History of human habitation in Morocco spans since Lower Paleolithic, with the

earliest known being Jebel Irhoud. Much later Morocco was part of Iberomaurusian
culture, including Taforalt. It dates from the establishment of Mauretania and
other ancient Berber kingdoms, to the establishment of the Moroccan state by the
Idrisid dynasty[1] followed by other Islamic dynasties, through to the colonial and
independence periods.

Archaeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited by hominids at least
400,000 years ago.[2] The recorded history of Morocco begins with the Phoenician
colonization of the Moroccan coast between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE,[3]
although the area was inhabited by indigenous Berbers for some two thousand years
before that. In the 5th century BCE, the city-state of Carthage extended its
hegemony over the coastal areas.[4] They remained there until the late 3rd century
BCE,[5] while the hinterland was ruled by indigenous monarchs.[4] Indigenous Berber
monarchs ruled the territory from the 3rd century BCE until 40 CE, when it was
annexed to the Roman Empire. In the mid-5th century AD, it was overrun by Vandals,
before being recovered by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century.

The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century AD, but broke away
from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. Half a century later,
the Moroccan state was established by the Idrisid dynasty.[6][7] Under the
Almoravid and the Almohad dynasties, Morocco dominated the Maghreb and Muslim
Spain. The Saadi dynasty ruled the country from 1549 to 1659, followed by the
Alaouites from 1667 onwards, who have since been the ruling dynasty of Morocco.
Archaeological excavations have demonstrated the presence of people in Morocco that
were ancestral to Homo sapiens, as well as the presence of early human species. The
fossilized bones of a 400,000-year-old early human ancestor were discovered in Salé
in 1971.[2] The bones of several very early Homo sapiens were excavated at Jebel
Irhoud in 1991, these were dated using modern techniques in 2017 and found to be at
least 300,000 years old, making them the oldest examples of Homo Sapiens discovered
anywhere in the world.[11] In 2007, small perforated seashell beads were discovered
in Taforalt that are 82,000 years old, making them the earliest known evidence of
personal adornment found anywhere in the world.[12]

In Mesolithic times, between 20,000 and 5000 years ago, the geography of Morocco
resembled a savanna more than the present arid landscape.[13] While little is known
of settlements in Morocco during that period, excavations elsewhere in the Maghreb
region have suggested an abundance of game and forests that would have been
hospitable to Mesolithic hunters and gatherers, such as those of the Capsian
culture.[14]

During the Neolithic period, which followed the Mesolithic, the savanna was
occupied by hunters and herders. The culture of these Neolithic hunters and herders
flourished until the region began to desiccate after 5000 BCE as a result of
climatic changes. The coastal regions of present-day Morocco in the early Neolithic
shared in the Cardium pottery culture that was common to the entire Mediterranean
region. Archaeological excavations have suggested that the domestication of cattle
and the cultivation of crops both occurred in the region during that period.
[citation needed] In the Chalcolithic period, or the copper age, the Beaker culture
reached the north coast of Morocco.[citation needed]