Acheulean in the Rif Mountains: Bifaces and other stone tools from the open air sites of Ammorene I and Ammorene II

Abstract

This report summarizes the results of surface collections conducted from 1998 through 2007 by the Kommission für Archäologie Auβereuropäischer Kulturen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts and the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine at Ammorene I and Ammorene II. The heavily disturbed sites are located within eight kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea, near Nador, and have lithic raw material sources located less than three kilometers away, which were utilized by the inhabitants at both sites. Lithic analysis reveals that over 50% of the modified pieces collected from each assemblage are proto-bifaces or bifaces. Middle and Late Acheulean artifacts are present at each site although, techno-morphologically, the assemblage at Ammorene II may slightly predate Ammorene I’s lithic collection. Given the limited number of such rich Lower Paleolithic sites in North Africa, coupled with the fact that these sites are even more of a rarity for northeastern Morocco, the research presented here aids in furthering our knowledge of the Maghrebian Paleolithic.