Ricerc@Sapienza

The application of new technologies in archeology and in general in the field of cultural heritage is a sector in continuous development for many years. There are many conferences and magazines dedicated to the experimentation of new tech-nologies, new instruments software and new techniques, coming mostly from the field of engineering or architecture, are employed in sectors related to archaeological research and in particular to documentation and archiving of the data.

North Africa features some of the earliest manifestations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, as well as early examples of complex culture and the long distance transfer of exotic raw materials. As they are elsewhere, lithics (i.e., stone tools) present by far the most abundant source of information on this cultural period. Given the importance of North Africa in human origins, understanding the character and distribution of MSA lithics is therefore crucial, as they shed light on early human behaviour and culture.