Similarities and differences in the lifestyles of populations using mode 3 technology in North Africa and the south of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

In the geohistorical region of the Strait of Gibraltar, which includes the south of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, important research has been carried out in recent years. This research has allowed us to document the presence of human groups as early as the Middle Pleistocene. Classical anthropology refers to these groups using various terms Homo Neanderthalensis in the south of Europe and Homo sapiens sapiens in North Africa). The current records exhibit important similarities concerning lithic technology (the so-called ‘Mode 3’, ‘Mousterian’ or ‘Middle Stone Age’), and the exploitation of marine resources. From an anthropological or cultural perspective, both groups were hunter-gatherers with similar lifestyles. Bearing these similarities in mind, three hypotheses are here presented.