Production and subsistence strategies at El Zafrín (Chafarinas Islands, Spain): new data for the early Neolithic of North-West Africa

摘要

Until a few years ago North-West Africa was ignored in our hypothesis on the neolithization of Western\udMediterranean. Moreover, the few excavations focused exclusively on the test of stratigraphies in order to\udobtain chronological sequences. Recently developed archaeological projects allowed the inclusion of this\udregion in the scientific debate on the origin and evolution of its Neolithic, on the contacts with the\udIberian Peninsula through the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as on the documentation of ways of live,\udhabitation structures, and economic strategies. The open area excavation of Zafrín, in the Chafarinas Isles\ude an archipelago located a short distance from the North African coast e and the full analysis of its lithic\udindustry (technology, typology and use-wear), here presented, represents a novelty on the Neolithic\udresearch in North Africa. This in turn will permit us to approach subsistence strategies and the way of life\uddeveloped by the Neolithic communities of the region