Azania:archaeological Research in Africa最新文献

{"title":"Small tool production in the Howiesons Poort: a view from Montagu Cave, South Africa","authors":"Sara E. Watson, Tamara Dogandžić, Peiqi Zhang, Teresa E. Steele, Nicolas Zwyns","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260666","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTIn southern Africa, the Howiesons Poort is one of the earliest technocomplexes in which small blades and bladelets were systematically produced and retouched into formal tools. While the presence of small lithic artefacts in an assemblage is well-documented, little is known about production pathways. This paper reports on the analysis of the lithic assemblage from Horizon 6/7 of Charles Keller’s excavations of Montagu Cave, South Africa, to evaluate how raw material and decision-making affects the size of stone tools in Howiesons Poort assemblages. It addresses the following questions: how were small blades produced? Was it a deliberate choice or a constraint imposed by raw material availability? Results show branching modes of production for large and small blanks beginning with raw material acquisition. The independent production of small blanks is reinforced by the presence of cores on flakes in the assemblage. However, a relatively standardised core reduction process was used consistently, regardless of core size. The main technological and typological features observed in Horizon 6/7 are in line with other known Howiesons Poort assemblages. Considered as a whole, these observations highlight the consistency of Howiesons Poort blade technology and the deliberate production of small blanks and tools.RÉSUMÉEn Afrique méridionale, le Howiesons Poort est l’un des premiers complexes technologiques dans lequel de petites lames et lamelles furent systématiquement produites et retouchées pour en faire des outils formels. Bien que la présence de petits objets lithiques dans un assemblage soit bien documentée, on sait peu de choses sur les voies de production. Cet article présente les résultats de l’analyse de l’assemblage lithique de l’Horizon 6/7 des fouilles de Charles Keller dans la grotte de Montagu, en Afrique du Sud, afin d’évaluer comment les matières premières et la prise de décisions affectèrent la grandeur des outils en pierre dans les assemblages Howiesons Poort. L’étude répond à deux questions: comment les petites lames étaient-elles produites? Et leur fabrication était-elle un choix délibéré ou une contrainte imposée par la disponibilité des matières premières? Les résultats démontrent des modes de production diversifiés pour les grandes et petites ébauches, en commençant par l’acquisition des matières premières. La production indépendante de petites ébauches est renforcée par la présence de nucléus sur éclats dans l’assemblage. Cependant, un processus de réduction des nucléus relativement standardisés a été systématiquement utilisé, quelle que soit leur taille. Les principales caractéristiques technologiques et typologiques observées dans l’Horizon 6/7 sont conformes à celles d’autres assemblages Howiesons Poort connus. Considérées dans leur ensemble, ces observations mettent en évidence la cohérence dans la technologie des lames Howiesons Poort, et la production délibérée d’ébauches et d’outils de petite taille.KEYWORDS: Howieso","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"291 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135474713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revisiting site history and regional interaction at the Dia settlement mound complex, Mali","authors":"Susan Keech McIntosh, Roderick J. McIntosh","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2265228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2265228","url":null,"abstract":"Previously unpublished results of test excavations in 1986–1987 at Dia, an extensive occupation mound complex on the western margins of the Inland Niger Delta in Mali, have been augmented by a series of new AMS dates. This article explores how the excavation and radiocarbon data together provide new insights into occupation sequences and site formation processes. It presents details on the depositional contexts, chronology and associated material culture at each of the 1986–1987 excavation units. Using these data, we examine the role of post-depositional disturbance, secondary deposition and re-use of earlier cultural deposits in interpreting site formation processes at the Dia settlement mounds. In addition, we emphasise the important role that studies of well-contextualised pottery from excavation can play in evaluating regional interactions through comparisons with other documented sequences in neighbouring areas, including Jenne-jeno and the Méma. This focus on site formation and regional interaction enables new interpretations that also interrogate and expand the results of the larger-scale excavations at Dia by an international team between 1998 and 2002.","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"291 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135474709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hafting adhesives from the final Later Stone Age layers at Sehonghong, Lesotho: a case study and commentary on the use of imported resources by nineteenth-century San","authors":"Margaret-Ashley Veall, Peter J. Mitchell","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2267903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2267903","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThere is longstanding evidence in the archaeological record of southern Africa for the application of hafting adhesives in the production of composite tool technology. Despite the limitations in the preservation of organics in archaeological contexts, the preservation of these materials can inform us about aspects of technological production and function, including hafting arrangements, adhesive production and resource acquisition. In some instances where we see the prevalence of organic materials that are at odds with the ecological landscape, these same materials can also elucidate social interactions between cultural groups. This paper presents the results of the analysis by microscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of hafting residues from stone tools from the ceramic final Later Stone Age assemblages at Sehonghong, Lesotho. It argues that an adoption of novel resources including Pinus sp. resin, castor oil and paraffin by nineteenth-century San facilitated the continued existence of hunter-gatherer lifeways in increasingly marginalised circumstances amid tense relationships between the last hunter-gatherers of the Maloti-Drakensberg, newly arriving Basotho communities and European colonists.RÉSUMÉIl existe des preuves de longue date dans les archives archéologiques de l’Afrique australe de l’application d’adhésifs d’emmanchement dans la production de la technologie des outils composites. Malgré les limites de la préservation des matières organiques dans les contextes archéologiques, la préservation de ces matériaux peut nous informer sur les aspects de la production et de la fonction technologiques, y compris les arrangements d’emmanchement, la production d’adhésifs et l’acquisition de ressources. Dans certains cas où l'on constate la prédominance de matériaux organiques qui sont en contradiction avec le paysage écologique, ces mêmes matériaux peuvent également élucider les interactions sociales entre les groupes culturels. Cet article présente les résultats de l’analyse par microscopie et chromatographie en phase gazeuse-spectrométrie de masse (GC-MS) des résidus d’emmanchement des outils en pierre des assemblages de l’âge de pierre ultérieur final (final Later Stone Age) à Sehonghong, Lesotho. Il soutient que l’adoption de nouvelles ressources, y compris la résine du pin (Pinus sp.), l’huile de ricin et la paraffine par les San du dix-neuvième siècle ont facilité la continuation des modes de vie des chasseurs-cueilleurs dans des circonstances de plus en plus marginalisées au milieu de relations tendues entre les derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs du Maloti-Drakensberg, les nouvelles communités Basotho et les colons européens.KEYWORDS: Later Stone Agenineteenth-century Maloti-Drakensberghafting adhesivesgas-chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC-MS)Pinus resincastor oilparaffin AcknowledgmentsWe wish to thank Louise Hutten for facilitating access to the Sehonghong artefact collections studied, which are currently ","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"296 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135474933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stone point variability reveals spatial, chronological and environmental structuring of eastern African Middle Stone Age populations","authors":"Lucy Timbrell, Behailu Habte, Yosef Tefera, Christine Maroma, Emmanuel Ndiema, Kimberly Plomp, James Blinkhorn, Matt Grove","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2268986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2268986","url":null,"abstract":"Stone points are one of the key features used to define the African Middle Stone Age (MSA). Regional patterns in their shape and size through time have been thought to reflect inter-group interactions and networks of populations and are used to define cultural phases within the MSA. However, eastern Africa does not have distinctive and widely applied chrono-stratigraphic point variants that divide its MSA record, which is often described as being highly variable. This paper presents a metric and geometric morphometric analysis of eastern African MSA points and evaluates potential drivers of variation in them in relation to null models of isolation by distance, time and environment. Approximately half of the shape variance in our sample can be explained by spatial, temporal and environmental differences, as well as by size, indicating a degree of demographic continuity through sustained cultural transmission. A portion of the remaining variance likely represents stylistic differences between assemblages, which are often the subject of interest in archaeological studies. The highly variable nature of the eastern African MSA may reflect the region’s refugial positioning within the continent, with point technology a flexible adaptive system that was dynamically employed across Africa during the MSA depending on varying social and ecological contexts, resulting in the appearance of both ‘generic’ and ‘specific’ tool forms at particular times and places.","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135480427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Données sur la métallurgie ancienne du fer dans la périphérie est de Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso: résultats de recherche des sites de production ancienne du fer à Gonsé","authors":"Foniyama Élise Ilboudo-Thiombiano","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2267901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2267901","url":null,"abstract":"RÉSUMÉAu Burkina Faso, la cartographie de la métallurgie du fer de Jean-Baptiste Kiethega permet de dégager quatre provinces métallurgiques. Gonsé, localisé au centre du pays, s’inscrit dans la grande province métallurgique des Boose caractérisée par une diversité de techniques et de types de fourneaux. Pour une meilleure connaissance de l’activité et la couverture complète du territoire burkinabè, des recherches ont été menées à Gonsé, village situé dans la périphérie est de Ouagadougou la capitale du Burkina Faso. Les questions soulevées par ces recherches sont notamment la nature des vestiges de la paléo-métallurgie du fer, les dates et leurs liens avec les données existantes. L’étude exclusive des sites métallurgiques qui ont fait l’objet de la recherche se base sur la tradition orale, les écrits et les fouilles archéologiques. En surface, on a la présence de bases de fourneaux, de scories, des restes de tuyères et de fragments de parois. De forme circulaire, le système d’alimentation en air des fourneaux est probablement la ventilation naturelle. Les vestiges ont des caractéristiques proches des traditions techniques KRS 3 (quatorzième à seizième siècles ap. J.-C.) de Korsimoro (Sanmatenga) et B3 (seizième à vingtième siècles ap. J.-C.) du Bam. La fouille des bases de fourneaux (F1 et F3) de l’atelier 1 permet de dire que le principal matériau de construction est la motte d’argile. Le fourneau 1 est daté entre les troisième et le cinquième siècle ap. J.-C. tandis que le F3 est daté entre le cinquième et le sixième siècle.ABSTRACTIn Burkina Faso, the mapping of iron metallurgy by Jean-Baptiste Kiethega makes it possible to identify four metallurgical provinces. Gonsé, located in the centre of the country, is part of the large metallurgical province of Boose characterised by a diversity of techniques and types of furnaces. To improve understanding of these activities and obtain complete coverage of the Burkinabe territory, fieldwork was carried out in Gonsé, a village located in the eastern outskirts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Drawing on a combination of archaeological excavation, oral tradition and historical sources, the questions raised by this research concern the nature of the vestiges of iron metallurgy found there, their dates and their links with existing data. Ironworking is evidenced on the surface by the presence of furnace bases, slags, the remains of nozzles and fragments of furnace walls. Circular in shape, the air supply system for the stoves probably took the form of natural ventilation. The remains have characteristics close to the technical traditions known as KRS 3 (fourteenth to sixteenth centuries AD) from Korsimoro (Sanmatenga) and B3 (sixteenth to twentieth centuries AD) from Bam. Excavation of the furnace bases (F1 and F3) at workshop 1 shows that the main construction material used was clay. Furnace 1 is dated between the third and fifth centuries AD while F3 dates to between the fifth and sixth centu","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135883022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early Makuria Research Project. El-Zuma Cemetery <b>Early Makuria Research Project. El-Zuma Cemetery</b> , by M. El-Tayeb and E. Czyźewska-Zalewska (eds.). Leiden, Brill, Harvard Egyptological Studies 13, 2020, 3 volumes, 859 pp., €152.00, ISBN 9789004433748 (hardback), also available as an e-book (ISBN 978-90-04-43375-5).","authors":"Vincent Francigny","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2265223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2265223","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135351921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The settlement of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria: an archaeological and ethnohistorical investigation <b>The settlement of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria: an archaeological and ethnohistorical investigation</b> , University of East Anglia, 2023","authors":"Bolaji Josephine Owoseni","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260667","url":null,"abstract":"\"The settlement of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria: an archaeological and ethnohistorical investigation.\" Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), p. 1","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135481787","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Archaeological survey near Tsabong, Kgalagadi District, southwestern Botswana","authors":"Michaela Ecker, Chris Green, Abenicia Henderson, Inèz Faul, Phillip Segadika, Sarah Mothulatshipi","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2260150","url":null,"abstract":"The importance of the arid interior of southern Africa for human evolution has come into focus in recent years. However, the current distribution of archaeological sites is limited to the southern margin of the Kalahari sediments in South Africa and to the northern part of Botswana. Surface scatters of archaeological artefacts in other parts of the Kalahari have not been studied systematically despite their potential to test human adaptation to marginal environments in the past. We developed a mobile Geographical Information System (GIS) set-up that allows us to record the archaeological potential of Botswana’s southwestern Kgalagadi district in a rapid and standardised manner. This paper describes five archaeological sites identified through our survey in the wider area around the town of Tsabong. Four of these sites, as well as the majority of identified surface archaeology, belong to the Middle Stone Age based on a first assessment of their lithic typology. A pattern is emerging of particular concentration of these sites on or near quartzite outcrops that are located next to pans. Additionally, six test pits confirmed the high potential for further archaeological investigations in this area using a landscape approach.","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135199843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multi-component forager-to-herder sequence at Kapsoo Rockshelter (Chebinyiny) on the Uasin Gishu Plateau, Kenya","authors":"Steven Goldstein, Kaedan O’Brien, Andrew Adum, John Mwangi","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2259751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2259751","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Early archaeological investigations of the Uasin Gishu Plateau of west-central Kenya highlighted its potential importance as a geographic link between the Central Rift, the Lake Victoria Basin and the western Kenyan highlands from the Middle Stone Age to the Pastoral Neolithic and Iron Age periods. Despite this, the region has seen little focused research in recent decades. Here, we report on archaeological research at the site of Kapsoo Rockshelter, Chebinyiny Hill (GmJf1), near Moiben on the northern end of the Uasin Gishu Plateau. We combine data from original fieldwork in 1982 with renewed test excavations at Kapsoo carried out in 2022. Results of lithic, faunal and material analyses combined with radiocarbon dating reflect occupation of the northern plateau from the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene and provide the first radiometric dates for the presence of mobile herders in this region. Quantitative assessment of the rich lithic record at the site identifies significant technological change over time, providing a description of the regional Later Stone Age sequence. Finally, we present hypotheses for the relationship between Kapsoo and the nearby undated sequence at Muringa, as well as how these records fit into broader patterns of economic change across southwestern Kenya.","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"74 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135538055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nicholas David (1937–2023)","authors":"Judy Sterner, Diane Lyons, Scott MacEachern","doi":"10.1080/0067270x.2023.2182556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270x.2023.2182556","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":243659,"journal":{"name":"Azania:archaeological Research in Africa","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135754985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}