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Taforalt

Taforalt is in Morocco East, 55 km north west of Oujda. The Cave of Pigeons is located in north-eastern Morocco, near the small village of Taforalt in the mountains of Beni Snassen at an altitude of 720 m and about 40 km from the Mediterranean Sea. The cave was first reported in 1908 but has undergone major excavations at a time later by Armand Ruhlmann (1944-1947), followed by Father Jean Roche (1950-1955, 1969 -1977 in 1980 in collaboration with Jean-Paul Raynal) and finally since 2003 by Abdeljalil Bouzouggar (National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage, Rabat-Morocco) and Nick Barton (Oxford University, UK).

All archaeological excavations in the cave so far have not revealed the presence Neolithic. Only the Palaeolithic were carried both by previous work (Roche 1953, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1976) that new research (Bouzouggar et al. 2005; Bouzouggar and Barton, 2006, Barton et al. 2007; Bouzouggar et al., 2007).

The Middle Paleolithic

Based on excavations of Father Jean Roche (Roche, 1953, 1967 and 1969), the Aterian is preceded by the Mousterian. But little information is available on the date (about 30,000 years BP) and their location in the deposit.

The new digs are more focused on the precision of stratigraphic framework, chronological and paleoenvironmental. Given the complexity of the stratigraphy of filling, the cavity was divided into a first place in several areas and then in a second interpretation of the entire site has been proposed (Bouzouggar et al., 2007). The Middle Paleolithic is mainly found in areas 1 and 2. The most important characteristic of this period corresponds to several levels Aterian whose foundations date back at least 82,500 years BP and the top of the sequence is still difficult to interpret, despite obtaining several dates, as archaeological objects found in safe levels , have characteristics of both the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic.

According to the authors of new research in the Cave of Pigeons Taforalt, she revealed the oldest level in Morocco Aterian containing ornaments (Nassarius gibbosulus) ocher considered among the oldest in the world and have been dated by four different methods that have provided an age of 82,500 years! (Bouzouggar et al., 2007)

The Upper Paleolithic

According to Father Jean Roche, represented in the Upper Paleolithic cave by Iberomaurusian date of 21,900 years BP, which makes this site, with the deposit in Algeria Tamar Hat (Saxon et al., 1974) the oldest evidence of Upper Palaeolithic in North Africa, which lasted until about 10,800 years BP

The Cave of Pigeons also worked during the Upper Paleolithic period, as a necropolis. The excavations of Father Jean Roche have uncovered more than 180 skeletons (Roche, 1963) that have been studied in detail by Denise Ferembach (Ferembach et al., 1963). In the level of the necropolis was also exhumed a skeleton whose skull had traces of trepanation considered the oldest in the world. Radiographs (Ferembach, 1962) have demonstrated the presence of a healing process which would imply that the individual has survived the operation.

If the recent phases of the Upper Paleolithic in the cave are clear and not unlike what has been described by Father John Roche (Roche, 1963), the early phases are very difficult to interpret and correspond to one of the most facies of the former Iberomaurusian North Africa (Barton et al., 2007).

The identification of charcoal (charcoal analysis) shows the presence of cedar at the base of Iberomaurusian and top of the sequence in this cave (Ward, 2007).

Several questions about the Mousterian, his relationship with the Aterian and the end of it still remain unanswered. Only research that is continuing in the cave can provide new elements.

References

Barton, RNE, Bouzouggar, A., Bronk-Ramsey, C., Collcutt, SN, Higham, TFG, Humphrey, LT, Parfitt, S., Rhodes, EJ, Schwenninger, JL, Stringer, CB, Turner, E. and Ward, S. (2007). Abrupt Climatic Change and chronology of The Upper Palaeolithic in northern and eastern Morocco. In Bar-Yosef, O., Mellars, P., Stringer, C., & Boyle, K (eds). Rethinking the Human Revolution: New Behavioural & Biological Perspectives on the Origins and Dispersal of Modern Humans. Research Monographs Of The Macdonald Institute, Cambridge, pp. 177-186.
Bouzouggar A, Barton, RNE, Collcutt, SN, Parfitt, S., Higham, TFG, Rhodes, E. and Gale, R. (2006). The Upper Paleolithic in Morocco: contribution of sites in the Northwest and East. In Sanchidrin, JL, Mrquez, A. and Fullol, JM (eds), durante el cuenca Mediterranea paleoltico Superior (38,000 to 10,000 aos) IV Simposio of Prehistoria Cueva de Nerja (Fundacin Cueva de Nerja, Mlaga & UISPP, Com.8, Mlaga), pp. 138-150.
Bouzouggar, A. Barton, N., Vanhaeren, M., d'Errico, F., Collcutt, S., Higham, T., Hodge E., Parfitt, S., Rhodes, E., Schwenninger, JL ., Stringer, C., Turner, C., Ward, S., Moutmir, A and Stambouli, A. (2007). 82.000 year-old shell beads from North Africa and implications for The Origins of Modern Human Behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 104 (24): 9964-9969.
Ferembach, D., Dastugue, J. & Poitrat-Targowla, MJ (1962). Necropolis Epipalaeolithic Taforalt (Eastern Morocco): A study of human skeletons. Edita Casablanca, Rabat.
Raynal, J.-P. (1979-1980). Taforalt. Prehistoric and Paleontological French mission in Morocco: report for the year. Bulletin d'Archologie Marocaine 12: 69-71.
Roche, J. (1953). Cave Taforalt. Anthropology 57: 375-380.
Roche, J. (1963). The Moroccan Epipalaeolithic. Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon.
Roche, J. (1967). The Cave of Aterian Taforalt (Eastern Morocco). Bulletin d'Archologie Marocaine 7: 11-56.
Roche, J. (1969). Industries Palaeolithic cave Taforalt (Eastern Morocco). Quaternaria 11: 89-100.
Roche, J. (1976). Chronological framework of the Moroccan Epipalaeolithic. Proceedings of the IXth Congress UISPP: Timing and synchrony in circum-Mediterranean prehistory, pp. 153-67.
Saxon, EC, Close, A., Cluzel, C., Morse, V. & Shackleton, NJ (1974). Results of recent excavations at Tamar Hat. Libyca 22: 49-91.
Ward, S. (2007). Reconstructing Late Pleistocene Vegetation Dynamics from

Cave Archaeological Sites in the Western Mediterranean: Links with Climate and Cultural Changes. DPhil Thesis Doctoral. University of Oxford.