Numerous multi-proxy studies in East Africa have promoted the concept of the influence of palaeoenvironmental variability on hominin dispersal within and outside Africa. However, the role of such variability at the margins of the Sahara Desert has been widely debated in recent years. The volume of studies beyond that region is very limited and consequently, the question of how environmental changes have controlled or influenced the evolution of ancient hominin species at the edges of the Sahara and in the western Mediterranean in general remains open. 

Led by members of CENIEH, the present subproject (SP2), aims to improve this situation by studying two intramountain basins (Guadix-Baza, Spain and Ain Beni Mathar, Morocco) that lie at the S and N ends of the European and African continents respectively, and which present solid evidence of ancient hominin presence. Due to their different latitudinal position, both Mediterranean regions will provide new information to understand the connection between human adaptations and climatic variations, and to assess whether these are shared in both climatic zones.

In practice, SP2 will employ a standardised multi-disciplinary and multi-proxy approach to provide an unprecedented chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework for a series of Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequences containing evidence of Mode 1 and/or Mode 2 human occupation. These successions cover a wide range of depositional environments (fluvial, lacustrine, palustrine), so that complementary information can be obtained for basin-scale palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

On the one hand, a detailed and robust chronostratigraphic framework will be obtained using a comprehensive multi-technical approach based on magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, electron paramagnetic resonance, cosmogenic radionuclides, luminescence, uranium series, amino acid racemization and argon-argon. Furthermore, such a combination of independent methods will open up the possibility to compare results and improve methodologies. On the other hand, we will develop palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using non-biological markers obtained from environmental rock magnetism and sedimentological analyses (e.g. grain size, carbonate content, organic matter). In parallel and in a coordinated manner, SP1 (IPHES) will focus on biological palaeoenvironmental markers and provide the archaeological framework.

The integration of all these results derived from the two SPs will produce an unprecedented dataset that will allow a proper assessment of the extent to which the emergence of Mode 1 industry and the transition to Mode 2 industry on both margins of the western Mediterranean may be partly or wholly driven by palaeoenvironmental and possibly palaeoclimatic factors.

To ensure the successful implementation of the project, a highly qualified and specialised research and working team has been assembled, composed of internationally recognised researchers and highly experienced technical staff. This complementarity, combined with access to our own facilities and world-class instrumentation, is clear evidence that supports the viability of the research proposed here.