1961a, 1971) redefi ned its major components. dated lithostratigraphic background, offering a precise The stratigraphic framework in the Atlantic coast con- biochronological framework that can be used for dating sists of a series of seven marine cycles, interbedded with other African fossil deposits that are devoid of radiomet- six terrestrial episodes named after stratigraphic descrip- ric dates but have yielded the same or close relative taxa tion of type-localities (Figure 1). The marine cycles found in East Africa. Using this approach, North African include, from the oldest to the youngest, Moghrebian, faunas are compared with their East African correspond- Messaoudian, Maarifi an, Anfatian, Harounian, Ouldjian, ing taxa to help dating the Plio-Pleistocene localities in and Mellahian. The terrestrial cycles are Moulouyan, Sa- North Africa, particularly those yielding Oldowan occur- letian, Amirian, Tensiftian, Presoltanian, and Soltanian. rences such as Ain Hanech and El-Kherba. Ain Hanech The “Pebble-culture” or Pre-Acheulean industries are and El-Kherba yielded a number of large mammal taxa dated to Moulouyan and Saletian continental episodes of biochronological signifi cance that are well dated in (Biberson, 1971: 74). Although this stratigraphic system East Africa, including Equus, Anancus, and particularly was defi ned for Atlantic Morocco, it became increasingly Kolpochoerus, as well as a less understood “Dicerorhi- a classic scheme and a wide spread Quaternary relative nus”. Indeed, Ain Hanech and El-Kherba Kolpochoerus chronological framework for the entire Maghreb. is the same one that is found in the Koobi Fora KBS Mb, A number of researchers questioned the validity and Shungura H, and Olduvai Bed I, which was after about the relevance of this stratigraphic system to the Atlantic 1.8 Ma a different species. Coast. For instance, Beaudet (1969) criticized the va- There are a number of localities with Oldowan ar- lidity of the Saletian stratotype. He argued that on one tifacts that provide evidence of early human presence in hand the type locality represents an older deposit, and North Africa. The localities are assigned traditionally to on the other, in some localities two similar lithologies Pre-Acheulean (~Oldowan), which is divided into An- occur making it diffi cult to determine which of these cor- cient Pre-Acheulean and Evolved Pre-Acheulean. The responds to the Saletian. Based on a revised study of the entire Pre-Acheulean was correlated to Moulouyen and Casablanca sequence, Texier et al. (1986) highlighted Saletian climatic cycles correlated to the Lower Pleis- the weaknesses of the system, including: ambiguity of tocene. This chapter examines the Oldowan record in the pluvial-arid alternate principle, complexity of corre- North Africa in light of the new investigations carried lating the Moroccan climatic episodes with the European out in the major archaeological areas of Casablanca in glaciations, and not taking into account the local Qua- Atlantic Morocco and Ain Hanech in northeastern Al- ternary uplift and isostatic movements controlling the gerian, and their implications on early hominin behavior deposition of the successive episodes. To resolve these and adaptation. In particular, the work at Ain Hanech has weaknesses, they recommended abandoning the entire succeeded in establishing the timing and understanding old scheme and suggested an alternative lithostratig- of the characteristics of the earliest human occupation of raphy for the Pleistocene sequence, incorporating four this part of the African continent. Ain Hanech documents main formations (Texier et al., 1994). These formations clearly Oldowan artifacts (sensu Leakey, 1971), indicat- include, from the oldest to the youngest, Oulad Hamida ing that early hominins geographically ranged in wider Formation (thereafter Fm), Anfa Fm, Kef el Haroun Fm, areas outside East and South Africa. and Dar Bouaza Fm (Lefèvre & Raynal, 2002; Texier et al., 2002). The Lower Paleolithic sites, which consist ba- STRATIGRAPHIC BACKGROUND sically of Acheulean occurrences, spanned from Oulad Hamida Fm to Kef el Haroun Fm (from ca. 1 Ma to 163 The stratigraphic framework of prehistoric North Ka [Rhodes et al., 2006]). Africa is based upon inferred correlations of sea-level In the Sahara, the alternating erosion-sedimentation sequences between the Atlantic costal sites and the Med- cycles in the absence of any other chronological and iterranean deposits, especially the area between Rabat biostratigraphical criteria, such as dateable volcanic and Casablanca (Morocco), which provides continuous material and preserved fauna, served as a guide to build deposits rich in faunas and prehistoric lithic industries. up a stratigraphic framework for the succession of the Indeed, the Casablanca coastal area offers the most ex- prehistoric industries of the Saoura in the Northwestern tensive Pleistocene stratigraphic sequence. Quarry ex- Saharan region (Alimen, 1978; Chavaillon, 1964). Six ploitation opened for building materials have exposed a erosional and depositional cycles have been identifi ed. series of fl uctuating high and low sea levels interbedded The “pebble culture”