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All Morocco Berkane Taforalt (Cave of Pigeons)
AO Edited

Taforalt (Cave of Pigeons)

This Paleolithic cave may be the oldest cemetery in North Africa.

Berkane, Morocco

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
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Taforalt, the Cave of Pigeons.   Nicolas Perrault III
Taforalt, the Cave of Pigeons.   Nicolas Perrault III
View from the cave.   Nicolas Perrault III
Looking up at the Taforalt cave.   Nicolas Perrault III
The cave.   Anwar Meqor
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About

The cave of Taforalt, also known as the Grotte des Pigeons, sits right outside the village of the same name in eastern Morocco. Considered the oldest cemetery in North Africa, the site contained at least 34 Iberomaurusian skeletons dating to the Later Stone Age, around 15,000 calendar years ago.

Archaeological evidence has also revealed that the Iberomaurusians lived in the cave around 23,000 years ago, and the earliest Aterian occupation here may date back to 85,000 years ago. Thanks to the cave being quite dry, both the human remains and Paleolithic artifacts were found in a good state of preservation.

Since its discovery in 1908, there has been an ongoing series of excavations and researches at the site, which has provided archaeologists with new perspectives on the lives in prehistoric North Africa.

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Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

July 6, 2021

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Sources
  • https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/march/ancient-human-dna-recovered-from-the-oldest-cemetery-in-africa.html
  • https://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/fieldwork-update-taforalt
Taforalt (Cave of Pigeons)
P6012
Berkane
Morocco
34.814645, -2.403909
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Berkane

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