A team of international researchers led by the University of Southern Brittany in France, in partnership with Moroccan, German, and Spanish universities, has discovered human footprints of Homo sapiens in North Africa and the Mediterranean region dating back 90,000 years in the city of Larache, northern Morocco. The results of the discovery were published in the journal “Nature” on January 23.
According to Mustapha Nami, the head of the research team, “These discovered artifacts add to those previously found in several regions of Morocco belonging to the same era or even older. They are evidence of the diversity and richness of Morocco in terms of ancient human habitats and settlements over the ages.”
The footprints discovered in Morocco provide information about biology, movement, and behavior of individuals during that historical period.
As per the press release from the University of Southern Brittany in France, 85 human footprints, approximately 100,000 years old, were found on a rocky shore in Larache on the northwest coast of Morocco. These footprints, made by at least 5 individuals including children, teenagers, and adults, mainly lead towards the sea, giving a remarkable insight into potential marine resource exploration by early humans who inhabited the city of Larache around 100,000 years ago.
The current footprints discovered provide direct information about biology, movement, and behavior of the individuals who left them in North Africa during that period of history, shedding light on the evolution of hominins.
The research on this discovery took about a year and a half and is part of a previous two-year scientific project on the dynamics of the rocky coast of Larache, funded by the ISblue multidisciplinary graduate school in marine science and technology and the University of Southern Brittany in France.
According to the research team, with the erosion of sediment on the coast of Larache, new footprints are expected to be discovered, providing further insights into the group of hominins. It is also important to explore the various caves along the southern coast of Larache in search of fossils or stone artifacts that may be present.
Dr. Mustapha Nami mentioned that the discovery of these human footprints in Morocco is one of the largest and best-preserved sites related to the late Pleistocene era worldwide, the only documented site in North Africa and the Mediterranean region, offering a distribution of footprints along the shoreline representing multi-generational movements of early humans.
Preserving this remarkable heritage site, even if threatened by rising sea levels and short-term storms, is crucial. Ongoing erosion will lead to the discovery of more footprints, allowing for a more detailed understanding of the intelligent human group that lived along the Larache coast.
Dr. Mustapha Nami concludes by stating the importance of presenting this discovery to the world in the best possible way, with maximum accuracy and detail. The research in this field should continue through international collaboration and multidisciplinary cooperation similar to this study.
