North African archaeological collections at the Logan Museum of Anthropology: Overview and research potential

From 1925 through 1930, the Logan Museum of Anthropology conducted extensive archaeological work in North Africa, principally Algeria. The museum houses nearly 120,000 specimens from 200 site locations. However, with a few notable exceptions, scholars have made little use of this material. Here, we summarize the collections and highlight two of the many research topics they can address. First, techno-typological review of Iberomaurusian assemblages from the cave of Ali Bacha, near Bejaia (Bougie) on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria, will constitute an important regional contribution in light of new research at other North African sites. Second, site distribution analysis via GIS of numerous Capsian escargotières, surveyed and excavated by the Logan Museum team, can provide insights on Capsian settlement patterns in northeastern Algeria. In view of the growing interest in studying extant collections, scholars should consider employing Logan Museum collections as resources for Maghreb-region Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic research.