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The discovery of a 5.000-year-old agricultural society in Morocco, with an area comparable to that of ancient Troy, could bring new revelations about the ancient civilizations that inhabited North Africa.
Archaeologists have made a fascinating discovery: the remains of a 5.000-year-old agricultural society, which could change how we understand the history of North Africa. The archaeological site of Oued Beht, located in northern Morocco, reveals a society as large as ancient Bronze Age Troy, being the oldest of its kind discovered outside the Nile Valley.
This civilization, which until then was unknown, demonstrates that the North Africa was more than a territory of nomadic hunters and herders, as previously believed.
The rediscovery of Oued Beht
The site of Oued Beht was initially discovered by French settlers in the 1930s, but remained ignored for nearly 90 years.
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In 2023, Moroccan archaeologist Youssef Bokbot, with the help of an international team, decided to re-investigate the local.
Bokbot's intuition proved correct, resulting in a significant discovery: a large quantity of painted pottery fragments and polished axe heads.
These artifacts, along with evidence of agriculture, suggest that the site was occupied by hundreds of people living in an organized society, possibly interacting with other Mediterranean cultures.
Radiocarbon dating of seeds and charcoal found at the site indicates that the site was inhabited between 3400 and 2900 BC.
Furthermore, genetic analyses indicate that the inhabitants had a diverse origin, including shepherds from the Sahara and migrants from the Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East.
This mix of peoples contributed to what Cambridge University archaeologist Cyprian Broodbank called a “melting pot.”
Agriculture and trade in the African Neolithic
The inhabitants of Oued Beht were farmers who grew barley, wheat, peas, olives and pistachios in an arid land.
The site also contained remains of sheep, goats, pigs and cattle, suggesting that animal husbandry was a common practice.
These Neolithic groups not only produced food for themselves, but also manufactured valuable goods such as pottery and axe heads, which were possibly used in trade with other Bronze and Copper Age societies.
Although until then it was believed that agricultural societies of the time were limited to the Mediterranean and the Nile Valley, the discovery of Oued Beht suggests that North Africa was also part of this agricultural production scenario and trade.
Archaeologists believe that communities in the region exchanged goods with people from the Iberian Peninsula, Egypt and even Mesopotamia.
This hypothesis is strengthened by other studies that had already identified African items, such as ivory and ostrich eggs, in European sites during this period, but it was not known which African societies might have supplied these goods.
Changing perspective on North Africa
Until recently, many archaeologists assumed that North Africa, like sub-Saharan Africa, was occupied primarily by nomadic hunter-gatherers and pastoralists during the Neolithic period.
The idea of a stationary agricultural society in the north of the continent was almost non-existent. However, the discovery at Oued Beht challenges this view and places the region as part of a larger agricultural world that stretched across the Mediterranean.
According to Giulio Lucarini, an archaeologist at the Institute of Heritage Sciences of the Italian National Research Council and co-author of the study, “Prior to this discovery, there was no evidence of agriculture in North Africa outside the Nile Valley.".
Archaeologist Cyprian Broodbank adds: “What we are showing here is that this part of the world was already part of the Neolithic agricultural world. This is just the tip of the iceberg."
The Impact of Discovery
This discovery represents a significant advance in our understanding of African prehistory and suggests that North Africa was a meeting point for different cultures and agricultural practices much earlier than previously thought.
The archaeological site of Oued Beht reveals that the people of the region were closely connected with global agricultural development and participated in cultural and commercial exchanges with other Mediterranean societies.
As further excavations are carried out at the site, new evidence is expected to reveal more details about this agricultural society and its connections to other Bronze and Copper Age civilizations.
The discovery at Oued Beht may be just the beginning of a new era of archaeological discoveries that will rewrite the history of North Africa and its contribution to the ancient world.
