Morocco | Discovering human footprints dating back more than 100,000 years

Weather of Arabia - A scientific team discovered more than 80 traces of human feet that were classified as the oldest traces in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean. Scientists believe that they date back to 5 individuals who were wandering on the shore of northern Morocco about 100 thousand years ago.

These antiquities were found at the foot of one of the rocky cliffs on the coast of the city of Larache, 90 kilometers south of Tangier, by a team of Moroccan, Spanish, French and German archaeologists. One of the members of the scientific team, Anas Essedrati, explained to Agence France-Presse that these antiquities:

“They represent the oldest traces of Homo sapiens in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean, and open new horizons for research on the prehistoric period in Morocco.”

The scientific team was conducting research on the movement of marine rocks in this area when it discovered these traces “by chance” in the summer of 2022, and after conducting practical tests, “85 of these traces were documented as belonging to at least 5 individuals, and it is likely that they were searching for food resources.” At sea,” according to Al-Sidrati’s statement, and it is possible that these individuals were either residing in an area close to this site, or passing by.

Discovery of ancient human remains in northern Morocco

A scientific team explains that among these five individuals are “ children, teenagers and adults,” according to Al-Sidrati’s statement to Agence France-Presse at the discovery site last Monday.

The results of this discovery were published in the scientific journal “Nature” last January, where these traces remained “in the upper part of the beach, and were preserved because they were covered with sediments” resulting from the movement of the sea.

Footprints that are likely to be of animals were also found, “but research is still ongoing to confirm the period they date back to,” according to statements by Al-Sidrati, who also serves as the governor of the archaeological site of Lixus, which dates back to the Roman period near Larache.

In 2017, human bone remains dating back to the oldest traces of Homo sapiens in the world, dating back to about 300,000 years, were found in the Jebel Irhoud region in southwestern Morocco.

These recent discoveries are considered a “first building block” in future research aimed at understanding the stability and movement of Homo sapiens in Morocco, through the combined efforts of specialized scientists from different fields.

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Sources:

aljazeera