Lawrence H. Robbins

Cushitic and Nilotic Prehistory: New Archaeological Evidence from North-West Kenya

Recent archaeological research conducted west of Lake Turkana, Kenya has shed new light on the prehistory of eastern Cushitic and Nilotic speakers in East Africa. The Namoratunga cemetery and rock art sites, dated to about 300 B.C., are clearly related to the prehistory of Eastern Cushitic speakers. The newly defined Turkwell cultural tradition, dated to the first millennium a.d. , is associated with eastern Nilotic prehistory. Lopoy, a large lakeside fishing and pastoralist settlement, is discussed in terms of eastern Nilotic prehistory. The archaeological data agrees with the independent findings of historical linguistics.

The antiquity of the bow and arrow in the Kalahari desert: bone points from White Paintings rock shelter, Botswana

This paper presents new information on the antiquity of the bow and arrow in the Kalahari. Excavations at White Paintings Shelter (WPS) uncovered bone point fragments that appear to have been parts of reversible arrowheads that could have been used with poison. We present a sequence of nine new, internally consistent OSL ages that date specific soil horizons at WPS. These dates/soil horizons are related to the bone point finds. The oldest bone points are estimated to date between 35–37 ka, while worked bone technology extends to at least 45 ka. Several engraved points are also discussed in relation to ethnographic evidence regarding decorated bone link-shafts collected in the 1970s. Additional information includes the first description of a reversible bone arrow point, made by a person who used such points with poison in his youth.

Lithic Microwear Analysis of Middle Stone Age Artifacts from White Paintings Rock Shelter, Botswana

Abstract Excavations conducted at the White Paintings rock shelter in the NW Kalahari Desert have uncovered seven meters of Later and Middle Stone Age deposits. Lithic microwear evidence was found on 15 artifacts representing five of the major archaeological subdivisions in the sequence and revealed work in wood, hide, and bone, as well as butchering and impact damage. Middle Stone Age points found in deposits bracketed by TL dates to between approximately 66,400 ± 6500 and 94,300 ± 9400 B.P. were of special interest because of the possible association of the Middle Stone Age with the origin of anatomically modern humans and because little, if any, micro-wear evidence has been published on Middle Stone Age points. Five out of 10 points examined revealed impact damage consistent with their use as projectiles, most likely as spear points. We present a model of the use of such points for hunting medium-sized mammals with spears, an interpretation that is largely consistent with faunal remains observed in South African cave sites.

Lake Turkana Archaeology: The Holocene

Pioneering research in the Holocene archaeology of Lake Turkana con- tributed significantly to the development of broader issues in the prehistory of Africa, including the aquatic civilization model and the initial spread of domes- ticated livestock in East Africa. These topics are reviewed following retrospective discussion of the nature of pioneering fieldwork carried out in the area in the 1960s. The early research at Lake Turkana uncovered the oldest pottery in East Africa as well as large numbers of bone harpoons similar to those found along the Nile Valley and elsewhere in Africa. The Lake Turkana area remains one of the major building blocks in the interpretation of the later prehistory of Africa as a whole, just as it is a key area for understanding the early phases of human evolution.

Recent archaeological research at Toteng, Botswana: early domesticated livestock in the Kalahari

This paper presents the first combined use of OSL and AMS dating to address the problem of the advent of livestock in southern Africa. Excavations at Toteng, at the eastern end of the Lake Ngami basin, have revealed bones of wetland and domesticated animals dating to around 2 ka. There is also Bambata pottery and microliths. Between 2.1–1.5 ka the lake level increased to ca 934 m asl but declined rapidly to less than 930 m asl by 1.2 ka. People lived close to the shore of Lake Ngami but as the lake waters receded occupation was probably seasonal in the winter months; during the summer low-flow months they may have moved west to be near a smaller Lake Ngami or northeast to the Okavango Delta.

A Recent Archaeological Discovery in the Turkana District of Northern Kenya

In this article, Mr. Robbins of the University of California, Berkeley, gives an account of exciting finds of barbed harpoons, comparable to others found near Lake Edward to the west and far up the Nile to the north. The skeletal material is being studied at the Smithsonian Institution. The research work on which this article is founded was made possible by a National Science Foundation Field Grant.

The Kalahari During MIS 6-2 (190–12 ka): Archaeology, Paleoenvironment, and Population Dynamics

We present a synthesis of archaeological and paleoenvironmental information for the period MIS 6-2 in the Kalahari. Discussion centers on the implications of nine new, internally consistent OSL ages obtained from White Paintings Rock Shelter. These dates provide a better understanding of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) sequence. In addition, the revised chronology dates 11 buried soil A-horizons that were formed during wetter periods. The buried A-horizons, along with dated speleothems and high lake levels in the Kalahari correlate with Antarctic warming events (A) and North Atlantic Heinrich events (H). We also discuss the implications of the Kalahari megalake, paleolake Makgadikgadi, for human populations and compare dated changes in the archaeological sequence at WPS with dates established in Khoisan genetic evolutionary studies.