La decoración cerámica en el Neolítico de Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tetuán, Marruecos). Campaña AGRIWESTMED 2012

Abstract

Here we present the study of the pottery remains from the Neolithic phase of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Mechrouha, Tetouan, Morocco), focused on the analysis of decorative patterns and techniques. In its early phase, its association with the first evidence of agriculture and livestock in the western Maghreb, framed in the third quarter of the 6th millennium BC, is noteworthy. A variety of impressions are dominant in the decorations, those made with striated and smooth shells, combs, and cowry. The use of these techniques could include these first ceramic productions within the impressa-cardial complex of central-western Mediterranean Europe. An advanced phase, assigned to the Middle Neolithic, includes a group of ceramics with strong analogies and connections with the so-called Ashakar Ware, of notably different technical and stylistic features. These include the use of coloured slip and the application of roulette-corded impressions, suggesting a link with former traditions specific to the Sahara territory.