The skeleton of a man belonging to an ancient prehistoric culture, found recently by a team of Moroccan and German archaeologists in a cave in the province of Nador, is being exhibited in an international exhibition in Bonn (Germany) from Aug.8-Dec.19, announced a press release from the Ministry of Culture.
     The skeleton belonged to a population called 'Iberomaurusian', which occupied North Africa between 22,000 and 9,000 years ago. The skeleton is part of an exhibition entitled 'At the roots of humanity'. The Ministry's press release said that "it is the whole of the human, technical or scientific adventure of palaeontology and archaeology which will be presented to the public" in the Rheinisches Landes Museum of Bonn.
     The skeleton was unearthed in the cave of Ifri n'Ammer, in the Commune of Afsou (Nador province) by an archaeological team jointly directed by the researchers Abdeslam Mikdad, of the National Institute of Archaeological and Heritage Sciences (INSAP), and Josef Eiwanger, of the German Archaeological Institut (KAAK, DAI). "16,000 years ago, this strongly-built man (1.78m in height), aged between 21 and 25, was buried in a sitting position in a small trench", continued the Ministry's press release. "The incisors teeth of his upper jaw had been removed, following the Iberomaurusian custom, probably as a passage rite on reaching adulthood".
     The Iberomaurusian culture was first recognized in Morocco in the Grotte des Pigeons, in the Beni Snassen area near Oujda. The cave, extensively excavated for many years, has yielded much important information concerning the lives of these early Moroccans.

Source: Morocco Times (10 August 2006)