Archeology: Discoveries in the Oriental region of Morocco demystify the Sahara
Archaeological and geological discoveries are multiplying in the Moroccan Oriental region. Teacher-researchers from the Mohammed The First University of Oujda (UMPO), those from the National Institute of Archeology and Heritage Sciences, the Natural History Museum of London, or even other international universities, have not yet unveiled all the secrets of this region.
Discoveries do multiply and change, each time, the old historical dates. Before it became a vast arid desert, as it is now, the Sahara was a vast land covered with green vegetation, with many forests and rivers. It was also a habitat for many wild, river, and marine animals. This has been proven through the discovery of fossils, drawings, and inscriptions, made by many researchers in this region. The recent archaeological excavations carried out by a group of professors from the School of Sciences of the Mohammed The First University of Oujda, in partnership with Spanish researchers from the Catalan Institute of Ancient Ecology and Social Evolution of Tarragona (IPHES) and the National Institute of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid (MNCN), carried out within the framework of a scientific cooperation research project, have proven that the Moroccan Oriental region is one of the richest regions in terms of abundance and diversity of fossil mammals belonging to the geological period of the Quaternary Period. Added to this is a wonderful mix of species. “This taxonomic diversity reflects the abundance and density of vegetation in the former Ain Béni Mathar – Guefait basin (Plio-Pleistocene basin of Ain Béni Mathar/Guefait), to meet the needs of these enormous mammals”, specifies a publication of the School of Sciences of the UMPO. Other results of global scientific value, published in reputable journals, including the “Journal of Historical Biology” of December 16, 2021 which specified that the region is full of fossils of animals dating from this period such as the primitive mountain wild bull (aurochs) (Bos primigenius), which exceeds 2 meters in height, (according to the measurements of the bone remains discovered) and the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum ) recently discovered in one of the geological strata of the Oued El Haye wadi in the Ain Béni Mathar (province of Jerada). This allowed a team of researchers from the School of Sciences of the UMPO university and from Spain to provide details concerning the emergence of the Sahara.
The researchers thus specified the evolution of the climate and the improvement of the predictive climate models in the Maghreb region while specifying that this climate belongs to the Arctic region (Palearctic ecozone) and not to the African tropical region (Afrotropical ecozone), contrary to what is published. Also according to the study conducted in the Arabic language by the School of Sciences of Oujda, the researchers found an increase in the number of animals in the Arctic region of the Maghreb, due to the drop in global temperatures and due to the isolation caused by the desert. This desert, which is the largest on the planet, began to form millions of years ago in a process subject to climatic fluctuations. Also, the geological strata in which these animal fossils were discovered at the Oued El Haye wadi are estimated to be between 57,000 and 100,000 years old, inferred after the emergence and spread of the ancestors of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), a mammal that replaced the oldest rhinoceros species (Ceratotherium mauritanicum), whose remains have been found in North Africa, dating from the so-called Green Desert period. “In addition to knowing the species of animals that lived on earth thousands of years ago, thanks to the dating of these fossils, we can also know the state of the surrounding environment at a given moment”, said Hassan Aouragh, researcher in geology and archeology and teacher at the School of Sciences of Oujda, in a declaration to our newspaper. For him, “continuing to find fossils corresponding to different periods will also allow us to reconstruct the state of the climate in the region and improve information for modeling the future climate”.
Verdant desert
A few fossil bones and part of the skull of the ancestor of the current white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum, have made it possible to date fairly precisely the period when this species replaced the older and also less powerful Ceratotherium mauritanicum. It is surprising how C. simum moved from sub-Saharan Africa to expand northward and occupy the habitat of the oldest C. mauritanicum rhino at a time of increasing influence of the arctic fauna. This happened in one of the two wettest climatic periods (between 85,000 and 80,000 years or between 105,000 and 100,000 years), thanks to the abundance of vegetation during these periods. This allows us to know how animals have evolved in North Africa and to better calibrate climate models for the region. It should be noted that this field research and fossil discoveries were financed by the scientific research budget of the Mohammed The First University and the faculty of sciences of Oujda, in cooperation with the local population and civil society. Most of these fossils are to be found in the University Museum, at the faculty of sciences of Oujda.
Ali KHARROUBI
