# Yes: some Richat pebble-tool sites are a separate industry older than the Acheulean

> Still possible: At least some of the Richat's pebble-tool assemblages are an industry of their own, made before the earliest Acheulean of the region.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/answers/ANS0DCKW1EGEY5B/yes-some-richat-pebble-tool-sites-are-a-separate-industry  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Eye of the Sahara and Atlantis](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara)[Are the Richat pebble-tool sites older than the Acheulean?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHSFKZ2M/are-the-richat-pebble-tool-sites-older-than-the-acheulean)Answer

Answer · Eye of the Sahara and Atlantis

# Yes: some Richat pebble-tool sites are a separate industry older than the Acheulean

At least some of the Richat's pebble-tool assemblages are an industry of their own, made before the earliest Acheulean of the region.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Two pieces of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Pebble-tool layers sealed below Acheulean layers in a stratified section.
- Absolute dates on pebble-tool layers older than the oldest dated Acheulean of north-west Africa.

## What would rule it out

- Stratified excavation showing the pebble tools always occur with handaxes and cleavers in the same layers.

## Evidence 2 for · 1 against

[A pebble-tool site found in 1999 was in place in a palaeosol, with a refit, and judged older than the early Acheulean](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/evidence/EVD0DCKW8KM9Y4K/a-pebble-tool-site-found-in-1999-was-in-place-in-a-palaeosol)

Suggestive

FOR

[The Akerdil and Bamouéré deposits are described as pre-Acheulean and Acheulean sites](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/evidence/EVD0DCKW8XDJK7J/the-akerdil-and-bamouere-deposits-are-described-as-pre)

Suggestive

FOR

[No assemblage has a dated stratigraphy or absolute date](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/evidence/EVD0DCKW9A4ABX1/no-assemblage-has-a-dated-stratigraphy-or-absolute-date)

Supported

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Are the Richat pebble-tool sites older than the Acheulean?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHSFKZ2M/are-the-richat-pebble-tool-sites-older-than-the-acheulean)

Part of [Who lived at the Richat Structure, and when?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRCFJB4FD/who-lived-at-the-richat-structure-and-when)

Open3 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Yes: some Richat pebble-tool sites are a separate industry older than the Acheulean [Answer ANS0DCKW1EGEY5B]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DCKW1EGEY5B
```

Key

**ANS** 0DCKW1EGEY5B

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Proposed

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/sessions/SES0DCKZYK2CKXF/session-1-the-eye-of-the-sahara-and-the-atlantis-claim) · 28 Oct 2026

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