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| Grotte des Pigeons | |
|---|---|
| Name | Grotte des Pigeons |
| Location | Near Taforalt, Morocco |
| Discovery | 20th century |
| Geology | Limestone |
| Epoch | Epipaleolithic |
| Occupants | Aterian, Iberomaurusian |
Grotte des Pigeons is an archaeological cave complex near Taforalt, in northeastern Morocco, noted for stratified deposits spanning the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. The site has produced human burials, a rich assemblage of lithics, shell beads, and faunal remains that illuminate population dynamics linked to broader episodes such as the Last Glacial Maximum, the transition to the Holocene, and contacts across the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara. Excavations at the site have been conducted within frameworks shaped by institutions like the Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine and research collaborations involving universities in France, Spain, and Morocco.
Grotte des Pigeons lies within a karstic landscape near the town of Taforalt in the Béni Snassen region of northeastern Morocco, close to the border with Algeria and within the biogeographic zone influenced by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains. The cave faces a valley that drains toward the Rif range and overlays Pliocene and Pleistocene limestones associated with regional tectonics attributable to the convergence of the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Its position afforded prehistoric occupants access to coastal resources of the Mediterranean Sea, inland riverine corridors, and highland pastures of the Tell Atlas, linking it to prehistoric networks including routes to Iberia, the Levant, and Saharan refugia.
Initial reports of the cave entered scholarly literature in the mid-20th century following surveys by Franco-Moroccan teams associated with institutions such as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and the Service des Antiquités du Maroc. Systematic excavations were later led by figures connected to universities including Université Mohammed V and research groups from Université de Paris and Universitat de Barcelona. Field seasons used stratigraphic methods consistent with practices advanced at sites like Oued Djebbana and Ifri n'Amr o'Moussa, applying sieving, flotation and radiometric sampling protocols developed in tandem with laboratories at CNRS and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Findings were published across journals and disseminated through conferences such as the meetings of the Society for American Archaeology and the Paleoanthropology Society.
Excavations recovered lithic industries including backing and microlithic points reminiscent of assemblages attributed to the Iberomaurusian and earlier industries with affinities to the Aterian technological traditions known from sites like Témara and Ifri n'Ammar. Human burials with grave goods—ostracized shell beads comparable to beads from Gibraltar and the Natufian culture—were documented, and worked bone artifacts align with finds from El Harhoura and Oued Bousnina. Marine mollusk shells from the Mediterranean Sea and worked amber and chert artifacts indicate exchange or mobility linking coastal centers such as Almería and inland loci like Tassili n'Ajjer. Radiocarbon-dated charcoal, hearth features, and charred plant remains were recovered, complementing faunal assemblages dominated by caprines and small mammals found across North African cave sites.
Stratigraphic sequencing and radiocarbon ages place occupation layers at Grotte des Pigeons within a timespan bridging roughly the terminal Pleistocene into the early Holocene, with key phases contemporaneous with the Iberomaurusian expansion and residual Aterian persistence. OSL and radiocarbon determinations show occupation episodes synchronous with climate events including the Younger Dryas and the onset of the African Humid Period, paralleling demographic shifts seen in comparative sequences from Ifri n'Amr o'Moussa, Taforalt itself, and coastal sites along the Maghreb. Cultural attribution draws on typological parallels to Aterian tanged tools and Iberomaurusian backed bladelets, situating the site within debates over late Pleistocene cultural continuity versus replacement across northwest Africa.
Faunal assemblages at the cave include remains of Bos and caprine taxa alongside lagomorphs, small carnivores, and abundant marine mollusks, reflecting a mosaic environment of coastal, riparian and montane habitats. Stable isotope data from faunal tooth enamel and charcoal spectra align with paleobotanical indicators showing shifts from cooler, more arid conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum toward moister, more wooded landscapes during the African Humid Period, echoing patterns documented at Oued el Akarit and Tigharghar highland records. The presence of imported shells and fishbone suggests exploitation of Mediterranean fisheries contemporaneous with inland hunting strategies comparable to those inferred at El Mnasra.
Grotte des Pigeons is significant for reconstructing late Pleistocene human behavior in the Maghreb, informing models of population continuity, technological transmission, and Mediterranean-facing exchange networks that intersect with broader episodes involving Neanderthals, early modern humans, and later Holocene populations. Its burials and personal ornaments contribute to discourse on social complexity and symbolic practices paralleled in the Natufian and Aterian debates, while its stratified sequence serves as a reference for correlating North African chronologies with climatic events like the Younger Dryas and the African Humid Period. Ongoing analyses integrating biomolecular techniques from centers such as the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and genomic laboratories at University College London promise refined insights into ancestry, mobility and adaptation during a key interval in human prehistory.
Category:Archaeological sites in Morocco Category:Caves of Morocco Category:Epipaleolithic sites