The Thomas Quarry I locality was made famous in 1969 with the discovery of a human half-mandible in a cave. In 1985, further investigations revealed the presence of a Lower Acheulean assemblage in lower units of the section. From 1988 onwards, modern controlled excavations took place within the framework of the Franco-Moroccan co-operative project “Casablanca”. Acheulean artefacts, a rich mammalian fauna and four hominid teeth have been excavated from the cave. The faunal set indicates an open woodland environment. Carcasses were processed by carnivores, but cut-marks are absent, which raises the question of any human role in the bone accumulations. Stone knapping was mainly oriented towards flake production and a few bifaces have been imported into the site. Laser ablation ICP-MS dating combining the ESR and U-series data for the modelling of the U-uptake has given an US/ESR age of 501þ9476 ka for a human premolar while new OSL measurements yielded an age of 420 34 ka for sediments immediately above the dated tooth and 391 32 ka below. Nevertheless, biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy point towards a greater antiquity.
Hominid Cave at Thomas Quarry I (Casablanca, Morocco): Recent findings and their context / Raynal, Jean Paul; Sbihi Alaoui, Fatima Zohra; Mohib, Abderrahim; El Graoui, Mosshine; Lefèvre, David; Texier, Jean Pierre; Geraads, Denis; Hublin, Jean Jacques; Smith, Tanya; Tafforeau, Paul; Zouak, Mehdi; Grün, Rainer; Rhodes, Edward J.; Eggins, Stephen; Daujeard, Camille; Fernandes, Paul; Gallotti, Rosalia; Hossini, Saïda; Queffelec, Alain. - In: QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL. - ISSN 1040-6182. - ELETTRONICO. - 223-224:(2010), pp. 369-382. [10.1016/j.quaint.2010.03.011]
Hominid Cave at Thomas Quarry I (Casablanca, Morocco): Recent findings and their context
GALLOTTI, ROSALIA;
2010
Abstract
The Thomas Quarry I locality was made famous in 1969 with the discovery of a human half-mandible in a cave. In 1985, further investigations revealed the presence of a Lower Acheulean assemblage in lower units of the section. From 1988 onwards, modern controlled excavations took place within the framework of the Franco-Moroccan co-operative project “Casablanca”. Acheulean artefacts, a rich mammalian fauna and four hominid teeth have been excavated from the cave. The faunal set indicates an open woodland environment. Carcasses were processed by carnivores, but cut-marks are absent, which raises the question of any human role in the bone accumulations. Stone knapping was mainly oriented towards flake production and a few bifaces have been imported into the site. Laser ablation ICP-MS dating combining the ESR and U-series data for the modelling of the U-uptake has given an US/ESR age of 501þ9476 ka for a human premolar while new OSL measurements yielded an age of 420 34 ka for sediments immediately above the dated tooth and 391 32 ka below. Nevertheless, biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy point towards a greater antiquity.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
