nyame akuma issue 014

8/10/2019 Nyame Akuma Issue 014

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Report on the Plenary Session, S.A.A.A.M. a t Calgary.

p l en ary sess io n to o k p l ace o n Ap r i l 21, 1979 and w a s a t t e n d e dby 30 members of the society. The sess ion w a s ch a i r ed b y P ro fesso rPeter Shinnie, who opened with a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e pr oc e ed u re she h a s fo llo we d i n e d i t i n g Nyame Akuma. There fol lowed a d i s c u s s i o nof th ree agenda i tems.

1 Steering Committee Membership.

The pre se nt St ee ri ng Committee i s made up of a chai rman , PeterS h i n n i e , a secretary- t reasurer, Michael Bisson ; and two a t l a r g emembers, John Bower and Maxine n e i n d i e n s t . l l members expressedt h e i r wi l l i n g n e ss t o se rv e secon d two y ear t e rm and a mot io n t ore-appoint them w a s carried unanimously.

2 Futu re of Nyame Akuma

P r o f e s s o r S h i n n i e r e p o r t e d t h a t a sug ge sti on had been made t ohim t h a t Nyame Akuma be converted from i t s p resen t News le t t e rformat t o fo rmal j o u rn a l . Reasons f o r t h i s s t e p i n cl u de d l o n gd e l a y s i n t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f Kush, p ro bl em s i n t h e p r o d uc t i on o f t h eWest African J our na l of Archaeology and t h e la ck of a g e n e r a ljournal cover ing exclus ively Afr ican archaeo logy. There fol lowedl i v e l y d i s c u s s i o n i n which t h e a s se mb ly c on cl ud ed t h a t t h e

Newslet ter was an important vehicle of communication betweensch ola rs which should be re t a i ne d . Arguments agains t creat ion ofj o u r n a l i n c l u de d t h e l a c k o f s u f f i c i e n t n umbers o f p o t e n t i a lsub scr ibe rs t o make i t economically v i ab le , t he danger t h a t newjo u rn a l would un d ercu t p re se n t l y s t ru g g l in g Af r ican jo u r n a l s , and ag en era l f e e l i n g t h a t a new jo u rn a l w a s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y n e c e s s a r y.

consensus w a s reached that the Newslet ter fo rmat should ber e t a i n e d a l th ou g h P r o f e s s o r S h i nn i e ag re e d t o l o o k i n t o t h ef i n a n c i a l a s p e c t s of s e t t i n g up a j o u r n a l .

Dur in g t h i s d i scu ss io n number o f t e ch n ic a l a sp e c t s o f t h epr od uc ti on o f Nyame Akuma were di s cu ss e d . Up t o now, l l m a t e r i a lsubmitte d has been publi shed al though some pi ec es have beene d i t ed by P r of . ~ h i n n i e ) Because sub miss io n o f r e l a t i v e ly l o n ga r t i c l e s t h r e a t e n s t o i n c r e a s e p r od u ct i on c o s t s a bove o u r p r e se n tincome, i t w a s recommended t h a t news ite ms s hou ld norma lly no texceed two s in g l e spaced typed pages i n len g th . The assemblya gr ee d t h a t t h e E d i t o r s ho ul d r e t a i n d i s c r e t i o n t o a c c ep t l o n g e rp i ec es , b u t t h a t i n most c ases t h e two pag e l i m i t should beobserved.

3 Venue f o r t he 1981 Meetings.

S ug ge st io ns f o r t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e 1981 SAAAM Me et in gs a r enow being taken. P ro fesso r J D C l ar k i n v i t e d t h e s o c i e t y t o m eet


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i n B e rk e le y.

F i n a l l y a unanimous resolution was passed thanking the s t f fand st ud en ts of th e Department of Archaeology Un iv er si ty ofCa lga ry f o r hos t ing the confe rence.

Michael S. BissonSec re ta ry -Treasu re r.


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This f inan

Nyame AkumaFinancial Report

a tement inc ludes only those funds rece ivedy t h eNyame Akuma accounti n Montreal a s of A pril16 , 1979. To ta ls a re expressed

i n Canadian d o ll a rs throughout, andthe apparent discrepancy between thenumber of subscriptions and total incomei s the r e s u l t o f t h e c o n v e r s i o n o fa su b st an ti al number of su bs cri pti on s from American t o Canadian curre ncy.Income and expen di tures a r e is te d by pub1 ic a t io n ye ar r a th e r than t h e normalf i s c a l y e a r a nd s o s u b s c r i p t i o n s f o r i s s u e s 1 2 and 1 3 r e ce i ve d a f t e rJanuary 1 , 1979 are inc ludedi n the 1978 t o t a l s w h il e a l l s u b s c r i p t i o n s f o r14 and 15 a r e in th e 1979 to t a l s .

In come Ex pe nd itu re s

Back Is su es 19783 is su es 22.70 Production expenses

1978 (Numbers 12 and 13 ) P ri n ti n g 557.1393 subsc r ip t ionsi n Paper 11OO

U S ( 652) Envelopes 30.00x 1.11 co nv ersi on 455.50 Po stag e 281.75

2 subsc r ip t ions i not h er currency 18.65

~ e r o x i n g 8 4 . 8 5Phone 16.00Cler ica l (NcGil l1 24.00

Total 1978 Income 1,197.87 Equi pmentF i l in g Cabine t 140.95

1979 (Numbers 14 and 5 ) Bank Charges68 subsc r ip t ionsi n 6.19

U S ( 477)x 1.11 co nv ersi on 529.47 To tal 1978 Expenses 1,151.87

39 subsc r ip t ionsi nCanadian d o ll a r s 273.00

To tal 1979 Income t o d a te 802.47

Advance Payments(1980)

Z'Canadian, 1U.S. 22.01

Summary

Income Expenses (1 978 o n ly )

Back Iss ue s 22.70 Prod uction (12 and 13 ) 1,004.731978 (12 13 ) 1,197.87 Equipment 140 .951979 (14 & 15 ) 802.47 Bank Charges 6.19Advance Payments 22.01

To tal Expenses 1,151.87To tal Income 2,045 .05


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Tota l Income (ca r r i e d overfro m pr ev io us page) 2,045.05

Less Expenses 1,151.87

BALANCE 893.18

Tre asu rer ' s Statement

Procedures

As 1978 was th e f i r s t yea r i n wh ich a su bs c r i p t io n f ee f o r NyameAkuma was lev ied , a de sc r ip t io n o f the way i n which these funds ar e handledi s i n o r d e r. S u b s c r i p t io n s a r e d e p o s it e d i n a C u r r en t A cc ou nt i n t h e name o fNyame Akuma a t bran ch 711 o f th e Canadian Im p e ri a l Bank o f Commerce,2055 Peel Street, Montreal. I n o r d e r t o m i n im i z e bank h a n d l i n g c ha rg es andc l e r i c a l c os ts , checks a r e h e l d u n t i l 25 t o 30 accumulate and these a r e the n

deposited as a group. Approximately60

o f th e checks have been i n Amer icando1 1ars and th e p res en t fav orab le exchange r a t e on American currency hasincreased our income from these sources by about 10%. The pr es en t r i s e i nt h e v a l ue o f t h e C anadian d o l l a r t o t h e Am erican d o l l a r may b r i n g t h i ss i t u a t i o n t o a n end. s i n g l e m a i l i n g o f r e c e i p t s i s made t o s ub sc ri be rs a tthe end of th e ca lendar year.

P r o d u ct io n c o s t s f o r Nyame Akuma a r e i n i t i a l l y c a r r i e d b y t h eDepar tment o f Archaeo logy, U ni ve rs i ty o f Calgary. The Department i n t u r nb i l l s t h e Nyame Akuma account.

Discuss ion

Comple te f igu res a re on ly ava i l ab le fo r 1978 . S u b s c r i p t i o n s f o r1979 a r e s t i l l coming i n and t h e p r o d u c t io n c o s t s o f t h e 1979 is s u e s a r e n o ty e t a v a i l a b le . I n 1978 the N ews le t t e r opera ted w i t h a smal l s u r p l u s , w i t hto ta l revenues ( 1 I 7.87) exc eedin g expenses ( 1 I 1.87) by 46. When t h eone time expense o f pu rchas ing a f i l i n g cab ine t i s s ub t rac t ed f rom expenses,ac tu al p rod uct io n cos ts o f the 1978 i ssues were 186.95 le s s than income.

t sho uld be noted, however, t h a t 76.42 o f ou r 1978 income was ga in fromfavorable U.S.-Canadian do1 a r exchange ra te s and w ith ou t t h i s w i n d f a l l 1978would have been a d e f i c i t year.

A t t h i s p o i n t , 1979 s u b s c r i p t i o n s seem t o be a r r i v i n g more s l o w l ythan 1978. I n s p i t e o f t h i s o ve r 2 0 e n t i r e l y new members have s u b s c r ib e d i n1979. Our main prob lem seems t o be w i t h e x is t i n g members e i t h e r d roppingt h e i r s u b s c ri p ti o n s o r p ay in g v er y l a t e . Our p resen t ba l ance in su res tha tNyame Akuma No. 14 can be p r i n t e d and m ai le d. We may be un ab le t o pro du ceNo. 15 unle ss a minimum o f 30 more su bs cr ip ti on s a r r i v e by December. f t h e1978 pa t t e rn o f l a t e payments r epea t s i t s e l f t hen we w i l l r e a c h t h i s g o a l ,but even with the 1978 surplus, we w i l l aga in be opera t ing ve ry near t hebreak-even point .

t s i mp os si bl e t o a n t i c i p a t e p r e c i s e l y how much i n f l a t i o nw i l la f f e c t o u r f u t u r e o p e r a t i n g c os ts . P os ta ge r a t e s a r e c e r t a i n t o i n c re a s e , asa r e p r i n t i n g and s t a t i o n e r y c ha rg es . Nevertheless, as lo ng as we cont inu et o have a s u rp l u s, t h e r e wo uld seem t o be no j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r a n i n c r e a s e


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i n s u b s c ri p ti o n r a t e s . t may however be necessary t o co nt ro l produc tioncosts by l i m i t i n g t he le ng th o f Nyame Akuma.

Michael S. BissonMcGi 11 Uni ve rs i t yTreasurer S.A.A.AM.

N WS IT MS

The following report has been received from C.R.A.P.E.

(centre de Recherches Anthropologiques ~rghisto riques t ~thnographiques)

1 Depuis 1974 le C.R.A.P.E. poursuit les fouilles du siteprghistorique de Ti-n-Hanakaten (~assili-n-'Aj er) , vaste abri, auxparois couvertes de peintures, qui renferme un dgpot arch6ologique deplus de 5m d16paisseur. Les peintures appartennent aux diverses phasesreconnues dans la rggion par H. M O T E avec prgdominance des peinturesrgcentes. Les formations arch6ologiques sup6rieures, ngolithiquessont ~ 6 ~ a r g e s 'un niveau atgrien par une formation sableuse st6rile.Ce niveau se prolonge devant l'abri mettant en relation ce milieu closavec les formations extgrieures o; niveaux morphoclimatiques ont gt6reconnus dont 3 renfermaient du matgriel prghistorique (Atgrien pour1 un, ~al6 olit hi~u e nf rieur pour les deux autres)

. .

Apr avoir gtabli la stratigraphie du dgpot archgologique, lesfouilles se proposent de rechercher les structures d'occupation du sol.Les pe miG re s campagnes menges dans ce sens ont montrg que les anomaliespeques dans la sgdimentation des dgpots supgrieurs corespendaient desfosses creusges au dgpend de la couche supgrieure. Certaines, scellgespar des lentilles cendreuses avec foyer en place et pierres taillgessont tr anciennes, d'autres sont actuelles. Par ce biais la sgquenced' occupation remonte jusqu' nos jours

Le matgriel arch6ologique tail16 dans des microdiorites et quartzest de qualitg mgdiocre La poterie abonde Des matgriaux pgrissablesvanneries, fruits graines ont retrouvgs. Des charbons, nombreux etvolumineux ont permis d'identifier un vgggtation tropicale depuis labase des formations.

Plusieurs squelettes ont 6t6 retirgs du gisement, aucun d'eux

n gtait accompag de mobilier fungraire mais plusieurs reposaient surune liti e fungraire. On ne sait encore quelle position chronologiqueleur attri uer


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Les dates actuellement connues 8100 130 B.P 6650 90 BP,4100 t 70 BP ne concernent que les 2 3 su rieurs des coucFesarch&logiques.

2 - Dans 1'Atlas sahazien, l'gtude syst6matique d'unremblaiement sableux prgcgdemment mis en gvidence sur la margemgridionale El-Haouita, a 6t6 entreprise. Les travaux actuelsfaits par de jeunes chercheurs du CRAPE A.AMARA, M.AMROUCHE,N. FERHAT et A. HEDDOUCHE portent sur les environs de Bou-Saada.Plusieurs industries xattachges l'Ib&omaurusien ont 6t6retrouvges dans la partie sommitale du remblaiement. Les travauxfont l'objet de publication d a m dans le tome XXV de Libyca.

3) - Une gtude stratigraphique de la c&e l'0uest d'Alger

menge par M. BETROUNI et N. SAOUDI a montrg l'existence de 7 Qtagessuccessifs parmi lesquels le Harounien est mat6rialisg par unelumachelle de 2m et le Prgsoltanien par un gr5s massif. Leur Qtudefera l'objet d'une publication dans le tome XXVI de Libyca.

4 - Les recherches sur les pal6oclimats partir de charbonstrouves dans les foyers prghistoriques technique qui paralt riched'avenir, ont conduit M. COUVERT publier un Atlas de charbonprghistoriques (~Q moire XVI du CRAPE) qui devrait permettre undgveloppement plus rapide de cette technique.

5) - Parall&ement ces travaux, G. AUMASSIP termine la miseau point d'une gtude du Bas-Sahara aux temps pr6historiques.

BOTSWANA.

Iron Age Research in Eastern Botswana

byJames R. DenbowIndiana University

Bloomington, Indiana

For the past year I have been conducting archaeologicalresearch in the Serowe - Palapye area of eastern Botswana for myPh.D. thesis. This work has been supported by grants fromFulbright-Hays and the National Science Foundation. Continuinginvestigations this year will be sponsored in part by the BotswanaSociety.

Since Botswana is relatively unknown archaeologically, thefirst stages of research concentrated on locating and collecting

materials from as many prehistoric sites as possible. During the


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s u r v ey, b e n e f i t e d from t h e a b l e h e l p , c r i t i c i s m and p e t r o l o f a namateur archaeo log is t , David Schemers . arly i n t h e r e co n na i ss a nc ei t w a s n o t e d t h a t t h e r e w a s an a l mo s t p e r f e c t c o r r e l a t i o n betw een

d ense s t an d s o f cench ru s c i l i a r i s and th e midden d e p o s i t s ona r c h ae o l og i c a l s i t e s . Although t h i s grass i s r e l a t i v e ly r a r e i n t h esurrounding Mopane bushveld, i t grows s o t h i ck ly o n th e middens t h a t ,o n c e e s t a b l i s h e d , i t p rev en t s t h e su b seq u en t en cro ach men t o f t r eesand sh ru b s . Th i s h as en ab led me t o u se 1 :4 0 ,0 0 0 sc a l e a i r photo-g r ap h s t o l o c a t e s i t e s s i n c e t h e y show up as b al d s p ot s i n t h esurrounding veg eta t io n . Approximately 150 s i t e s have beeni n v e s t i g a t e d u s i n g t h i s method, a nd t h e a r t e f a c t s c o l l e c t e d i n d i c a t et h a t most were occup ied between A D 800 1300. The majori ty ofs i t e s a r e s i t u a t e d on h i l l t o ps , b ut a l i m i t e d r e co n n a is s a nc e o f t h esurrounding f l a t l a n d s s u g g e s t s t h a t t h i s number r e p r e s e n t s a bo ut75 o f t h e t o t a l number o f I r o n Age s i t e s i n t h e s u r v e y a r e a .

Af t e r t h e r eco n n a i s san ce 4 s i t e s were t e s t e d , two of t h e s ei n t e n s i v e l y. E x c a v a t i o n s a t Taukome, 30 km. N W of Serowe,y ie lded ceramics similar t o t h e Zhizo phase of t h e GokomereTr a d i t i o n i n R ho de si a. Towards the top of the 1 met re d ep o s i tt h e s e m a t e r i a l s d e v el op i n t o a n as se mb la ge i d e n t i c a l w i th t h ee a r l y o cc up at io n o f Tautswe ( ~ e ~ i o n k a 978) . The o t h e r i n t e n s i v e l yex cav at ed s i t e , Tha tswane , h as an ea r ly component a l s o i d en t i ca lwith Tautswe, and a l a t e r , po ss ib ly un re la te d component which mayd a t e c . A.D. 1500. The cera mic s e r i a t i o n am now engaged i n w i l lsy s t emat i ca l l y d emo n st r at e t h a t t h e Tautswe ma te r i a l , p rev io u s lyl a b e l l e d as

aLeopard s Kopje v a r i an t , can be der i ved from an

Ear l y I r on Age base re la te d t o th e Zhizo phase ( cf . Lep ionka 1978;Huffman 1978)

P r e l i m i n a r i l y , t h e e xc av at io ns a l s o i n d i c a t e t h a t a t a n e a r l yd a t e t h e f i r s t Ea rly I ro n Age immigrants i n t o Botswana place dgreater re l iance upon an imal husbandry than has been demonst ra tedf o r comparable s i t e s i n Rh od es ia and th e n o r th e rn Tran sv aa l . Mosto f t h e s i t e s i n c e n t r a l Botswana c o n t a i n e vi de nc e of c a t t l e o ranimal kraals wi th manure d e p o s i t s u p t o f e e t t h i ck . Theex cav a t io n s a t Taukome uncovered th e ou t l i n e of one such k r a a l a tt h e base o f t h e d ep o s i t which can d e f i n i t e ly be as so c i a t e d wi th

th e Ear ly I r o n Age o ccu pa t ion o f t h e s i t e . The o u t l i n e o f af l i m s i l y c o n s t r u c t e d ho use was a l s o l o c a t e d n ea r t h e k r a a l .The g en e r a l i n d i c a t i o n s a r e t h a t as herds o f domest icated an imalsin c reased , t h e semi -a rid f r i n g es of t h e Ka lah ar i co uld bep r o f i t ab ly u t i l i z ed by Ear ly I r o n Age g rou p s. Moreo ver, t h eenvironment may have been at t r a c t i v e t o Early Ir o n Age semi-p a s t o r a l i s t s s i n ce t h e a r e a i s basical ly sweet veld where fewu n p a la t ab l e o r p oi son o us sp e c i es o ccu r i n a reas where t h ev e g e t a t i o n i s undis tu rb ed . Mopane lea ve s ar e a l s o a h i g h p r o t e i nbrowse food used by c a t t l e .


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Oth er mate r i a l s r eco v ered f ro m th e ex cav a t io n s a t Taukome andTha tswane in c lu d e i r o n an d co pp er t o o l s , animal bone, carbonized

sorghum(?) and cow peas(?) numerous os t r i c h egg s h e l l beads , r a r eg l a ss b ead s an d cowry sh e l l s , a nd one p e r f o r a t e d c on us s h e l l d i s c .I n t e r e s t i n g l y , m ost o f t h e s e t r a d e i t e m s o cc ur w it h t h e e a r l i e rm a t e r ia l , s ug g es ti ng t h a t a f t e r A D 1000 Botswana w a s morei s o l a t e d f r o m c o n t a c t w i t h t r a d e g o o d s f r o m t h e c o a s t . A s ap o s s i bl e c o r o l l a r y, no s i t e s c on t ai n in g M 1 o r ~ a ~ - u n g ub w e y p em a t e r i a l s w ere f ou nd i n t h e s u rv e y a r e a .

The reconnaissance d a ta a l so sugge st t h a t t he re may have beenl o n g te rm f l u c t u a t i o n s i n t h e c l i m a te o f Botswana o v e r t h e p a s t1 20 0 y e a r s . C e r t a i n l y t h e d e n s e s t p e r i o d of o c cu p a ti o n a p p e a r s t ohave been between A D 800 and 1300. Although s i t e s have beenl o c a t ed which d a t e t o l a t e r p e r io d s , t h e y a r e n o t a s numerous a ss i t e s d a t i n g fro m t h e e a r l i e r p e r i o d s . T h i s may mean t h a t b etw ee n1300 and 1500 A D the c l imate o f Botswana w a s s l i g h t l y d r y e r , o ra l t e r n a t i v e l y , t c o u l d i n d i c a t e a s h i f t o f t h e T se ts e f l y b e l t si n t o t h e a r e a a t t h a t t ime. To d r a w a mo d ern p a ra l l e l , i t i s knownt h a t t h e s p r i n g s which o nce f e d t h e t r i b a l c a p i t a l s a t Shoshong andSerowe 100 ye ar s ago a r e now d ry . t i s d i f f i c u l t a t t h i s p o i n t ,h ow ever, t o be c e r t a i n wh et he r t h i s w a s t h e r e s u l t o f i n cr e as e dhuman a c t i v i t y , g radual env i ronmental change, o r bo th . There a r ei n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e mean a nn u al r a i n f a l l i s a g a i n d e c r e a s i n g .

L a s t ly , p re se n t d a t a i n d i c a t e t h a t t h el i m i t s

of the 'Tau tsweTr a d i t i o n ' a p p ea r t o c onform r o u g h ly t o t h e l i m i t s of Mopaneb u sh v eld which ex t en d s from th e Mak ar ika r i Pan s i n t h e west t oMahalapye i n t h e so u th . Arch aeo lo g ica l co l l ec t i o n s from th eMahalapye a re a su g g es t t h a t d i f f e re n t Mid dle I ro n Age t r a d i t i o n s ,p e rh a ps r e l a t e d t o o t h e r E a r l y I r o n Age b a s e s , w i l l be fo u nd i nth e more so u th e rn p a r t s o f t h e co u n t ry.

References

Huffman, T.N. The Or ig in s of Leo par d's Kopje: An 1 1t h1978 Century Difaquane , Arnold ia . Nat io nal

Museums of Rhodesia.

Lepionka, L. Excav ations a t Tautswemogala . Botswana1978 Notes and Records. Botswana So ci et y.


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The Trent Univers i ty Botswana Archaeologica l Pro jec t (TUBAP)The 19 78 Fie ld Se a son

by Morgan J Tam pl in P r o j e c t D i r e c t o rDepar tment of Anthropology, Tr en t Univ er s i t y.

The Trent Univers i ty Botswana Archaeologica l Pro jec t TUBAP)i s a l on g- te rm m u l t i - d i s c i p l i n a r y r e s e a r c h e f f o r t ai med a t c l a r i f y -i n g t h e s eq ue nc e o f p r e h i s t o r i c c u l t u r e s an d e n vi r on m en t al c ha ng esi n e a s t e r n Bot sw ana .

The genera l aims o f t h e p r o j e c t are:1 To develop a l o c a l c u l t u r a l c h r o n o l o g y.

2 To i n t e g r a t e e nv ir on me nt al d a t a i n t o t h i sc u l t u r e s e que nc e .

3. To de f ine t h e man-land r e l a t i o n sh ip s a tv a r i ou s t e ch n o l og i c a l l e v e l s f o r t h e v a r i o u st i m e p e r i o d s w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n .

The p r o j e c t h a s b ee n s u p p or t e d by Tr e n t U n i v e r s i t y, t h eRoyal O ntar io Museum and e sp ec ia l l y t h e S oc ia l Sc i ences andHumanit ies Research Council of Canada. I n 1978 t h e f i e l d p a r t yc o n s i s t e d o f t h e f o l l o w i n g p e rs on s i n a d d i t i o n t o m y se lf :

Catharina van Waarden was i n c h ar g e of e x c a v a t i o n s a t t h es i t e o f Leeukop as p a r t o f h e r M A t h e s i s r e s e ar c h a t t h e D ep ar t-ment of Anthropology, T ren t Un iv er si ty .

Nei l Dunford d id a g roundw ater a nd ve ge t a t i on s t udy o f t h ea r ea f o r h i s M A re se ar ch i n t h e Biology-Geography programme a tTr e n t , and a l s o d i r e c t e d t h e s i t e mapping.

Robin Dods, a Ph.D. ca nd id at e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f To r o n t o ,v o l un t e e re d t o d o a p r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s i s of e x c av a t ed f a u n a lma te r i a l a n d p r e pa xe c ompa r a t i ve o s t e o log i c a l spe c ime ns . We a l s oengaged Hugh Daechsel, an M A s t u d e n t a t Mcmaster Univers i ty as a

g e n e ra l r e s ea r c h a s s i s t a n t .

Fo r t h e 1978 s e a son , c onc e n t r a t e d on two s i t e s n e a r t h econf luence of t h e Limpopo and Mot loutse r i v e r s , on pro per ty ownedby th e Botswana Development co rp or at io n, c al l ed Tal ana Farms.One o f t h e s i t e s i s a s m a l l , f o r t i f i e d h i l l - t o p c a l l e d Leeukop,w hich we wa nt ed t o e xc a va t e i n o r d e r t o unde r s t a nd and a n t i c i pa t et h e s p a t i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of f e a t u r e s w hich we m ig ht f i n d o n l a r g e rs i t e s t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d l a t e r . Van Waa rd en 's work r e v e a l e d t h eo u t l i n e s o f a t l e a s t 43 c i r c u l a r mud-walled s t r u c t u r e s a nd a numbero f s t o n e r e t a i n i n g w a l l s o r f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , on t h e 143 m e t r e - l o n g s i t e .


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A s th e s t ru c tu r e s do not ove r lap , the y were probably contemporaneous.

A r t i f a c t s i n c l u d e c er am ic s, i r o n , g l a s s a nd o s t r i c h e g g s h e l l be a ds ,

b r a s s bu t t ons and badges, and va r i ous pa r t s o f f i r e a r m s . B r i t i s hm i l i t a r y i n s i g n i a d a t e s t h e main component t o t h e l a t e 1 9 t h c e n t ur y

a n d t h i s i s confirmed by a r ad iocazbon d a t e o f D 9 5 45 years

There was a l s o a poor ly-def ined e a r l i e r component, r ad iocarbo n

d a t e d a t D 1665 _ 45 y e a r s .

The bones recovered revea led tha t a wide v a r i e t y o f w i l d

spec i e s we re exp l o i t e d bu t t he r e were su p r i s i n g l y few dom es t i ca t e s .

I n a d d i t i o n t o c o nd uc ti ng t h i s p re l i m in a r y fa u n a l a n a l y s i s ,

M s Dods prepared over 25 comparat ive osteological specimens which

are housed a t th e Nat iona l Museum f o r use by us and o th er p ro je c t s .

Nei l Dunford d i r ec te d t h e mapping of th e two s i t e s of Leeukop

and Mmamagwa The l a t t e r s i t e i s a Leopards Kopje I occupa t i on ,

r ad i oca r bon da t ed a t AD 940 4 80 yea r s wi t h a t l e a s t 2 5 h e c t a r e s

o f o c c up at io n i n t h e c e n t r a l p o r t i o n , u p t o 1.5 m deep. t w a stoo la r ge and complex an ar e a t o make a de ta i l ed contour map i n

t h e t im e a va i l ab l e , so we p l aced p r e c i s e l y measur ed g round con t r o l sf o r l ow- leve l a e r i a l pho togr aphy pl anned f o r 1979. had hoped t o

do some c o n t r o l l e d s u r f a c e c o l l e c t i n g and a d d i t i o n a l t e s t

excavat ion as w e l l , b ut b ec au se of d e l a y s g e t t i n g i n t o t h e f i e l d ,

postponed t h i s phase and co ncent ra te d ou r resour ces on th e more

u rgen t r equ ir em en ts of t h e s t ud en t s ' r e s ea r c h .

After com plet ing t h e mapping programme, M r Dunford d i rec ted

h i s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e gr ou nd wa te r a nd v e g e t a t i o n s u r v ey. He

exam ined pe r enn i a l sp r i ngs and t h e i r a s so c i a t ed p l an t com m unit ie s,

both a t Talana , and up th e Motloutse as f a r as Bobonong. He w i l l

i nv es t i g a t e methods o f de t ec t i n g and p r ed i c t i ng t h e p re sence o f nea r -

sur face groundwater us ing var ious remote sens ing techniques . The

v e g e ta t i on d a t a w i l l h e l p t o d e f i n e t h e r e s ou r ce p o t e n t i a l o f t h e a s e a .

I n 1 979 , we w i l l r e t u r n t o Mmamagwa with a sma l le r t eam, t o con-

t i n u e mapping t h e c e n t r a l p o r t i o n o f t h e s i t e . I n c o n j u n ct i o n w i th t h e

mapping, wew i l l

t a k e s o i l samples t o be t e s t e d f o r p ho sp ha te s, i no r d e r t o d e f i n e human a c t i v i t y a r e a s a nd c a t t l e k r a a l s .


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D a n i e l C a i s t e r r e p o r t s :

Since December 1978 I h av e b een co n d u c t in g an a rch aeo lo g ica lsurvey around Molepolo le i n Kweneng Di s t r i c t 50 km west of GaboroneBotswana as t h e f i r s t s ta ge i n a s t u dy of t h e p r e h i s t o r y o f t h eKwena one of t h e major Tswana chiefdoms i n Botswana. Anthropo lo-g i c a l l y t h e Tswana a r e i n t r i g u i n g f o r t h e i r e x t re m el y n u c le a t edse t t l emen t sy st ems i n t h e semi -a r id p e r i -Ka lah ar i env iron ment an df o r t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c om pl ex it y o f t h e i r ch ie fd om s. R ec en tethno-h is to r ical research among the Kwena has led G . Y. O ki hi ro t oc on cl ud e t h a t t h e i r s e t t l e m e n t p a t t e r n and p o l i t i c a l c om pl ex it ywere r esp o n ses t o a m as si ve n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y i n f l u x o f r e f u g e e sf ro m th e Di faq ane an d from Af r ik an er se t t l em en t i n t h e Tran sv aa lMy r e s e a r c h w i l l at t em pt t o t e s t t h a t p ro po si ti on i n p a r t i c u l a rand more ge ne ra l l y w i l l examine La t e I r o n Age se t t l em en t p a t t e r n sa nd a d a p t a t i o n s i n t h i s u n p r e d i c t a b l e e n vi ro nm en t.

So f a r t h i r t y - t h r e e s i t e s have been l o c a te d t hr ou gh h i s t o r i c a lr e s e a r c h i n t e r v i e w s w i t h l o c a l r e s i d e n t s a nd g ro un d r e c on n a i ss a n ce .F iv e of t h e s e s i t e s c o n s t i t u t e a s e r i e s o f Kwena ca p i t a l s o ccu p ieds e q u e n t i a l l y s i n c e b e f o r e t h e D i fa q an e . They a f f o r d a n o p p o r t u n i t yt o s tu d y d ev elop ment s i n Tswana se t t l eme n t o rg an iz a t io n ad ap t a t i o nand ceramic technology over a cen tury and a half of well-documentedh i s t o r i c a l c h a n g e .

Twe nty -f our o t h e r s i t e s l o c a t e d on h i l l t o p s a r e much s m a l l e rtha n t he Kwena se t t l em ent s . Many of them con ta in s to ne pe ri me te rwa l l i n g t e r r ac in g o r s to ne-wall ed en c lo su res . Deco rat ed ce ramicsa r e r e l a t i v e l y r a r e i n s ur f a c e c o l l e c t i o n s from t he s e s i t e s b utmany moti fs have p a r a l l e l s i n Sotho-Tswana assemblages from th eTransvaal and th e Orange Free S t a t e . Common m o t i f s i n c lu d e rows ofh o r i z o n t a l i n c i s i o n o r s t y l u s i m p r e s s i o n s o n r i m s h er r in g b o n ein c is i o n o r comb-stamping on r i m s n o t c h e d o r o b l i q u e l y i n c i s e dr i m s and in ci se d or comb-stamped chevrons arca des and t r i a n g l e son bowls and the shoulders of jars Red and b lack burn ish ing of tenf i l l i n t h e z on es d e f i n e d by t h e s e m o t i f s . Although q u i t e d i s t i n c tfrom modern Kwena cera mic s t h e s e assem blag es may prove t o be mores i m i l a r t o n ine tee nth cen tur y Kwena assemblages.

Alth oug h t h e su rv ey h as fo cu ssed o n th e h i l l s a rou n dM o le po lo le t h r e e I r o n Age s i t e s h av e b ee n l o c a t e d i n t h e a d j a c e n tp l a i n s . These v i l l a g e s i t e s have y i e ld e d n e a r l y i d e n t i c a l assem bla -g e s o f p o t t e r y d om in at ed by s p h e r i c a l v e s s e l s w it h s h o r t e v e r t e dr i m s d e co r at e d o n ly by n o tc h in g o r i n c i s i n g on t h e l i p . Th i s mo t i fa l s o o c c u r s i n many a ss em bl ag es f ro m h i l l t o p s i t e s b u t n e ve r s oe x c l u s i v e l y as i n t h e p l ai n s s i t e s . I t i s n o t y e t c l e a r w he th ert h i s d i s t i n c t i o n r e f l e c t s c h ro n ol o gi c al o r e t h n i c d i f f e r e n c e s no r

w he th er t h e c o n t r a s t i n g s i t e l o c a t i o n s s i g n i f y m ajo r a d a p ti v ed i f f e r e n c e s


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At this stage of research any conclusions are extremelytentative, but two points seem clear. First, basic culturalaffinities are oriented toward the south; there is no evidence in

the ceramics of significant interaction with groups in Zimbabwe.Second, the large nineteenth century Tswana towns seem to have noprecursors in this area. Obviously, either of these statementsmay be radically altered by the results of further survey.

CAMEROON

Les activit6s de l arch6ologie ORSTOM au Cameroun se sontd6velopp6es selon deux axes de 1968 1978.

prospection g6n6rale de la partie Nord du pays: collectes,m6thodologie, et d6finition de thGmes;

6tudes thgmatiques en fonction

(a) des r6sultats de la prospection (b) des besoins historiquesnationaux au Cameroun.

I

La prospection conduite selon une m6thodologie d abordextensive a permis de recenser.

des sites pa1601ithiques ato sensu et d en donner un premigrcadre g60morphologiquedes sites 60 t post-n601ithiques(~~)des rupestres et des mggalithes.La m6thodologie g6n6rale et les techniques utilis6es sont expos6eset discut6es dans plusieurs publications. Les r6sultats concernentsurtout la r6gion entre les parallsles II N et 8 ~.La prospection a ensuite referm6 ses limites ggographiques etthgmatiques

~6olithique t postn6olithique au Cameroun du Nord (~ iamarg ,~ 6 n o u 6 , ayo Danay et Logone et ~hari): sondages et prospectionsI Rupestres de Bidzar: lev6, protection, classement et 6tude.Une nouvelle m6thodologi.e prospective a permis de recenser environ80 sites post-ngolithiques surtout au Diamar6 et d en fournir unecartographie 1/200.000 .I1 est envisag6 en 1979 de publier latotalit6 des sites et de recenser les thsmes les plus rentables.

1. Conjointement la prospection et afin de poser les premiersjalons chrono-culturels de notre rggion, des fouilles et sondagesont 6t6 effectugs:Pal6olithique be-~ch eu l6 en : okorvong

Post ~cheulgen Figuil-LoutiDouroum


14/70

~golithique inal Maroua ~sana~a(1) t CFDTpost-ngolithique alak

Bidzar-Biou.Bien entendu ce cadre est encore he et attend la fois denouvelles fouilles, classificationsA typologies et datations, lengolithique restant ma1 defini de meme que le paleolithique final.Une grande quantitg de sites de surface ou erodes sont classes enfonction des premiers sondages et exigent de nouvelles recherches.

La prospection s'gtant orientge sur un thGme (NQO et Post~eoli th i~ue) t sur une zone, les fouilles ont 6tG ~rogrammees ef a ~ o n prendre cette zone en transect du Nord au Sud. Ainsi aprzsSalak et Bidzar-Biou sont prgvus ~ a ~ a m / m o n ~ o s s i ers le parallzleI1 et/ou Nanikalou 11 Nous pensons ainsi obtenir avec unenouvelle gtude des ateliers de Maroua (~san ag a t CFDT) une imageinter regionale globale du post-ngolithique nord-Camerounais

2. Une orientation technologique et pal606cologique est programm6e:(a) mingralogie des terres cuites micromorphologie des poteriesrecherche des 6lements majeurs et mineurs (echantillons de 2tessons par composant de site).

(b) cartographie des sols anthropiques (erodgs, st6rilisgs)localement visibles sous la forme de planosols et estimation de1 impact anthropique sur le manteau pgdologique durant lesderniers millgnaires

3 La liaison ethnologie-archgologie est dgfendue et souhaitge:(a) gtablissement de corpus de la culture mat6rielle actuelle trGsma1 connue;

(b) 6tablissement de corpus de la culture materielle des civilisa-tions pass6es subactuelles et prghistoriques (en cours)ces deux corpus devraient 2tre uniformis .

(c) recherches linguistiques, toponymiques et mots de base sur leslangues tchadiques et adamawa.

Alain Marliac

BP 215~gaoundere ameroon

The original item was fully referenced with a bibliographyof 21 items. These have been omitted for economy but anyonewishing full details can get them from the editor.


15/70

CONGO

D r . Volavka of th e Fac u l t y o f F ine Arts York Univers i ty,

Canada sen d t h i s r ep o r t :

I n t h e summer of 1978 I worked a g a i n i n c e n t r a l A f r i c a t oconclude my en qu i r ie s concern ing th e an t iq ue Kongo r ega l i a whichI had found i n t h e Congo ( ~ e o ~ l e ' s epublic of congo). m e t~ & e G d e bo ut whom I h ad h eard a l r ead y - as a ve ry knowledgeableamateur h e h as b een co n du c t in g a rch aeo lo g ica l su rv ey s i n t h e r i chbu t unknown regi on of Bouenza i n t h e N i a r i b a s i n .

The r eg a l i a i n which I am i n t e r e s t e d i n c lu d e b ot h a r t i s t i cand archaeo log ical i tems. However I found them i n a museum( a f t e r f i v e y e a rs o f f i e l d s ea rc h and n ot i n a d i g . havethem f u l l y documented and ana lyse d and hope t o pro vide a f u l l e rr e p o r t i n a l a t e r number of Nyame Akuma.

GYPT

This i tem from D r. C . V. Haynes o f t h e Univ ers i ty o f Ar izonacame j u s t t o o l a t e f o r Nyame Akuma no.13. Although r e f e r r i n g t owork c ar r i ed ou t over a year ago i t seems of s u f f i c i e n t i n t e r e s tt o i n cl u de i t now.

In February and March, 1978 I w i t h c o l l e a g u e s P e t e rMehringer, Donald Johnson, and Robert Giegengack, continued withmy o ng oing p ro j ec t of mapping and d a t i n g l a t e Qu ar t e rn a ry d e p o s i t sof t h e Western De se rt of Egypt. Emphasis i s b e in g p l aced o n th eHolocene p l ay a d e p o s i t s an d r e l a t e d s o i l s o f t h e Kharg a d ep ress io nan d th e Dun gu l-Ki se ib a d ep ress io n i n o rd e r t o b e t t e r u n d er s t an dp l u v i a l c o n d i t i o n s and t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o human o cc u pa ti o n of t h ea r e a .

I n l a t e Sep temb er and e a r ly Oc to b er, I p a r t i c i pa t e d i n t h e

e x p e d i t i o n o f Fa ro uk E l B az, S mi th so ni an I n s t i t u t i o n , t o G i l f Kebirand Oweinat t o examine de po si ts and geolo gic phenomena t h a t a r ec o ns id e re d t o b e p o t e n t i a l a n a lo g s o f s i m i l a r f e a t u r e s o f M a r sAr ch ae ol og ic al o b se rv a ti o n s were made by Will iam McHugh and myselfand se v e ra l new but small s i t e s ( ~ e o l i t h i c ) were found.

I w i l l r e tu rn i n Feb ru ary an d March o f n ex t y ea r t o co n t in u emy f i e l d i n v e s t i g a t io n s and w i l l jo in Fred Wendorf i n th e B i rKise ib a a rea where we have se v er a l s i t e s a s so c i a t ed wi th l a k ed e p o s i t s . This work w i l l a l s o be e xt en de d t o t h e d e p r e s s i o n s o fn o r t h e r n Sudan where o u r v i s i t s o f 1 97 6 r e v e a l e d s i t e s a s s o c i a t e d

w i th l a k e d e p o s i t s .


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Dakhleh Oasis P r o j e c t 1 9 8 Season.

I n t h e autumn of 1978 the combined RCW SSEA p r o j ec t i n t h eDakhleh Oasis of the Egypt ian Western Desert had i t s f i r s t seasono f i n t e n s i v e f i e l d work. The a r e a s e l e c t e d f o r t h e b e gi n ni n g oft h e s u r ve y p ha se o f t h e p r o j e c t was a t the extreme western end oft h e o a s i s i n a region known as Maohoub. We managed t o com plet elyc ov er a n a r e a o f 1 2 0 s q ua r e k i l o m e t r e s w it h i n which f i f t y s i t e swere recorded. We ha ve a l s o begun s t u d i e s of t h e f l o r a fauna andgeo l ogy o f t he oa s i s .

The e a r l i e s t m at e r i a l i n our h i e w i s r e pr e se n te d i n t e ns i t e s of va r y in g s i z e . U n f o rt u n at e l y h eav y d e f l a t i o n h a s o cc ur ed

i n t h e a z e a and t h e s e N e o l i t h i c s i t e s a r e now o n l y s u r f a c es c a t t e r i n g s of E t h i c s . T hr ee p h as e s o f t h e N e o l i t h i c seemi n d i c a t e d by t h e t e ch n o lo g i e s t h e l a t e s t ha vi ng t h e a d d i t i o n ofc er am ic s. P r e l im i n a ry i n d i c a t i o n s a r e t h a t t h e s e N e o l i t h i c re ma in scanno t be d i r ec t l y a s s oc i a t ed wi t h devel opment s i n t h e Ni l e Va l l ey.Pos s i b l y a l so t h e l a t e s t of t he s e Neo l i t h i c rem ai ns comes down t o2300 B C o r s o when we have t h e establ i shm ent of t h e nextr e c og n i za b l y d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e . T h at i s t o be found a t Balat i ne a t e r n D ak hl eh where t h e E g yp t ia n s o f t h e l a t e s i x t h d y n a st yfounded an adminis t ra t ive cent re of cons iderable magni tude . I nMaohoub t h i s s ea son we have r ecor ded e i g h t o t h e r s i t e s o f t h i ssame per iod- fo ur of them cemeter ies and the l a rg es t se t t l em ent

cover i ng over e i gh t y hec t a r e s . The r ea sons f o r t h e e s tab l i shm en to f t h es e s i t e s a r e no t y e t a pp a r en t b u t t does s eem c l ea r t ha tt hey f e l l i n t o d i su se by t he Middl e Kingdom.

Of t he rem ai ni ng t h i r t y - t wo s i t e s t we nt y- fi ve d a t e t o t h eRoman occupat ion and th e r e s t t o th e subsequent Copt ic and ea r lyI s l a m i c p e r i o d s . The p r e s e r v a t i o n o f t h e s e s i t e s i s e x c e l l e n t i nmarked co nt ra st t o th e e a r l i e r ones and we have mud br ic kfarmhouses s tan din g above ground and preserv ed wel l i n t o th e seconds t o r e y. Te x t ua l r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e developm ent of a g r i c u l t u r e i nth e oa s i s seem wel l borne o ut by th e a rchae olog ica l ev idence . Theg e n e r a l small s i z e numbers and f a i r l y even d i s t r i b u t i o n o fa r c h i t e c t u r a l s i t e s as w e l l as the extens ive sys tem of aqueductsand f l o r a l f i n d s a l l s up po rt t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . The subsequentC h r i st i a n s i t e s a r e a l s o w e l l p re se rv ed but f a r fewer i n numbera f a c t which may be a r e f l ec t i on o f changed cond i t i ons duep r o b a b l y t o a com binat ion of ov e r - u t i l i z a t i on o f t he a r ea by t h eRomans and some s l i g h t cl im at ic change.

A M i l l s

Royal Ontario Museum.


17/70

GHANA

Pro fesso r J Su tto n of t h e Department of Archaeology,

Un iv er s i t y o f Ghana sen d s t h i s r ep o r t :

The reschedul ing of the academic calendar, resu l t ing f romc e r t a i n l o c a l t r o u b l e s , made f i e l d r e se a rc h i n 1978 d i f f i c u l t . tw a s however p o s s ib l e t o c o n ti n ue c e r t a i n p r o j e c t s , n o t a bl y i n t h eAccra reg i on , and t o under take ex p l ora tor y work e lsewhere .

Mr.J.R. Anquandah has pursued h i s pr oj ec t on t h e Accra p l a i n s( see N .A. 1 2 , p . 24-7) wi th fu r t h e r ex cav a t io n s a t Ladoku near thecoast and a t Cherekecherete a t t h e s o ut h er n end of t h e S h a i h i l l s .This work i s h e l p in g t o r e f i n e t h e l a t e r I r o n Age s eq ue nce f o r t h ere gi on and maybe t o exte nd i t back i n t o t h e e a r l i e r h a l f of I r o nAge. He i s c o nt i nu i ng t o c o r r e l a t e w i th t h e s e f i n d i n g se th n og raph ic and o r a l -h i s to r i ca l i n v es t i g a t io n s among th e G a andDangme people.

Meanwhile, D r . Joanne Dombrowski has undertaken a secondseason of work a t Gao Lagoon (b y Tema, 0 03 E ) wi th i t s LSAsh e l l accu mulat ion s and p o t t e ry. ( se e N . A . 1 0 , p .31-4; 11 . 29-30)A radiocarbon date of some 6,000 years ago (N-3213) has beeno b t a in e d from t h e p e a t y c l a y u n d e rl y i n g t h e c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l .D r . Dombrowski has also tested a v i l l a g e s i t u a t e d on t h e a d j a ce n tc l i f f (between th e lagoon and th e se a) . Radiocarbon r e s u l t s show

t h a t t h i s e xt en ds back t o q u i t e e a r l y i n t h e I r o n Age ( t h ee a r l i e s t c e n t u r i e s A . D . : i t shows p ro mise o f t i e i n g in t oM r . Anquandah s sequ ence .

Over the years a cons ider ab le amount o f palaeoeco log ical /environmental work has been undertaken on both the Stone Age andt h e I r o n Age i n Ghana t h ro u gh t h e k ee n c o l l a b o r a t i o n o f s c i e n t i s t si n a v a r i e t y o f d i s c i p l i n e s w it h a r c h a e o l o g is t s . t i s h op ed t os t r en g th en su ch co o p era t i o n a t t h i s p o i n t ; and t h e I n t e r- U n i v e r s i tyCo u n c i l ( i n on don) has agreed t o p rov ide some es se n t i a l equ ipmentt o t h e U n i v e r s i ty o f Ghana f o r t h i s p u rp os e. Although we a r e otplanning a formal conference a t t h i s s t a g e , we do have i n mind t omain ta in a l o c a l i n f or m al s em in ar s e r i e s , w h il e c e r t a i n a s p e c t s o fpalaeoecology and p as t environments i n Ghana w i l l be t r e a t e d i ncommunications t o conferences ou t s id e t h e c ount ry. Bes id e t h epr o j ec ts ment ioned above, Profe ssor J .E .G. Su t t on i s i n t e r e s te d i nt h e i n d i c a t i o n s of en vi ro n men ta l chan ge i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e Kintampoc u l t u r e of t h e second millennium B . C . , and has begun somep r e l i m i n a r y f i e ld w o rk on t h i s s u b j e c t .

E s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g f o r t h e p o s t - Pl e i st o c en e seq ue nce a r ethe levels of Lake Bosumtwi near Kumasi D r . M R Talbot (now ofL eed s u n i v e r s i t y ) r e t u r n e d t o Ghana t h i s y e a r t o c o l l e c t s am pl es


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w i t h D r . J . Maley ( ~ a l y n o l o g i s t from c.N.R.s. . ( s e e .A. 1 0 , ~ ~ 3 4 - 5 . )On th e co as t moreover ano th er dep os i t of pe at o r pe at y mud has beenl o c a t e d a t Ada ( 0 ~ 3 8 ' ~ )y t h e Vo l t a e s t u a r y ( by D r . K i m Ly,g e o l o g i s t a t t h e U n iv e rs it y of ~ h a n a ) . I t u n d e r l i e s t h e b e a c h a n d i sexposed a t l o w sea - l ev e l . I t i s d o u b t l e s s p a r t o f a fo rmer lagoono v e r which t h e b each h a s r e t r e a t e d t h ro u g h t i d a l p r e s s u r e s . I t seemst o be s i m i l a r t o t h e d e p o s i t r e co r d ed i n t h e 1 9 50 s by D r . O l i v e rDavies a t Takoradi (145 '~ ) b u t s in ce d es t ro y ed by marine e ro s io n -from which a r a d i o ca r b o n d a t e ( ~ r o - 1 1 ) a lm o st 6 ,0 0 0 y e a r s o l d w a so b ta in ed . ( see Davies Qu a te rn a ry i n t h e Co ast l an d s of Gu inea,Glasgo w, 196 4, p .15 9; and WAJA I 1971, p .94 . ) I t i s i n t e r es t i n g t on o t e t h e c l o s e n es s of t h i s d a t e t o t h a t r e c e n t l y o b ta i ne d byD r . Joanne Dombrowski a t Gao lagoon (no ted above) I t i s ho ped t oo b t a i n a r ad io ca rb o n d a t e f ro m th e Ada d ep o s i t , as w e l l as macro-

b o t a n i c a l a n d p a l y n o l o g i c a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s . There must be manysu ch l ag o o n a l p ea ty d ep o s i t s a lo n g th e Gh an a co as t : t h e y s h o u l d h e l pi n p ro v id in g a backg roun d t o s e a - l e v e l s , c o a s t a l e r o s i o n , e s t u a r yf o r ma t io n and i n de ed s e t t l e m e n t h i s t o r y c l o s e t o t h e s h o r e d u r i n g t h ep o s t - P l e i s t o c e n e . I t i s p o ss i bl e t h a t t h e l i e and l e v e l s of t h e s ep e a t y d e p o s i t s hav e been a f f e c t e d by r e c e n t t e c t o n i c a c t i v i t y : t h e r ei s t h e r e f o r e a community of interest between us and a team ofseis mol og i s t s ( a t Legon and Chelsea Col lege, l on don u n d er t ak in g amicro- ear thquake survey i n th e Accra reg ion .

Miss Sig n e Nygaard r e tu r n ed t o Ghana d u r in g th e y ea r t ocomplete her study of the Stone Age c o l l e c t i o n s , i n c l u di n g t h e'San go an ' ma te r i a l s ( a s o t h e r s h av e d esc r ib ed th em) , ex cav a t ed a tAsokrochnna. (see WA J A V I 1 9 7 6 , . l 3 - l9 )

Du r in g th e f i r s t q u ar t e r of 1 9 7 9 , Professor Merrick Posnansky(now a t U . C .L.A.) i s r e t u r n i n g f o r a f u r t h e r s e a s o n o f e x c a v a t i o na t t h e l a t e r I r o n Age t r ad in g town of Begho, co n cen t r a t i n g o n th eKramo quarter. Furthermore, Mr. Rudolf Gerhars (Frankfurt A-M) i ss tu d y in g a rch aeo lo g ica l i ro n o b j ec t s o f which t h i s Dep artmen t h asa f a i r c o l l e c t i o n , d a t i n g m os tl y t o t h e midd le a nd l a t e r p er i o d s o fthe I ron Age.

M r .E.N.O. Quarcoopome has been ap poi nte d Demonstrator i n t h eDepartment. H i s s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t i s i n a r t h i s t o r y : h e h a s a l r e a d y

made a comp arat iv e s tu d y of Gh an aian t e r r a c o t t a f i g u r i n es , and i sh o p in g t o p u r su e h i s s t u d i es bo th l o c a l ly an d o v er seas . Mean wh ile ,one o f t h e Gh an aian l e c t u re r s , M r . L.B. Cross land , has re t u r ne dfrom s tudy leave a t Arizon a S t a t e Un iv er s i t y (where h e w a s suppor tedby a F u l b r i g h t f e l l o w s h i p ) . The Chief Technician, Mr .D .K Agyei-Henaku, moreover, has completed a c o u r s e i n c o n s e r v a t io n a t t h eI n s t i t u t e o f A rch aeo log y i n London U n i v e r s i t y l e a d i n g t o t h ec e r t i f i c a t e of t he Museums Associ a t ion . The as s i s t an ce of th eI n t e r - U n i v e r s i t y C ou nc il f o r Hi gh er Ed u ca ti on O v e rs ea s i n t h i s i sve ry much app re ci at ed .


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Two t h e se s r ec en t l y co mp le ted su cc ess fu l ly i n t h e Dep ar tmen tc o n t r i b u t e v a l u a b l y t o knowledge o f t h e I r o n Age i n t h e f o r e s tedg e r eg io n i n Brong-Ahafo and c o r re l a t e n o t o n ly wi th each o t h e rb u t a l s o w i t h t h e Begho p r o j e c t . They are by J Boachie-Ansah,

'An a rch a eo lo g i ca l co n t r ib u t i o n t o t h e h i s t o ry o f Wenchi' M.A . ,and K . Effah-Gyamfi, 'Bono Manso: an arc ha eo lo gi ca l i n v e st ig a t i o nof e a r l y Akan urbanism' I 3 D . .

Among th es es being p repared a r e Mrs B P r i d d y ' s e t h n o g r a p h i cs t u d i es o f Ghanaian po t t er y and Mr.T.F. Ga rra rd ' s su rvey of b ras si n kan s o c i e t y t o t h e n i n e t e e nt h c e n t ur y. I t may a l s o be notedt h a t M r . Ga rra rd 's book on Akan weight s and t h e gold tr a d e i s aboutt o be published by Longmans.

Readers of Nyame Akuma w i l l be wondering what i s happening wi t hSan k ofa ( t h e Legon a rch aeo lo g ica l j o u rn a l ) , t h e f i r s t two volumes of-('for 1975 and 1976) were edited by James Anquandah .U n fo r tu n a te l y t h e c o s t s and p r a c t i c a l pro blem s o f l o c a l p r i n t i n gh av e i n c r e a se d p r o h i b i t i v e l y, s o t h a t t h e Dep artm en t h a s r e l u c t a n t l ydecided t o suspend Sankofa a s a f o r m al l y p r i n t e d j o u r na l f o r t h et ime being . In s te ad we in ten d t o p roduce a c y c l o s t y l e d n e w s l e t t e rof Archaeo logy i n Ghana each yea r, main ly f o r l o c a l consumpt ion , andt o c o n t in u e t o s en d d i g e s t s and n o t e s on i n t e r e s t i n g d ev el op me nt s t oNyame Akuma. I m po r ta n t a r t i c l e s an d r e s e ar c h r e p o r t s on Gh an ai anarchaeology w i l l we h op e , co n t inu e t o be c a r r i ed i n WA J A an d o th e ri n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l s .

D r Debrah, a c t i n g Keeper, sen ds news of t h e Ghana Na tio na l Museum.

A p re l imin ary a rch aeo lo g ica l su rv ey o f a cave has been under-taken by Mr.J.E.Turkson, a t a l o c a l i t y c a l l e d Likp e i n t h e Vo lt aRegion. The name Likpe i n t h e ve rn ac ul ar means sha rp en ers ofs t o n e , w hich a l s o s u g g e s t s m akers o f p o l i s h e d s t o n e a x e s ( c e l t s ) .

The people o f Likpe a l s o ca l l ed Bakples c la im t o haveo r ig in a t ed f ro m a h o le t h e cav e - i n t h e Togo Ranges and usedsharpened s to n e t o o l s a l s o f o r g u e r r i l l a a c t i v i t i e s .

Some pottery w a s c o l l e c t e d a t t h e p r e c i n c t s o f t h e c a v e, b u ta t e s t p i t when s unk i n t h e c av e would s t a n d i n a b e t t e r p o si t io nt o s a y w he th er o r n o t t h e B a kp le s h av e an y d i s t a n t r e l a t i o n s h i pwi th La te r S tone Age c u l tu re .

Movements: Mr.E.K. Agorsah fo rm erl y Act ing Keeper of t h e Ce n tr alMuseum i n Accra , i s now i n t h e U.S.A. pe rsu in g a Ph.D. course a tth e Department o f Archaeology, Un iv ers i ty o f C al i f o rn ia , Los Angeles.Dr.I.N.Debrah for me rly of t h e Volt a Regio nal Museum ha s tak en ov eras Acting Keeper i n th e Ce nt ra l Museum, w hi ls t Mr.J.E.Turkson ha sgone t o t a k e o v er as As sis tan t Keeper i n Charge of t h e Vol ta RegionalMuseum.


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KENYA

M r . C h i t t i c k , D i r ec t or o f t h e B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e i n E as te rnA f r i c a s e n d s t h i s r e p o r t on E x c av a ti o n s a t Manda 1978.

The period of work a t Manda r a n from 3rd August t o 1 7t hOctober. An av erag e of b etween f i f t y and s ix ty p e r so n s wereemployed on the excavat ions; the superv isory staff numbered nine.

The s i t e l i e s n ea r t h e n o r th e r n end o f Manda i s l a n d . On i t sw e s t e r n s i d e i t f a c e s o n t o a wide cr ee k , t h e Mto Manda. To t h en o r t h , s e p a r a t e d f rom t h e town s i t e by a narrow, minor, creek , i sa wide s a n d s p i t , t e r m i n a t i n g i n t h e K i t w a cha Manda. To th e so u t h ,ano th er creek rea che s ne ar ly t o th e Ind ia n Ocean , The town w s

t h u s s i t u a t e d o n a p e n i n s u l a . P rev io u s work h ad in d i ca t e d t h a t t h etown was e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e n i n t h c e n t ur y ; i t i s t hu s t h e e a r l i e s ttown s i t e t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d o n t h e E a s t A f r ic a n c o a s t . Remains ofthe town a l l p er io d s ) ex t en d o v er 15 h e c t a r e s .

The main p e r io d s d i s t i n g u i sh e d a r e b ased on th e d a t in g o f t h eimp o r t ed ce ramics , t o g e th e r wi th i n v a lu ab le b u t r a r e ev id en ce f ro mc o i n s . Per io d I i s b e l i ev e d t o e xt e nd fro m a n u n c e r t a i n p o i n t i nt h e n i n t h c e nt u ry i n t o t h e e a r l y e l e v e nt h . I t i s sub-divided ons t r a t i g r a p h i c g ro un ds i n t o P e r i o d s I a , I b , I c and I d . P e ri o d Ib eg in s w it h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f s g r a f f i a t o w ar e, a s c r i b e d t o t h e

secon d q u ar t e r o f t h e e l ev en th cen tu ry , an d ex t en ds t o abo u t t h eb eg in n in g of t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y, though most of t h e remains a r ea s cr i be d t o t h e e a r l y p a r t of t h i s p e r io d . P er io d I11 i s t h a t o ft h e l a t e s t p oo r s g r a f f i a t o w ar es an d o f t h e b la ck -o n- ye ll ow, t h el a t t e r b ei ng c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e fo u r t e e nt h c en tu ry. P er io d I Vi s one o f p ov e rt y, c ov er in g t h e f i f t e e n t h i n t o t h e e a r l y s i x t e e n t hcen tur y. The succeed ing Per i od , V l a s t s up t o t h e t ime when th etown w s d e s e r t e d i n t h e e i g h te e n t h c e n t ur y.

The c h i e f e f f o r t i n t h e p r e s e n t s e a so n w a s d ev o te d t oe lu c id a t i n g th e prob lem of t h e p u rp o se o f t h e megawal ls , as weh av e te rmed th em, and es t a b l i sh in g th e i r p l an . These are w l l s o fmassive co ra l b lo ck s , which i n p l a c e s r u n a l on g t h e b ea ch , p a r a l l e lt o t h e s h o r e , and i n p la c e s r e t u r n i n la n d . N e a r l y f o r t y t r e n c h e swere dug t o t h i s e nd , i n c l u d i n g a number chiefly aimed a t e l u c i -d a t in g th e t o p o g rap h ica l q u es t i o n s wi th which t h e p ro blem o f t h esew a l l s i s connected.

I t i s now e s t a b l i s h e d w i th t o l e r a b l e c e r t a i n t y t h a t t h e wholeof t h a t p o r t i o n of t h e i s l a n d t h a t l i e s t o t h e n o r t h and n or t h- e as to f t h e town s i t e ( i n c l u d i n g t h e s a n d s p i t and t h e l ow - l yi n g l a n d t ot h e s o u t h ) i s a n a c c r e t i o n o f t h e l a s t f e w c e n t u r i e s . The shoreon th e western s i de o f th e town fac ed on to open water (whereas a t

t h e p r e s e n t d a y i ti s

f r in ge d wi th mangroves). This Mto Mandaw s


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very probab ly of co ns ide rab le dep th , whereas now it d r i e s a t loww a t e r s p r i n g t i d e s . The s h o r e w a s some f o r t y m e t r es e a s t o f i t sp r e s e n t p o s i t i o n a t t h e t i m e o f t h e f i r s t s e t t l e m e n t .

The e a r l i e s t s t r u c t u r e bro ug ht t o l i g h t P er io d 1a) i s ofb u r n t b r i c k o n s t o n e f o o t i n g s , l l s e t i n mud mor ta r. Thebu i l d i n g , o f which on l y p a r t was exposed, w a s cons t r uc t ed on asand-dune which w a s e v i d e n t l y ad j a ce n t t o t h e s h o r e .

Subsequent ly a w a l l w a s b u i l t on t h e be ac h, more o r l e s sp a r a l l e l t o t h e s h o r e li n e P er io d 1 b ) . Th i s appea r s t o have beenc o ns t ru c te d p a r t l y t o r e c la i m t h e f o r e sh o r e , and p a r t l y t o p r o vi dea more s o l i d b a s i s f o r b ui ld i ng s t h a n t h e n a t u r a l sandy s o i l , t h espace behind i t hav ing been f i l l e d up. Fu r t he r ex t ens i o ns wer esubsequ ent ly made i n a seawar d d i r ec t i on . The system of sea w a l l s

as i t f u r t h e r d ev el op ed i n c o r p o r a t e d r e t u r n s r u n n i n g i n l a n d , t h u sf or mi ng r e c t a n g u l a r t e r r a c e s p r o j e c t i n g on t o t h e f o r e s h o r e . Thel a t e s t o f t h e s e works i s t o b e d a t e d t o P e r io d 11

The House of the Tanks i s a b u i l d i n g o f u ni qu e p l a n , c o n s i s t i n ges s en t i a l l y o f r ooms a r r aged a round a cour tyard benea th which therea r e c i s t e r n s . T h is b u i l di n g w a s excava t ed i n 1970; i t i s a s c r i b e don t h e b a s i s o f p o t t e r y a nd c o i n f i n d s t o t h e e nd of P e r i o d Id u ri n g t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f t h e t e n t h c en tu ry. s a r e su l t o f wor kc a r r i e d o u t i n t h e c u r r e n t s e as on i t can now be shown t h a t t h ehouse w a s c o n s t r u c t e d on one o f t h e s e t e r r a c e s , t h e w e st e rn p a r tof which p r o j ec t ed on t o t h e sho r e . I t w a s a l s o a s c er t a in e d t h a tthe house was approached by a f l i g h t o f s t e p s on t h e seaw ard s i d e .

One end of a b r i c k b u i l d i n g , a s s o c i a t e d w i th t h e s e a w a l l ofPer iod I b , had been exposed i n previous work. The remainder oft h i s s t r u c t u r e w a s e x ca v at ed , b u t w it h d i s a p p o i n t i n g r e s u l t s , asi t had been heavi ly robbed. I t appea r s t o have s e r ved as a c i s t e r n .

s t o ne - b u i l t s t r u c t u r e i n l and fr om t h e main l and i ng - p l aces i t e was excavat ed . This proved t o be a house arranged around asunken cour tyard , t o which s t ep s gave acces s f rom sur roundingt e r r a c e s . p o r t i c o r a n r ou nd t h e t e r r a c e . The b u i l d i n g i s

p r o v i s i o n a l l y da t e d t o t h e e a r l y p a r t o f P er i od I1 e l e v en t h o re a r l y t w e l f t h c e n t u r y ). I f t h i s d a t i n g p ro ve s c o r r e c t on f u r t h e rexam i nat i on of t h e f i n ds , i t w i l l be t h e e a r l i e s t exam ple of t h etype of house with a sunken cour tyard , a typ e which oc cu rs a tHusuni Kubwa f i r s t ha l f of th e four tee nth cen tury ) and i n numerouso t h e r l a t e r c o n t e x t s , down t o t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t ur y. The u p pe rp a r t s o f t h i s house had been ve r y r ec en t l y r obbed.

There i s l i t t l e e v id en ce of o cc up at io n i n t h e n o rt h er n p a r tof t h e s i t e a f t e r t h e t w e l f t h c en tu ry. One cur i ous bui ld i ng , ofwhich two p i e r s wi th spr in gs of a rch es pro je c ted above ground,was e xc av at ed and p ro ve d t o h av e b ee n i n u s e i n t h e f o u r t e e n t h


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cen tu ry. I t i s o f v e r y u n us ua l d e s ig n , i n i t s o r i g i n a l f o r m h a v i n gc o n s i s t e d o f a single chamber surrounded by an arcade on a t l e a s tt h r e e s i d e s . I t may have served as a meeting place, open on lls i d e s t o t h e b r e e z e, n o t d i s s i m i l a r i n c h a r a c t e r t o t h e modern b ar a za .

Following on a per iod d ur in g which th e town seems a lmost t ohave c e as ed t o e x i s t , t h e r e was a c o n s id e r a bl e r e v i v a l ( P er io d VT he re a r e numerous s t a n d i n g r u i n s d a t i n g from t h i s t i m e ; a l l ex cep tone mosque ( t h e n o r t h e r n , which p r o b ab l y be lo ng s t o t h i s p e r i o d ) l i eon t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f t h e p e n i n su l a . T he se r u i n s were c l e a r e d o fbush and p lanned ; some c lea ran ce o f su rf ac e s o i l w a s c a r r i e d o ut t oe s t a b l i s h l i n e s o f walls. To ju dg e f ro m th e a r ch i t ec tu re o f t h e( s o u th e r n ) mosque i n t h e c e n t r e o f t h e s e t t l e m e n t o f t h e p e r i o d , a ndt h e s t y l e o f m asonry (much i n f e r i o r t o t h e e a r l y wo rk ), t o g e t h e r w i t h

t h e e v id e nc e o f i m p or te d p o t t e r y f ou nd i n t h e a r e a , an d a p ro b ab lea s s o c i a t i o n w i th t h e r u i n s , t h i s r e v i v a l c e n tr e d on t h e s e ve n te e nt hcen tu ry. The town of t h i s per iod i s surrounded by a w a l l the wholec i r c u i t o f w hich we w ere ab le t o e s t a b l i s h . The w a l l i s prov idedw i th h o l es f o r m uske ts ; it a l so in co rp o ra t ed two rou n d to w ers i n i t sc i r c u i t ( t he s e a r e b el ie ve d t o be t h e o nl y such of t h i s ~ e r i o d ) .

Why t h e town sho uld have moved sou thw ard s a t t h i s p er io d i su n c e r t a i n .

A s t o f i n d s , t h e l a rg e p r o p o r t i o n o f l u x u r y good s ( g l a z e dp o t t e r y, i n c l u d i n g YUeh s to n eware and g la s s ) i n d e p o s i t s of t h ee a r l i e s t p e ri o d ( n i n t h c e nt u ry ) i s n o t a b l e . Such goods a r e morep l e n t i f u l t h a n a t a ny o t h e r p e r i o d o r a ny o t h e r s i t e y e t ex am ined.

The b a c k - f i l l i n g o f t h e t r e n c h e s i s a t t h e ti me o f w r i t i n gn e a r 1 y f i n i s h e d .

A preliminary report on Chesowanjaby

J.W.K. H a r r i s and J.A.J. GowlettTILLMIAP, Nairobi. Universi ty of Cambridge.

T h is b r i e f r e p o r t d e s c r i b e s new d i s c o v e r i e s fro m r e c e n tp a laeo an th ro p o lo g ica l s t u d ie s u n d er tak en a t Chesowanja which i ss i t u a t e d on t h e e a s t s i d e o f Lake B ar in g o i n t h e G re go ry R i f tValley of Northern Kenya (see m a p Chesouan j a s i mp or ta nc e l i e s

n t h e e v i d e n c e f o r a v e r y l o n g d a t a b l e c u l t u r a l s e qu en cer e p r e s e n t i n g a ti m e s pa n of n e a r l y two m i l l i o n y e a r s ; t h e s i t e sg eo g rap h ica l l o c a t i o n ap p ro x im ate ly midway b etween ea r l y P le i s t o c en el o c a l i t i e s i n th e Lake Turkana b as in th e Omo and Koobi F o ra

and thos e i n nor ther n Tanzania Olduvai Gorge and Pe n i n j , and i t s


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MAPS (1) Inset, right: Map shows Chesowanja s (CH).geographical relationships to Koobi Fora

J KENYA(KF) and Olduvai (Old) bCH g u ~ r w

(2) Chesowanja locality map shows location

of archaeological occurrences in different

areas of exposures.I

CHESOW NJI

L O C L IT Y M P IOldowan I

cheulian


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ecological and cultural relationships to other important localitiesin the Baringo basin, which will provide in the future a morecomplete understanding of the prehistory of human occupation within

this particular area of Kenya.

The primazy purpose of our first field season was to testtrench promising localities to discover whether well preserved faunaand artefacts could be recovered from stratified occurrences,especially in the older beds of the sedimentary sequence. Wewished to recover sufficient samples of stone artefacts so as tounderstand the range of variation in assemblage composition and ina preliminary way to define the cultural entities present.Furthermore, we hoped to document the context, nature and characterof these occurrences in an effort to shed further light on the ways

of life of early hominids.With grants from the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation and the Wenner-

Gren Foundation, we were able to undertake small scale fieldinvestigations during January and February, 1978. These fieldstudies were followed up by laboratory analysis of the finds atthe International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for AfricanPrehistory in Nairobi.

Previous studies

Geological investigations carried out in the early 1970 s by

the late Professor W.W. Bishop and his colleagues had shown thepotential of this area for detailed palaeoanthropological studies

i is op et al, 1978 . Mapping, preliminary microstratigraphic andpalaeontologic studies and radiometric age determinations indicateda long geological sequence of sedimentary deposits. It wasbelieved based on the nature and character of the surface findswell preserved fossil fauna, including early hominid remains,together with cultural materials that these were eroding out ofbeds ranging in time from a Lower Pleistocene age (circa 1.5million years) through to the present.

Results of the 1978 season

A Chemoigut Formation

The basal sequence of beds has been called the ChemoigutFormation. There are 3 windows of exposures (see Map Al A2and ~ 3 ) nd their age is probably between 1.93 and 1.34 millionyears ( ~ i s h o ~ t all 1978 . 6 localities where stone artefactsand bone were found to be eroding out on the surface were testexcavated in windows : A1 and A2. Quantities of in situ stoneartefacts and faunal material were recovered.


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At the largest excavation, GnJi 1 / 6 ~ , hich measured some 4square metres, approximately 700 pieces were plotted. Over 9C ofthe artefact assemblage was composed of flakes and flaking debitage,

while the tool category was dominated by scrapers but alsocontained choppers, polyhedrons, discoids and small retouched core/cobble fragments. No bifaces were recovered from the surface norin situ. Fauna from the site included some large and well-preserved specimens. range of animals was represented such asbovids, equids, hippo and crocodile.

The archaeological occurrence recovered from this site istypical of the character of the occurrences found stratified insediments of the Chemoigut Formation. However, there are differencesin the density and composition of the artecact assemblages as well asthe frequency of faunal elements which are features for furtherinvestigation. The Stone Industry is based on a core tool andflake tradition and in view of the age of the sediments and thecharacter and composition of the artefact assemblages, it isprovisionally assigned as a geographical variant belonging to theOldowan Industrial Complex.

One of the highlights during the season was the discovery ofa number of hominid cranial fragments closeby to one of theexcavations. These fragments were identified subsequently asbelonging to a single individual, which was classified asAustralopithecus c . boisei ( ~ r Allan Walker, personal communica-tion).

B The Area 10 localities:

This area was formerly known as the Acheulian localities .( ~ i s h o ~ t al, 1978 . However, this season s work has revealeda number of archaeological occurrences with somewhat differentcharacteristics and also includes exposures of both the Chesowanjaand Karau Formations, so that an area designation Area 10 nowseems preferable . (see map)

In brief, the Chesowanja Formation disconformably overlies

the Chemoigut Formation and is composed of 2 members. ( ~ i s h o ~ t al,1978). The lower basalt member has been dated at 0.71 0.07 m. y .while the upper palaesol member locally contains atef ac ts andfauna. Several areas where there were surface concentrations weretest excavated and at one, which has been designated G n J i l0/5over 1200 artefacts and bone fragments were recovered in situ.The artefact assemblage consists very largely of small flakes andfragments under 7 8 cms. in length. The diminitive character ofthe artefacts is further examplified by the tool category.Small flake scrapers dominate with discoids and miscellaneoustrimmed pieces being other common types . The bone was generallybadly comminuted but identifiable pieces included bovid, fish andcrocodile bone fragments and teeth.


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At this locality and others where trial trenches were dug nobifaces were recovered in situ. Surface bifaces that were formerly

thought to be associated with these beds of the Chesowanja Formationare dripping down the gentle slopes from higher strata. Further-more , they do not appear to be stratified in tuffaceous deposits o fthe Karau Formation which unconformably overlies the ChesowanjaFormation. We are of the opinion that the 'classic Acheulian'occurrences with bifaces at Chesowanja post-date the Karau Formationand are associated with the upper palaesol/calcrete orm m t ionundefined?), which unconformably overlies this Formation and is atpresent of uncertain age (~ ar ri s nd Gowlett, in press). But we donot deny the fact that those occurrences without bifaces foundstratified within the Chesowanja Formation probably represent eitheran activity 'facies' or a geographical variant (~ndust r~?) elongingto the Acheulian Industrial Complex. However, these findings remaintentative until we are able to carry out further geological andarchaeological field studies.

Most of the occurrences so far mentioned are stratified inclays, silts and silty sands which means that the materials arepreserved in minimally disturbed contexts. The environment ofdeposition indicates floodplains lateral to what were presumablyfresh water streams. This is not inconsistent with the palaeo-environmental reconstruction that indicates the sites were locatedon the margins of the saline lake which had a fluctuating waterlevel ( ~ i s h o ~ t al, 1978 . The fauna recovered from the excavationsrepresents a diversity of animals which suggests the surroundinglandscape had bush cover as well as more open grasslands.

C. Mukutan beds

Further eastrecent floodplainIn various places

than the other site s, there are relativelydeposits which have been named the Mukutan Beds.archaeological assemblages are exposed, which

we believe to belong to the Neolithic or perhaps in some cases tothe Later Stone Age. (see map)We were not able to extend our investigations to these areas,except in some cases to plan and photograph surface finds.

We have observed the presence of decorated pottery withobsidian flakes, which suggests the material is not older thancirca 6,000 B.C. However, the most typical assemblages consistmainly of extensive concentrations of stone artefacts made fromlava that probably represent factory sites but animal bones arealso found amongst them.


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An o u t l i n e h a s b e e n g i v e n o f t h e f i r s t se as on s work a t

Chesowanja. Next year we hope t o car ry ou t fu r t h e r ex t ens ive

r e s e a r c h a t Chesowanja as w e l l a s t o e xt en d ou r s t u d i e s t o

o t he r known l o c a l i t i e s on th e west -s ide o f th e Lake Baringo

b as in wi th an enlarged group.

We gr a te fu l l y acknowledge t h e s uppor t o f t he L .S.B.

Leakey Foundation and t h e Wenner-Gren Founda tion. The

Bar ingo Basin Pro ject i s u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s o f t h e I n t e r -

n a t io n a l Lo u is Leakey Memorial I n s t i t u t e f o r Af r i can P re-

h i s t o r y, N a i r o b i .

References:

Bishop, W. W. H i l l A and Pickford , M . (1978)Chesowanja: A r e v i s e d g e ol o gi c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n

Bishop W .W. (ed) Geolo gical Background t o F o s s i l Man,

Geol. Soc. Lond. S c ot ti sh Academic Pr e ss .

H a r r i s W . K . and Gowlett, .A J ( i n p ress ) Evidence o f

E a r l y S t o n e I n d u s t r i e s a t Chesowanja, i n Leakey R .E .L.

and Ogot B.A. (eds) Proceedings of t h e 8 th Pan-Afr ican

Con gress of Af r i can P reh i s to ry an d Qu a t e r n a y S tu d ie s ,

Nai rob i .


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Continuing Work a t Lukenya H i l l Kenya.

Survey of t h e 70 square km which comprise Lukenya H i l l i s

now about 80 pe rc en t complete tha nk s t o th e work of St an le y Ambrose~ e r k e l e ~ ) and James and Debbra Swan, who have undertaken a

comple te survey of the rock a r t and a s s oc i a t e d r ock sh e l t e r s . Some200 p r e h i s t o r i c a nd p r o t o h i s t o r i c s i t e s ha ve be en l o c a t e d a n dde sc ri be d, in cl ud in g Acheulean, MSA MSA/LSA t r a n s i t i o n , LSAPa s t or a l Ne ol i t h ic , I r on Age and assai meat f e a s t i n g s i t e s . I na d d i t i o n , some 75 st oc k boma complexes, d a t i n g from 9 5 t o 1 95 0,have been lo ca te d. The exca vat ion of one of th es e by Stev e Brendt

~ e r k e l e ~ ) ugges t s t h a t t he e t hno-a r chaeo logy of t he se s i t e s mays he d c on s i de r a bl e l i g h t o n t h e s t r u c t u r e a nd l o c a t i o n of P a s t o r a lN e o l i t h i c a nd P a s t o r a l I r o n Age s i t e s i n many p a r t s o f E a s t A f r i c a .

Bui lding on the excavat ions of Michael Gramly and Harry Merr ick,we have managed t o d e fi ne a comple te , o r near ly comple te , sequencebeginning i n t h e Middle Stone Age. The e n t i r e sequence i scha r ac t e r i zed by we l l p r e se r ved t echno logy and f auna l r em a ins i np a r a l l e l s u c c e s s i o n s a t open s i t e s and r o c k s h e l t e r s . E x c av a t io n sconducted by Sh er yl l Mi l l e r of a s i t e c o n t a i n i n g LSA and MSAhor i zons i nd i c a t e s t h a t t he appear ance o f t y p i ca l LSA t echno l o g i ca lassemblages had occ urred by about 25,000 BY A ser ies of pre-LSAh or iz on s a t t h i s and o t h e r s i t e s s ug ge s ts t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r acomplex MSA/LSA t r a n s i t i o n o f s u b s t a n t i a l d u r a t i on , b ut t h e o r de rand p r oc e s su a l d e t a i l s of t h i s s u c c e ss i o n w i l l r e q u i r e c a r e f u l

d a t i n g a nd a d d i t i o n a l e x c a v at i on . The LSA i s marked by a t l e a s ttwo p ro lo ng ed and r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e i n d u s t r i a l s t a g e s , b ut t h e r e a r ea l s o h i n t s o f s h o r t e r t ec h no lo gi ca l e p is od es i n t h e l a t t e r h a l f o fthe sequence. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e c o n t e n ts of r o ck s h e l t e r s a pp ea r t obe more v a r i a b l e t h an t h o s e of o pen s i t e s , s u g g e s t in g t h e s h e l t e r s ,most of which ar e qui te small , tended t o a t t r a c t a c t i v i t y s p e c i f i co c c up a ti o ns . T h i s p a t t e r n c o nt i nu e s i n t o t h e P a s t o r a l N e o l i t h i c a nda l so can be documented i n t h e e t hnogr aphi c con t ex t f o r bo th p a s t o r a land a g r i c u l t u r a l p e op l es .

The LSA/PN t r a n s i t i o n i s n ot y e t s e c u r e l y d a t e d a t Lukenya.The e a r l i e s t P a s t o r a l N e o l i t h i c h o r iz o n a t Lukenya dates from3400 BF, but th e re a r e no da te s on term in al LSA horizo ns and nos t r a t i g r a p h i c LSA/PN t r a n s i t o n s ex c ep t i n t h e complex s t r a t i g r a p h i cc o n te x t of r oc k s h e l t e r s . Our survey d a ta , t h e s e r r i a t i o n of s t o n et o o l s and p o t t e r y from t e s t e d s i t e s , and C - 1 4 d a t e s , a l l i n d i c a t et h a t t h e num erous, l a rg e consp icuous Pas t o r a l Ne o l i t h i c s i t e s whichabound a t Lukenya date from between 2200 and 1350 B P We havet e s t ed on l y one s m a l l open s i t e from t h e e a r l i e r h a l f o f t h es u c ce s s io n . T h i s s i t e c o n t a i n s t h r e e w e l l d e f i n e d , p r o d uc t i v ehor izons . The e a r l i e s t da te s f rom asound 3400 B? and t h e l a t e rones from about 2400 BP. A l t h o u g h t h e d a t e s f r o m t h e s e l a t e rh or iz on s a r e v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a l , t h e s e r r i a t i o n of s t on e t o o l s and

pot tery makesi t

p o s s i b l e t o s e p a r a t e them i n t im e . T h i s y i e l d s t h e


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fo l lowing sequence when combined wi th th e l a t e r per i od s i t e s .

F i r s t t h e r e i s a n e a r l i e r p e ri o d b e gi nn in g a t o r b e fo re 34-00 BPand terminat ing a t 2400 BP. t t h e b eg in ni ng o f t h i s p e r i o d t h et o o l i n d u s t r y c o n ta i n s 27 p e r ce n t o u t i l s e c a i l l e s 34 p ercen tmic ro l i t h s an d 23 p e rcen t convex sc rap er fo rms es p e c i a l l y smal lend and th umb n ai l sc rap er s . I n ad d i t i o n t h e r e a r e modest p e rcen t -ages of o th er ty p ic a l LSA t o o l ty pe s such as b u r i n s . There i s ag r e a t e r r e l i a n c e o n l o c a l raw materials e s p e c i a l l y m i c r o c r y s ta l l i n es i l i c a . S t y l i s t i c a l l y a number o f sp ec i f i c t o o l t y p e s r esemb let h e i r LSA c o u n t er p a r t s v e ry c l o s e l y r a i s i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a te a r l y P a s t o r a l N e o l i t h i c a d a p t a t i o n s l o c a l l y i n c o r p o r a t ed LSAh ~ n t e r / ~ a t h e r e r s og eth er wi th much of t h e i r technology. Analys isby Michael Gramly of the fauna recovered during the f i r s t twoseaso n s o f ex cav a t io n su g g es t s a p a s t o r a l a d a p t a t i o n r e l y i n g m ai nl yon o v ic ap r id s t ho ug h some c a t t l e a r e p resen t i n t h e u p p er h o r i zo n .Zebra and an t e lo pes a r e a l so p res en t . Ceramics inc lud e Nder i t Wareand Narosura Ware. By t h e end of t h i s pe ri od about 2400 BP c a t t l eappe ar t o be more common i n th e fa un al rema ins the ceramic mix i snow d ominated by Ak ira Ware and N aro sur a Ware a n d t h e f r e q u e n c i e so f ma jo r c l as ses o f s t o n e t o o l s h av e ch an ged s i g n i f i c an t l y. O u t i l se c a i l l e s a cc ou nt f o r 49 p e r c e n t m i c r o l i t h s f o r 23 p e r c e n t andconvex scr ape r forms f o r 13 p ercen t . The sc rap er s a r e n o t asc l o s e l y s t a n d a r d i z e d as thos e o f t h e lower hor i zon though thumbnai lfo rms are s t i l l p r e s e n t .

Second there i s a very br ie f per iod beg inn ing about 2400 BPand l a s t i n g no more than 200 or 400 yea rs i n which small encamp-ments con t inue t o be used. t t h e v e ry b eg i nn i ng of t h i s p e r i o dt h e r e i s r a d i c a l r e a d a p t a t i o n of t h e c u l t u r a l s ys te m i n whichc a t t l e a r e r e l i e d upon t o t h e n e ar e x cl u si o n o f o v i c ap r i ds NarosuraWare becomes t h e only known ceramic tr a d i t i o n rep re se nt ed ando u t i l s e c a i l l e s d ominate t h e t ec hn ol og y: o u t i l s e c a i l l e s 68 p e r c e n tmi cr o l i t hs pe rce n t convex scr ap er fo rms 6 per cen t . Thumbnails c r a p e r s a r e a b s en t i n a sample of 332 shaped tools.

T h i rd t h e r e f o l lo w s a p er io d o f ab o u t 1 0 0 0 y ea r s i n whichs i t e s a r e q u i t e l a r g e and i n t e r n a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d . D u r i n g t h i sp e r i o d th e s to n e t o o l s techn o lo g y r emain s d omin at ed by o u t i l se ca i l l e s t ho ug h th e re may b e su b t l e ch an ges i n t h e s t y l e andf re q ue n cy of o t h e r t o o l t y p e s . N ar os ur a Ware p e r s i s t s w i th l i t t l es t y l i s t i c a l t e r a t i o n u n t i l a ro un d 14 00 BP when a new warech arac t e r i zed b y p an e l s o f r ec t an g u la r imp ress io n s i s i n t r o d u c e dapparen t ly coe x is t in g wi th Narosura Ware un t i l t h e emergence of I ro nAge adaptations. The remain s of c a t t l e h eav i l y d omin at e t h e f au n a lassemblages which a r e extremely r i c h and we ll pres erve d. By1800 BP ground and fla ke d bone t o o l s have become commonplace fo rt h e f i r s t t ime. The an a ly si s of th es e by Suzan Kaehler w i l l add anew d imen sion t o Pas to ra l Ne o l i t h i c t ech n o lo g ica l s t u d i e s .


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Numerous Pa s t or a l N eol i th ic cem etar ies have been loca te d on

Lukenya H i l l . L im ite d t e s t e x c a v a t io n s a nd s u r f a c e f i n d s i n d i c a t et h a t a t l e a s t two g ro up s a r e r e p r e s e n te d . The most numerous andexte ns ive cemetar ie s c ont a in s ton e bowls wi th beaded r i m s whi l eth e sm al l e r, l e s s numerous ceme tar ie s conta in bowls of th e moreu s u a l s o r t . T he se ce m e t ar i e s r em ai n u n da t ed , s o t h e i r e x a c tr e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e p a s t o r a l s u cc e ss i on s unknown, thoughp o t e n t i a l c o r r e l a t i o n s s e e m o b v i o u s .

I s o l a t e d , w e l l- s e al e d P a s t o r a l I r o n Age s i t e s ha ve p ro ve nd i f f i c u l t t o l o c a t e , t ho ug h t h e a s s o c i a t e d b u r i a l s a r e common ands c a t t e r e d o c c u p a t i o n a l d e b r i s s found a t a num ber o f s i t e s .

s i ng l e , ephem er a l, Ea r l y I r on Age fa wale Maze o r d e r i v a t i v e )s i t e has been loc a t ed on th e nor th end of Lukenya H i l l .

2The de ns i t y of s i t e s over b/km and len gth y, cont inuous

sequence a t Lukenya i l l w i l l a l l ow u s t o r e c o n s t r u c t c ha ng in gdem ograph ic , e conom ic and t e chno l og i c a l p a t t e r n s i n ce n t r a l Kenyaove r a pe r i od o f a t l e a s t 3 5, 00 0 y e a r s . S i nce many s i t e s a r ei n v o l v e d , t h i s w i l l r e q u i r e a conc erte d program of exca vat io n andana l ys i s ove r t he nex t f ew yeas s .

C h a r l e s M . NelsonDepartment of AnthropologyUni ve r s i t y o f Massachuse t t sBoston, Massachuset ts .


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LUKENYA HILL, G v J m 46, EXCAVATION REPORT

S h e r y l F. Miller, A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o rP i t z e r Co l lege , C la r em ont , Ca l i f o r n i a

In 1977 and 1978 a group from P i t z e r Col lege conducted excava t ions a tGvJm 46 , a l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e s i t e i n Kenya. Because the work of M erric k,Gramly, and o t he rs had revea led t he l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e c o n t e n t o f s e v e r a lr o c k s h e l t e r s a t L ukenya H i l l t h e g o a l was t o complement t h i s i n f o r m a t i onby e xcav at ing an open-a ir s i t e i f o ne c o u l d b e f ou nd w i t h d e p o s i t s s t i l li n s i t u . S t ream e r os i on and an t- bear ho l e s dem ons t r at ed t h e p r e sence o f an

r t i f a c t hor izon a t GvJm 46, which t e s t p i t s s u b se q u e nt l y s u g g e s t e d m ig htl i e i n s i t u .

n 197 7 two i n t e r s e c t i n g t r e n c h e s , e a c h meter by 3 meters, w e r ee xc av at ed . J u s t below t h e s u r f a c e o cc ur re d v er y s c a t t e r e d a r t i f a c t s a t t r i -b u te d t o t h e P a s t o r a l N e o l i t h i c , u n d e r l a i n by a l mo s t h a l f a meter ofs t e r i l e d e p o s i t . A t t h e b a se of t h a t d e p o s i t t h e r e was a c ha nge i n e a r t hco l o r , and a r t i f a c t s o f La te S tone Age t ype appea r ed i n abundance . T h i sc u l t u r a l d e p o s i t c on t in u ed down t o t h e b a s e o f e x c a v a t i o n s , w hic h i n a l ls q u a re s h a l t e d when e n c ou n te r in g a f l a t r o ck s u r f a c e a t a dep th of some 1. 5t o 2 meters.

Ve r t i c a l v a r i a t i o n i n a r t i f a c t d e n s i t i e s and e a r t h t e x t u r e s u g ge s tsp o s s i b l e f l u c t u a t i o n s i n c l i m a t e an d o c cu p at io n d e n s i t y d u r in g t h e t i m e t h es i t e was in ha bi te d. However, th e re i s no evidence of an e r os io n phase , and

t h e c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l s m ai nt a in a n amazing c o n t i n u i t y i n a r t i f a c t t y pe sr e p r e s e n t e d . P a r t i c u l a r l y no te wo rt hy a r e t h e f in el y- ma de b ac ke d m i c r o l i t h s ,m ost ly backed b l ad e l e t s ; t he se are made on m i c r o - c r y s t a l l i n e s i l i c a b r ou g hta s nodues fr om t h e A t h i R i ve r , o r on o b s i d i a n f ou nd l o c a l l y i n t h e f o rm o fsmall l a p i l l i . Also i n t e r e s t i ng a r e small f an -s ha pe d s c r a p e r s , c a r e f u l l yworked of m i c r o - c r y s t a l l i n e s i l i c a ; t h e wo rk in g end of t h e s e t o o l s i s br oad l yconvex, l i k e a t humbnai l s c r ap e r, bu t t h e p r oxi m a l end has been co ns t r i c t e da s t hou gh f o r h a f t i n g . Ot he r shaped o r use- shaped t oo l t ypes p r e s en t i nc l udea v a r i e t y o f o t h e r s c r a p e r s , o u t i l s e c a i l l e e s , and hammerstones.

A most note wort hy f e a t u r e of GvJm 46 i s i t s e x c e l l e n t bo ne p r e s e r v a t i o n .Alm ost a l l o f t h e bone r ecove r ed i s sp l i n t

nyame akuma issue 014

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