Barbara Eichhorn

New Excavations of Middle Stone Age Deposits at Apollo 11 Rockshelter, Namibia: Stratigraphy, Archaeology, Chronology and Past Environments

This paper presents new information obtained from a recent excavation and reassessment of the stratigraphy, chronology, archaeological assemblages and environmental context of the Apollo 11 rockshelter, which contains the longest late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sequence in Namibia. The Middle Stone Age (MSA) industries represented at the site include an early MSA, Still Bay, Howieson’s Poort and late MSA. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of individual quartz grains yielded numerical ages for the Still Bay and Howieson’s Poort, and indicated the presence of a post-Howieson’s Poort phase. OSL dating also verified conventional and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages for a further two later MSA phases. The timing of the transition from the MSA to the early Later Stone Age was also investigated. Improved resolution of the excavation and a more detailed stratigraphy revealed the presence of near-sterile cultural layers, which in some cases assisted in subdividing the MSA cultural phases. Such information, in combination with the new radiocarbon and OSL chronologies, helps address questions about the duration and continuity of MSA occupation at the site. Analyses of the faunal and archaeobotanical remains show some differences between the occupation phases at the site that may be associated with changing environmental conditions.

Phytolith taphonomy in the middle- to late-Holocene fluvial sediments of Ounjougou (Mali, West Africa)

In semi-arid ecosystems where lacustrine sediments are rare, bio-proxies preserved in fluvial deposits are needed to understand environmental changes. In this study, we evaluate the potential of phytoliths as a bio-proxy in the Yamé River’s deposits at Ounjougou (Mali, West Africa) covering the middle to late Holocene (7790–4000 cal. BP). In soils, phytolith assemblages result mainly from decomposition of local vegetation but in alluvial deposits, the taphonomy of phytoliths is more complex, depending on the type of transport and deposition. In order to define the spatial origin of the phytolith assemblages, either from local (valley floor) or regional vegetation (catchment area), we took the sedimentary characteristics of the deposits into account. Using a combination of general and index approaches, phytoliths of 14 modern and 29 fossil samples from the Yamé valley were analyzed. The predominant source area of represented phytoliths varies with the fluvial energy of transport. Channel deposits, carried during periods of strong fluvial activity, contain higher numbers of savanna grass phytoliths and display a lower ratio of dicotyledon versus Poaceae phytoliths (D/P) than those deposited in the floodplain where phytoliths from the local gallery forest are more strongly represented. From the 5th millennium BP onwards, higher percentages of grass short cell phytoliths (GSCP) and lower D/P values point to gradual vegetation opening due to increasing aridity. High amounts of burned phytoliths show regular fire incidence in the gallery forest and attest for human impact on the landscapes of Ounjougou from the 7th millennium BP onwards. After 4500 cal. BP, there is evidence for pearl millet cultivation.

Land use history and resource utilisation from a.d. 400 to the present, at Chibuene, southern Mozambique

This paper discusses changing patterns of resource utilisation over time in the locality of Chibuene, Vilankulos, situated on the coastal plain of southern Mozambique. The macroscopic charcoal, bone and shell assemblages from archaeological excavations are presented and discussed against the off-site palaeoecological records from pollen, fungal spores and microscopic charcoal. The Chibuene landscape has experienced four phases of land use and resource utilisation that have interacted with changes in the environment. Phase 1 (a.d. 400–900), forest savanna mosaic, low intensity cattle herding and cultivation, trade of resources for domestic use. Phase 2 (a.d. 900–1400), forest savanna mosaic, high intensity/extensive cultivation and cattle herding. Phase 3 (a.d. 1400–1800), savanna woodland and progressive decrease in forests owing to droughts. Decline of agricultural activities and higher reliance on marine resources. Possible trade of resources with the interior. Phase 4 (a.d. 1800–1900), open savanna with few forest patches. Warfare and social unrest. Collapse of trade with the interior. Decline in marine resources and wildlife. Loss of cattle herds. Expansion of agriculture locally and introduction of New World crops and clearing of Brachystegia trees. The study shows the importance of combining different environmental resources for elucidating how land use and natural variability have changed over time.

Towards a Better Understanding of Sub-Saharan Settlement Mounds before AD 1400: The Tells of Sadia on the Seno Plain (Dogon Country, Mali)

Dans la boucle du Niger, plusieurs etudes ont montre l’existence de buttes anthropiques qui se sont developpees principalement entre le premier millenaire avant J.-C. et le 15eme siecle de notre ere. Bien que les connaissances sur les tells subsahariens aient recemment ete enrichies, de nombreuses questions restent a elucider. En effet, les don- nees chronostratigraphiques precises disponibles restent rares par rapport a la zone geographique et a la periode impliquees. Ce relatif manque de longues sequences limite fortement l’integration diachronique de donnees culturelles, economiques et environnementales, necessaire a la compre- hension des mecanismes sous-jacents a l’emergence et au developpement de ce type de sites. Dans cet article, nous presentons les resultats obtenus lors des fouilles que nous avons recemment menees sur un ensemble de buttes anthro- piques a Sadia, dans la plaine du Seno (Pays Dogon, Mali), qui ont permis de definir une sequence chronologique, culturelle et environnementale precise. L’integration de ce travail et des resultats d’une approche extensive menee dans l’ensemble du Pays Dogon depuis plus de 15 ans nous permet de proposer un scenario de l’occupation des tells du Seno, ainsi qu’une reflexion sur le developpement des societes rurales saheliennes et leurs interactions avec les premiers Etats de la boucle du Niger, avant 1400 AD.

DESERT ROADS AND TRANSPORT VESSELS FROM LATE ROMAN-COPTIC TIMES IN THE EASTERN SAHARA

A detailed archaeological study of the ancient long distance caravan routes across the Eastern Sahara has not yet been established. This paper describes the results of initial investigations on the identification of caravan traces by remote sensing reconnaissance, and archaeological field surveys west of the Nile. During this work, pottery of an obviously common but at present unknown type of a Late Roman or Coptic transport vessel was found along the ancient roads between the Nile Valley and the Egyptian oases. Moreover, one of the vessels contained an organic substance. Chemical analysis of the content indicates degraded and polymerised fat or oil.

New investigations at the Middle Stone Age site of Pockenbank Rockshelter, Namibia

In southern Africa, Middle Stone Age sites with long sequences have been the focus of intense international and interdisciplinary research over the past decade (cf. Wadley 2015). Two techno-complexes of the Middle Stone Age—the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort—have been associated with many technological and behavioural innovations of Homo sapiens. The classic model argues that these two techno-complexes are temporally separated ‘horizons’ with homogenous material culture (Jacobs et al. 2008), reflecting demographic pulses and supporting large subcontinental networks. This model was developed on the basis of evidence from southern African sites regarded as centres of subcontinental developments.