Archaeologists Cyprian Broodbank from the University of Cambridge and Giulio Lucarini from the University of Naples "L'Orientale" have made a groundbreaking discovery in Morocco, uncovering evidence of an early farming society dating back to between 3400 BC and 2900 BC.
This previously unknown Neolithic society, found at the Oued Beht site, represents the "earliest and largest" agricultural complex outside the Nile River region in Africa.
The discovery filled a significant gap in the archaeological understanding of northwest Africa, a region known for its rich history during both the Paleolithic and Islamic periods.
Researchers recovered domesticated plant and animal remains, pottery, stone tools, and evidence of deep storage pits, suggesting that this ancient society was highly organized and engaged in agriculture on a large scale.
The findings also revealed intriguing connections with contemporaneous societies in Southern Europe, particularly across the Mediterranean in the Iberian Peninsula, where similar artifacts have been found.
"For more than a century, the last great unknown of later Mediterranean prehistory has been the role played by the societies of the Mediterranean's southern African shores west of Egypt," the study authors stated.
This discovery highlighted the importance of the Maghreb region in the later prehistory of the Mediterranean and Africa.