title: Were Upper Pleistocene human/non-human predator occupations at the Témara caves (El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra, Morocco) influenced by climate change?
abstract: The influence of climate change on human settlements in coastal areas is a central question for archaeologists. This paper addresses this issue by focusing on the Témara region in Morocco. The study area was selected for two main reasons. First, it contains numerous caves with Upper Pleistocene deposits, which have yielded remains of anatomically modern humans in association with Aterian and Iberomaurusian artifacts. Second, these caves are currently located on the shore, thus this region is particularly sensitive to major climate change and sea level fluctuations. Diachronic taphonomic study of faunal remains from two sites in the region, El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra caves, shows alternating human/non-human predator occupations. The lower layers of El Mnasra Cave dating to Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 5 have yielded diverse ungulate remains with significant anthropogenic impact marks, together with numerous mollusk shells, Nassarius shell beads, hearths, lithics, some bone tools and used pigments. Faunal remains from the upper layers dating to OIS 4, 3 and 2 of El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra caves, largely dominated by gazelles, provide evidence of carnivore activities, such as tooth marks, numerous semi-digested bones and coprolites alongside some anthropogenic signatures (cut marks and burnt bones). Non-human predators appear to be the main agents responsible for faunal modifications and accumulations. The 'non-intensive' nature of human occupation is confirmed by analyses of the lithic industry at El Harhoura 2. The 'intensive' human occupations date to OIS 5 and could have taken place during wet periods in connection with high sea levels, which allowed the exploitation of shellfish in this area. 'Non-intensive' human occupations generally correspond to arid periods and lower sea levels, during which the Témara area was further inland and may have been less attractive to humans.
authors.affiliation: de la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement, Anthropologie (PACEA) - CNRS-UMR 5199, Équipe Préhistoire, Paléoenvironnement, Patrimoine, Université de Bordeaux, B8 Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33 615 Pessac Cedex, France. Electronic address: em.campmas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Campmas
authors.affiliation: de la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement, Anthropologie (PACEA) - CNRS-UMR 5199, Équipe Préhistoire, Paléoenvironnement, Patrimoine, Université de Bordeaux, B8 Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33 615 Pessac Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés (TRACES) - CNRS-UMR 5608, Université de Toulouse 2 - le Mirail, Maison de la Recherche, Bât 26, 5 allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Costamagno
authors.affiliation: Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Angle rues 5 et 7 Rabat-Instituts, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Fethi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amani
authors.affiliation: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Département de Systématique et Evolution - CNRS-UMR 7205, 55 rue Buffon-CP 51, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stoetzel
authors.affiliation: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Département de Préhistoire - CNRS-UMR 7194, 43 rue Buffon-CP 48, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nespoulet
authors.affiliation: Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Angle rues 5 et 7 Rabat-Instituts, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mohamed Abdeljalil
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Hajraoui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology; D059552:Caves; D057231:Climate Change; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D008974:Mollusca; D009018:Morocco; D010163:Paleontology
keywords: Aterian; Carnivores; North Africa; Taphonomy