Six years ago, an international team of researchers documented the journal “science“Remains of tools used by early humans were found in the Ain Boucherit area in Algeria (located 300 kilometers east of the capital), and they found stone tools and animal bones that were used for cutting during the Pleistocene era (about 2.58 million years ago).
Another research team is currently searching for similar remains in the Moroccan “Givat-4” site in the Jerada province in the northeast of the Kingdom of Morocco, after they proved in a study published patrol Nature Communications said that the Moroccan site, like the Algerian one, includes a variety of ecosystems that could have provided vital resources for the population of those times.
Professor at the Catalan Institute of Paleoecology of Man and Social Evolution in Tarragona, Spain, Ivan Ramírez Pedraza, and the main researcher of the study, said in statements to Al Jazeera Net, “Evidence of the presence of early humans 2.44 million years ago in Algeria placed North Africa as an important region for human evolution, and shed light “There is a need for a more general African perspective on this topic. Therefore, we turned to studying the site of Givat-4 in Morocco, and we found a similarity between the two sites, primarily due to their relative proximity and location within the same mountain system (within the Atlas Mountains).”
Similar environmental conditions
The study’s co-researcher from the Catalan Institute of Paleoecology of Man and Social Evolution, Robert Sala Ramos, adds in statements to Al Jazeera Net, “So far we do not have a confirmed presence of individuals of the early human race in Givat-4. However, there are cases of their behavior in the region that are currently being dated.” “But until now, the oldest documented presence in North Africa is in Ain Boucharit.”
The human race lived on Earth about two million and 400 thousand years ago, and scientists believe that it spread mainly throughout the sides of the African continent, and includes families such as the Neanderthals and the Denisovans. About 500 to 600 thousand years ago, current humans appeared, or what scientists in this context call “Homo sapiens.”
Sala Ramos continues, “However, Givat-4 and Ain Boucherit are located in the same physiographic region, in the highlands of the salt lakes in North Africa, a continuous region extending from eastern Morocco to northeastern Algeria. Therefore, we believe that the environmental conditions that prevailed in Ain Boucherit existed.” Also at the same age in the Givat-4 area.
During the new study, Pedraza, Sala-Ramos and their colleagues discovered that the site in eastern Morocco likely provided a mosaic landscape with a variety of ecosystems, where drought was the dominant environmental context, but there were also areas of forests, wetlands and more open spaces.
This diversity would have allowed the inhabitants of these areas to exploit a wide range of habitats, making them a prime area for migration and settlement during a period of major climate and environmental change.
A comprehensive approach to analysis
The study combined multiple methods, including stable isotope analysis and micro-wear analysis of animal teeth, to reconstruct the ancient ecosystem with a high degree of accuracy. Theoretical studies of tooth enamel provided information about the types of food eaten, and this was supported by precise analysis of tooth wear, such as the scratches and pits that formed. On the surface of the tooth while eating, in order to know whether the animals ate hard grasses or soft leaves, as the type of food leaves different marks on the teeth.
In addition to these analyses, the team also conducted pollen studies and isotope analysis in plant sediments, and identified various species of micro-mammals, micro-crustaceans, and algae at the site.
Pedraza says, “This mechanism used in the study enabled us to build more comprehensive and diverse knowledge. One element may produce bias, but the comprehensive approach to analysis that includes more than one element ensures obtaining a strong and comprehensive knowledge of the landscapes that prevailed in Givat-4 at the borders of the era.” Pleistocene”.
He adds, “The landscapes at Jivat-4 resemble the mosaic environments typical of East Africa, which facilitated the expansion of hominins during the Pleistocene to Pleistocene transition. The changing climatic conditions in North Africa likely mirrored those in East Africa, allowing early hominins to “Hominin species migrate and adapt to new environments, and the diversity of ecosystems in Jivat-4 provides diverse resources.”
Future research plans
The researchers are looking to apply the methods used in this study to other nearby sites in North Africa. Ramos stressed that there are plans to expand the scope of the research to include other sites and time periods, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of early human environments throughout the region.
Pedraza pointed to ongoing research at sites such as Gara Sultana and Ain Tabouda in eastern Morocco, led by Dr. Hassan Aouragh, which is expected to provide further insights into ancient human occupations in North Africa.
He also pointed out that the work being done at Thomas Quarry I (an ancient anthropological site located on the western outskirts of Casablanca), led by Abderrahim Moheb and Camille Dugier, is contributing to the growing knowledge of early humans in the region.
