Neolithisation process within the Alboran territory: Models and possible African impact

Abstract

The Neolithisation of the southern Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Maghreb, here termed “Alboran territory”, must be considered as the same integrative process. By the mid-8th millennium calBP, both sides of the Western Mediterranean were inhabited by hunter-gatherer groups which probably maintained intercontinental contacts. However, from around 7.6 ka calBP, Neolithic groups from the Eastern Mediterranean arrived in the region along the littoral of what is today Andalusia. Neolithic innovations were adopted step by step by local Epipalaeolithic groups and subsequently dispersed via already existing networks. At the same time indigenous elements were integrated into this transitional process. The model presented here is supported by the available archaeological data from both sides of the Alboran territory. New 14C-data confirm the simultaneity of the Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic transition in southern Spain and northern Morocco. Results are discussed considering models and concepts from social anthropology dealing with migration and acculturation.