We express our gratitude to the Jerada Government and Local Authorities of Aïn Beni Mathar and Guefaït for providing local permits for conducting geological, archaeological, and palaeontological fieldwork in the region and to the local population for their support, collaboration, and help. We also want to acknowledge the German Aerospace Center for granting permission (DEM GEOL 3286) to use TanDEM-X data. Funding for this research was provided by: Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport (Ref: 40-T002018N0000042853 & 170-T002019N0000038589), Faculty of Sciences (Mohamed 1r University of Oujda, Morocco), Palarq Foundation, Direction of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture and Communication, Morocco), Faculty of Sciences (Université Mohammed Premier of Oujda, Morocco), INSAP (Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine), Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Grant PID2021-123092NB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”), Research Groups Support of the Catalonia Government (2021 SGR 01238-2023PFR-URV-01238 (URV) Palhum (AGAUR) and 2021 SGR 01237 GAPS (AGAUR)-2023PFR-URV-01237 (URV)). C.T. is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Ramón y Cajal” (RYC2020-029404-I). A.R.-H. is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities through the “Ramón y Cajal” (RYC2022-037802-I). J.v.d.M. is supported by PID2021-122355NB-C33 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER. P.P. is supported by the “Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” contract (grant IJC2020-044108-I) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”. H.-A.B. has been supported by project PID2021-122533NB-I00 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation). C.S.-B. is supported by a FPI Predoctoral Scholarship (PRE2020-094482) associated with project CEX2019-000945-M-20-1 with the financial sponsorship of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. P.R. and D.K.J. would like to thank the Max Planck Society for funding and support. The Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA) has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (CEX2019-000945-M). R.S.-R., M.G.C.H., F.R., I.E., P.P. and H.-A.B. research is funded by CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya.

The earliest archaeological evidence from northern Africa dates to ca. 2.44 Ma. Nevertheless, the palaeoenvironmental setting of hominins living in this part of the continent at the Plio-Pleistocene transition remains poorly documented, particularly in comparison to eastern and southern Africa. The Guefaït-4 fossil site in eastern Morocco sheds light on our knowledge of palaeoenvironments in northern Africa. Our study reveals the oldest known presence of C4 plants in the northern part of the continent in a mosaic landscape that includes open grasslands, forested areas, wetlands, and seasonal aridity. This diverse landscape and resource availability likely facilitated the occupation of the region by mammals, including potentially hominins. Our regional-scale study provides a complementary perspective to global-scale studies and highlights the importance of considering the diversity of microhabitats within a given region when studying species-dispersal dynamics.

With funding from the Spanish government through the "Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu" accreditation (CEX2019-000945-M).

Peer reviewed