African Archaeological Review最新文献

{"title":"Continuity and Transition from the Early to Mid-Holocene at the Foothills of the Drakensberg: Preliminary Results from the Current Excavations of Strathalan Cave A, North-Eastern Cape, South Africa","authors":"J. P. Reynard,&nbsp;T. Hattingh,&nbsp;B. Zwane,&nbsp;I. Guillemard,&nbsp;J. Bradfield,&nbsp;S. Woodborne,&nbsp;S. Oster,&nbsp;P. Morrissey,&nbsp;S. Challis,&nbsp;D. Stratford","doi":"10.1007/s10437-026-09649-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-026-09649-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The foothills of the Drakensberg are a significant region in understanding the links between environmental conditions and the spread of social networks across southern Africa. Strathalan Cave is an important site in this region yielding an extensive Holocene-aged deposit. Here, we report on the preliminary results from the ongoing excavations of Strathalan Cave A. Radiocarbon dates place the occupations between c. 5500 and 9000 yrs cal. BP with most occupations focused at around 7200 yrs cal. BP. Three allostratigraphic units were exposed in the deposit (A1, A2 and A3) with unit A2, the most anthropogenic unit, yielding combustion features and layers of bedding. The lithics are flake-dominated consisting mostly of hornfels but with a substantial CCS component showing little variation through time. A small quantity of ceramic fragments was recovered which may correspond to thin-walled LSA ceramics traditions, although at least one fragment may be associated with farming communities. The presence of rock art linked to the post-contact period also indicates that the cave was occupied from the early Holocene to the historic period. Grazers such as mountain reedbuck dominate the small faunal sample, but a range of browsing ungulates were also recorded. Bone tools were also noted. Of particular interest are a pestle, probably used to grind moist plant material, and a bone point, likely used for plant-based fibre processing. Plant remains were numerous, with charcoal analyses indicating an abundance of Protea and other grassland tree species. The phytolith data also show relatively high concentrations of phytoliths linked to trees in the deposit. The preliminary data indicate an environment of grassland interspersed with thicket, similar to today, with human occupations peaking between c.7000 and 8000 yrs cal. BP. We argue that depositional changes through the sequence may be linked to local-scale environmental shifts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"747 - 782"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-026-09649-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147338769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Results of Preparatory Surveys on the Tagant Escarpment, Mauritania","authors":"Nikolas Gestrich,&nbsp;Maximilian Schulze","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09647-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09647-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article reports on a short survey carried out on the Tagant escarpment in southeastern Mauritania. This area has a great number of stone-built settlement and funerary sites and an unknown number of sites without stone architecture. The sites show continuity with the well-known neighbouring Tichitt complex of the Ceramic Late Stone Age. However, the Tagant escarpment has so far only been subject to one programme of fieldwork in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Recently, remote sensing work has been carried out there, but many important questions remain unanswered. This article presents the archaeological remains of two areas on the escarpment, laying the groundwork for future field research in this part of Mauritania.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"783 - 807"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-025-09647-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147338114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taphonomy Patterns at Ratho Kroonkop, a Rain-Control Site in the Limpopo Valley, South Africa","authors":"K.D. Croll,&nbsp;J.R. Reynard,&nbsp;S. Badenhorst,&nbsp;M.H. Schoeman","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09645-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09645-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Excavations at Ratho Kroonkop, a rain-control site in the Limpopo Valley, South Africa, yielded a large faunal assemblage consisting of both wild and domestic taxa. This paper reports the results of a detailed taphonomic analysis of the entire faunal assemblage from Ratho Kroonkop. By utilizing standardized zooarchaeological identification methods, combined with established taphonomic indicators of anthropogenic, zoogenic, and natural bone modifiers examined macro- and microscopically, our study determined that there are spatial differences in the frequency of anthropogenic modifications and in carcass dismemberment patterns between two distinct areas of the site. Additionally, we established that the central areas of Ratho Kroonkop were likely used for additional carcass dismemberment, particularly in the case of large and very large mammals, and bones were exposed to heat, natural elements, and carnivore activity in these areas. The taphonomic data also indicates that Ratho Kroonkop was not utilized as a domestic space but rather as a ritual one. </p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"543 - 571"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147340738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Farming with Hand and Hoe over the Last Millennia: Traditional Terracing and the Agricultural Economy in Konso Zone, Southern Ethiopia","authors":"Alemseged Beldados Aleho,&nbsp;Fikadu Adugna","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09641-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09641-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the Konso agricultural system, terracing is one of the most significant traditional techniques used to protect soil from erosion and to accumulate water in agricultural fields. With the objectives of understanding climate resilient agriculture, dry land farming and traditional agricultural terraces, ethno-botanic and ethno-archaeological investigations were conducted in different parts of the Konso Zone between 2021 and 2023. Based on archaeological surveys, six abandoned and active terraced agricultural fields were identified and described. The local inhabitants in the terraced lands commonly plant trees like, <i>Moringa stenopetala</i> (cabbage tree), and <i>Terminalia brownii</i> (tropical almond); cultivate crops as <i>Eragrostis tef</i> (teff), <i>Sorghum bicolor</i> (sorghum), <i>Zea mays</i> (maize), <i>Eleusine coracana</i> (finger millet), <i>Cajanus caja</i> (pigeon pea), <i>Glycine max</i> (soybean), <i>Linum usitatissimum</i> (linseed), <i>Rhamnus prinoide</i> (Gesho), <i>Catha edulis</i> (chat), and <i>Coffee arabica</i> (coffee). The terraces in Konso are predominantly concentrated between 1400 and 2000 m above sea level on stony and steep slopes that are very fragile and susceptible to erosion. Because the terraced land is narrow, fragmentary and eroded, it is not conducive for ox-plough or mechanized agriculture. Instead, the Konso people use their hands and hoe (locally known as payra) to cultivate the land. The technological construction of Konso traditional terracing and agricultural practices are reflections of altitude and topography. The Konso people have endured hostile conditions, difficult terrain, and unpredictable rain by adopting terrace farming methods. They have changed their fragile ecology and difficult mountainous topography and remain to be examples of resilience and adaptation to hostile environment for almost millennia. Radio-carbon dating on charcoal from excavation of one of the abandoned agricultural terraces in Konso zone provided a date of 1235 ± 30 BP, hinting us to a long history of traditional terrace agriculture.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"635 - 658"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147339276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Techniques, Tools and Boundaries: The Impressed Corded Ware and the White Nile Mesolithic","authors":"Sara Roma,&nbsp;Lara Maritan,&nbsp;Donatella Usai","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09646-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09646-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pottery production in the Nile Valley, from south of the First Cataract down to the confluence between the White and Blue Nile rivers, dates back to the 9th millennium BC. This production took place in a context of hunter-gatherer-fishers and, while it exhibits some shared characteristics, it also shows significant regional variation from north to south. Although pottery manufacturing was family-based and therefore highly variable, analytical studies have made it possible to define several macro-regions, each with its own distinctive features, particularly in terms of techniques, tools, and decorative motifs. Impressions created with tools involving cord elements have been mentioned in the literature, but they have never been studied in detail. This type of impression is frequently found in the pottery produced at the al-Khiday sites, located on the left bank of the White Nile and dating to the 7th millennium BC. Based on extensive observations of a large ceramic assemblage, a series of experimental studies were conducted to identify the specific tool used and to reproduce the motifs found on the ancient materials. Finally, the “formal” analysis of these decorative motifs has once again proven to be a key tool in understanding the peopling dynamics of the Nile Valley. The study contributed to identifying the cord-impressed decorations documented at al-Khiday as characteristic of a specific macro-region along the White Nile.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"573 - 597"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147336185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Producing Garum in Mauretania Tingitana: Results of the Fieldwork Seasons (2021–2024) at the Site of Tahaddart (Assilah, Morocco)","authors":"Adolfo Fernández Fernández,&nbsp;Meriem Hansali,&nbsp;Mohammed Kbiri-Alaoui,&nbsp;Hakim Ammar,&nbsp;Rachid Arharbi,&nbsp;Pedro C. Carvalho,&nbsp;Ricardo Costeira da Silva,&nbsp;Hajar Feddoul,&nbsp;Carlos Fernández Rodríguez,&nbsp;Eduardo González -Gómez de Agüero,&nbsp;Halima Naji,&nbsp;Fermín Pérez Losada,&nbsp;Alba A. Rodríguez Nóvoa,&nbsp;Patricia Valle Abad,&nbsp;Saoussane Yahia","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09643-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09643-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Tahaddart (Tangier, Morocco) is a Roman site with eight fish salting plants, excavated and published in the 1960s. Since then, the site, which is located on a sandy spit between a meander of the Tahaddart river and the Atlantic Ocean, had remained forgotten and hidden under dense vegetation. In 2021, the MAROCO project (INSAP-University of Vigo) was started with the aim of analyzing the trade contacts of the ancient province of Mauretania Tingitana during Antiquity. The main focus of the project lies in Tahaddart, including systematic excavations and a multidisciplinary project that seeks to resume studies on the production and distribution of salted fish products in northern Morocco. This article summarizes the main results of the three archaeological campaigns and the geophysical survey carried out at Tahaddart to date, focusing in particular on the salted fish industrial buildings (floor plans, internal distribution and phases).</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"599 - 633"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147339235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Homo heidelbergensis and The Origins of The Middle Stone Age: The Kabwe (Broken Hill) Lithic Assemblage","authors":"David L. G. Miedzianogora,&nbsp;Ceri Shipton,&nbsp;Matt Pope","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09642-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09642-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Middle Stone Age (MSA) saw the emergence of novel behaviours in the archaeological record and is generally associated with our own species, <i>Homo sapiens</i>. Yet, most archaeological assemblages contain no fossil remains, with those rare assemblages with a fossil association giving a less than clear-cut picture. Here, we describe the lithic assemblage from Kabwe, Zambia, a cave site that was originally discovered in the early twentieth century and is most famous for the Kabwe cranium, an exceptionally well-preserved Middle Pleistocene <i>Homo</i> fossil. The nature of the assemblage’s excavation means that it is not well-provenanced. To address this issue, we draw on archival data related to the original excavations and discoveries during the 1920s and use the remains of original matrix still adhering to several of the lithic artefacts to separate out the assemblage stratigraphically. This indicates no significant difference in technological strategies across the assemblage. Whilst there is an Early Stone Age component to the assemblage in the form of spheroids, it is generally consistent with MSA technological strategies, including notably Levallois-like and laminar modes of production evident from cores and debitage. We thus interpret the Kabwe assemblage as a transitional ESA/MSA industry. Due to the possible association with <i>Homo heidelbergensis </i>sensu lato fossils in the form of both the Kabwe cranium and postcranial remains, this hints that the early MSA could have included other members of our clade rather than just <i>Homo sapiens</i>, complicating current models of MSA origins.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"659 - 682"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-025-09642-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147338347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early Holocene El-Ghorab Hunter-Gatherers of the Gebel Ramlah Playa, Egyptian South-Western Desert","authors":"Jacek Kabaciński,&nbsp;Jakub Mugaj,&nbsp;Christopher L. Hill,&nbsp;Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny,&nbsp;Hebat Allah Ibrahim,&nbsp;Marta Osypińska,&nbsp;Małgorzata Winiarska-Kabacińska","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09640-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09640-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>During the Holocene, diverse human groups of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists inhabited the Egyptian Western Desert. These Early Holocene populations were attracted by resources associated with numerous temporary lakes (<i>playas</i>) and related wetlands, which characterized the Western Desert during wet climatic oscillations at that time. The Gebel Ramlah region, adjacent to Nabta-Kiseiba, is one of the richest areas of Holocene settlement and has been recently investigated. This paper presents the results of research on a unique Early Holocene occupation associated with the so-called El-Ghorab Unit, dated to the 10th millennium BP. Our results interpret the investigated site as a seasonal, short-term hunting station primarily associated with dorcas gazelle hunting, most likely during the early spring season. Despite relatively favorable environmental conditions that allowed for the preservation of animal skeletal remains, there is no evidence of domesticated animals or pottery at the site. The evidence suggests that El-Ghorab Unit societies represent a primarily foraging mode of subsistence. </p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"717 - 745"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-025-09640-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147337972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Large Tool Production Sequences in FLK West (Lower Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania): Conceptualizing Form and Use During the Earliest Acheulean","authors":"Javier Duque-Martínez,&nbsp;Fernando Diez-Martín,&nbsp;Cristina Fraile-Márquez,&nbsp;Sara de Francisco,&nbsp;Enrique Baquedano,&nbsp;Audax Mabulla,&nbsp;Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09639-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09639-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>FLK West (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) is one of the earliest examples of the Acheulean complex in East Africa. It is a multi-component site, with significant patches of lithic tools and fossil bone preserved in the lowermost archaeo-units. Among the lithic collections, different fractions of the large tool operational sequences have been preserved (including large cores, large flakes, and LCTs). The sample related to these sequences and retrieved during the first stage of fieldwork in this site includes 75 specimens unearthed from the lowermost levels 5 and 6. This work focuses on the study of these specimens from two complementary perspectives: a comprehensive diacritical analysis procedure aimed at explaining LCT production and shaping strategies via the study of large core exploitation and large blank shaping sequences, and a techno-functional analysis of large flakes and LCTs following the standardized methodological principles of this analytical approach. By focusing on these two aspects, we will be able to provide a broad description of LCT production and shaping strategies and the goals undertaken by the Earliest Acheulean toolmakers at Olduvai Gorge. We will also generate a database of the functional potentiality of the resulting large tools, constituting a baseline for other experimental and macro use-wear analyses.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 4","pages":"683 - 716"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147340661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Africa’s Cultural Crossroads: Archaeological Evidence for Ritual Syncretism in Western Uganda from Western Kansyore, Transitional Urewe, and Bigo-Period Burials","authors":"Peter R. Schmidt,&nbsp;Jackline N. Besigye,&nbsp;Gilbert Oteyo,&nbsp;John Krigbaum,&nbsp;Raymond Asiimwe,&nbsp;Amon Niwahereza,&nbsp;Jane H. Schmidt,&nbsp;Jonathan Walz,&nbsp;Julius Lejju,&nbsp;Sheridan Lea","doi":"10.1007/s10437-025-09629-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-025-09629-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Archaeological research in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region (NCLR) in western Uganda has contributed significant insights into first millennium AD multilingual communities. These diverse communities, sharing food ways, ceramic technologies, and ritual beliefs, are traced to Bantu speakers who interacted with Sudanic speakers who made Kansyore ceramics. One of the significant exchanges of cultural beliefs was the adoption of Kansyore burial urns by Bantu makers of Transitional Urewe and Boudiné ware (Early Iron Age). This article provides additional evidence for a region of tropical Africa where burials are well preserved. These conditions allow unusual opportunities to assess syncretism in ritual treatments of the dead, using funerary practices that add significantly to evidence previously documented in the NCLR. Ritual interment of the dead on western caldera rims, where celestial renewal is assured, shows long-term continuities through documentation of later Bigo-period burials.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"42 3","pages":"445 - 473"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-025-09629-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145435818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}