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African paleoanthropological studies typically focus on regions of the continent such as Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa, which hold the highest density of Pleistocene archaeological sites. Nevertheless, lesser known areas such as West Africa also feature a high number of sites. Here, we present a high-resolution map synthesising all well contextualised Pleistocene archaeological sites present in Sub-Saharan West Africa. A detailed elevation and ecoregional map was developed and correlated with palaeoanthropological sites. This map is supplemented with 1,000- and 2000-year interval climate reconstructions over the last 120,000 years for three subregions of high archaeological interest. The presented archaeological sites were compiled by reviewing published literature, and selected based on: (1) documented archaeological stratification or >10 characteristic artefacts, (2) published coordinates, and (3) published chronometric ages or relative dating. The data presented here elucidates the current state of knowledge of Pleistocene West Africa, highlighting the regional potential for human evolutionary studies.

Summary: The emergence of Homo sapiens in Pleistocene Africa is associated with a profound reconfiguration of technology. Symbolic expression and personal ornamentation, new tool forms, and regional technological traditions are widely recognized as the earliest indicators of complex culture and cognition in humans. Here we describe a bone tool tradition from Contrebandiers Cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, dated between 120,000–90,000 years ago. The bone tools were produced for different activities, including likely leather and fur working, and were found in association with carnivore remains that were possibly skinned for fur. A cetacean tooth tip bears what is likely a combination of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic modification and shows the use of a marine mammal tooth by early humans. The evidence from Contrebandiers Cave demonstrates that the pan-African emergence of complex culture included the use of multiple and diverse materials for specialized tool manufacture.