GIS and Intra-Site Spatial Analyses: An Integrated Approach for Recording and Analyzing the Fossil Deposits at Casablanca Prehistoric Sites (Morocco)

The Mio-Plio-Pleistocene sequence at Casablanca, covering the last six million years, is well known in scientific literature. The variability and the chronology of the Acheulian sequence is documented by systematic, modern and controlled investigations in various sites (Unit L and Hominid Cave at Thomas I Quarry, Rhinoceros Cave at Oulad Hamida 1 Quarry, Sidi Abderrahman Extension Quarry, Bear’s Cave and Cap Chatelier at Sidi Abderrahman Quarry) which have taken place within the framework of the Franco-Moroccan co-operative project “Casablanca”. In order to manage the excavation data and to explore the taphonomic nature of Unit L, Hominid Cave and Rhinoceros Cave, where research is still in progress, an approach combining a Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques was developed, incorporating all existing information produced from previous excavations and recent surveys of the sites. The amalgamation of this data into a GIS has resulted in a digital database that allows the production of simultaneous or separate visualizations and analyses of the fossils, artifacts and geological materials within their original spatial contexts and also permits intra-site spatial analyses that allow a comprehensive investigation of the site formation processes.