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International audience; While the emergence of the Acheulean is well documented in East Africa at ~1.7 Ma, subsequent developments are less well understood and to some extent controversial. Here, we provide robust evidence regarding the time period between 1.6 Ma and 1.2 Ma, based on an interdisciplinary approach to the stratigraphic sequences exposed in the Gombore gully of Melka Kunture, in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. Throughout the Pleistocene, the environment differed significantly from elsewhere in Africa because of the elevation at 2000 m asl, the cooler and rainy climate, the Afromontane vegetation, the development of endemic animal species, and the recurrent impact of volcanic activity. At Gombore IB, dated ~1.6 Ma, remains of Homo erectus/ergaster have been discovered, associated with a rich early Acheulean assemblage. The techno-typological analysis of the lithic record from Gombore Iγ (~1.4 Ma) and Gombore Iδ (~1.3 Ma), where substantial areas have been excavated, and the contrasting evidence from Gombore OAM Test Pit C (~1.2 Ma), suggest that the scarcity or lack of large flakes and large cutting tools at the two earlier sites is possibly not just the outcome of sampling bias, but rather of the adaptation of H. erectus/ergaster to the local resources, in a relatively isolated environment. The sites of Gombore gully provide new evidence on the complex pattern of human evolution and adaptation in East Africa during the Lower Pleistocene.

International audience; We describe here the first definite representative of the subfamily Elasmotheriinae in North Africa. It comes from the upper Miocene site of Skoura near Ouarzazate, on the southern slope of the Central High Atlas in Morocco. It consists of a virtually complete skull with articulated mandible and a few fragmentary postcranial remains, making it by far the best known elasmotheriine from the African late Miocene. We assign it to a new taxon, Eoazara xerrii gen. et sp. nov. The skull is characterized by long nasal bones indicating a strong horn and long, anteriorly expanded, edentulous premaxillae. Compared to other Rhinocerotidae, the face is moderately elongated; the lower incisors are of medium size; and the premolar row is short. The upper molars have a strongly pinched protocone, a long antecrochet, and an unexpanded central valley. Eoazara xerrii gen. et sp. nov. is at a lower evolutionary grade than the Chinese species of Ningxiatherium and Parelasmotherium, but probably comparable to the very incomplete remains from the East African late Miocene forms. We regard Eoazara as a member of a chiefly Eurasian clade, rather than as a survivor of a hypothetical African elasmotheriine branch. Parsimony analysis confirms the monophyly of the Elasmotheriinae, but that of the remaining Rhinocerotidae is questionable.

International audience

The onset of the Acheulean, marked by the emergence of large cutting tools (LCTs), is considered a major technological advance in the Early Stone Age and a key turning point in human evolution. The Acheulean originated in East Africa at ~ 1.8–1.6 Ma and is reported in South Africa between ~ 1.6 and > 1.0 Ma. The timing of its appearance and development in North Africa have been poorly known due to the near-absence of well-dated sites in reliable contexts. The ~ 1 Ma stone artefacts of Tighennif (Algeria) and Thomas Quarry I-Unit L (ThI-L) at Casablanca (Morocco) are thus far regarded as documenting the oldest Acheulean in North Africa but whatever the precision of their stratigraphical position, both deserve a better chronology. Here we provide a chronology for ThI-L, based on new magnetostratigraphic and geochemical data. Added to the existing lithostratigraphy of the Casablanca sequence, these results provide the first robust chronostratigraphic framework for the early North African Acheulean and firmly establish its emergence in this part of the continent back at least to ~ 1.3 Ma.

Several hypotheses posit a link between the origin of Homo and climatic and environmental shifts between 3 and 2.5 Ma. Here we report on new results that shed light on the interplay between tectonics, basin migration and faunal change on the one hand and the fate of Australopithecus afarensis and the evolution of Homo on the other. Fieldwork at the new Mille-Logya site in the Afar, Ethiopia, dated to between 2.914 and 2.443 Ma, provides geological evidence for the northeast migration of the Hadar Basin, extending the record of this lacustrine basin to Mille-Logya. We have identified three new fossiliferous units, suggesting in situ faunal change within this interval. While the fauna in the older unit is comparable to that at Hadar and Dikika, the younger units contain species that indicate more open conditions along with remains of Homo. This suggests that Homo either emerged from Australopithecus during this interval or dispersed into the region as part of a fauna adapted to more open habitats., Key events in human evolution are thought to have occurred between 3 and 2.5 Ma, but the fossil record of this period is sparse. Here, Alemseged et al. report a new fossil site from this period, Mille-Logya, Ethiopia, and characterize the geology, basin evolution and fauna, including specimens of Homo.

To date, in Africa, evidence for animal processing and consumption in caves routinely used as living spaces is only documented in the late Middle Pleistocene of the North and South of the continent and postdates the Middle Pleistocene in East Africa. Here we report the earliest evidence in a North-African cave (Grotte des Rhinocéros at Casablanca, Morocco) of cut, percussion and human gnawing marks on faunal remains directly associated with lithic knapping activities in the same space and in a well-documented stratified context. Ages for this Acheulean site are provided by the dating of herbivorous teeth to 690–720 ka and 520–550 ka (lower and upper sets) by combined Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and U-series techniques. Traces of butchery on gazelle, alcelaphin, and zebra bones demonstrate that hominins had primary access to herbivore carcasses. Hominins brought and consumed meat in the cave, as documented by herbivore bones bearing human tooth marks concentrated in a circumscribed area of the excavation. In Africa, this site provides the earliest evidence for in situ carcass processing and meat-eating in cave, directly associated with lithic production and demonstrates the recurrent use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins of a North African cave site 400 000 years before that by Homo sapiens at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).

International audience; A new compilation of the Old World fossil record of the Camelidae and a recent phylogenetic analysis allow a new assessment of the timing of the diversification in that taxon. Using a recent implementation of the fossilized birth-death process, we show that the divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary has a peak probability density around 1 Ma and probably occurred less than 2 million years ago. These dates are much younger than molecular estimates, which place the divergence between the dromedary and the Bactrian camel between 4 and 8 million years ago. Calibration problems in molecular dating seems to explain much of this difference.

International audience; This study represents the first extensive systematic investigation of the Miocene mammalian faunas of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), stored in the Macedonian Museum of Natural History, Skopje. They range in age from perhaps the early Miocene to the early Ruscinian, but the bulk of the fossils represent middle Turolian mammals. At least 57 taxa have been identified, from 25 different paleontological sites, mostly from the Vardar and Strumitsa river basins, but also from the Morievo and Delchevo regions. The richest localities are the middle Turolian localities of Karaslari (with 22 species) and Kiro Kuchuk (17 species). The rich fossil material greatly improves our knowledge of the Turolian Hipparion faunas of the Balkan-Iranian zoogeographic paleo-province, whose westernmost part was mostly documented in Greece and Bulgaria. The fauna displays the typical faunal features of the Balkan Pikermian biome, with dominance of hipparions (especially H. brachypus, but our revision does not confirm the presence of Hipparion verae in the Turolian faunas) and bovids such as Gazella, Tragoportax, and spiral-horned antelopes. Other forms usually found in the area, such as Microstonyx erymanthius, Dihoplus pikermiensis, chalicotheres, Choerolophodon pentelici, Mesopithecus pentelicus, or Adcrocuta eximia are also common. Several new forms have been identified among the carnivores, the giraffids and the bovids. The Macedonian material contributes to reconstructing the history of several taxa such as Simocyon, Metailurus, several hipparion species, Propotamochoerus, Bohlinia, Sivatherium. The most noticeable features of these Turolian faunas are: the abundance of spiral-horned antelopes, and rarity of antelopes of the Protoryx-Pachytragus group, as in Bulgaria, the co-existence of chalicotheriins and schizotheriins, the frequency of Dihoplus compared to Ceratotherium, the presence of Chilotherium, which reaches its westernmost longitude, and the presence of Anancus sp. in some localities, considered here as post-Pikermian.

International audience; The upper Miocene locality of Mahmutgazi in Western Turkey was excavated in the 70s by a German team, but most of its large mammals had never been studied. The collection housed in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe, contains, besides previously published groups, large samples of Giraffidae (Samotherium), Rhinocerotidae (including a nice complete skull of Ceratotherium neumayri), and Equidae, as well as some Chalicotheriidae (Ancylotherium) and Bovidae (Boselaphini), which are studied here. Three fossiliferous spots, Ma1, Ma2, and Ma3 have been recognized but I regard the first two, and probably also the third one, as contemporaneous. Although the fossil assemblage certainly does not reflect the full original taxonomic diversity, tentative biochronological conclusions can be proposed: the site is probably older than Şerefköy, Akkaşdağı, and the 'Dominant Fossil Assemblage' of Samos, but definitely younger than the early part of the Samos sequence.

International audience; We describe here the Turolian (late Miocene) faunas from several fossiliferous localities at Gorna Sushitsa (South-Western Bulgaria). The composite fauna is typical for the Turolian of the Balkan. The stratigraphically lowermost locality, GS2, yields more primitive stages of Adcrocuta eximia and Paramachaerodus orientalis than at Pikermi, and could be an early Turolian one, very close to the lower/middle Turolian transition. The faunas from stratigraphically higher localities are characteristic of the Middle Turolian and display (especially those from the upper levels), the features of the typical Pikermi fauna. The Gorna Sushitsa faunas indicate a xerophytic open woodland/shrubland at that time.

International audience; We describe a virtually complete proboscidean cranium and other remains from the late Miocene of Skoura near Ouarzazate, Morocco, assigning them to a derived species of Tetralophodon. African finds of this genus are scarce and are of additional interest due to their potential importance for elephantid phylogeny. The Skoura material adds significantly to the African record of non-anancine tetralophodonts and to the Neogene proboscidean record of northwestern Africa.

International audience; We describe here several specimens of the genus Theropithecus from the southern shore of Lake Assal in the Republic of Djibouti; they are the first record of the genus from this country. We assign them to a derived stage of T. oswaldi. This identification has implications for the age of the informal ‘Formation 1’ from this area, which should probably be assigned to the Middle Pleistocene. In addition, the presence of T. oswaldi close to the Bab el Mandeb Strait strongly suggests that the species followed this route to India, rather than a more northern one.

International audience; The Early Pleistocene transition from the Oldowan to the Acheulean in eastern Africa was roughly contemporaneous with a number of other events commonly assumed to be connected with hominin evolution. I review here the large mammal evidence, well-documented in several major eastern African sites. Definite conclusions are hard to reach because of temporal gaps in the fossil record, and very patchy history of many lineages, but I conclude that, although some groups do show some turnover during this period, most of them did not change more than before or after it. We may conclude that this cultural change did not seriously impact the faunal assemblage. In addition, we may surmise that, since climate change at this period, if any, did not seriously impact the fauna, it is unlikely to have played a major role in human evolution at that time.

International audience; The late Miocene Bovidae from the Nawata Formation of Lothagam were all assigned to modern tribes by Harris (2003), with the majority of specimens being referred to a species of Aepyceros, a genus that includes the modern impala. However, an alternative interpretation of the collection lessens the modern character of the faunal composition. Many of the identifications are revised: there might be a single species of Boselaphini, there is no evidence of Hippotragini, and Aepyceros is less common than previously thought. Two new genera, Afrotragus and Turkanatragus, are erected; together with an unnamed species and ‘Kobus’ laticornis Harris, 2003, they cannot easily be allocated to any existing tribe. These two new genera share long, slender, spiralled horn-cores, and it is conceivable that they belong to the same group, which might also include the ‘Prostrepsiceros’ from Sahabi, Libya, but does not seem closely related to Eurasian Prostrepsiceros. Along with sparser evidence from elsewhere in Africa, this strongly suggests that by the late Miocene, African Bovidae underwent a wider radiation than reflected in the tribes that survived into the Pliocene, showing that the crown groups very incompletely document the relatively recent past diversity of the family.

International audience; The timing and location of the emergence of our species and of associated behavioural changes are crucial for our understanding of human evolution. The earliest fossil attributed to a modern form of Homo sapiens comes from eastern Africa and is approximately 195 thousand years old, therefore the emergence of modern human biology is commonly placed at around 200 thousand years ago. The earliest Middle Stone Age assemblages come from eastern and southern Africa but date much earlier. Here we report the ages, determined by thermoluminescence dating, of fire-heated flint artefacts obtained from new excavations at the Middle Stone Age site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, which are directly associated with newly discovered remains of H. sapiens. A weighted average age places these Middle Stone Age artefacts and fossils at 315 ± 34 thousand years ago. Support is obtained through the recalculated uranium series with electron spin resonance date of 286 ± 32 thousand years ago for a tooth from the Irhoud 3 hominin mandible. These ages are also consistent with the faunal and microfaunal assemblages and almost double the previous age estimates for the lower part of the deposits. The north African site of Jebel Irhoud contains one of the earliest directly dated Middle Stone Age assemblages, and its associated human remains are the oldest reported for H. sapiens. The emergence of our species and of the Middle Stone Age appear to be close in time, and these data suggest a larger scale, potentially pan-African, origin for both.

Carbon and oxygen isotopes of mammalian tooth enamel were used to reconstruct paleoenvironments of Australopithecus afarensis from the middle Pliocene locality of Dikika, Ethiopia. Isotopic analyses were conducted on 210 mammalian herbivore teeth from 15 different taxa collected from the Basal Member (~3.8-3.42 Ma) and Sidi Hakoma Member (3.42-3.24 Ma) of the Hadar Formation. The isotopic analyses aim specifically at reconstructing shifts in the relative abundance of C(4) grasses in mammalian diets, and more generally at paleoclimate factors such as aridity and seasonality, as well as habitat structure. Carbon isotopic data suggest a wide range of foraging strategies, characterized by mixed C(3)/C(4) to C(4)-dominated diets in wooded grasslands to open woodlands. Weighted average C(4) dietary proportions range between 60% and 86% in the Basal Member and 49% and 74% in the Sidi Hakoma Member. Paleoclimatic conditions based on the reconstructed mean annual water deficit from the δ(18)O(enamel) values indicate a wetter climate as compared to either the early Pliocene or the Pleistocene nearby. The middle Pliocene habitat structure at Dikika could be as diverse as open grassland and wooded grassland, and woodland to forest in the Sidi Hakoma Member while wooded grassland, woodland to grassland are evident in the Basal Member. All habitats except closed woodland and forest are persistent through both members; however, the relative proportion of individual habitats changed through time. These changes could have put the fauna in competition for preferred habitats and food resources, which could have forced migration, adaptation to other resources and/or extinction. Thus, the existence of A. afarensis throughout the middle Pliocene indicates either this species might have adapted to a wide range of habitats, or its preferred habitat was not affected by the observed environmental changes.

The locality of Ahl at Oughlam, situated at the southeastern limit of the city of Casablanca (Morocco) at about 34 degrees north, is dated by the biochronology of its rich mammalian fauna to about 2.5 Ma. At the present time it is 6.5 km from the Atlantic Ocean but it was on the seashore when the fossil material was deposited. Among the seabirds are Phoebastria anglica, Phoebastria sp. cf. P. albatrus, Phoebastria sp. cf. P. nigripes, Pelagornis mauretanicus, Calonectris sp. cf. C. diomedea, Morus peninsularis, Morus sp. cf. M. bassanus, Catharacta sp. cf. C. skua, Alca ausonia. Among the landbirds are Struthio asiaticus, Geronticus olsoni n.sp., several anseriforms, Plioperdix africana n.sp., several otidids, Agapornis atlanticus n.sp., Tyto balearica, T. alba, Surnia robusta, and a few Passeriformes. The Recent species of albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus and P. nigripes live in the North Pacific but were also present in the North Atlantic until the Middle Pleistocene. The marine avifauna shows many similarities with that of the Yorktown Formation, in North Carolina. Unlike the mammals, which include many genera in common with the African faunas, the landbirds have more affinities with the Palaearctic region than with the Ethiopian region. They include several extinct genera or species that have been described, or identified, in the Pliocene of the Palaearctic region. The terrestrial avifauna is very different from all those that have been described from the upper Miocene and Pliocene of Africa

The Dikika Research Project (DRP), led by one of us (Z.A.), explores Lower Pliocene to early middle Pleistocene sediments in the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia, mostly on the right bank of the Awash ...

Wir beschreiben die Resten von Rhinocerotiden aus etwa zehn Obermiozän Lokalitäten in Bulgarien. Die wichtigsten Fundorte sind Kalimantsi, Hadjidimovo und derjenige kurz erfundene in Strumyani. Mindestens sieben Arten werden wegen Elementen vom Schädel repräsentiert. Ein Schädel mag zu Chilotherium kiliasi gehören, eine Art, für welche eine neue Untergattung, Eochilotherium, etabliert wurde. Einige Stücken gehören zu Ch. (Chilotherium). Man erreicht in Bulgarien der westlichen Grenze der Entdeckung dieser Gattung. Acerorhinus wird sehr oft in Kalimantsi gefunden, aber dieser Gattung soll wiedergearbeitet werden. Eine unerwartete Entdeckung von Brachypotherium in Ahmatovo ist die letzte in Europa. Die hornige Rhinos Ceratotherium und Dihoplus liegen beiden in zwei Lokalitäten. Diese taxonomische Mannigfaltigkeit bedeutet die Anwesenheit von verschiedenen Umgebungen, denn die Lagerungen ziemlich derselben Alters sind. Es entspricht der geographische Lage von Bulgarien, wo die Gebiete von asiatischen Chilotherium, von der pontische Acerorhinus und von der Balkan-Iraner Ceratotherium überschneiden. Dazu kommt die wahrscheinliche Einwanderung von Brachypotherium aus Afrika zu Europa., We describe the remains of Rhinocerotidae from about 10 Late Miocene localities of Bulgaria, the main ones being Kalimantsi and Hadjidimovo, and the newly discovered site of Strumyani. At least seven species are represented, mostly by cranial elements. A skull is assigned to Chilotherium kiliasi, a species for which a new sub-genus, Eochilotherium, is established. Some fragmentary remains are referred to Ch. (Chilotherium), which reaches in Bulgaria the westernmost limit of its range. Acerorhinus is well represented at Kalimantsi, but this genus probably deserves revision. An unexpected discovery is that of Brachypotherium at Ahmatovo, its latest known occurrence in Europe. The horned rhinos, Ceratotherium and Dihoplus, co-occur at two localities. This relatively great diversity points to a variety of environments, as it is unlikely that the main fossil faunas are very different in age. It also reflects the geographic position of Bulgaria, where the ranges of the mainly Asiatic Chilotherium, of the Pontic Acerorhinus and of the Balkano-Iranian Ceratotherium overlap, in addition to a possible immigration of Brachypotherium from Africa into Europe.

Les Proboscidiens d'Ahl al Oughlam sont illustres par des restes dentaires juveniles et des os des membres. Le Gomphothere Anancus semble un peu different de la forme europeenne, et doit sans doute etre rattache a l'espece nord-africaine A.osiris. L'Elephant ne peut etre distingue d' Elephas recki, et il est suggere que cette espece est representee en Afrique du Nord par plusieurs stades evolutifs, comme en Afrique Orientale.

Resume La grande faune associee aux derniers Neandertaliens de Zafarraya est assez originale. Le bouquetin y domine largement les autres herbivores, parmi lesquels on remarque E. hydruntinus, rare en Espagne, et le chamois, jamais signale a une latitude aussi meridionale. Chez les carnivores, dont le plus commun est la panthere, on note l'absence de l'ours des cavernes et surtout du loup, remplace par le dhole. L'assemblage de bouquetins comprend des individus des deux sexes et de tous âges. L'analyse de la distribution spatiale des elements anatomiques du bouquetin et des carnivores montre que le role de l'Homme dans la constitution des assemblages est le plus marque vers — 32 000 BP, avec une intervention accrue des carnivores vers — 30 000 BP. La grotte a pu etre utilisee comme camp de chasse provisoire.

Resume Le gisement de Ahl al Oughlam a livre la premiere faune importante de carnivores d'Afrique du Nord, et l'une des plus riches d'Afrique. Elle comprend 23 taxons dont 13 nouveaux, appartenant â la plupart des familles de carnivores, les mieux representees etant les felides (6 especes), les hyenides et les mustelides (4 especes chacune). Plusieurs genres n'avaient pas encore ete decouverts en Afrique du Nord, comme Pliocrocuta, Chasmaporthetes, Nyctereutes, Prepoecilogale , alors que le morse ( Alachtherium ) est signale pour la premiere fois en Afrique; de nombreux autres genres etaient encore inconnus dans la region avant le milieu ou meme la fin du Pleistocene, comme Herpestes, Viverra, Genetta, Acinonyx, Ursus, Poecilictis, Mellivora, Lutra . La faune de carnivores de Ahl al Oughlam, ecologiquement tres diversifiee, se distingue au moins autant de celles d'Eurasie que de celles d'Afrique orientale et meridionale; les nombreuses similitudes avec les unes et les autres permettent neanmoins de confirmer l'âge de 2,5 Ma qui avait ete propose pour le gisement.

Turtles from the Pliocene of Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Morocco) and nearby Mio-Pliocene localities. The Late Pliocene locality Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Morocco) yielded a fauna of cryptodiran testudinoid turtles, all of them related to extant African forms. Two terrestrial and one freshwater species are recognized. First, a new small species of the palaearctic genus Testudo Linnaeus, 1758, T. oughlamensis n. sp., is abundantly represented and is closely related to T. kenitrensis Gmira, 1993, from the Middle Pleistocene of Kenitra, Morocco. It is compared to other new remains of Testudo from nearby localities of similar age, including Dehar Mouak and Ar Rehamna. Together with T. kenitrensis, it constitutes a new clade within Testudo, providing a minimum age for the divergence between this clade and T. graeca Linnaeus, 1758 from Morocco. Secondly, the giant ?Centrochelys marocana n. sp., is probably related to the extant C. sulcata (Miller, 1779). Its description gives the opportunity to exami...

Resume Les Rongeurs du Pliocene final de Ahl al Oughlam, connus par plusieurs milliers de dents, ne comprennentpourtant que 6 especes. Hystrix et le Ctenodactylide Irhoudia sont tres rares; les Murides Paraethomys, Praomys et Mus sont un peu plus primitifs qu'a Irhoud Ocre. Une espece nouvelle de Gerbillus ressemble beaucoup a G. campestris, malgre son âge ancien. Les Insectivores sont presque tous des Soricides; le plus abondant est un “Episoriculus” semblable a celui d'Irhoud Ocre; une nouvelle espece de Suncus est le premier fossile de ce genre en Afrique du Nord; Erinaceus (Atelerix) n'est represente que par 2 dents. La microfaune est moins diversifiee que dans les gisements plus recents, ou la predominance des Gerbillides temoigne d'un milieu plus ouvert et plus sec, et Ahl al Oughlam semble anterieur a la degradation climatique de la fin du Pliocene.

Resume Tous les Suides du Pliocene superieur de Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Maroc) sont rapportes a Kolpochoerusphacochoeroides Thomas , 1884 . Cette espece se distingue bien de “K.” afarensis comme de K. limnetes d'Afrique Orientale par le raccourcissement du museau, la forte taille des canines, meme chez les femelles, la reduction des premolaires anterieures et une P4/ avec une fovea postero-linguale. Elle appartient au groupe herbivore qui inclut aussi K. limnetes, K. paiceae d'Afrique du Sud et l'hylochere, a l'interieur duquel K. limnetes, est-africain, s'est individualise le premier. Sous reserve d'une vitesse d'evolution des M3 uniforme, l'âge de Ahl al Oughlam peut etre evalue 2,4 ma, âge parfaitement compatible avec les indications tirees du reste de la faune.

International audience; North-western Africa, today included in the Palaearctic realm, is well separated from the Ethiopian province by the Sahara, but the distribution of large mammals shows that these biogeographic domains cannot simply be extrapolated to the late Cenozoic. In the latest Miocene and earliest Pliocene, there were close connections with central Africa, but also remarkable similarities with East Africa, in some instances reaching the species level. There is no evidence of northern influence among large mammals, although several small mammals had a wide range in the Mediterranean. East African or pan-African forms are also largely predominant in the well sampled Late Pliocene, their low diversity resulting probably from local environmental conditions. There are but a few immigrants from Eurasia, mostly carnivores. During the Early Pleistocene, limited exchanges occur with the Middle East, but many more with the rest of Africa. By the Middle Pleistocene similarities with East Africa reach their climax, and it is only with the latest part of this period that some northern immigrants put a Palaearctic stamp on this fauna, the “Ethiopian” character of which decreases by extinction of many of its elements.

Resume Les travaux recents conduits au Maroc dans le cadre du « Programme Casablanca » offrent une base solide pour etablir une biochronologie du Pliocene et du Pleistocene fondee sur la succession des faunes de Mammiferes, grâce a la presence de jalons bien dates, malgre l’extreme rarete des datations absolues. Le site de Lissasfa, date par les rongeurs de la limite Mio-Pliocene, atteste l’existence d’echanges importants avec l’Europe. Celui d’Ahl al Oughlam a livre plus de 100 especes de Vertebres. Les stades evolutifs de ses rongeurs, carnivores, bovides, Kolpochoerus, ainsi que l’absence d’Equus, permettent de le dater de la fin du Pliocene, vers 2,5 Ma. Les carrieres Thomas et Oulad Hamida a Casablanca recoupent une succession unique de niveaux marins et continentaux remontant au Pleistocene inferieur, livrant les plus anciens temoignages de la presence humaine au Maroc, dont les etapes ulterieures sont illustrees par les niveaux du Pleistocene moyen de ces memes carrieres, et par plusieurs autres sites dont la plupart sont aussi situes dans la region de Rabat et Casablanca, confirmant l’importance de cette zone littorale dans l’histoire humaine, dont pourtant le premier chapitre au Maghreb, actuellement illustre par les sites de l’Ain Hanech et de Mansourah en Algerie, reste mal documente au Maroc.

The Middle Pleistocene environmental and climatic conditions at Asbole, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia were reconstructed using stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition (13C, 18O) of fossil tooth enamel coupled with faunal abundance data. We analyzed the isotopic composition of a total of 80 herbivorous tooth enamel samples from 15 mammalian taxa, which archive the dietary preferences and drinking behavior from the “Asbole faunal zone”. The carbon isotopic data signify a wide range of foraging strategies, across the entire spectrum of pure C4 to C4-dominated diet, mixed C3/C4 diet and C3-dominated diet. The oxygen isotopic enrichment between evaporation sensitive and insensitive taxa (ɛES-EI) is 3.7‰ which provides an estimate of the mean annual water deficit of the Middle Pleistocene at Asbole of 1470 mm, a value characteristic of modern arid landscapes in this part of the Awash Valley. The isotopic data coupled with faunal abundance data indicate an arid C4-dominated open-vegetated region, with an abundance of forest-dwelling primates that identify the presence of gallery forests flanking tributary streams to the paleo-Awash River. Thus, with these combined methodologies, it is possible to explicate a more detailed character of the “mosaic” of environments characteristic of Neogene savanna ecosystems. These findings, clearly indicate the importance of avoiding oversimplification of Pleistocene environmental reconstructions, based on single proxies at isolated localities.

The Oldowan assemblages of Melka Kunture represent the earliest known example of obsidian utilization. The proximity of primary and secondary sources of Balchit obsidian, a high quality raw material easily available in large quantities, is a unique situation among East African Oldowan sites. Obsidian represents a large component of the lithic assemblages at Melka Kunture, not only during the Oldowan but during the Acheulian times as well. Other volcanic rocks are incorporated into the technological system at Melka Kunture such as basalts, ignimbrites, trachytes and trachybasalts, which present completely different characteristics for knapping.

International audience; The Thomas Quarry I locality was made famous in 1969 with the discovery of a human half-mandible in a cave. In 1985, further investigations revealed the presence of a Lower Acheulean assemblage in lower units of the section. From 1988 onwards, modern controlled excavations took place within the framework of the Franco-Moroccan co-operative project "Casablanca". Acheulean artefacts, a rich mammalian fauna and four hominid teeth have been excavated from the cave. The faunal set indicates an open woodland environment. Carcasses were processed by carnivores, but cut-marks are absent, which raises the question of any human role in the bone accumulations. Stone knapping was mainly oriented towards flake production and a few bifaces have been imported into the site. Laser ablation ICP-MS dating combining the ESR and U-series data for the modelling of the U-uptake has given an US/ESR age of 501 ± 76 ka for a human premolar while new OSL measurements yielded an age of 420 ± 34 ka for sediments immediately above the dated tooth and 391 ± 32 ka below. Nevertheless, biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy point towards a greater antiquity.

International audience

Zusammenfassung: Ardiç-Mordogan ist ein neue Fundstelle in die Karaburun Halbinsel von Westtürkei. Unter ihre Fauna, das ist hier beschreibt, sind die Carnivoren besonders interessant, mit die vollständigste bekannten Exemplaren von Percrocuta miocenica und von eine primitiv Hyänen-Art, von welche ein neue Unterart, Protictitherium intermedium paralium, beschreibt ist. Die Fauna stark gleicht die von mehrere anderen Mittelmiozän Lagerstatten in derselben Gebiet: Çandir, Paşalar und Inönü in Türkei, und Prebreza in Serbien, und sie mussen sich allen zu dieselben Mammal-Zone gehören. Seinen Huftieren bezeugen ein offenes Umwelt, das bei der Türko-Balkanisch Gebiet in Serravallien Zeit verbreiten mussten., Ardiç-Mordogan is a new fossil Mammal locality in the Karaburun Peninsula of Western Turkey. Among its fauna, which is described here, the carnivores are especially interesting, with the most complete specimens ever found of Percrocuta miocenica and of a primitive species of hyaenid, of which a new subspecies is described, Protictitherium intermedium paralium. This fauna is strongly reminiscent of those of several other Middle Miocene localities in this area, Çandir, Paşalar and Inönü in Turkey, and Prebreza in Serbia, and they must all belong to the same mammalian zone. Their ungulates attest an open environment which must have been widespread in the Turko-Balkanic area in Serravallian times.

All six known specimens of the early hominid Sahelanthropus tchadensis come from Toros-Menalla site 266 (TM 266), a single locality in the Djurab Desert, northern Chad, central Africa. Here we present a preliminary analysis of the palaeontological and palaeoecological context of these finds. The rich fauna from TM 266 includes a significant aquatic component such as fish, crocodiles and amphibious mammals, alongside animals associated with gallery forest and savannah, such as primates, rodents, elephants, equids and bovids. The fauna suggests a biochronological age between 6 and 7 million years. Taken together with the sedimentological evidence, the fauna suggests that S. tchadensis lived close to a lake, but not far from a sandy desert, perhaps the oldest record of desert conditions in the Neogene of northern central Africa.

The recent Moroccan-French cooperation programme has brought about the discovery and excavation of several nch sites in the area of Casablanca. The earliest of these is the newly discovered locality of Lissasfa, which is at least 5 Myr old, and shows that the «Quaternary» sequence of Atlantic Morocco is at least twice as long as previously thought. The other localities provide a biochronological frame for the North-African Upper Pliocene and Quaternary Ahl al Oughlam, dated to about 2.5 Myr, is one of the richest faunal localities in the whole African Cenozoic, but man had probably not arrived in North Africa at that time. In Thomas Quarry 1, the earliest archaeological level in Morocco, level L, is probably of lower Pleistocene age. In the same complex of quarries, the faunas of cave fillings, of which the Homo erectus level of Thomas 1 looks the oldest, can be grouped within a single faunal unit., Le récent programme de coopération franco-marocain a permis la découverte et la fouille de plusieurs riches sites dans la région de Casablanca. Le plus ancien d'entre eux est celui de Lissasfa, âgé d'au moins 5 M a., qui montre que la séquence « quaternaire » du Maroc atlantique est au moins deux fois plus longue qu'on ne le pensait naguère. Les autres sites permettent l'établissement d'un cadre biochronologique pour le Pliocène supérieur et le Quaternaire nord-africain. Ahl al Oughlam, daté d'environ 2,5 M a., est l'une des plus riches localités de tout le Cénozoique africain, mais l'Homme n'avait sans doute pas encore gagné l'Afrique du Nord à cette époque. Dans la carrière Thomas 1, le plus ancien niveau archéologique du Maroc, le niveau L, est probablement d'âge pléistocene inférieur. Dans le même ensemble de carrières, les faunes de remplissages de fissures, dont la plus ancienne est associée à l'Homo erectus de Thomas 1, peuvent être regroupées dans un même ensemble., Geraads Denis. Plio-Pleistocene mammalian biostratigraphy of Atlantic Morocco / Biostratigraphie des mammifères Plio-Pléistocènes du Maroc atlantique.. In: Quaternaire, vol. 13, n°1, 2002. Paléorivages de Casablanca. Stratigraphie et Préhistoire ancienne au Maroc atlantique. pp. 43-53.

pdf du manuscrit; International audience; The long sequence at Casablanca covers the last 5.5 Ma. The oldest lithic assemblages are found in Late Lower Pleistocene deposits, circa 1 Ma, in unit L of Thomas Quarry 1, and consist of Acheulian artefacts made from quartzite and flint. The first human remains discovered in this area were found in younger Middle Pleistocene deposits and cover an important period of human evolution between Homo erectus and modern Homo. They are associated with Acheulian artefacts and rich faunas in caves (Littorines Cave at Sidi Abderrahmane, caves at Thomas Quarries 1 and 3). The variability of Acheulian assemblages is well documented following recent excavations in various sites around the well known locality of Sidi Abderrahmane (Bears Cave, Cap Chatelier, Unit L and Hominid Cave at Thomas Quarry 1, Rhino Cave at Oulad Hamida Quarry 1, Sidi Abderrahmane Extension and Sidi Al Khadir open-air sites). The Casablanca sequence offers useful data for comparison with those from other African areas where hominids appeared and developed and should be considered in the debate on the earliest occupation of Europe.

The site of Ahl al Oughlam near Casablanca, Morocco, dated to ca. 2·5 Ma, has yielded a good sample of Theropithecus atlanticus (Thomas, 1884), a North African late Pliocene species previously known only by its holotype, a lower molar from Algeria. Theropithecus atlanticus , which can now be much better defined, is clearly distinct from other species of the genus, which is thus more diverse than previously thought. The mandible of T. atlanticus has a very characteristic deep and long post-molar sulcus and a deep and well excavated supra-lateral triangular depression of the ramus, with a sharp postero-inferior ridge. The upper and lower canines are rather large but low. The male P 3 is very wide, with well developed posterior crests; the P 4 is rounded, with a large talonid and weak notches and clefts. Median lingual notches of the lower molars form an acute angle. Although our incomplete knowledge of T. atlanticus precludes a detailed phylogenetic analysis, we suggest that it arose by clado-genesis from the T. darti – T. oswaldi lineage; it is replaced by the latter species in the Pleistocene.Le gisement de Ahl al Oughlam pres de Casablanca (Maroc), date d'environ 2,5 Ma, a livre une belle collection de Theropithecus atlanticus (Thomas, 1884), espece du Pliocene superieur nord-africain qui n'etait jusque la connue que par son holotype, une molaire inferieure d'Algerie. T. atlanticus , qui peut maintenant etre bien mieux defini, se distingue bien des autres especes du genre, dont la diversite est ainsi accrue. La mandibule de T. atlanticus est tres caracteristique par son espace retro-molaire vaste et profond, et sa depression supra-laterale de la branche montante egalement tres profonde, avec un rebord inferieur aigu. Les canines superieures et inferieures sont grosses mais basses. La P 3 mâle est tres large, avec des cretes posterieures tres developpees; la P 4 est arrondie, avec un grand talonide et des sillons peu profonds. Sur les molaires inferieures, le debouche de la vallee mediane forme un angle aigu. Bien que notre connaissance imparfaite de T. atlanticus interdise une analyse phyletique detaillee, nous suggerons une derivation par cladogenese a partir de la lignee T. darti – T. oswaldi ; cette derniere espece le remplace au Pleistocene.

The Late Pliocene site (ca 2.5 Ma) of Ahl al Oughlam has yielded a complete fauna of macro- and micro-mammals, by far the richest of the late Cenozoic era of North Africa,. it includes at least 55 species. Carnivora (23 species) are the dominant group. Many of them used the caves and fissures as dens or shelters, bringing in most of the ungulate remains. These remains include mostly medium-size species and juveniles of larger ones. Very few taxa are akin to Palearctic ones, and most of the faunal exchanges were intra-African. However; when compared to East Africa, the poor diversity of these ungulates must be noted, which the karstic nature of the site fails to fully explain, but which could result from a harsh, open and relatively cold environment., Le gisement du Pliocène final (environ 2,5 Ma) d'Ahl al Oughlam a livré une faune complète de micro- et macro-mammifères, de loin la plus riche de la fin du Cénozoïque d'Afrique du Nord, puisqu'elle comprend au moins 55 espèces. Elle est dominée par les Carnivores (23 espèces), dont beaucoup ont utilisé les grottes et fissures comme repaires, y apportant sans doute la plupart des restes d'Ongulés, parmi lesquels les formes de taille moyenne et les jeunes des espèces de grande taille sont majoritaires. Très peu de taxons ont des affinités avec des formes paléarctiques, et l'essentiel des échanges devait se faire avec le reste de l'Afrique. Cependant, comparativement à l'Afrique orientale, ces Ongulés sont remarquables par leur faible diversité, ce que la nature karstique du gisement ne suffit pas à expliquer, mais qui pourrait résulter d'un milieu peu favorable, ouvert et relativement froid.

The primitive cercopithecidProhylobates is known only from the (middle?) Orleanian sites of Moghara (Egypt) and Zelten (Libya). No cercopithecid is known from north Africa during the Astaracian and Vallesian periods.Macaca (or a closely allied form) appears in the (late?) Turolian of Sahabi (Libya) and Menacer (Algeria) where it is associated with colobines.Macaca persists into the Pliocene (Wadi Natrun, Egypt; Garaet Ichkeul; Ain Brimba) but apparently disappears before the end of this period, and is absent from north Africa until the middle Pleistocene (Ain Mefta).Theropithecus is known from a single tooth from the upper Pliocene of Ain Jourdel, and from several jaws from the middle Pleistocene of Ternifine (c. 0.7 m.y.) and Thomas Quarry III (c. 0.4 m.y.) in Algeria.

Resume La partie inferieure de la Formation Segui en Tunisie centralea livre pour la premiere fois une collection de Vertebres fossiles d'âge miocene superieur. La liste faunique comprend de nombreux poissons, plusieurs Reptiles, un Sirenien, un grand Tetralophodon, Hipparion (deux especes ?), un Rhinocerotine, des Bovides, un Giraffide, un Anthracothere et peutetre Nyanzachoerus. A cote de ces taxons connus dans d'autres localites d'Afrique du Nord, on trouve aussi quelques Mammiferes mentionnes ou decrits pour la premiere fois au Maghreb: Choerolophodon, Brachypotherium, un Suide qui semble voisin de Propotamochoerus des Siwaliks, et un nouveau genre de Bovide qui est peut-etre le plus ancien Hippotragini connu. La faune est un peu plus recente que celles de la Formation Beglia du Bled Douarah. La datation de ces sites du Djebel Krechem m'a conduit a reviser la biostratigraphie des principaux gisements a grands Mammiferes d'Afrique du Nord, avec les resultats principaux suivants: a) les faunes du Bled Douarah appartiennent a la base du Miocene superieur, et Hipparion pourrait y apparaitre vers ll m.a. b) la faune de Sahabi date du Miocene terminal, et non du Pliocene, a l'exception, sans doute, de quelques specimens collectes jadis par les Italiens.

The Pleistocene fauna from the Peninj deposits west of Lake Natron (Tanzania) is ecologically similar to that of Olduvai. In the middle part of the sequence («Middle Zone »), the environment was very dry and open ; in the overlying Upper Sandy Clays (with the Kipalagu archeological site), aquatic species are very common. Biostratigraphic comparisons based upon elephants, suids, antelopes, rhinos and hyaenas suggest that the wole Humbu Formation must be correlated with the Metridiochoerus compactus Zone of Koobi Fora ; that the Upper Sandy Clays (with most of the archaeological occurrences) might be as recent as Olduvai Bed III ; and that the Lower Sandy Clays (with Australopithecus boisei) are most unlikely to be older than Olduvai Middle Bed II., La faune pléistocène des dépôts de la Peninj à l'Ouest du lac Natron (Tanzanie) est écologiquement semblable à celle d'Olduvai. Dans la partie moyenne de la série («Middle Zone »), le milieu était ouvert et sec ; au-dessus, dans les «Upper Sandy Clays » (avec le site archéologique de Kipalagu), les espèces aquatiques sont très communes. Les comparaisons biostratigraphiques basées sur les éléphants, les suidés, les antilopes, les rhinocéros, les hyènes, suggèrent que l'ensemble de la formation Humbu doit être corrélée avec la zone à Metridiochoerus compactus de Koobi Fora ; que les «Upper Sandy Clays » (avec la plupart des sites archéologiques) pourraient être aussi récents que le «Bed III » d'Olduvai, et qu'il est très improbable que les Lower Sandy Clays (avec Australopithecus boisei ) soient plus anciens que le «Middle Bed II » d'Olduvai., Geraads Denis. La faune des dépôts pléistocènes de l'Ouest du lac Natron (Tanzanie) ; interprétation biostratigraphique. The Pleistocene fauna from West Natron (Tanzania) ; biostratigraphic interpretation. In: Sciences Géologiques. Bulletin, tome 40, n°1-2, 1987. Lac Natron. Géologie, géochimie et paléontologie. D'un bassin évaporatique du rift est-africain. pp. 167-184.

A new multidisciplinary research program, started in 1981, provided new data on the stratigraphy, fauna, and human industries, as well as the first results on paleomagnetism and sedimentology, for the Ternifine site in Algeria, which yielded the earliest hominid remains known in North Africa. The fossils were deposited in a swamp or lake surrounded by a very open, dry environment. The lake was fed by artesian springs that raised the underlying Miocene sands. Although nothing suggests a camp or butchery site, we discovered the first undisputable bone artifact in this site, the earliest known in this part of Africa. According to paleontological data, 700,000 yr B.P. is a likely age for the Ternifine deposits, which is consistent with the paleomagnetic results.

The recent excavations in several «pontian» vertebrate sites of lower Macedonia yielded numerous remains (chiefly cranial) of Paleotragines, a sub-family which had never been reported from that area. Three species can be distinguished, belonging to the genera Palaeolragus and Saniotherium., Les fouilles récentes dans plusieurs gisements de Vertébrés «pontiens» de basse Macédoine ont livré d'abondants restes (principalement crâniens) de Paléotraginés, sous-famille qui n'avait jamais été signalée dans cette région. On peut distinguer trois espèces, appartenant aux genres Palaeotragus et Samotherium., Geraads Denis. Les Palaeotraginae (Giraffidae, Mammalia) du Miocène supérieur de la région de Thessalonique (Grèce). In: Géologie Méditerranéenne. Tome 5, numéro 2, 1978. pp. 269-276.

Miocene hominoid material is very scarce and has previously only been reported as cranial fragments in the Old World. Here we describe a new specimen of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, which consists of the right part of the face of an adult male with a portion of the frontal bone, a portion of the left part of the face and the maxilla with complete dentition except the right third molar. The characters of this specimen are not congruent with those of Sivapithecus and the pongids, but are more primitive and plesiomorphic for the recent hominid clade (Gorilla, Pan and Homo). The dental characters differ morphologically and metrically from those of the recent great apes and fit better with Australopithecus afarensis. Ouranopithecus now seems the best candidate forerunner of the Plio-pleistocene Homininae (Australopithecus and Homo). This specimen was discovered in September 1989, in the late Miocene deposits of central Macedonia (G.K., L. de B. and G.B.), and prepared by G.K. in Thessaloniki and G. Mouchelin in Poitiers. It comes from the new locality of Xirochori in the red sandstone of the Nea Messimbria formation. The fossil is the property of the University of Thessaloniki, Greece (catalogue number XIR-1).

International audience; Fragmentary dental and cranial remains from the late Pliocene of Ahl al Oughlam in Morocco are referred to Dinofelis ZDANSKY, 1924. The peculiar mastoid process, large conical upper canine and probable retention of P2 set this form aside from other species of the genus, which had not been reported from North Africa previously. However, in other features, it is closer to the Siwalik species D. cristata than to African ones.