An international team of scientists from the University of Barcelona, the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, and the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage of Morocco discovered three ancient cemeteries on the Tangier Peninsula, including a stone burial dating to approximately 4,000 years ago, according to Phys.org.
The researchers conducted fieldwork on the peninsula, searching for sites dating from 3000 BCE to 500 BCE. During their excavations, the team uncovered evidence of cist burials—hollows cut into the rock, sometimes covered and marked with stone slabs. Cist burials involved placing a body in a rock-cut depression and covering it with a stone slab, a labor-intensive process given the limited tools available at the time. “The process of cutting into the rock for cist burials is difficult, and their construction likely required a significant time and effort investment,” the researchers noted, as cited by Phys.org.
The team radiocarbon dated human bones from one of the cist burials and found that the individual had been interred around 2000 BCE. This marked the first time that radiocarbon dating had been applied to study cist burials in northwest Africa, providing a more precise chronology for the region’s prehistoric burial practices.
The researchers also discovered multiple standing stones at the cemeteries and sites with painted rocks. These megaliths vary in size, with one of the largest standing more than 2.5 meters tall. “Standing stones have widely been seen as territorial markers in prehistoric times,” said Hamza Benattia, noting that they “may also have functioned as sites of aggregation and ritual activity,” according to Live Science.
In addition to the cemeteries and standing stones, the team found several rock shelters adorned with prehistoric rock art, including about a dozen shelters with wall paintings. The rock art includes diverse geometric designs such as squares, dots, and wavy lines, as well as human figures or humanoid shapes that may depict humans or deities. At some rock shelters, they discovered round engravings known as cup marks etched into the walls. These cup marks are sometimes arranged in designs, including circles and parallel straight lines. Another intriguing form of rock art found by the team is squares with dots and straight lines inside. “They have often been interpreted as anthropomorphic figures, sometimes specifically as feminine representations,” said Benattia, according to Live Science.
The research team noted in their paper that similar rock art has been found in the Sahara Desert. The findings suggest that the “ritual landscapes of the Tangier Peninsula are far more complex and widespread than previously assumed,” with the closest similarities in prehistoric southern Iberia and the Sahara Desert.
The Tangier Peninsula, located in northwestern Africa just south of the Strait of Gibraltar, has long remained poorly studied, particularly regarding its burial customs and ancient landscape. Researchers note that there has been little archaeological work examining this region, which is one of the least-understood parts of the Mediterranean.
The researchers published their findings in the journal African Archaeological Review, noting that the later prehistoric funerary and ritual landscapes of North Africa west of Egypt are among the least known in the Mediterranean.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
