Geoarchaeological Survey of Historical Agrarian Landscapes in the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco

This article presents preliminary results from a geoarchaeological and geomorphological investigation of Amazigh agricultural landscapes in the western Anti Atlas (Morocco). Fieldwork followed two main survey transects across contrasting physiographic units, including external plateaus, synclinal depressions, the Kerdous inlier, and spring fed inner oases. The survey documented a wide range of landesque and associated agrarian features, including agricultural terraces, check dams, cisterns, threshing platforms, settlements, and fortified collective granaries (igoudar). Their distribution shows a strong relationship with geology, slope morphology, sediment availability, water circulation, and settlement organisation. On plateaus and synclines, agrarian structures are closely associated with igoudar, settlements, runoff control, and crop processing areas. Within the Kerdous inlier, extensive terracing occurs across rugged slopes, while inner oases combine spring fed agroforestry on valley floors with dense terracing along basin margins. These results suggest that the western Anti Atlas should be understood as a long term engineered socio ecological landscape shaped by Amazigh collective strategies for soil conservation, water management, cultivation, storage, and territorial protection.