A Moroccan-French scientific team has just discovered a new technique which goes back to a million years, on the “Thomas I” archaeological site in Casablanca, in the ancient phases of the Acheulean civilization in Africa.
According to the Moroccan Culture ministry, the archaeologists have discovered small flint stones not exceeding 6 centimeters in length, which were shaped using a special technique known as “Bipolar percussion on anvil” which aims to make very small elongated tools.
These flint tools were discovered at the Acheulean archaeological level (level L1), the same source says, adding that two-sided stone axes and other large tools made of quartzite stone, such as three-faceted axes; cores of spherical and hemispherical shape; various polyhedron cores; cores with concentric and circular sculpture and several hammers, have also been discovered on the site.
The study, the results of which were published in the “Scientific reports” Journal, provides elements concerning the technical and economic diversity of the former African Acheuleans, as it also testifies to their great aptitude in terms of technical skills and knowledge, as well as their ability to adapt to the needs of human groups during the later stages of the Lower Pleistocene epoch.
The ability to make large tools with sharp, blunt sides indicates the technological aspect that characterized the Acheulean material culture and its evolution from the “Oldowayen” civilization that preceded it, the report said.
HA/fss/Dng/APA