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Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14C dates for the perishable artifacts (N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

In northwestern Africa, lifestyle transitioned from foraging to food production around 7,400 years ago but what sparked that change remains unclear. Archaeological data support conflicting views: (1) that migrant European Neolithic farmers brought the new way of life to North Africa or (2) that local hunter-gatherers adopted technological innovations. The latter view is also supported by archaeogenetic data. Here we fill key chronological and archaeogenetic gaps for the Maghreb, from Epipalaeolithic to Middle Neolithic, by sequencing the genomes of nine individuals (to between 45.8- and 0.2-fold genome coverage). Notably, we trace 8,000 years of population continuity and isolation from the Upper Palaeolithic, via the Epipaleolithic, to some Maghrebi Neolithic farming groups. However, remains from the earliest Neolithic contexts showed mostly European Neolithic ancestry. We suggest that farming was introduced by European migrants and was then rapidly adopted by local groups. During the Middle Neolithic a new ancestry from the Levant appears in the Maghreb, coinciding with the arrival of pastoralism in the region, and all three ancestries blend together during the Late Neolithic. Our results show ancestry shifts in the Neolithization of northwestern Africa that probably mirrored a heterogeneous economic and cultural landscape, in a more multifaceted process than observed in other regions.

Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perish- able nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-pre- served hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14C dates for the perishable artifacts (N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cul- tural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

In this paper we present the results of phytolith investigations at two archaeological sites in northwestern Morocco: Khil (Tangier) and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tétouan). The two sites located in Western Maghreb, one on the Atlantic and one on the Mediterranean coast, were investigated in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED project. Phytolith analysis complemented archaeobotanical, geoarchaeological and archaeological investigations to better identify plant use during the entire occupation sequence. At Khil 16 samples have been studied, coming from two profiles excavated in two different caves of the same system – grotte B and grotte C – that span a chronology comprised between the early Neolithic and the historic period. At Kaf Taht el-Ghar, 15 samples were analysed spanning from the Palaeolithic to the Historic period. Results show that at Khil plants are widely used from the very beginning of the Early Neolithic sequence. The surrounding vegetation was exploited and both C3 and C4 grasses were used, inside the cave. At the same time a wide array of other plants was utilised, such as palms and woody taxa. Phytolith analysis at the site of Kaf Taht el-Ghar indicates that crop processing was most probably not taking place on site. However, the predominance in the samples of C3 grasses morphologies agrees with the finding of previous macro botanical studies that identified cultivated wheat and barley in this cave deposits. A very interesting aspect of the phytolith assemblages of Kaf Taht el-Ghar is the widespread use of palm leaves and their gradual disappearance through time that coincides with an increase in the use of woody species.

The presence of scattered prehistoric human bones in caves and sinkholes is common in many regions of Iberia. These are usually interpreted as erratic elements coming from burial contexts, usually collective associations. These burial contexts are very frequent in karst areas of the Iberian Peninsula since the Early Neolithic, mostly in the Late Neolithic, and Copper Age, while findings from earlier chronologies are much more unusual. In this work, we present partial remains of a human skull from the Mesolithic period, recovered from a cave in the Strait of Gibraltar area. Although there is no conclusive evidence pointing to a dismantled burial context, this constitutes an isolated find, where its final location appears to be consistent with gravitational fall followed by water transportation.

Small dogs as pets, objects of affection and special consideration by their owners, are known in the Western Mediterranean since classical Antiquity through texts, epigraphy and iconography. The study of a small-sized canid with a brachycephalic skull discovered in a cemetery, among other specimens, in the southern Hispania yields new interpretations regarding the relationships between dogs and humans at the outset of the Common Era in the western Roman world and sheds light on how to evaluate their symbolic implications in funerary rites. The physical characteristics of these specimens were analysed through morphological, osteometric, palaeopathological and biochemical isotopes methods. The findings represent a step forward in the understanding of the everyday life, mobility and diet of dogs, as well as the cause of their death which, in the case of the small-sized specimen, appears to correspond to a deliberate sacrifice.

[EN] This study focuses on the chronostratigraphic sequence of the Cave of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Dar Ben Karrich, Tétouan, Morocco) excavated in 2012 in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED research project. The broad sequence reveals a series of occupations ranging from the Pleistocene (Moroccan Aterian) to recent historical times. Our research identifies a rich Early Neolithic phase (sixth millennium cal BC) containing the earliest pottery and domesticated animal and plant remains in the western Maghreb. However, this Early Neolithic level is not an immediate successor of the last traces of the Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer occupation, which started at the end of the Younger Dryas (10,900–9700 cal BC). An abandonment phase, spanning more than a millennium, separated them. This hiatus appears to originate from a cold climatic event that began in the late seventh millennium cal BC (ca. 6200 BC) and ended around the mid-sixth millennium cal BC., [FR] La présente étude est centrée sur la séquence chronostratigraphique de la grotte de Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Dar Ben Karrich, Tétouan, Maroc), fouillée pour la dernière fois en 2012 dans le cadre du projet de recherche AGRIWESTMED. La séquence générale révèle une série d’occupations allant du Pléistocène (Atérien marocain) jusqu’aux temps historiques récents. Parmi les résultats les plus remarquables, on peut souligner l’identification d’une riche phase du Néolithique Ancien (6ème millénaire avant JC) contenant les plus anciens restes de poteries et de plantes et animaux domestiques datés au Maghreb occidental. Cette phase n’est. pas consécutive à l’occupation épipaléolithique, car il existe une nette rupture entre les deux phases, qui s’étend sur plus d’un millénaire. Cela semble coïncider en partie avec l’événement climatique froid de 6200 cal av. J.-C. Le début de l´ occupation épipaléolithique commencerait à son tour avec la fin du Dryas récent (10,900-9,700 cal av. J.-C.)

Presentamos el estudio de los restos cerámicos de la fase neolítica de Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Mechrouha, Tetuán, Marruecos), enfocado principalmente en el análisis de técnicas y patrones decorativos. Ello cuenta con el interés añadido de corresponder, en su fase antigua, a las cerámicas asociadas a las primeras evidencias de agricultura y ganadería en el Magreb Occidental, encuadradas en el tercer cuarto del VI milenio cal AC. En dichas decoraciones dominan impresiones variadas, en particular las realizadas con concha estriada y lisa, peine y de cypraea. El uso de tales técnicas podría incluir estas primeras producciones cerámicas dentro del mundo impresso-cardial de la Europa mediterránea centro-occidental. A una fase avanzada, atribuida al Neolítico Medio, corresponde un conjunto de cerámicas con fuertes analogías y conexiones con la denominada Achakar Ware, de rasgos técnico-estilísticos marcadamente diferenciados. Entre estos se cuenta el uso de engobe colorante y la aplicación de impresiones con roulette cordada, lo que parece relacionar estas ultimas producciones con tradiciones propias del actual territorio del Sahara.

This work is a starting point for rethinking the role of the Iberian Peninsula in the neolithisation of northern Morocco. It focuses on the similarities and divergences between the first pottery productions and their decorations in both territories. This relationship is supported by the existence of an accurate chronological gradation between the first evidence of Neolithisation in Iberian Peninsula and that of northern Morocco which suggests a north–south direction. We also present arguments on the possible links between the early ceramics from the north of Morocco and those from the south of Iberia, providing a first approach to an issue that will need to be carefully analysed in future research.

This work presents the anthracological and archeopalynological results obtained within the project AGRIWESTMED (ERC AdG 230561), which has involved a comprehensive retrieval of archeobiological remains based on a systematic sampling strategy, beyond the recovery of the usual archeological materials. These surveys were conducted on three sites located in the North of Morocco: the cave of Kaf Taht-el-Ghar, 8 km southeast from Tetuan, and two caves within the El Khil complex, close to Tanger. Both plant micro- and macro-remains (charred wood) were studied through palynological and anthracological analyses, respectively., Our goal was to assess the vegetation composition of the area as well as the impact of human activities on the landscape. In Kaf Taht-el-Ghar the dynamics of vegetation and land use is recorded over the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Neolithic and Historic times. Clear changes such as the demise of ancient Paleolithic pine and juniper woods during the Epipaleolithic and the subsequent spread of grasslands are shown. Other conifers like Abies pinsapo, Cedrus atlantica and Taxus baccata also disappeared from the pollen and charred wood records. In the palynological study, cereal and broad beans (Vicia faba) are already detected in the Early Neolithic, as well as a lowering of grazing pressure. Both cereal and broad beans, along with the development of grazing activities are also documented around El Khil caves since the Early Neolithic. Throughout the whole pollen and anthracological sequences a progressive retreat of the tree cover and an extensive spread of grasslands could be set as the main features of the vegetation dynamics in this area.

This study is an overview of the state of research on the process of neolithisation of the northwesterncorner of Morocco. Particularly noteworthy are the recentfindings of a Spanish-Moroccan team in theframework of the AGRIWESTMED project carried out between 2011 and 2013 for the most part at thecaves of Magharat el-Khil (Tangier), Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tetouan) and Ifri n'Amr or Moussa (Khemisset).These excavations brought to light occupations from the Moroccan Early Neolithic Impressed-Cardialware complex, levels that correspond to the earliest horizon of agricultural and animal husbandrypractices in the northwestern corner of Africa.

Small dogs as pets, objects of affection and special consideration by their owners, are known in the Western Mediterranean sinceclassical Antiquity through texts, epigraphy and iconography. The study of a small-sized canid with a brachycephalic skulldiscovered in a cemetery, among other specimens, in the southernHispaniayields new interpretations regarding the relationshipsbetween dogs and humans at the outset of the Common Era in the western Roman world and sheds light on how to evaluate theirsymbolic implications in funerary rites. The physical characteristics of these specimens were analysed through morphological,osteometric, palaeopathological and biochemical isotopes methods. The findings represent a step forward in the understanding ofthe everyday life, mobility and diet of dogs, as well as the cause of their death which, in the case of the small-sized specimen,appears to correspond to a deliberate sacrifice.

[EN] During archaeological works carried out in the place known as Tablero Alto or Arruzafa, in inner city area of Córdoba (Spain), are documented a number of seven pit- structures, carved in the sandy subsoil, mostly of circular shape and affect ed by further historical phases. All of them, seems to belong of a same archaeological culture dated to last third of 4th and the beginnings of 3rd millennium BC in south-western Iberia. This is a priceless testimony to the settlement of the current urban territory of Cordoba from an early date, in a period in which the human population in this region appear remarkably intense., [ES] Durante los trabajos arqueológicos desarrollados en 2014 en el solar de la calle Marino Alcalá Galiano nº 3, emplazado en el casco urbano de la ciudad de Córdoba y en el entorno conocido como Tablero Alto o la Arruzafa, fueron documentadas hasta siete estructuras excavadas en el sustrato geológico, la mayoría de ellas de planta circular y muy afectadas por fases históricas posteriores. Todas ellas parecen responder a una misma fase ocupacional propia del último tercio del IV y tránsito al III milenio AC, dentro de un complejo cultural reconocible en todo el cuadrante suroccidental de Iberia. Ello representa un inestimable testimonio del poblamiento del entorno urbano de Córdoba desde un momento temprano, en un período en el que la ocupación humana en la región parece haber sido muy intensa.

This paper constitutes the first comprehensive review of animal fossils retrieved in Iberian archaeological sites. Out of 633 items from 82 sites, 143 were analyzed and a further 13 assessed and their status clarified by us on 20 sites. Among others, this study is the first one in Iberia to assess the role played by fossil scaphopods and to carry out a systematic description of shark teeth. The relevance of those 156 fossils we assessed through a comparison with all the finds located in the Iberian literature. Failure to report fossils properly did not allow us to warrant such status for 352 items. We believe that the poor record of fossils in Iberian archaeological sites is the result of a combination of methodological and theoretical constraints. For that reason, we contend that the items herein reported probably represent a fraction, however substantial, of the evidence at hand. In light of the contrasted relevance of fossils for addressing cultural issues, some recommendations and a plea for a more systematic and rigorous search of archaeological specimens are made.

En este trabajo se presenta el análisis palinológico de un perfil estratigráfico del yacimiento arqueológico de Torreparedones, situado en la campiña de Córdoba, con una cronología comprendida entre el IV y el I milenios cal. BC. En él se documenta un proceso de creciente degradación del encinar, que se iniciaría durante el Calcolítico mediante el desarrollo de actividades agrícolas y ganaderas, que se haría aún más manifiesto durante el Bronce Final y la Época Ibérica, dentro de un proceso de aridificación generalizado. Se plantea la relación del abandono del yacimiento durante el III milenio cal. BC respecto al evento climático abrupto 4200 cal. BP

[EN] The period comprising the end of the Early Neolithic and the Middle Neolithic, dated broadly within the fifth millennium cal BC, corresponds to an interval that remains largely unknown in the extreme northwestern tip of Africa. This situation contrasts with that of the Early Neolithic, a period characterised by the earliest evidence of the diffusion of a productive economy, cultivated plants and domestic animals. The paucity of data for these later phases can be explained in part by the lack of secure contexts and sequences based on radiocarbon datings of short-lived samples. The current study presents the results of the excavations of ElKhil Caves B and C that yield materials allowing reevaluation of the chronology of a type of ceramic known as Ashakar ware. The study also identifies two traditions in the northern Moroccan Middle Neolithic. The first is heir to the so-called Impressa Mediterranean ware and rooted in the Cardial Neolithic, while the second is characterised by roulette cord impressions, red slip and tunnel lugs and probably rooted in the region of the Sahara, and has no technological precedents in the study area., [FR] La fin du Néolithique ancien et le Néolithique moyen, correspondant au Ve millénaire av. n. è. (dates calibrées), demeure largement méconnue à l’extrême nord-ouest de l’Afrique. Cette situation contraste avec le Néolithique ancien qui est marqué par les premiers indices de la diffusion d’une économie de production basée sur la culture des plantes et la domestication. Le manque de données pour ces phases plus récentes peut notamment s’expliquer par l’absence de contextes sûrs ainsi que la rareté des datations radiocarbones d’échantillons organiques de courte durée de vie. Cette étude présente les données issues des fouilles des grottes El-Khil B et C (Maroc) qui ont livré des assemblages mobiliers qui permettent de revoir la chronologie de la céramique de type Achakar. L’étude met également en évidence deux traditions dans le nord du Maroc au cours du Néolithique moyen. La première découle de la tradition de la céramique imprimée et est enracinée dans le néolithique Cardial connu dans le monde méditerranéen. La seconde est caractérisée par des céramiques décorées à roulette de cordelette enroulée, un engobe rouge et des anses « funiculaires ». Ces influences seraient probablement originaires de la région saharienne et sont sans précédents technologiques dans la zone d’étude

[EN] This work is a synthesis of the history of the earliest phases of Torreparedones history which expand from the beginning of first documented occupation, towards the end of the fourth millennium BC, until development of the turdetani oppidum. Therefore we present the results obtained from the trial pit 3, carried out in the central area of settlement during the summer of 2012. These are compared to the sequences obtained during excavations performed between 1987 and 1992 in other areas of this settlement, inhabited although with some interruptions, for over five thousand years, [ES] Este trabajo trata de establecer una síntesis sobre las primeras fases de la historia de este núcleo habitado, desde su primera ocupación documentada con seguridad hacia el final del IV milenio ANE, hasta el desarrollo del oppidum turdetano. Para ello presentamos un avance de los resultados del denominado Sondeo 3, realizado por nosotros en el área central del asentamiento en el verano de 2012, contrastado con las secuencias obtenidas durante las excavaciones realizadas entre 1987 y 1992 en otros puntos de este asentamiento, ocupado, con algunas interrupciones como veremos, a lo largo de cinco mil años