Between 1936 and 1947, the American School of Prehistoric Research carried out a series of excavations at Mugharet el ‘Aliya, or “The High Cave,” located on Cape Ashakar just south of Tangier, Morocco. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, this prominent cave preserved one of the longest archaeological sequences known from the region, ranging from the Levalloiso-Mousterian…
Excavations at Kouali Point, Algeria (1949)
In the spring of 1949, after completing work at the caves near Tipasa, the joint Tufts University–American School of Prehistoric Research expedition shifted its focus to a new site: Kouali Point. Situated along the coastal cliffs just north of Tipasa, Kouali offered the possibility of connecting archaeological horizons with fluctuations in sea level, which could…
Neolithic Remains from Northwest Africa: Laboratory Analysis by the ASPR
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, ASPR-supported scholars turned their attention to the laboratory, where they examined human remains from Stone Age contexts across Northwest Africa. These studies focused on cranial specimens recovered from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia—an area stretching from the Libyan frontier to the Atlantic coast and from the Mediterranean south into…
Excavations near Tipasa, Algeria (1949)
In the spring of 1949, the American School of Prehistoric Research joined forces with Tufts University to carry out archaeological investigations near Tipasa, a coastal town about 70 kilometers west of Algiers. The expedition was directed by Dr. Hugh Hencken, Director of the ASPR, working alongside Professor Charles E. Stearns of Tufts University, Dr. Lloyd…
Teshik-Tash Cave, Uzbekistan: Middle Paleolithic Cccupation and Burials (1938–39)
In 1938–39, a Soviet field team led by A. P. Okladnikov excavated a small limestone grotto in the Baisun-Tau (Baysun) mountains of southern Uzbekistan that would become one of Central Asia’s most famous Paleolithic sites. Over two seasons they opened roughly 137 square meters of deposits and documented a sequence of repeated Mousterian occupations, hearths,…
Excavations at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria
In the summer of 1938, members of the American School of Prehistoric Research (ASPR) carried out an excavation in northeastern Bulgaria that would provide the first stratified sequence of Paleolithic occupations in the Balkans. The work took place at Bacho Kiro Cave, a limestone cavern near the monastery of Sveti Arkhangel, just outside the town…
Summer Updates: Margot Louail
The summer of 2025 saw ASPR Junior Fellow Margot Louail in the field doing paleontological work in the Usno Formation, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, which is dated from about 3.5 to 2.8 million years ago. Together with the Shungura Formation, they provide the most continuous record of the Plio-Pleistocene sedimentation in the Turkana Depression. They…
ASPR Debate Group
The ASPR is happy to be hosting a debate group starting this semester, Fall 2025! The group is organized by Pablo Gutiérrez de León, Clara Alexander, Marlena Billings, Hannah Hoffman, Fernando Casamayor Molina, Shireen Shah, Dylan Flicker, Ian S. Wilson, and Sophie Lei, and will discuss a range of themes, including archaeological theory, materiality, landscape…
Karen Choi
Hello! My name is Karen Choi, I’m a senior at Harvard pursuing a special concentration in Urban Studies and Social Justice. My studies explore how our identities (race, class, gender, etc) shape our lived experiences in the urban environment. Drawing from departments such as sociology, government, anthropology, and history and literature, the flexibility of designing…
SciComm Workshop: In-Person Weekend (2025)
Over the weekend of April 5 and April 6, 2025, the ASPR hosted out five Science Communication Fellows for an in-person, two-day workshop. Both days were full of activities and learning, and included lectured by workshop coordinator Dr. Bridget Alex, as well as four guest speakers: Carolyn Beeler, Catherine De Medici Jaffee, Asaf Shtull-Trauring, and…