500k-year human fossil remains found in Casablanca

[shenzhou]

"Rabat, May 25 - A new human fossil remain of an upper premolar tooth of a Homo erectus has been discovered recently in the Thomas 1 quarry site in Casablanca.

    "The human fossil is associated to an Acheulian tool and to numerous remains dating back to at least 500,000 years," said a communiqué of the Culture Minister, recalling that this site had previously yielded notably a Homos erectus lower jaw in 1969, and an upper premolar tooth in 1994.

     The discovery was made by a Moroccan-French team composed of members of the Moroccan institute of science and archaeology (INSAP) and France's Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)."

http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/500k-year_human_foss/view

There is a bit more information on the web about the "Thomas 1 quarry" see:

Casablanca and the Earliest Occupation of North Atlantic Morocco (LINK)

THE EARLIEST OCCUPATION OF NORTH-AFRICA : THE MOROCCAN PERSPECTIVE PDF

THE LOWER PALAEOLITHIC SEQUENCE OF ATLANTIC MOROCCO REVISITED PDF

The Lower Palaeolithic Sequence of Atlantic Morocco Revisited After Recent Excavations at Casablanca LINK

There is information about this site on the paleobiology database:

Thomas Quarry 1 level G

Thomas Quarry 1 Level L

Thomas Quarry 1 - ABCE

[Daryl Habel]

Thanks for the news on the new tooth from Casablanca, as well as links to other reports.   I'll only note that the pdf links appear to be pre-prints, and that the first:

(snip)
Casablanca and the Earliest Occupation of North Atlantic Morocco (LINK)
THE EARLIEST OCCUPATION OF NORTH-AFRICA : THE MOROCCAN PERSPECTIVE PDF
(snip)

appeared as: Raynal et al. 2001. The earliest occupation of North-Africa: the Moroccan perspective. Quaternary International 75: 65-75.  Abstract (word-for-word as in  the pre-print, and the paper itself is virtually the same) available at: CLICK HERE,
while the second pdf:

THE LOWER PALAEOLITHIC SEQUENCE OF ATLANTIC MOROCCO REVISITED PDF

The Lower Palaeolithic Sequence of Atlantic Morocco Revisited After Recent Excavations at Casablanca LINK

seems to be a 2004 pre-print from a journal called Bulletin d'Archeologie marocaine, for which I'm without access.  It does, however, seem to be a very useful, up-to-date summary of excavations in the Casablanca area.

The new tooth, without published details, is not spectacular news, but every little bit helps.

Thanks again,
Dar