Land snail middens in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene in North Africa : a case study from Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons), Morocco
Land snail middens occur widely throughout the circum-Mediterranean with a particular concentration of sites in northwest Africa They often contain abundant terrestrial molluscs, charcoal, lithics, bone and charred plants. Previous work is limited despite the potential use for addressing questions of subsistence strategies and increasing sedentism, particularly in the context of the Broad Spectrum Revolution and the associated transition to agriculture. The work presented in this thesis forms part of the ' Cemeteries and sedentism in the Epipalaeolithic of North Africa' project which aims to investigate ritual behaviour, diet, technology and sedentism in Epipalaeolithic Morocco through a multi-proxy approach which also evaluates the role of climate and environment in any cultural developments. This thesis provides the first detailed analysis of the molluscan component from Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons) (34Â°48'38~N, 2Â°24'30~W), a large, open cave in the Beni Snassen mountain range in northeast Morocco, 40km from the Mediterranean coast Extensive previous excavation has occurred but analysis of Mollusca has been very limited. The sequence is well dated by radiocarbon and covers the Ibermaurusian period (20,000-
Taylor, Victoria Kate
Land snail middens in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene in North Africa : a case study from Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons), Morocco. Land snail middens occur widely throughout the circum-Mediterranean with a particular concentration of sites in northwest Africa They often contain abundant terrestrial molluscs, charcoal, lithics, bone and charred plants. Previous work is limited despite the potential use for addressing questions of subsistence strategies and increasing sedentism, particularly in the context of the Broad Spectrum Revolution and the associated transition to agriculture. The work presented in this thesis forms part of the ' Cemeteries and sedentism in the Epipalaeolithic of North Africa' project which aims to investigate ritual behaviour, diet, technology and sedentism in Epipalaeolithic Morocco through a multi-proxy approach which also evaluates the role of climate and environment in any cultural developments. This thesis provides the first detailed analysis of the molluscan component from Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons) (34Â°48'38~N, 2Â°24'30~W), a large, open cave in the Beni Snassen mountain range in northeast Morocco, 40km from the Mediterranean coast Extensive previous excavation has occurred but analysis of Mollusca has been very limited. The sequence is well dated by radiocarbon and covers the Ibermaurusian period (20,000-
land midden late_pleistocene early holocene north_africa case_study des morocco land midden occur widely throughout mediterranean particular concentration site northwest africa often_contain abundant terrestrial mollusc charcoal lithics bone char_plant previous_work limit despite potential use address_question subsistence_strategy increase sedentism particularly context broad spectrum revolution associate transition_agriculture work_present form_part cemeteries sedentism epipalaeolithic north_africa project_aim investigate ritual behaviour diet technology sedentism epipalaeolithic morocco multi proxy also evaluate role climate_environment cultural_development provide_first detailed_analysis molluscan component des large open cave mountain range northeast morocco mediterranean coast extensive previous excavation occur analysis limit sequence well dated radiocarbon cover period