Socio-economic production and mobility patterns in Magreb during the Final Neolithic: Oued Beht case study (3400-2900 BCE)

The primary aim of SEPAMP is to delineate the economic characteristics defining the Neolithic period in the Maghreb, with particular emphasis on its final phase. The project investigates dietary habits, animal byproduct processes, and the tools employed in these activities to gain insights into technological specialisation and traditions. To achieve these objectives, I will conduct a comprehensive study, incorporating training on experimental protocols and use-wear analysis, of macro-lithic tools from Oued Beht (3400-2900 BCE), a Final Neolithic site in the Khemmiset province (Morocco).SEPAMP also aims to understand the decision-making processes and behaviours underlying the exploitation of local resources and land management, including cultivation and pastoral areas. Surveys around Oued Beht and geospatial analysis will identify raw material sources and areas potentially designated for farming and forage. Cost-effort and mobility pattern evaluations will be performed to understand how these communities interacted with their environment, including resource procurement choices and the distribution of economic activities within and outside the site. Thus, SEPAMP has the potential to enhance our understanding of the Maghreb's prehistoric communities significantly. Indeed, despite extensive efforts to interpret the neolithisation process in Northwest Africa, the development of socio-economic strategies and how late prehistoric communities approached the environment remain unclear. SEPAMP is then pioneering in understanding these phenomena, leading to new fundamental knowledge that can be compared with other Mediterranean areas, particurarly the Iberian Peninsula. It will also allow me to build hard and soft skills that I will benefit from for future academic and non-academic positions. This will be possible thanks to the high quality of the environment and training opportunities at CNRS - Trajectoires lab (Host) and the University of Cambridge (Secondment).