Duval, MathieuSahnouni, MohamedPares, Josep M.Zhao, Jian-XinGrun, RainerAbdessadok, SalahPerez-Gonzalez, AlfredoDerradji, AbdelkaderHarichane, ZoheirMazouni, NacimBoulaghraief, Kamel2024-10-142024-10-140047-2484https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733721490Our current understanding of early human settlements in North Africa relies on a few well-contextualized Oldowan and Acheulean sites (e.g., Ain Hanech, El Kherba, Ain Boucherit Lw and Up, Tighennif in Algeria; Thomas Quarry in Morocco). In particular, the site of Ain Hanech has documented for many decades the earliest evidence of human presence in North Africa (e.g., Sahnouni and de Heinzelin, 1998), until older stone tools were recently reported at the nearby Ain Boucherit locality (Sahnouni et al., 2018).M.D. is grateful to V. Guilarte (CENIEH) for her invaluable contribution to the sample preparation and ESR measurements. Spanish Ram on y Cajal Fellowship RYC2018-025221-I granted to M.D. is funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘ESF Investing in your future’. This work is part of Grant PID2021-123092NB-C22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033/‘ERDF A way of making Europe’. Fieldwork and related research at Ain Hanech were funded with grants awarded to M.S. by CNRPAH (Algeria), MCIN and MINECO (PGC2018-095489-BI00 and HAR2013-41351-P, respectively; Spain), the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation (USA), the European Research Council (FP7-People- CIG2993581; Belgium), and the Stone Age Institute (USA), and to S.A. by UMR7194 (CNRS, MNHN; France). M.S. thanks B. de Santiago Salinas and M.J. de Miguel del Barrio (CENIEH) for administrative support. The authors would like to thank the Editor-in-Chief (Cl ement Zanolli) and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that have contributed to improve the quality of this work.application/pdfen-AU© 2023 The authorsOldowan assemblageNorth AfricaElectron spin resonance datingEarly PleistoceneOptically-bleached quartz grains202310.1016/j.jhevol.2023.1033712024-02-18