hay 1976

No. 8

Newsletter of t h e S o c i e t y of Af r i c a n i s t A r c h a e o l o g i s t s i n America
Edited by P.L. Shinnie and issued from t h e Department of Archaeology,
U n i v e r s i t y of Calgary, Calgary, A l b e r t a , T2N lN4, Canada.
This i s s u e has been e d i t e d by Francois J . Kense.

The

It has been commented by some t h a t t h e time allowed f o r news

r e p o r t s t o be s e n t back t o us is i n s u f f i c e n t f o r some c e n t r e o . While
I s u s p e c t t h a t t h i s is f r e q u e n t l y q u i t e t r u e , I wst add t h a t I d i d
r e c e i v e some r e p o r t s from Lagos i n 10 days f l a t . However, I s h a l l
s u g g e s t t o P r o f e s s o r Shinnie, upon h i s r e t u r n from h e r o e , t h a t more
ti- be allowed f o r r e t u r n mnail,

Although t h e an~ountof information received f o r t h i s i s s u e is

most s a t i s f a c t o r y , I do wish t o h i g h l i g h t one u n f o r t u n a t e development.
This concerns t h e r a t h e r uneven balance between those c e n t r e s who
provide us w i t h f r e q u e n t r e p o r t s and information and those from whom
we have heard very l i t t l e over t h e p a s t couple of y e a r s . A glance
through t h i s i s s u e w i l l quickly i n d i c a t e those a r e a s from which t h e r e
is a n o t i c e a b l e l a c k of coverage. I t h e r e f o r e urge s u b s c r i b e r s from
a l l a r e a s of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s t o make an a t t e m p t t o r e p o r t on t h e i r
a c t i v i t i e s and r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s . This, a t e r a l l , is t h e printe
f u n c t i o n of the Newsletter.
I a l s o draw your a t t e n t i o n t o the f i n a l page of t h i s number,
where a l l SAAAN members a r e urged t o respond t o the s e l e c t i o n of t h e
venue of t h e coming SAAAM nieetings. Responses a r e r e q u i r e d by J u l y
15, 1976. P r o f e s s o r Shinnie wishes t o p o i n t o u t t h a t i f t h e SAAAM
meeting is t o be held i n Calgary i n 1977, i t w i l l be i n c o n j u n c t i o n
w i t h (before o r a f t e r ) a nleeting of the Canadian S o c i e t y f o r Archaeology
Abroad.

And f i n a l l y , I an: a f r a i d t h a t t h i s nunber has been issued a l i t t l e

l a t e r than usual a s we have had t o change t o a n a l t e r n a t e system of
reproduction. My apologies f o r any inconvenience t h i s may have caused.
I would l i k e t o extend my thanks t o our Department S e c r e t a r y , Lesley
N i c h o l l s , f o r her h e l p i n g e t t i n g t h i s number prepared.

Francois J. Kense

THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS COMMISSION ON THE

ATLAS OF AFRICAN PREHISTORY

A s mast members of t h e Pan-African Congress a r e aware, t h e Berkely

O f f i c e of the Commission has been working s i n c e 1967 t o a r r a n g e t h e
c o l l e c t i o n of d a t a towards t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of a r e v i s e d and updated
e d i t i o n of the A t l a s of Af r i c a n Pra h i s t o r y ( U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago
P r e s s , 1967). This r e v i s i o n , a l o n g w i t h t h e proposed e s t a b l i s h m e n t
of a computer-based and r e f e r e n c e d d a t a f i l e , w i l l provide a new,
d e t a i l e d and e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e corpus of i n f o r m a t i o n about p r e h i s t o r i c
s i t e s and f i n d s on a continent-wide b a s i s . This w i l l g r e a t l y
f a c i l i t a t e e a s e of r e f e r e n c e , t h e a c q u i s i t i o n of b i b l i o g r a p h i c d a t a ,
and t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n of new m a t e r i a l a s a r e g u l a r r o u t i n e . The
g e n e r a l aim of s u c h a p r o j e c t is one of f a c i l i t a t i n g i n t h e exchange
of i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h i n t h e s c i e n t i f i c community, More s p e c i f i c a l l y ,
t h e c r e a t i o n of b a s i c s t a n d a r d r e c o r d i n g procedures and a c e n t r a l i z e d
computer f i l e system has numerous p o t e n t i a l advantages a t a l l l e v e l s
of i n t e r e s t

B e n e f i t s t o Researchers :
Computer programs would allow the p l o t t i n g of d i s t r i b u t i o n maps
a t v a r y i n g s c a l e s f o r use w i t h t h e f i r s t e d i t i o n of t h e A t l a s
o r t o c o n c e n t r a t e on a p a r t i c u l a r r e g i o n . It would a l s o p r o v i d e ,
p o t e n t i a l l y , a wide range of r e l a t i v e l y inexpensive o u t p u t s from o r d i n a r y black1 i n e r e p r o d u c t i o n s t o t r a n s p a r e n c i e s .
The S i t e Record F i l e would provide complete r e f e r e n c e t o t h e
l o c a t i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n on a p a r t i c u l a r s i t e , whether t h e s e be
publ ished r e f e r e n c e s , unpublished f i l e s , o r a c t u a l c o l l e c t i o n s
housed i n a p a r t i c u l a r i n s t i t u t i o n . Computer p r i n t - o u t s of
t h i s d a t a could be o b t a i n e d by r e q u e s t u n l e s s r e l e a s e of
i n f o r m a t i o n i s d e c l a r e d r e s t r i c t e d by the o r i g i n a t i n g s o u r c e ,
Computer programs would a l l ~ wt h e s o r t i n g of s i t e Lists, :
r e f e r e n c e s , and d i s t r i b u t i o n maps on t h e b a s i s of a p a r t i c u l a r
i n t e r e s t s u c h a s c u l t u r a l e n t i t y , time, presence of a s s o c i a t e d
o r g a n i c remains o r such s p e c i f i c s a s t h e presence of i r o n ,
ground and bored s t o n e , bone t o o l s , s t r u c t u r e s and s o on.
The c i r c u l a t i o n of p e r i o d l i s t i n g s of r e c e n t r e s e a r c h and
r e f e r r a l s t o r e l e v a n t publ i c a t i o n s would provide q u i c k r e f e r e n c e
t o new m a t e r i a l . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , i n d i v i d u a l s could r e q u e s t new
l i e t i n g s c r o s s - r . e f e r e n c e by s p e c i f i c i n t e r e s t s .
The u s e of Index Recording S h e e t s i n p e r s o n a l f i l e s p r o v i d e s
e a s y r e f e r e n c e t o p e r t i n e n t i n f o r m a t i o n and a l l o w s s p a c e f o r
recording s p e c i a l - i n t e r e s t data.

Benefits t o Teaching_Institutions :

1.

Requests f o r r e f e r e n c e s from t h e S i t e Record F i l e would g r e a t l y

a i d i n and i n c r e a s e t h e q u a l i t y of r e s e a r c h papers by
e l i m i n a t i n g time-consuming b i b l i o g r a p h i c s e a r c h e s and e n s u r i n g
complete coverage of a v a i l a b l e information.

2.

The completion of Index Recording S h e e t s by s t u d e n t s and

f a c u l t y w i l l c r e a t e t e a c h i n g f i l c s of r e f e r e n c e d i n f o r m a t i o n ,
u s e f u l f o r planning p o t e n t i a l p r o j e c t s .

By e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e use of Index Recording S h e e t s a s p a r t of

a system f o r r e p o r t i n g i;cw r e s e a r c h , each c o u n t r y i s a s s u r e d
of o b t a i n i n g more immediate r e c o r d s of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s
and f i n d s i n a form t h a t i s uniform w i t h t h a t used i n o t h e r
countries .
The combined e f f o r t s of i n d i v i d u a l a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , t e a c h i n g
and r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t i o n s , and n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s towards
t h e completion of Index P k e t s on p r e v i o u s l y excavated s i t e s
w i l l augnent e x i s t i n g f i l d s and e s t a b l i s h complete r e c o r d s
w i t h i n c o u n t r i e s where c e n t r a l , s y s t e m a t i c r e p o r t i n g has n o t
occurred.
Many museums and a n t i q u i t y s e r v i c e s p u b l i s h important i n f o r m a t i o n
i n j o u r n a l s which a r e n o t widely c i r c u l a t e d . The A t l a s would
provide r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e s e j o u r n a l s and i n c r e a s e t h e i r
circulation.
The p o t e n t i a l b e n e z i t s sugges
zed ebove a r e r e a l i s t i c r e s u l t s of
s t a n d a r d i z e d r e c o r d i n g and a c e n t r a l i z e d , computer based d a t a
r e f e r e n c e system. However, t h e e a s e and speed of i t s implementation
depends i n l a r g e measure upon t h e c o o p e r a t i o n of s t u d e n t s , a r c h a e o l o g i s t s
and n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o m .
-

Development of t h ? A t l a s o L A f r i c a n p r e p i s t o r y
The A t l a s p r o j e c t f o r m a l l y begain i n 1957 under t h e a u s p i c e s of
t h e S c i e n t i f i c C o u r c i l of A f r i c a , a f t e r recommendations from J.D. C l a r k .
I n 1959, r e s p o n s i 5 il i t y , v i t h o f f i c i a l s p o n s o r s h i p , was assumed by
t h e IVth Pan-African Congress through which a Commission on t h e Atlas
was a p p o i n t e d . The p r o j e c t gained momentum i n 1962 through a g r a n t
from t h e I n s t i t u t e of S o c i a l Sciences a t the U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a
a t Berkeley, and a number of r e g i o n a l c o r r e s p o n d e n t s r e p r e s e n t i n g
most A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s responded w i t h r e g i o n a l o r s p e c i f i c - t o p i c maps
and l i s t s of s i t e s . Where l o c a l a s s o c i a t e s were n o t a v a i l a b l e ,
p l o t t i n g was done by t h e A t l a s s t a f f from published s o u r c e s . T h i s
c o l l a b o r a t i v e e f f o r t was t h e b a s i s of t h e f i r s t e d i t i o n , published
by the U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago P r e s s i n 1967, w i t h t h e a i d of a
g r a n t from t h e Wenner-Gren Foundation towards p r o d u c t i o n c o s t s .

T h i r t y - e i g h t a c e t a t e base maps and o v e r l a y s a l l o w the s t u d y of t h e

d i s t r i b u t i o n of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s , f o s s i l f a u n a , f o s s i l man, and a r t
i n r e l a t i o n t o such environmental i n f o r m a t i o n a s topography, geology,
s o i l s , r a i n , v e g e t a t i o n , and d r a i n a g e systems.
In addition, hypothetical
r a i n f a l l and v e g e t a t i o n a l zones under d i f f e r e n t c l i m a t i c c i r c u m s t a n c e s ,
d i s c o n t i n u o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n s of c e r t a i n s p e c i e s of f l o r a and f a u n a , and
t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of m a l a r i a and t s e t s e f l y provide i n t e r e s t i n g and
i n f o r m a t i v e supplemental p a t t e r n s f o r s t u d y .
This p u b l i c a t i o n , the f i r s t t o cover the p r e h i s t o r y of a n e n t i r e
c o n t i n e n t , i s a t r i b u t e t o t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n of some 60
r e g i o n a l c o n t r i b u t o r s and t h e s u s t a i n e d e f f o r t s of the c o m p i l e r .
The l i m i t a t i o n s of t h e f i r s t e d i t i o n l a y c h i e f l y i n t h e uneven
n a t u r e of r e c o r d i n g where l i t t l e s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n of terminology e x i s t e d .
The need t o apply a graded system f o r t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l u n i t s i n o r d e r t o a c h i e v e g r e a t e r c o m p a r a b i l i t y was recognized
by t h e VIth Pan-African Congress, a f t c r recommendations from t h e 1965
Wenner-Gren Symposium. I n 1967 the VIth Pan-African Congress e s t a b l i s h e d
a system of r e g i o n a l c o r r e s p o n d e n t s t o record new i n f o r m a t i o n , t o r e v i s e
e x i s t i n g maps i n t h e A t l a s , and t o expand t h e coverage of p r e h i s t o r i c
s i t e s t o i n c l u d e t h e I r o n Age. Discussions on t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r r e v i s i o n
and i n c r e a s e d p r e c i s i o n of terminology st t h e VIth and V I I t h Pan-African
Congresses, brought i n t o focus the d e s i r a b i l i t y of a system which would
r e c o r d supplemental i n f o r m a t i o n , such a s s i t e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and t h e
s i z e of a c o l l e c t i o n , a s a means f o r a s s e s s i n g t h e degree of confidence
w i t h which a s i t e I s a s s i g n e d t o a p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u r a l - s t r a t i g r a p h i c
u n i t . ( s e e PAC. B u l l e t i n No. 3 , 1969). As a r e s u l t of t h e s e d i s c u s s i o n s ,
sample Card F i l e s were c i r c u l a t e d i n FAC. B u l l e t i n No. 4 (1971) i n a n
e f f o r t t o e s t a b l i s h a s t a n d a r d format f o r r e c o r d i n g important b a s i c
s i t e i n f o r m a t i o n . I n response t o s u g g e s t i o n s from members of t h e
Congress, t h e s e c a r d s were expanded t o Index Recording S h e e t s t o provide
s p a c e f o r a d d i t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s of i n f o r m a t i o n and f o r c a t a l o g i n g
systems i n use by v a r i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s . (See PAC. B u l l e t i n No. 5 , 1972)
I n 1974, a generous endowment allowed t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a n
e f f e c t i v e Commission Cff i c e i n Berkeley. I n t h i s y e a r t h e A t l a s p r o j e c t
was a l s o f o r m a l l y recognized a s an ~ t r e p r i s epatron6e by t h e Union
I n t e r n a t i o n a l c des Sciences P r e h i s t o r i q u e s e t P r o t o h i s t o r i q u e s , w i t h
which t h e Pan-African Congress i s a f f i l i a t e d . The UISPP has voted t o
a s s i s t i n t h e c o s t of producing and c i r c u l a t i n g Index Recording S h e e t s .
A s a r e s u l t of t h i s f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t , a more a c t i v e e f f o r t towards
t h e r e v i s i o n of t h e A t l a s ;:ns made p o s s i b l e . (See PAC. B u l l e t i n No. 6 ,
1975 f o r complete report: on t h e a c t i v i t i e s of t h e Commission on t h e
A t l a s of A f r i c a n P r e h i s t o r y . )

A 1 t e r n a t i v e t o Index Recording S h e e t s

I n view of t h e d e s i r a b i l i t y of p u t t i n g i n t o e f f e c t some l e v e l of
s i t e i n f o r m t i o n a s soon a s p o s s i b l e , wc have a l s o drawn up a n
a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s i o n of t h e Index Recording S h e e t (samples of b o t h
r e c o r d i n g s h e e t s a r e included a t t h e end of t h i s r e p o r t ) . T h i s s t r e a m -

l i n e d v e r s i o n w i l l be used i n t h e d i r e c t t r a n s f e r of b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n
t o a f i r s t - s t a g e , n i n p l i t i c 4 computer f i l e and w i l l a l l o w i n i t i a l
work w i t h computer i n p u t and o u t p u t p o t e n t i a l s . It w i l l a l s o p e r m i t
a more d i r e c t i n c o r p o r a t i o n of r e c o r d i n g systems e i t h e r i n e x i s t e n c e
o r b e i n g c u r r e n t l y updated i n v a r i o u s c o u n t x i e s .
WE WISH TO EMPHASIZE t h a t t h e Index Recording S h e e t s a8 approved
by t h e Pan-African Congress and t h e Commission a r e t h e most complete
and a g r e e d upon format, and should be used f o r a l l c u r r e n t and r e c e n t
r e s e a r c h . However, f o r o l d e r excavated s i t e s , f o r t r a n s c r i p t i o n of
e x t e n s i v e e x i s t i n g f i l e s , o r i n l i e u of no in ormation, t h e
a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s i o n could be a n a c c e p t a b l e i n t e r i m s u b s t i t u t e .

D Karl a sabage,
Research A s s o c i a t e ,
Commission on t h e Atlas of
African Prehistory,
Berkeley Off i c e

While r e g i o n a l i n v e s t i g a t o r y groups remain small, and most c u r r e n t

a r c h a e o l o g i c a l o b j e c t i v e s a r e towards t h e b u i l d - u p of a corpus of Local
i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e v a l u e of compiling r e c o r d s of t h e kind d i s c u s s e d h e r e
may appear t o have no p a r t i c u l a r urgency o r s i g n i f i c a n c e . There comes
a time, however, a l r e a d y reached i n a number of p a r t s of t h e c o n t i n e n t ,
where t h e i n t e r e s t s of the i n d i v i d u a l s c h o l a r and t h e n a t i o n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e Pan-African i n c h a r a c t e r , and t h e d a t a t h e A t l a s
Commission i s s e e k i n g t o compile and c o o r d i n a t e w i l l s e r v e a s a n
i n d i s p e n s a b l e s o u r c e of r e f e r e n c e f o r a l l k i n d s of i n t r a - s i t e c o r r e l a t i o n s
and d i s t r i b u t i o n s . The aim of t h e Commission on t h e Atlas is t o
provide up-to-date i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e n a t u r e , l o c a t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n
of s i t e s i n A f r i c a t o a s wide a range of s c h o l a r s and s t u d e n t s a s
possible. (Subject t o such safeguards a s the i n s t i t u t i o n o r i g i n a t i n g
t h e r e c o r d s o r t h e p a r t i c u l a r n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n may wish t o p l a c e
upon i t . )
P i l o t work i s now underway f o r developing a computer program t h a t
w i l l provide f o r t h e r e t r i e v a l of b a s i c d a t a and f o r p l o t t i n g . For
t h i s i n i t i a l work we a r e employing t h e Index S h e e t s completed f o r
Malawi i n o r d e r t o demonstrate t h e kind of i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t would be
a v a i l a b l e t o n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s and bone f i d e r e s e a r c h workers on
r e q u e s t , f o r a small f e e ( c o s t ) , and s u b j e c t t o p o s s i b l e r e s t r i c t i o n s
a s mentioned above. We i n t e n d t o p r e s e n t t h i s work t o t h e n e x t Congress
i n N a i r o b i i n 1977 t o show what can be done and t o s e r v e a s a b a s i s f o r
discussion.
Considerable p r o g r e s s i s b e i n g made, b u t u l t i m a t e l y t h e s u c c e s s
of t h i s endeavor depends upon t h e i n t e r e s t of A f r i c a n a r c h a e o l o g i s t s
and on t h e i r w i l l i n g n e s s t o c o n t r i b u t e d a t a on s i t e s f o r which they
have r e c o r d s . W
e thank our c o l l e a g u e s f o r t h e h e l p up t o now and

e a r n e s tLy r e q u e s t continued a s s i s t a n c e .
J . Desmond Clerk, P r e s i d e n t
Glynn L 1 . I s a a c , S e c r e t a r y
Commission on t h e A t l a s of A f r i c a n
P r e h i s t o r y , Berkeley O f f i c e

A r c h a e o l o g i s t s w i l l i n g t o complete Index, Recording S h e e t s on s i t e s

which they have excavated o r a r e r e s e a r c h i n g , p l e a s e w r i t e to:
Commission on t h e A t l a s of A f r i c a n P r e h i s t o r y ,
D.K. Savage,
Department of Anthropology,
U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a ,
Berkeley,
Ca. 94720, U.S.A.
C/O

i n d i c a t i n g how many c o p i e s you would l i k e t o r e c e i v e o f :

Index Recording S h e e t s f o r Stone A g e / ~ r o nAge
Index Recording S h e e t s f o r Rock A r t
Abbreviated Version of Index Recording S h e e t s f o r
Stone AgeIIron Age

AND,

The s i t e s o r a r e a s which t o p l a n t o c o n t r i b u t e .

?it, 1

STONE AGE/IRON AGE

f Site Name

ion /

! Cnlrurol-8tratip;rnphYr

, ,+<

designation
SASES ref.
I

fncluded in 1967
Atlas? (circle)
Yea

no

Degree of confidence in cultural

Elevation
diagnosis : (check)
Latitude
certain
probable
Longitude
best approximetion
Nature of site (e.g. cave. Exact total number of specimens
if known
rockahelter, open, etc.)

Provenance : (check)
Unknown
Loose surface fLnds
Approximate number if total not
Griddedlplot ted surface
exactly known (circle)
Other cultural material
collection
1-10, 11-20, 21-50, 51-100,
from same site? yes no
In situ in exposures
Test pit excavation
If yes, what?
101-500, 501-1000, more than
1000
Major excavation
I
Stone Artifacts: (indicate number)
Pottery:
Total number of sherde
Trimed tools
Number of decorated/rim
Modifiedlutiliaed
eherds
.'
Flakeslbladee
Other clay objects
Cores
Debitage
Metal Objects
Ground and bored atone
Bone Tools
Raw Material
Other
Metric data available? yes no

--

List of diagnostic artifacts present:

--.

List of diagnoetic techniquee or features

present :

Associated organic remains? Bone yeslno

Details :
Plant yeelno
Other yeslno

---

Dating evidence:

For use of institution (for data such as photo numbers, etc.)

---

,-

Collected by:

Date:

Sheet made out by:

Location of collections (with catalogue information if poaeible)

supplementary notee

on the site (geographic and topographic location, relation to vegetation

zones, area of extent, etc.)

---

Supplementary natas on multi-component uitea:

a)Are components dirtlnguiehed by: stratigraphy? etat phyeique? typology?
b)By other w a n e (indicate)
List of componente in suppolred;order of increasing age.

Given a separate At188 card? (circle)

11

(yee/no)

4)

(yeslno

(yer/no)

6)

(yea /no

Supplementary notes on cultural-stratigraphic diagnosis and reeemblances of matarial:

Publiehed Reference8 (abbreviated format):

For use of inatitution:

I .

,bi;81tf

S 1 t e Name

y'"

04trr.r then one ' c u l t u r a l

..

ABBREVIATED l NDEX SHEET

STONE A G / i WGFI AGE

'

u n i t ? Yes

No

How many?

-4-.

' * t itude

Lonq It ude

E l evat ion
I n meters

Nature of s i t e
O-open
l=rocksheI t e r
2-cave
3=hotsprlnq
bother

rml
? rovenance (Mode o f Acqu Is 1 t ion)

0-un known
I-loose surface f 1 nds
2-gr tdded/plot ted
surface c o l l e c t i o n
3-in s i t u i n exposures
4 - G s F i T t excevet Ion
SmmJor excatfa t 1on

.
bi

t::ral Classif l c a t l o n /

.+ t u r a l - s t r a t i q r a p h i c
. csignation (c.g. W l 1 ton)

Gross C u l t u r a l D f v l s i o n
E a r l y Stone Age
Hlddle Stone Age
Later Stone Age
l ron Age
H Istorlcal

Confidence o f
Cul t u r i t l
Classiffcation

facertain
2mprobabl e
3-bes t app rox.
FGT tne f o l l o w i n s c a t e g o r i e s o f Information:

.'it

or

Lower P a l e o l l t h l c
Middle P a l e o l l t h l c
Upper P a l e o l f t h l c
Epl-Paleollthlc
Neollthtc
Other

Total Number of Specimens

0-not givedunknown
1- 1-20
2- 21-50
6- 1001-5000
3.1 51-100
7- 5001-10,000
4.. 101-500
8- 10,001-56,000
5- 501-1000
9- > 50,000

blank-uncertain/unknown
h a bsent
l-present

e i t a c t u a l Hater la1 :

flaked
stone

ground
stone

pottery,
metals
clay f i q s .
etc.

bone
artlf.

shell
artlf.

qlass
artif.

wood
artlf.

?;ssociated Material :

iauna

plants

pollen

human
structure
rerains
o f any
sort

paintings, other
engravings,
art

other

Lab Number

--

Pub1 {shed References:

Excavator/ l nves t lgr tor

Date Excavated/ l rives t f ga ted
Cant r f. b u t a r

(Person/Instl t u t l o n . f i 1 n n q out form)

koca t i on o f RtcordsICoI I ec t Ions :

Date I n

B.P.

NEWS

ITEMS

Canada Council s u p p o r t has been r e c e i v e d f o r c o n t i n u a t i o n of t h e

r e s e a r c h on Capsian e s c a r g o t i k r e s i n A l ~ e r i ar e p o r t e d i n t h e March 5 t h
i s s u e of Science-. A more complete r e p o r t w i l l appear s h o r t l y i n
(a) extension
Libyca. The 1976 s e a s o n i n J u l y and August w i l l i n c l u d e :
of e x c a v a t i o n s a t Ain Misteheyia t o expose a g r e a t e r a r e a of t h e
o c c u p a t i o n s u r f a c e i n l e v e l 4 and o b t a i n l a r g e r samples from lower
l e v e l s f o r t h e purpose of v e r i f y i n g o r r e f u t i n g the h y p o t h e s i s of
e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y r e l a t e d changes i n t h e s u b s i s t e n c e rggime; (b) mapping
and sampling of a l l u v i a l d e p o s i t s t o r e s o l v e p r e s e n t d i f f i c u l t i e s of
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n the Holocene sequence; ( c ) l i m i t e d t e s t i n g of o t h e r
e s c a r g o t i e r e s t o i n v e s t i g a t e the r e l a t i o n s h i p between s i t e l o c a t i o n
and f a u n a l and l i t h i c assemblages b o t h i n time and i n s p a c e .
The personnel w i l l c o n s i s t of David Lubell ( U n i v e r s i t y of A l b e r t a ) ,
I a n Campbell ( U n i v e r s i t y of A l b e r t a , Department of Geography), A c h i l l e s
G a u t i e r (Rijksuniversi-it-Gent),
and e i g h t g r a d u a t e and undergraduate
s t u d e n t s from t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s of A l b e r t a , B r i t i s h Columbia and Toronto.
David Lubell
Gepartment of Anthropology
U n i v e r s i t y of A l b e r t a

EAST AFRICA

B r i t i s h I--,--.-.n s t i t u t e i n--...E a s t"--.

e r n A.--.--frica
The f o l l o w i n g a r t i c l e a r r i v e d t o o l a t e f o r i n c l u s i o n i n Nyame Akuma
No. 7 .
I n t h e course of a ten-day j o u r c ~ ydown t h e R i f t Valley from west
of N a i r o b i , l ' e v i l l c C h i t t i c k icve.; t i g a t e d the remains of a g r i c u l t u r a l
These ~ e t t l e m e n t s ,of
s e t t l e m e n t s on t h e w s t e r n s i d e cf t h e ?.ift.
which t h e o n l y one h i t h e r t o known i n any d e t a i l is a t Engaruka, d a t e
from b e f o r e t h e a r r i v a l of the present-day p a s t o r a l peoples (Masai and
Mang'ati) i n t h e r e g i o n : who t h e a n c i e n t f o l k w e r e i s s t i l l u n c e r t a i n .
Besides the remains of s t o c c -1 i c e d i r r i g a t i o n c h a n n e l s , t e r r a c e d h u t
platforms and t h e r e l i c s of d t l e l l i n g s , were found. Both r e c t a n g u l a r
and c i r c u l a r s t r u c t u r e s were observed, t h e i r p l a n being i n d i c a t e d by
l a r g e s t o n e s l a b s s e t u p r i g h t . It i s now maintained by M r . C h i t t i c k
t h a t such s e t t l e m e n t s e x i s t e d more o r I c e s wherever t h e r e was water
flowing from t h e s c a r p i n t o t h e v a l l e y along t h e whole s t r e t c h from
the s o u t h e r n end of Lake E y a s i t o t h e l a t i t u d e of Lake Magadi.
The g r e a t d i l i g e n c e shown by t h e s e a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t s i n b r i n g i n g
water i n c a r e f u l l y c o n s t r u c t e d channels t o a r e a s d i f f i c u l t t o r e a c h
( e x t e n d i n g sometimes up t o 3 km.) and t h e c a r e taken i n b u i l d i n g

p l a t f o r m - l i k e c a i r n s a t l o c a l i t i e s where t h e r e was a n e x c e s s of s t o n e
i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e r e was ( a t l e a s t f o r p a r t of the period of o c c u p a t i o n
of t h e s e s e t t l e m e n t s ) much p r e s s u r e of p o p u l a t i o n on t h e a v a i l a b l e
land.
These s e t t l e m e n t s may have s u r v i v e d t i l l around t h e s i x t e e n t h
c e n t u r y A.D.;
t h e d a t e of t h e i r f o u n d a t i o n i s u n c e r t a i n b u t may be a s
e a r l y a s the f i r s t c e n t u r i e s of t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a .
David P h i l l i p s o n conducted e x c a v a t i o n s f o r f i v e weeks a t a ate
Stone Age' s i t e a t Lowasera, n e a r Khomode, L o i e n g e l a n i n e a r t h e s o u t h e a s t e r n c o r n e r of Lake Rudolf (Turkana) a t 2 ' 5 6 ' ~ . , 36'43'~.
The s i t e
l i e s on beach d e p o s i t s 80 m above t h e p r e s e n t water l e v e l , b e s i d e a n
o l d embayment of t h e Lake. Rise of t h e Lake t o t h i s h e i g h t e v i d e n t l y
soon followed a p e r i o d of v o l c a n i c a c t i v i t y marked by t h i c k t u f f s and
l a v a flows.
The upper l a y e r s of t h e beach and t h e o v e r l y i n g t e r r e s t r i a l d e p o s i t s
y i e l d e d abundant u n i s e r i a l bone harpoons (two b i s e r i a l fragments were a l s o
found on t h e s u r f a c e ) , o b s i d i a n and chalcedony m i c r o l i t h s and heavy d u t y
t o o l s of l a v a . P o t t e r y from t h e lower l e v e l s was extremely t h i n and
f r i a b l e , b u t t h i s was r e p l a c e d d u r i n g t h e o c c u p a t i o n of t h e s i t e by a
t h i c k e r , b e t t e r made ware : a l l excavated s h e r d s were undecorated.
Faunal remains a r e almost e x l u s i v e l y of f i s h , hippopotamus and t u r t l e .
S e v e r a l human b u r i a l s were recovered, of which two a t l e a s t a r e
contemporary w i t h the main o c c u p a t i o n of t h e s i t e .
Geological mapping e n a b l e s a d e t a i l e d r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e
micro-environment t o be o f f e r e d , and r a d i o c a r b o n d a t e s a r e a w a i t e d .
Neville Chittick
B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e i n Eastern
Africa
It was n o t p o s s i b l e t o resume e x c a v a t i o n s a t Aksum i n t h e e a r l y
p a r t of t h i s y e a r , b u t i t i s hoped t h a t i t may be f e a s i b l e t o do s o i n
October.

N e v i l l e C h i t t i c k , The D i r e c t o r , t o g e t h e r w i t h two Somali c o l l e a g u e s

undertook (November-early December 1975) a n a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o n n a i s s a n c e
of a wide a r e a of Somalia. T h i s work was u n d e r t a k e n a t t h e kind
i n v i t a t i o n of t h S o m a l i government, t h e f i e l d expenses b e i n g borne by
them.
The r e c o n n a i s s a n c e took i n a s many of t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y
promising p l a c e s on t h e c o a s t ( t o g e t h e r w i t h some s i t e s i n t h e i n t e r i o r )
a s was p o s s i b l e i n what was e s s e n t i a l l y a t r a v e r s e from Mogadishu t o
Cape Guardafui, and thence t o Z a y l a ' , i n t h e north-west of t h e c o u n t r y .
The most important s i t e s found were a t Hafuun (Hafun), t h e e a s t e r n m o s t
p o i n t of A f r i c a , a t a t Daamo, j u s t west of Cape Guardafui. Of t h e two
s i t e s a t Hafuun one ( a t which a t e s t t r e n c h was dug) is l i k e l y t o be

t h e o t h e r may be t h e s i t e
Opone of t h e P e r i p l u s of ~hsE-r y ~ h r e e a n?.a_:
of a n e a r l i e r t r a d i n g p o r t . That a t Daamo is undated, b u t t h e r e a r e
i n d i c a t i o n s t h e r e a l s o of p o s s i b l e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e Graeco-Roman
world, o r p o s s i b l y w i t h a n c i e n t Egypt.
Arch e o l o g i c a l survey i n t h e r e g i o n of Lake E y a s i and Lake Natron
i n t h e n o r t h e r n p a r t of t h e R i f t V a l l e y , Tanzania, has l e d t o t h e
f i n d i n g of f r e s h evidence of p r e h i s t o r i c i r r i g a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e i n t h a t
r e g i o n ; i t i s expected t h a t s e t t l e m e n t s of t h i s n a t u r e (of which
Engaruka i s t h e o u t s tand ing example) were e s t a b 1 is hed over a r e g i o n
e x t e n d i n g from t h e south-eaa t e r n end of Lake Eyas i northwards p o s s i b l y
a s f a r a s Lake Baringo,
During August and September 1975, David P h i l l i p s o n , the A s s i s t a n t
D i r e c t o r , conducted e x c a v a t i o n s 2.t Lowasera, n o r t h of L o i e n g e l a n i n e a r
t h e s o u t h - e a s t e r n c o r n e r of Lake Turkana ( R u d o l f ) . The s i t e l i e s on beach
d e p o s i t s b e s i d e a n i n l e t of a l a k e 80 m t r e s above t h e p r e s e n t l e v e l . A
long sequence of d e p o s i t s was inves Ligated, i n c l u d i n g evidence f o r
v o l c a n i c a c t i v i t y of Kount Kulal a t a d a t e preceding t h e r i s e of t h e
Lake t o i t s 80-metre l e v e l . The msin human o c c u p a t i o n took p l a c e when
t h e w a t e r s had begun t c r e t r 2 a t from t h i s l e v e l . The p r i n c i p a l
encampmentcovered a roughly c i r c u l a r a r r a 30 metres i n d i a m e t e r , b u t
more s p o r a d i c a c t i v i t y o r s e t t l e m e n t was i n d i c a t e d a l o n g a s t r e t c h
of t h e former l a k e s h o r e a l m c s t 500 metres i n l e n g t h b u t n o t e x t e n d i n g
more t h a n 50 o r 70 me4:rcz back from t h e s h ~ r e l i n e . Stone a r t i f a c t s
included b o t h backed ~ z i c r o l i ~ h(of
s c b s i d i a n and chalcedony) and
l a r g e s c r a p e r s , -'. ,- - r .:.d pounlers (of Lava). P o t t e r y i s g e n e r a l l y
c o a r s e , t h i n - w a l l e d and ~ ~ n d c c o r a t c db;u t one s h e r d b e a r i n g 'wavy l i n e '
d e c o r a t i o n was a l s o r e c o v c r c d . Tbcre were many u n i s e r i a l l y barbed
bone harpoon heads. Faunal. r e n a i n s a r e . a r y l a r g e l y of f i s h , hipppotamus and t ~ ~ t l -e ,:-y few l a r d a n i i n a l ~b c i n g r e p r e s e n t e d . E i g h t
human b u r i a l s werc! i n v e s t i , ~ ? d , of which two (one covered w i t h a
s m a l l s t o n e c a i r n ) wcre d c F i n ~ t e l yrontempcrnry w i t h t h e main
o c c u p a t i o n of t h c s i t e . R ~ d i c c ~ r b odnc t r s a r c n o t y e t a v a i l a b l e .
I n February 1976 a rccorinaissance was made of t h e n o r t h e r n
f r i n g e of t h e n o r t h Kenys p l a i ~ nand t h e f o o t h i l l s of t h e E t h i o p i a n
escarpment around S o l o l o and Moyale. l X s c o v e r i e s i n c l u d e d s c h e m a t i c
rock p a i n t i n g s and s e v c r l l czvcs 2r.d rock s h e l t e r s , a t one v e r y l a r g e
example of which, a t Z l e 3 o r , 26 km n x t h - w e s t of T u r b i , i t i s hoped
t o excavate l a t e r i n the year.

It i s hoped t h a t P e t e r Gnrl2.ke w i l l , i n June 1976, resume

e x c a v a t i o n s a t t h e zimbah2:- nc ;innel..weni, n e a r t h e c o a s t of s o u t h e r n
Mo~arnbique ( s e e Nycqg &zy;m9- 7 : 7 ) .
Miss F r a n c o i s e Hivernal c? the I n s t i t u t e of Archaeology,
U n i v e r s i t y of London, has csntFnued h e r r e s e a r c h on a ceramic ' L a t e
Stone Age' s i t e a t Ngeyn wec t of Lake Baringo. A p r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t
on h e r f i n d i n g s a p p e a r s i n Azani3, v o l . X.
Neville Chittick
British I n s t i t u t e i n Eastern
AErica

ETHIOPIA
RE CENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL I??SEABCH I N SOUTHEASTERN
ETHIOP TA : SOME PRELIMINARY RESULTS
----.
During t h e w i n t e r o i 1974 and t h i s y e a r , w i t h f i n a n c e provided by
t h e National Science Fouildation and t h e Swan Fund, a group of a r c h a e o l o g i s t s from Berkeley, geomorphologists from Macquaries U n i v e r s i t y and a
rock a r t s , p e c i a l i s t from Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y , c a r r i e d o u t r e c o n n a i s s a n c e
and some e x c a v a t i o n and copying of rock p a i n t i n g s i n t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t
of the Afar R i f t a t c.900m 2nd the n o r t h e r n p a r t of t h e S o u t h e a s t
P l a t e a u a t a b o u t 2,500~1. Our main o b j e c t i v e s were:
t o l o c a t e and sample s c a l c d o c c u p a t i o n s i t e s , h o p e f u l l y w i t h
p l a n t remains and f a u n a , t h a t could be r a d i o m e t r i c a l l y d a t e d
and t i e d i n t o t h e c l i m a t i c and e c o l o g i c a l changes recorded
by t h e geomorphologis Cs,
t o t r y t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e economic base by sampling and c a t c h ment a n a l y s i s a t s e l e c t e d s i t e s .
t o t r y t o a s s e s s t h e e x t e n t t o which t h e c o n s t r a s t i n g ecosystems of R i f t and P l a t e a u may have bccn r e s p o n s i b l e f o r
observed d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e c u l t u r a l assemblages,
t o t r y t o document t h e appearance of domestic p l a n t s and animals
i n t h a t p a r t of s o u t h e a s t e r n E t h i o p i a and t o c o n s t r u c t models
f o r p r e h i s t o r i c lcnd - n d r c s o u r c e use based on t h e work of t h e
e c o l o g i c a l botanist/anthropologist, Claudia Carr from the
U n i v e r s i t y of Califo-nFa a t Santa Cruz, who i s a t p r e s e n t s t u d y i n g
t h e p a s t o r a l and a g r i c t ! l t u r a l G a l l a groups a t t h e s o u t h end of t h e
Afar R i f t t o y-:?vide a b a s i s f o such
~
model b u i l d i n g .
I n 1974 o a r work wns mostly c l - c i t ? d t o t h e R i f t and t h i s y e a r we
extended t h i s work and c a r r i e d o u t r c c o n n a i s s a n c e of the upper p a r t of
t h e Webi S h e b e l i oil t h e Soutlieas t e r n P l a t e a u . This y e a r , a l s o , Richard
Wilding of t h e N a t i o m l U n i v e r s i t y i n Addis Ababa surveyed mediaeval
town s i t e s i n e a s t e r n Shoz and s c u t h and e a s t of Haror and joined us
f o r p a r t of o u r own survey i n C z l e .
The main s i t e s a r e ;?1 c i t h c r z d j a c e n t t o o r w i t h i n t h e escarpment
c o u n t r y o r on t h e S o ~ t i l e a s t e r nP l a t e a u . A s i n o t h e r p a r t s of t h e R i f t
Valley system, t h e r e i s rmch evidence i n b o t h c a s e s f o r Cainozoic
v o l c a n i c a c t i v i t y and t e c t o n i c movement y i e l d i n g v o l c a n i c rocks and
sediments w i t h p o t e n t i a l f o r d a t i n g . S e v e r a l of our s i t e s m e r i t much
more e x t e n s i v e e x c a v a t i o n t l i a ~we have y e t been a b l e t o c a r r y o u t and
i t must be emphasised t h a t t h i s i s a r e p o r t on r e c o n n a i s s a n c e and
potential:
t h e d e t a i l e d s t u d i e s remain t o be c a r r i e d o u t . The s i t e s
d i s c u s s e d h e r e arc! azadeb; A - L a ; G a r i b a l d i ; Lake Besaka; A l a d i S p r i n g s ;
Dire Dawa; Laga O4a.

The Late Lower t o Middle Pleistocene Sequence i n t h e Upper Webi S h e b e l i .

Reconnaissance of the wide Gadcb P l a i n some 20 km n o r t h of Dodola
and Adama i n Bale, a t a l t i t x d e s of 2,300
2,40Om, provided some 15
l o c a l i t i e s w i t h a l o z g s t r a t i g r a p h i c scquence and c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l
i n t e r b e d d e d a t most of thcm, and gave evidence f o r a t l e a s t two major
c y c l e s of s e d i m e n t e t i o n . To t h e n o r t h i s K t . Kaka, a more t h a n
3,650m P l e i s t o c e n e v o l c a n c , overlooking t h e s h o r t , high a l t i t u d e
g r a s s l a n d of t h e p l a i n thro.:,&h rrtich the rivsi- meanders i n t h o s e
upper r e a c h e s exposing cl. i f f - l i k e s e c t l o n s of t h e sediments. Montane
f o r e s t s t i l l s u r v i v e s on M t . i(-il:2 a s i t docs on the Bale Mountains
t o t h e s o u t h , Thz g e n e r a l T.)11Fstocene c u c c c s s i o n we found h e r e remains
p r o v i s i o n a l u n t i l f u r t h e r w o ~ kc c n f i r r . ~t h a t of t h e p a s t s e a s o n . The
two most important of t h c l . o c a ? i t i e s here w - 2 Gadeb 2 and Gadeb 8
where e x c a v a t i o n s were c a r r i z d o a t . A r c i f a c t s were w d e a l m o s t
e x c l u s i v e l y from b a s a l t ?cvc o r welded t u f f .

A t -Gadeb
3. we excavat.2d ~t t h r e e a;ecs vhere fauna and Developed
Oldowan a r t i f a c t s were e r o d i n g frsin :he middle p a r t of t h e o l d e r
sedimentary sequence. The il::iin c l i f f sect-ion h c r e i s 22 m high. Lake
d e p o s i t s ( d i a t o r n i t e s ) i l l the? low>:: ~ s i . .zt r c civerlairi by a l t e r n a t i n g
f l u v i a l g r a v e l s ar.2 san3s a n i d.;ai:c-'.lce<:ljs ci.zy:;; t h e whole i s capped
and s e a l e d by a s~~:.csirc rclnJ:::x:;c.
?:il:-t!.~.11
n o t iC f u l l y primary
c o n t e x t , t h e a r t i i l c t,; 1I c F a sl-1:LI. z:,; s + : ~ : ? ~ :channels
:..
i n t h e upper
1
:
t L c ~ ~ s c T - - ; . ~ * L ~ ~ilo~.;
- ~ c J ~that
Is
they can have
p a r t of t h e section 2
been moved v e r y l i t t l e iif2.;i 5=1:,.:c; : l i c c ~ ~ : : c d . 3 . 2 a z s e x b l a g e from
Gadeb 2 3 f a l l s j n t c , M21-:. L.:.,:!.:.:!.
' c C:!vc!-cpcil Cldc,,:~n R c a t e g o r y w i t h
choppers ( 2 7 % ) ) polyl-,c:'.:r--:,.I (L:.:!),
1 5 ~ 1 : ; . r':x;.\: s c r a p e r s (37%) on
f l a k e s , frag:r..~.t:ts 3r.i r2r~::l:a ?n,3 c,: ? ~ - , <2 ,.r- * c : r ~ - r . '(here i s a l s o a
s i n g l e f i c r o n hg.ni';.:.-: h?l-kcd ;j i i ? c i n ,iy
i
b y h ? r d han-mcr, and a p r o t o b i f a c e . A11 the ar:iS:*cis -rt: . A -Is t7r. c ? l , > i c s o r chunks of b a s a l t
n = , s ~ r b ' . ~ ~ ; .f: r m (:<!.l
.', 2.:
s l i g h t l y lower t h a n
o r welded t u f f . 'i':-.~.~
2B, i n c l u d e s tllc :;ED. r;',- 2 -.:' , 2 ; : I < - . . - - 2 : ; o ;.ln;;?e~:s,
18% polyhedrons,
r:
: ::I-'.i,-c. :-,,:-c l:l-?ccc..: ( 7 .5%) - 5 hand42% l i g h t r'.u:y scr,?:-.. .c:
axes and
" o t t e r I. l . i .i
. L-.: i.,r zs,.~':i;zcs
a r c t y p i c a l of

:%:'

:.

...

.t

Gadeb 3 , clcsc: t o r?:!3. c < ' - y ai?d ~ ' J o u i :Lkm e x t 02 Gadeb 2 ,

---y i e l d e d from t v o small e x c t v a t i ~ ; l s ti;? n:ost co,:~plete assemblages of
Acheuliac a r t i f set.;;. TL1.z g~ono~-_p!10Logi3tS
s t u d i e d t h e sequence h c r e
e x t e n s i v e l y and a t 1.cnsC t';: i : > ? i n s t z g c s of cuLtj.n,q and f i l l i n g a r e
e v i d e n t . An e a r l i e ? :.e:-ics of I;rnvel.s a-:.d sends ( i n t h e middle of
t h e s e c t i o n ) v! 'ih Upper k c h c ~iln n F S t i f a c t s , disconformsbly o v e r l i e s

d i a t o m i t e and i s t e n t a t i v e l y placed i n t h e l a t e r p a r t of t h e Middle

P l e i s tocene
On t h e evidence of i n c o r p o r a t e d "Middle Stone Age" p i e c e s ,
t h e l a t e r c y c l e ( t h e upper p a r t of t h e sequence) belongs i n t h e L a t e r
P l e i s t o c e n e . A small e x c a v a t i o n 2m x 4 m i n t h e e a r l i e r g r a v e l s and
sands a t Gadeb 8A y i e l d e d 1852 Acheulian a r t i f a c t s o c c u r r i n g i n a s t r e a m
c h a n n e l . Concentrations of t h i s s i z e s u g g e s t t h a t t h e makers may have
been camping i n t h e s t r e a m bed i t s e l f a t times of low w a t e r . However,
a number of the b i f a c e s show a p r e f e r r e d o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e long a x i s
and were c a n t e d i n s t e a d of l y i n g f l a t , showing t h e d i r e c t i o n of s t r e a m
55' E a s t of North. The Acheulian b i f a c e s ,
flow t o have been c.45O
made on f l a k e s from l a r g e c o b b l e s , a r e mostly r e f i n e d and comparatively
t h i n i n r e l a t i o n t o l e n g t h and b r e a d t h . There were 41% handaxes, more
t h a n 14% c l e a v e r s and c l e a v e r f l a k e s w i t h 14 o t h e r b i f a c e s and 2 b i f a c i a l
k n i v e s . Closely a s s o c i a t e d were t h e u s u a l choppers (20%), polyhedrons
(9%), s p h e r o i d s (4.5%), two s t e e p and 2 3 (5.7%) l i g h t d u t y s c r a p e r s .
The c o r e s comprise forms p r e s e n t w i t h t h e Developed Oldowan w i t h a l s o
one l a r g e , h e a v i l y abraded p r o t o - L e v a l l o i s specimen w h i l e among t h e
f l a k e s a r e two l a r g e , p r o t o - L e v a l l o i s examples w i t h f a c e t t e d p l a t f o r m s
and 12% of t h e f l a k e s a r c b l a d e s .

T h i s Upper Acheul i a n assemblage e x h i b i t s some i n t e r e s t i n g l o c a l

v a r i a b i l i t y and d i f f e r s from t h a t we recovered from t h e Gadab 8 D
e x c a v a t i o n f u r t h e r west a d j a c e n t t o t h e c l i f f s e c t i o n exposing the
o l d e r sedimentary sequence. The s i t e a t Gadeb 8D i s a s t r e a m bank
s i t u a t i o n and the a r t i f a c t s show no p r e f e r r d o r i e n t a t i o n and t h e y are
u s u a l l y only s l i g h t l y abraL1ed. A t o t a l of 488 a r t i f a c t s were recovered
h e r e : hsndaxes a r e mostly l a n c e o l a t e w h i l e those from Gadeb 8A a r e
g e n e r a l l y o v a t e forms ; c l e a v e r s a r e r a r e . T y p o l o g i c a l l y , t h e whole
assemblage approximates more c l o s e l y t o a Lower than i t does t o a n
Upper Acheulian, though o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h e d i f f e r e n c e s a r e
p o s s i b l e . The s t r a t i g r a p h i c sequence h e r e d i f f e r s from t h a t A t Gadeb
8A and o t h e r s e c t i o n s t o t h e e a s t and f u r t h e r work i s needed t o determine
t h e p r e c i s e s t r a t i g r a p h i c p o s i t i o n of 8D which i s obscured by s l o p e wash.
A t p r e s e n t i t seems more probable t h a t i t belongs w i t h t h e e a r l i e r r a t h e r
than the l a t e r , Middle P l e i s t o c e n e , scdimcnts

The fauna from t h e s e Acheulian l o c a l i t i e s , p r o v i s i o n a l l y i d e n t i f i e d

by Denis Geraads of t h e National U n i v e r s i t y , Addis Ababa, i n c l u d e s b o v i d s ,
s u i d s , and a preponderance of hippo. These s t i l l remain t o be s t u d i e d
a s do a l s o t h e p o l l e n s and diatoms though a n e a r l i e r sample p o l l e n
pectrum s t u d i e d by D r . Raymonde B o n n e f i l l c of C.N.R.S.,
P a r i s , shows
c.50%
here
t h a t t h e r e was a h i g h e r p r o p o r t i o n of montane f o r e s t
t h a n a t t h e Acheulian s i t e a t Melka Kontoure a t c . 2000m on t h e w e s t e r n
s i d e of t h e R i f t on t h e E t h i o p i a n P l a t e a u . C l e a r l y , t h e headwaters of
t h e Web i Shebel i can be expected t o produce important p a l a e o a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l
and p a l a e o e c o l o g i c a l d a t a r e l a t i n g t o l a t e Lower and Middle P l e i s t o c e n e
bchaviour p a t t e r n s and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , on hominid a d a p t a t i o n s t o l i v i n g
i n t h e ecotone w i t h t h e h i g h a l i t i t u d e f o r e s t .

An Upper Acheulian Assemblage from Arba, Southern Afar R i f t .

An Acheulian assemblage somewhat s i m i l a r t o t h a t from Gadeb 8A

was found a t k r b a , 30km e a s t of Awash S t a t i o n i n t h e Afar R i f t c l o s e
t o the f o o t of t h e e s c a r p n e n t i n a n e x t e n s i v e e r o s i o n a r e a exposing a

g r a b e n f i l l e d w i t h d i a t o m i t e s , o v e r l a i n by a s h l a y e r s and sands and

capped by g r a v e l s c o n t a i n i n g Acheulian t o o l s . It seems u n l i k e l y t h a t
primary c o n t e x t assemblages w i l l be found a l t h o u g h some of t h e b i f a c e s
and f l a k e a r t i f a c t s made i n b a s a l t and welded t u f f were i n f r e s h
c o n d i t i o n . No e x c a v a t i o n was c a r r i e d o u t and t h e c o l l e c t i o n w d e h e r e
was s e l e c t i v e . The c h i e f c h a r a c t e r s i t i c i s t h e w e l l developed, p r o t o U v a l l o i s method used, w i t h b o t h raw m a t e r i a l s , f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n of
l a r g e flakes'. The c o r e s a t Arba a r e r a d i a l l y p r e p a r e d , u s u a l l y l a r g e
and b o t h s t r u c k and u n s t r u c k ; t h e r e a r e numerous f l a k e s which have
sometimes plunged removing p a r t of t h e v e n t r a l f a c e of t h e c o r e .
Flake8 have been made i n t o p a r t i - b i f a c i a l , sometimes f u l l y b i f a c i a l
handaxes; t h e r e a r e a l s o examples c l a s s i f i e d a s u n i f a c i a l handaxes
( t o t a l 26%). The c l e a v e r s and c l e a v e r f l a k e s ( t o t a l 46%) a r e made on
broad, s u b r e c t a n g u l a r , p r o t o - L e v a l l o i s f l a k e s ; t h e r e a r e a l s o handaxes
on c o r e s o r c o b b l e s . Small, t y p i c a l L e v a l l o i s c o r e s a l s o occur and t h e
s m a l l e r f l a k e and b l a d e element showing u t i l i x a t i o n and minimal r e t o u c h
is n o t i n s i g n i f i c a n t and i s most probably u n d e r - r e p r e s e n t e d i n o u r
sample.

As y e t d e t a i l e d comparisons of t h e s e Acheulian assemblages and

t h o s e from Melka Kontours a r e n o t p o s s i b l e b u t i n d i c a t i o n s a r e t h a t
t h e r e i s probably no c l o s e s i m i l a r i t y between them. Again, t h e
s i g n i f i c a n t b l a d e component (14% of modif i e d / u t i l i s e d p i e c e s and 7%
of t h e unmodified waste f l a k e s ) , made mostly on s e l e c t e d welded t u f f ,
and t h e well-developed p r o t o - L e v a l l o i s method, show t h a t t h i s assemb l a g e i s comparable t o t h a t from Kapthurin i n t h e Lake Baringo b a s i n
of n o r t h e r n Kenya w i t h which was a s s o c i a t e d a hominid mandible s a i d
t o be of Homo e r e c t u s and d a t e d t o l e s s t h a n 0.22 m.y. ago. I n i t s
p r o t o - l e v a l l o i s and b l a d e elements t h i s Arba assemblage a l s o compares
w i t h t h e assemblages from t h e Older Tug Gravels from Hargeisa i n
n o r t h e r n Somalia and i m p l i e s t h a t b o t h t h e s e elements may be found t o
form s i g n i f i c a n t components of l a t e Acheulian indus t r i e a i n e a s t e r n
Af r i c a .
L a t e r P l e i s t o c e n e S i t e s and t h e "Middle Stone Age."
The I1Middle Stone Age" is known from t h r e e main l o c a l i t i e s i n
o u r a r e a , a l l i n t h e R i f t . The G a r i b a l d i c a l d e r a complex, some 30km
west of Lake Besaka, belongs t o t h e Aden s e r i e s v o l c a n i c s and is of
Quaternary age. The b a s a l rock h e r e i s a g r e e n i g n i m b r i t e and, i f
i t is of t h e same age a s t h a t of t h e bedrock i n t h e F a n t a l e a r e a ,
i s c.160,000
2000 y e a r s o l d . Over t h i s accumulated some 10-12m of
c l a y s containyng the "Middle " and "La t c r Stone Age" assemblages.
E x t e n s i v e o u t c r o p s of good q u a l i t y o b s i d i a n occur on t h e n o r t h e r n
r i m of t h e c a l d e r a about 135m from t h e c e n t r e of t h r e e e r o s i o n a r e a s
and were used by t h e "Middle" and "Later Stone Age" groups. The
i g n i m b r i t e i s covered by a pumice g r a v e l o v e r l a i n , i n t u r n , by a
s e r i e s of h o r i z o n t a l l y bedded loams and v e r t i s o l s i n which t h e a r t i f a c t
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a r e s t r a t i f i e d . The assemblages i n t h e lower t w o - t h i r d s
of t h e sequence, a l l from primary c o n t e x t "Middle Stone Age" flaking,
f l o o r s , a r e c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a h i g h percentage of L e v a l l o i s f l a k e s and
b l a d e s made i n o b s i d i a n and p i t c h a s tone. L e v a l l o i s f l a k e - , b l a d e - ,
p o i n t - c o r e s , d i s c - and some s i n g l e - p l a t f o r m c o r e s a r e p r e s e n t t o g e t h e r

w i t h t h e primary f l a k e s s t r u c k o f f i n p r e p a r i n g t h e c o r e s and a l s o t h e
f l a k e s and b l a d e s which were t h e d e s i r e d product. Tools a r e mostly
u n i f a c i a l and p a r t i - b i f a c i a l p o i n t s , of t e n broken i n t h e manufacture,
b u t t h e r e a r e a l s o s i d e s c r a p e r s , d e n t i c u l a t c s and b u r i n s . A p a r t i c u l a r l y
i n t e r e s t i n g technique of c o r e r e j u v e n a t i o n r e s u l t s i n blade-1 i k e
r e d i r e c t i n g f l a k e s which a t f i r s t appearance resemble backing and i t
i s n o t unreasonable t o s u g g e s t t h a t some such f o r m may l i e behind t h e
Blade I n d u s t r y t r a d i t i o n t h a t makes i t s f i r s t appearance i n a l r e a d y
developed form a t t . a base of t h e iJpper V e r t i s o l , from where o s t r i c h
e g g s h e l l has been dated t o 14,750 5 201: y c a r s B.P.
Blade i n d u s t r y
a r t i f a c t s were n o t found i n dens? corlcentzations b u t were s c a t t e r e d
throughout t h e lower p a r t of tha Upper V e r t i s o l and comprised backed
b l a d e s and m i c r o l i t h i c f urr.ls t o g e t h e r w i t h e n d - s c r a p e r s and b u r i n s
s i m i l a r t o those of t h e Kenya Capsi2.n. I n 1975 we recovered a sample
of an assemblage showing t e c h n i c a l characteristics r e l a t i n g i t b o t h
w i t h t h e "Middle" snd " L ~ l t e r Storrc ASCII t r a d i t i o n s and, s i m i l a r l y ,
occupying a n i n t e r n c d i a t c s t r a t i g r a p h i c p o s i t i o n .
Porc E p i c Cave, Dire D2vn.
The cave i s 2km s o u t h of t h e town i n t h e r i g h t hand w a l l of a deep
gorge c u t through t h e l i m s t o n e by sr, important w d i , and is 165m above
t h e wadi bed, approached by a v e r y s t c e p c;ii;?b. It i s d r y and has a
c o m n d i n g view over " e s u ~ r o u n d i n gc o u n t i y . On t h e s o u t h w a l l a r e
some poorly prescriled schen~ati.: and n r l t u r a ~ i s t i .p~a i n t i n g s h u t t h e
n o r t h w a l l i s p a r t l y obscure:l by a t h i c k c u r t a i n of d r i p s t o n c r e s t i n g
on and s e a l i n g a b r e c c i e c o n t a i n i c g fauna and numerous "Middle Stone
Age" a r t i f ~ c t s .
A t r e n c h was dug f r o n t h s s o u t h t o t h e n o r t h w a l l s , p r o v i d i n g a
c r o s s - s e c t i o n of t h e s t r a t i g r a p h y . The s e c t i o n exposed d r i p s t o n e o v e r l y i n g t h e b r e c c i a w i t h th- "Middlc Cimna Age" i n d u s t r y . This g i v e s
p l a c e t o waterlo?ti sands and t!~e d-.olr. scqutnce r e s t s on a f r i a b l e d a r k
c l a y over bedrock. I+ h c l p s t o qhow t h ~ what
t
t h e previous e x c a v a t o r s
had thought was a mfxtulc of "f.liddlel' and "Later Stonc Age" a r t i f a c t s
f r o n t h e d e p o s i t s i n t h e froi?t p a r t of t h c cave I-lad, i n f a c t , o c c u r r e d
subsequent t o th? s c a l i n g of :he b r d c c i a hp t h e d r i p s t o n e and was most
l i k e l y duc t o t h e a c t i o n of s m l l strcolns ( s i m i l a r t o t h e o l d e r evidence
t o be s e e n i n our z e c t i o n ) e r o d i n g t h e b r e c c i a , c a r r y i n g away t h e f i n e s
and l e t t i n g down t h e h e a v i e r m a t e r i a l , i n c l u d i n g t h e a r t i f a c t s , which
l a t e r became i n c o ~ p o r a t e d i n t h e u n c o n s o l i d a t e d ashy sand w i t h t h e
d e b r i s of t h e "Later Stone Age" occup'ltion which was found t o c a p t h e
sequence towards the r e a r of t h -" c2ve.
The importance of t h i s s i t e l i e s i n the n a t u r e of t h e "Middle Stonc
Age" assemblage. The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t o o l s a r e a v a r i e t y of r e touched
u n i f a c i a l , S i f a c i a l and p a r t i - b i f a c i a l
a range of s c r a p e r
points
forms, u s u a l l y n o t s o w e l l made as t h e p ~ i n t s ;some b u r i n s , c h i e f l y
t e c h n i c a l e x a n p l e s , and a small percentage of n a t u r a l l y backed b l a d e s .
It would appear t h a t t h e b l a d e and f l a k e forms used f o r t h e p o i n t s and
t h e u t i l i z e d / m o d i f i e d f l a k e s and b l a d e s were s p e c i a l l y s e l e c t e d s i n c e
t h e mode of t h e i r l e n g t h / b r e a d t h r a t i o s d i f f e r s s i g n i f i c a n t l y from t h a t
of t h e unmodified w a s t e . Thc g r e a t e s c number of c o r e s a r e L e v a l l o i s

w i t h a few d i s c c o r e s ; f l a k e s , many of them L e v a l l o i s , a r e a b o u t f o u r

times a s numerous a s b l a d e s which, n e v e r t h e l e s s , form a s i g n i f i c a n t
element, many of t h e n b e i n g u t i l i z e d . Two p o s s i b l e h e a r t h s were
encountered and t h e r e a r e a number of f i r e cracked p i e c e s ; a l s o one
pes t l e / r u b b i n g s t o n e and s e v e r a l p i e c e s of rubbed haema t i t e

The broken up n a t u r e of t h e bone, which i s n o t abundant, s u g g e s t s

perhaps
t h a t g e n e r a l l y only t h e meat was brought back t o t h e cave
because of t h e s t e e p climb!
and t h a t t h e a n i m a l s , m o s t l y b o v i d s ,
were butchered where they were k i l l e d . Our p r e l i m i n a r y f i n d i n g s ,
t h e r e f o r e , s u g g e s t t h a t t h i s was a hunting camp
vide the high
occupied a t one ( o r two) d i f f e r e n t
p r o p o r t i o n of p o i n t s and knives
times i n t h e y e a r when t h e game was m i g r a t i n g between t h e escarpment
and t h e p l a i n , i n much t h e same way a s t h e p r e s e n t day p a s t o r a l
p o p u l a t i o n s move between t h e h i l l s and t h e p l a i n .

We c o n f i d e n t l y e x p e c t t o o b t a i n d a t e s and i t is p o s s i b l e t h a t
t h e Porc E p i c "Middle Stone Agett may be a s o l d as 50,000 y e a r s . We
a l s o hope t h a t f u t u r e e x c a v a t i o n s w i l l y i e l d f u r t h e r human remains
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h i s i n d u s t r y i n view of t h e n a d i b l e fragment a s c r i b e d
by V a l l o i s t o a Neanderthaloid type.
Aladi Springs.
A t A l a d i S p r i n g s , some 120km west of Dire Dawa, i s a mound s p r i n g
capped by a t u f a c o n t a i n i n g a microblade i n d u s t r y i n o b s i d i a n and
c h e r t t o g e t h e r w i t h f r e s h w a t e r s h e l l s and some bone. A d a t e of 11,070
2 160 B.P. has been o b t a i n e d which conf i r n s t h e contemporaneity of
t h i s s p r i n g a c t i v i t y w i t h high l e v e l s i n t h e G a l l a Lakes, w i t h t h e
Holocene h i g h l a k e s t a n d s i n t h e c e n t r a l 2nd n o r t h e r n Afar and w i t h
t h a t a t Lake Besaka. Wc c a r r i e d o u t a s t e p e x c a v a t i o n a t A l a d i and
found t h a t t h e micro-blade i n d u s t r y o v e r l a y an e a r l i e r , n o t y e t d a t e d
assemblage of l a t e r "Middle Stoce Age" a f i n i t i e s c o n t a i n e d i n a
c a l c a r e o u s g r e e n c l a y loam. T h i s combines t h e "Middle Stone Age"
L e v a l l o i s and d i s c - c o r e
technology f o r making srnall p o i n t s and
s c r a p e r s w i t h a micro-blade element. This nay, however, have been
a s p e c i a l purpose s i t e a s , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l t o o l forms,
t h e r e occurred w i t h b o t h assemblages a number of heavy d u t y s c r a p e r s
w i t h a n a r c h a i c appearance and, had t h e s e n o t been found i n s i t u ,
they might have been c o n s i d e r e d as r e p r e s e n t i n g an o l d e r i n d u s t r i a l
stage

Lake Besaka, Me t a h a r a

Most of t h e 1974 s e a s o n was devoted t o survey and e x c a v a t i o n i n

t h e middle s e c t i o n of t h e Awash Vzilley and round t h e west s i d e of t h e
small, now s a l i n e , Lake Besaka n e a r t h e w e s t e r n edge of t h e s t u d y a r e a .
The l a k e i s dominated by F a n t a l e volcano, the probably s o u r c e of t h e
o b s i d i a n from which t h e a r t i f a c t s were made, and l i e s i n a t e c t o n i c
b a s i n bounded by g e n e r a t i o n s of f a u l t s c a r p s of which the o l d e s t a r e
degraded and of l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e and the youngest of e n d - P l e i s t o c e n e
and middle t o l a t e Recent a g e . Geological i n v e s t i g a t i o n evidenced
two e p i s o d e s of l a k e t r a n s g r c s s i o n s e p a r a t e d by a r e g r e s s i o n e v e n t
a n t e r i o r t o the p r e s e n t r e g r e s s i o n e p i s o d e . The e x t e n t of t h e

P l e i s t o c e n e l a k e remains unknown b u t t h e Holocene l a k e was approximately

t e n tinics t h e s i z e of the p r e s e n t l a k c and rcached t o t h e f o o t of t h e
P l e i s t o c e n e s c a r p on which t h c "Later Stone ~ g c "s i t e s were s i t u a t e d .
A t t h e t o p of t h e s c a r p bounding t h i s l a k e , two p a r t i a l l y excavated
o c c u p a t i o n s i t e s provided evidence of two s t r a t i f i e d o c c u p a t i o n l e v e l s
w i t h assemblages i n t h e b l a d e t o o l t r a d i t i o n . The f i r s t of them
Phase
A
o c c u r s i n a n o l d s o i l horizon o v e r l y i n g l a v a bedrock and comprises
macro- and micro-blades, retouched i n t o backed b l a d e forms, e n d - s c r a p e r s
and b u r i n s . The c o r e s a r e s i n g l e - and double-cnded p r i s m a t i c and "sinew
f r a y e r " forms. A s y e t , t h i s occurrence i s undated b u t f o s s i l bone (of
which a high p r o p o r t i o n appears t o be b u r n t ) found t h i s y e a r may provide
a d a t e . T e n t a t i v e l y t h i s Phase A can be equated w i t h t h e a r t i f a c t s from
t h e d a r k , o r g a n i c c l a y s i n t h e g e o l o g i c a l p i t s and which mark t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e r e t r e a t f r o n t h c t e r m i n a l P l c i s t o c e n e l a k e and t h i s g i v e s i t
a probable age of some 11,000 y e a r s . Overlying t h i s Phase and o l d s o i l
a r e some 10cu. of g r e e n pumiccous g r a v c l c o n t a i n i n g f i s h b o n e and b e l i e v e d
t o be l a t e r d e p o s i t e d ; i f t h i s i s confirnleg i t r e p r e s e n t s a n even o l d e r
high l e v e l l a k e .

The upper o r Phase B assemblage o c c u r s , i n a d e f l a t e d midden

o c c u p a t i o n somc 50-60cm t h i c k o v e r l y i n g t h e pumice g r a v e l a t t h e t o p of
t h e s e c t i o n and comprises l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s a f b l a d e t o o l s i n a s s o c i a t i o n
w i t h fragmentary f a u n a l r e i m i n s , i n c l u d i n g f i s h , and b u r i e d b u t incomplctc
human s k c l e t a l remains. The o b s i d i a n i n d u s t r y compares c l o s e l y w i t h t h e
Kenya Capsian from Garilbles Cnvc and o t h e r s i t e s i n t h e E a s t A f r i c a n R i f t ,
w i t h b o t h l a r g e and n i c r o l i t h i c backcd b l a d e s , e n d - s c r a p e r s on b l a d e s ,
d i h e d r a l b u r i n s , b u r i n s i n t r u n c a t i o n s and soi:e awls. Also a s s o c i a t e d
a r e upper and lower g r i n d s t o n e fraguicnts and probably some r a r e p o t s h e r d s .
The n o s t i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e of t h e s i t e s a r e t h e b u r i a l s . These
a r e associated with intentionally but i r r e g u l a r l y piled stones, b u t
t h e b o d i e s do n o t appear t o havc b e e l b u r i c d under a c a i r n s i n c e they
u s u a l l y l i e o u t s i d e t h e sconc p i l e s . Thcy a r e a l s o i n c o n p l c t e , f o r
example, w h i l e t h e uppcr h a l f nay be p r e s e n t t h e r c i s no t r a c e of t h e
remainder of t h e s k e l e t o n . I n a l l , thc incomplete reinains of 5 b o d i e s
were found i n t h i s s t o n e p i l e . Therc was no s i g n t h a t t h e y had been
d i s t u r b e d by scavenging a n i n a l s nor were t h ~ r cany c u t marks s u g g e s t i n g
d e l i b e r a t e d i s m e ~ i ~ b e r i n g .A p r o p o r t i o n of t h e bones a r e burned, however,
and we would appcar t o havc evidence of somc r a t h e r unusual b u r i a l
custom t h a t n i g h t perhaps be c l a r i f i e d by r e f e r e n c e t o t h e l a t e r
c l a s s i c a l t e x t s . Two of the c r a n i a which a r e w e l l f o s s i l i s e d and
r e a s o n a b l y completed have been r e c o n s t r u c t e d and come from hong-headed,
long f a c e d i n d i v i d u a l s b u t , w h i l e one i s r o b u s t and rugged, t h e o t h e r
i s i ~ u c hLess s o and they may r e p r e s e n t s e x u a l d i f f e r e n c e s , The b o d i e s
were b u r i c d i n t h e midden w i t h no g r a v e goods d i r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e d .
However, l y i n g immediately t o t h c c a s t of t h e s t o n e p i l e was a group of
interesting objects
two bone t u b e s t h a t were probably c o n t a i n e r s ; a
f l a t , e l i p s o i d s t o n e of f i n e sedimentary r o c k , n o t l o c a l , t h a t might
have been a pendant; one l a r g e and some 30 t o 40 s m a l l g a s t e r o p o d s h e l l s ,
a l l of which have been p i e r c e d f o r s u s p e n s i o n . I n a n o t h e r p l a c e a group
of r a t h a l a r g e d i s c beads of o s t r i c h e g g s h e l l nay have been sewn o n t o a
l e a t h e r band and f u r t h e r o s t r i c h e g g s h e l l and t h e s m a l l g a s t e r o p o d s h e l l s

o c c u r i n i s o l a t e d c o n t e x t s i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s of t h e midden.
It i s
e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t t h e m o l l u s c s h e l l s a r e marine and n o t
f r e s h w a t e r and a r e i d e n t i f i e d a s O l i v a c f . b u l b o s a and Engina m e n d i c a r i a ,
b o t h of which forms a r e w i d e s p r e a d t h r o u g h o u t t h e Red S e a , t h e P e r s i a n
Gulf and t h e g a s t A f r i c a n c o a s t of which t h e n e a r e s t p a r t t o o u r s i t e
is D j i b o u t i some 500km t o t h e e a s t . U n f o r t u n a t e l y we have n o t y e t
s u c c e e d e d i n o b t a i n i n g a d a t e f o r t h i s P h a s e B a s s e m b l a g e b u t i t is
a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t i t c o u l d be a s much a s 7000 y e a r s o l d .
E r o d i n g from t h e younger s e d i m e n t s some 5m l o w e r was a s t i l l l a t e r
C
c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a h i g h p e r c e n t a g e of e n d - and s h o r t convex
Phase
s c r a p e r s and p o t t e r y and i t i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i s s u p e r f i c i a l s t a g e
may be r e l a t e d t o t h e i n t r o d u c i n g of d o m e s t i c s t o c k ( p r o v i s i o n a l l y
i d e n t i f i e d a r e t e e t h of c a t t l e ) and t h e u s e of s c r a p e r s f o r s k i n
d r e s s i n g a s t h e Gurage t a n n e r s s t i l l d o t o d a y . The same s e d i m e n t s ,
though a t a d i f f e r e n t p l a c e , produced a s m a l l stone bowl of v e s i c u l a r
l a v a , possibly suggesting a r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h the N e o l i t h i c Stone
Bowl i n d u s t r i e s of E a s t A f r i c a which may t h u s p e r h a p s b e t h e outcome
of southward m i g r a t i o n of p a s t o r a l p e o p l e s o u t of t h e d r i e r n o r t h e r n
p a r t s of t h e R i f t due t o t h e c o n t i n u e d l a k e r e g r e s s i o n and d e s i c c a t i o n
Charcoal a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a broken
i n t h e 1 s t and 2nd m i l l e n n i a B.C.
p o t produced a d a t e of 3,400
280 B.P. f o r t h i s Phase C.

- -

T h i s y e a r a n o t h e r b l a d e i n d u s t r y s i t e was found i n a s m a l l g r a b e n
a b o u t 1.5km s o u t h of t h o s e j u s t d e s c r i b e d and s i t u a t e d between t h e
f a u l t s c a r p and t h e hinged and d o w n f a u l t e d r o c k s o f i t s o u t e r o r e a s t e r n
e d g e . Two e x p l o r a t o r y p i t s 4m d e e p c o n t a i n e d a r t i f a c t s t h r o u g h o u t and
t h e t h r e e P h a s e s a r e s t r a t i f i e d h e r e . I n t h e lower l e v e l s were found
y e t o l d e r b l a d e s r e m i n i s c e n t b o t h of t h e E l e n t e i t a n i n d u s t r y of t h e
Kenya R i f t and of t h e b l a d e s w i t h t h e " t r a n s i t i o n a l " "Middle S t o n e Age/
L a t e r S t o n e Age" assemblage a t G a r i b a l d i . It i s n o t u n l i k e l y t h a t
t h e s e c o u l d be a s much a s 20,000 y e a r s o l d .
It i s n o t g o i n g t o be e a s y i n s o u t h e a s t E t h i o p i a t o document t h e
domes t i c a t i o n of t h e E t h i o p i a n food p l a n t s a s t h e n e c e s s a r y e v i d e n c e
is h a r d l y l i k e l y t o have s u r v i v e d among t h e p a s t o r a l nomads i n t h e
R i f t and on t h e p l a t e a u , s i n c e , i f t h e y used g r a s s t h a t c h and cowdung
p l a s t e r on b e e h i v e - s h a p e d d w e l l i n g s , a s i s t r a d i t i o n a l t o d a y , t h i s
would l e a v e l i t t l e o r no t r a c e i n t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d . However,
we hope t o be a b l e t o o b t a i n d a t i n g f o r t h e p a i n t i n g s of c a t t l e and
f a t - t a i l e d s h e e p i n t h e c a v e s and r o c k s h e l t e r s i n t h e H a r a r P r o v i n c e
where, i n 1974, some 14 p a i n t e d c s v e s and r o c k s h e l t e r s were t r a c e d
c o m p l e t e l y o r i n p a r t by P a t r i c i a Vinnicombe C a r t e r ; and t h i s y e a r
we made a c o m p l e t e r e c o r d of t h e p a i n t i n g s i n t h e Laga Oda r o c k s h e l t e r
i n t h e e s c a r p m e n t 25km s o u t h w e s t of D i r e Dawa. A l l t h e s e p a i n t i n g s
an early s e r i e s with
f a l l i n t o t h r e e more main s t y l i s t i c g r o u p i n g s
c a r e f u l l y e x e c u t e d s m a l l p a i n t i n g s of c a t t l e , s h e e p and humans ;
f o l l o w e d by a s t y l e , a s i n t h e upper s h e l t e r a t Laga Oda, i n which t h e
a n i m a l s a r e drawn much l a r g e r and o f t e n n o t s o c a r e f u l l y ; and a l a t e
s t y l e i n whichschema t i c d e s i g n s i n c r e a s e s i g n i f i c a n t l y a n d , b e s i d e s
c a t t l e , camels a r e r e p r e s e n t e d . Thc u d d e r s of t h e cows a r e o f t e n
c a r e f u l l y d e p i c t e d d e n o t i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e m i l k i n g t r a i t .

A t Laga Oda we werc lucky enough t o f i n d a r i c h "Later Stone Age"

o c c u p a t i o n using c h e r t and a very l i t t l e o b s i d i a n , w i t h p o t t e r y i n t h e
upper l e v e l s only and fauna throughout rnosc of t h e 1.4m d e p t h of
o c c u p a t i o n m a t e r i a l i n t h e excavatLon. Hearth; o r c h a r c o a l a l s o
occurred throughout t h e ? x c a v a t i o n so t h a t we e x p e c t t o be a b l e t o b r a c k e t
t h e time d u r i n g which t h e s h c l t e r was occupied. A check w i l l be p o s s i b l e
on t h e time d u r i n g which t h e p a i x t i n g s werc being done, from t h e a s s o c i a t e d
f a u n a , and we b e l i e v e t h ~ at high p r c p o r t i o n of the bone waste comes from
domestic s t o c k - c a t t l e and cheep.
Summario i g q , t h e r e f o r e , t h e s e two seasons have provided evidence of a l o n g
and reasonably complete = x l t u r s l s u c c e s s i o n I n s o u t h e a s t e r n E t h i o p i a . The
Developed Oldawan and A c h ~ u l i a nassenibl?ges on t h e Arussi-Bale P l a t e a u
must be among the h i g h e s t a l t i t u d e s i t e s known from t h e l a t e Lower t o
Middle P l e i s t o c e n e time range i n A f r i c a and i t should be p o s s i b l e t o
demonstrate from them the e x t e n t t o which the a c t i v i t i e s and a r t i f a c t s
of hominid groups u s i n g high a l t i t u d e f o r e s c and t h e g r a s s l a n d of t h e
l a k e shore and the r i v e r f l o o d p l a i n may hnvc been s p e c i a l l y a d a p t e d .
P o l l e n s , diatoms and f a u n a l assemblages should permit r e c o n s t r u c t i o n
of t h e p a l e e o c l i m a t e and ecology and t h e l i m i t s w i t h i n which they
f l u c t u a t e d while we hope t o be a b l e t o o b t a i n K / A r d a t e s from some of t h e
a s h , pumice and i g n i m b r i t c san'yles we c o l l e c t e d . It i s n o t unreasonable
t o e x p e c t hominid remains a l s o .
I n thel'Middle Stonc Lge" timz range we have t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of
a s s e s s i n g t h e e x t e n t of l o c a l v o r i n t i o n be tween t h r e e widely s e p n r t e d
l o c a l i t l z s a s w e l l a s w i t h ? r i 1 f c s s o r Ficd Wcndorf's sequence i n the Lake
I t would seem usw, i n view of thc ' b l a d e - i n - n e s s ' of t h e
Zwai b a s i n .
"Middle Stone Agc" t r a d i t i o n , t h a t tile o r i g i n s of t h e E t h i o p i a n "Later
Stone Age" b l a d e i n d u s t r y complex p r o b ~ b l yi i e w i t h i n E t h i o p i a i t s e l f ;
i t s a n t i q u i t y f i n d s confirmati.on fror.; the deep scquence a t Lake Besaka
and we e x p e c t t o h e a b l e t o doccrnent i t r o r i g i ~ sand development i n
solne d e t a i l .
I n d i r e c t evidence sugge; t s t h a t a g r i c u l t u r a l and p a s t o r a l people
were i n E t h i o p i a by t h e end of the 2nd millennium B.C. and we hope t o
be a b l e t o show when s i g n i f i c a n t e c o c o ~ ; ( cchanges t o d o m e s t i c a t i o n made
t h e i r appearance. A 1 t h ~ u g hs e v e r a l previous e x c a v a t i o n s have been
c a r r i e d o u t i n p a i n t e d roc1:sheltei-s t h e r e a r e a s y e t no r a d i o c a r b o n
d a t e s b u t we hope t o have mzd? a , s t a r t a t Laga Gda and t o be a b l e t o
s u g g e s t from t h e evidence vhen dcmes t i c s t o c k f i r s t made t h e i r appearance
here.
This p a r t of Ethicpi'? i s now proven p o t e n t i a l l y r i c h i n t h e k i n d of
d a t a needed t o provide t h e p a l a e o e c o l o g i c a l and c u l t u r a l evidence we a r e
s e e k i n g . Work over t h e n e x t few y z a r s should h e l p s u b s t a n t i a l l y t o
understand b e t t e r che p a l a c o l g o g r a p h i c d i s t r i b u t i o n and f e a t u r e s of s i t e s
i n t h e R i f t and h i g h a l t i z u d e z r n e s and, when d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of s e a l e d
o c c u p a t i o n f l o o r s a r e cxccvated more completely, w i l l g i v e t h e much needed
i n f o r m a t i o n on s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s of f e a t u r e s and a r t i f a c t s , s o l e a d i n g
t o i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of a c t i v i t y a r e a s and thence t o a
comparison of p a t t c r n s of behaviour i n t h e two zones. We may a l s o e x p e c t
t o b e g i n t o l e a r n something of t h e e x t e n t of E t h i o p i a ' s i n f l u e n c e on t h e
p o p u l a t i o n s and economics of a d j a c e n t p a r t s of t h e c o n t b e n t i n p r e h i s t o r i c
times.

Acknowledgements
Our thanks a r e here g r a t e f u l l y acknowledged t o t h e N a t i o n a l Science
Foundation, Washington, f o r Grant No. SOC73-05513 A 0 1 under which most
of t h i s work was c a r r i e d o u t ; a l s o t o a l l those members of t h e 1974 and
1975 e x p e d i t i o n s whose c o l l a b o r a t i o n c o n t r i b u t e d s o m a t e r i a l l y t o t h e
s u c c e s s of t h e r e s u l t s : Allemayu Asfaw and Yesahak Worku of t h e
A n t i q u i t i e s Department, Addis Ababa; Paul Bishop of Macquarie U n i v e r s i t y ;
Richard G i l l e s p i e of Sydney Univers i t y Radiocarbon Laboratory; Frances
Dakin and W, Morton of t h e Geology Department, t h e N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y ,
Addis Ababa; Steve Brandt, A l l i s o n Galloway, H i r o Kurashina, Ron Reeves
and Kenneth Williamson of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Berkeley who
formed t h e e x c a v a t i o n teams ; P a t r i c k L. C a r t e r and P a t r i c i a Vinnicombe
C a r t e r of Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y who surveyed p r e h i s t o r i c s i t e s i n t h e
sotithern Harar Province and t h e rock a r t s i t e s of t h a t a r e a ; Richard
Wilding of t h e National U n i v e r s i t y , Addis Ababa who worked on p r o t o h i s t o r i c s i t e s ; Denis Geraads of t h e National U n i v e r s i t y , Addis Ababa
who i d e n t i f i e d the f a u n a l remains ; E l i z a b e t h McCown of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
C a l i f o r n i a , Berkeley who prepared and r e c o n s t r u c t e d t h e human s k e l e t a l
m a t e r i a l from Lake 3esaka and B e t t y B. Clark f o r o r g a n i z i n g t h e
commissariat and performing i l l u s t r a t i o n and s e c r e t a r i a l work. We a r e
a l s o deeply indebted f o r many kindnesses t o Mr. and Mrs. G e r r a r d Dekker
of Addis Ababa, t o Ato Bekele Negussie and the members of t h e s t a f f of
the Department of A n t i q u i t i e s , t o Ato Mamo Tesema of t h e N a t i o n a l Museum
and the many people i n E t h i o p i a , b o t h government o f f i c i a l s and p r i v a t e
i n d i v i d u a l s , a l l of whom helped us i n innumerable ways.

J. Desmond C l a r k , U n i v e r s i t y of
Dallas
May 1975

C a l i f o r n i a , Berkeley, and
M.A. J. Williams, Macquarie U n i v e r s i t y ,
New South Wales

Recherches arch6ologiques dan l e Soddo

La m i s s i o n de 1 ' I n s t i t u t d'archciologic du ~ i n i s t b r ede l a C u l t u r e
d l E t h i o p i e p o u r s u i t , d , p u i s l e 19 a v r i l de c e t t e ann'ee, 1' e x p l o r a t i o n
arch6ologique d e l a r g g i o n du Soddo. C ' e s t en 1974 q u ' e l l e a e n t r e p r i s
1' i n v e n t a i r e d e s s i t e s e t d e s monuments ( l o c a l i s a t ion topographique,
6 tude d e s c r i p t i v e , photographie, d e s s i n )
I1 e s t probable qu' il s e r a
ache& e n 1976. De nouveaux s i t e s o n t 6 t 6 dgcouverts r&cemment, e t
a & t 6 commencde l a f o u i l l e d'une tombe 2 Gatera-Denlma. . En e f f e t , l a
q u e s t i o n p r i n c i p a l e e n ce q u i concerne c e s s i t e s e t c e s monuments
e s s e n t i e l l e n e n t d e s s tGles
figurations vari6es - e st d'ordre
chronologique. On ne s a i t r i e n de p r g c i s s u r l e u r 2 g e . La de'couverte
de v e s t i g e s osseux, e n t r e a u t r e s choses, perme t t r a i t d ' ob t e n i r une
d a t e de r a d i o c a r b o n e .

La r g g i o n du Soddo e t c e l l e q u i l u i e s t l i m i t r o p h e a u sud
conservent une c e n t a i n e de s i t e s , a u t a n t de s t h l e s e t nombre de
tombes. Cf. Nyame Akuma, o c t o b r e 1975.

KENYA
P a l y n o l o g i c a l Kesul t s a t E a s t Rudolf
A p o l l e n assemblvge v7as e x t r a c t e d from a sample a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e
hominid s i t e KNMER 1592 a t I l e r c t i n t h e Koobi Fora Formation.

2 . 4 m.y. i n t h e F i t c h
I t s approximate LTe should be between 1 . 8
and M i l l e r d a t i n g h y p o t h e s i s , o r 1 . 5
1.6 m.y. i n t h e C u r t i s h y p o t h e s i s ,

T h i s a n a l y s i s of t h e f o s s i l p o l l e n assemblage from I l e r e t seems t o

permit a reasonably d e f i n i t e c l ! a r a c t e r i s a t i o n of t h e f l o r a i n t h e a r e a .
The prominence of montane f o r e s t elements i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i k i n g .
Since i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h i s f e a t u r e cannot be e x p l a i n e d e n t i r e l y by long
d i s t a n c e wind o r water t r a n s p o r t , i t seems c l e a r t h a t v e g e t a t i o n of h i g h l a n d f o r e s t type must have e x i s t c d c l o s e t o t h e b a s i n margins. F u r t h e r ,
because t h e c o n t r a s t between r e c e n t p o l l e n assemblages and t h e f o s s i l
one cannot be due simply t o r e c e n t deforestation, t h e c l i m a t e must s u r e l y
have been somewhat c o o l e r 0;: w e t t e r a t t h e time of d e p o s i t i o n of t h e
sample. The v e g e t a t i o n i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e sample s i t e was dominated
by Gramineag and C b a o p o d i c c e a e a p p r o p r i a t e t o t h e margins of a s l i g h t l y
s a l i n e o r a l k a l i n e l a k e . On t h e o t h e r hand t h e u n u s u a l l y good r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of Acacia, Comniphora, and S91vado~-a i m p l i e s a shrub and t r e e cover
t h a t was more dense than t h a t p r e v a i l e n t i n t h e b a s i n t o d a y , A l t o g e t h e r
t h e i n d i c a t i o n s a r e of a c l i n a t e t h a t was n e i t h e r e x c e s s i v e l y humid nor
semi-arid.
The sample is i n t e r s t r a t i f i e d w i t h t h e e a r l y man f o s s i l s and
a r c h a e o l o g i c a l remains of t h e Upper Member of the Koobi Fora Formation.
The p o l l e n spectrum of t h e !<oobi Fcrs ciocumcnts c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n g a t
some p o i n t d u r i n g t h e occupation of the nren by e v o l v i n g hominid popul a t i o n s . However, t h e paleoenvironmental evidence provided by t h i s
sample r e f e r s t o t h e r e l c t i v e l y s h o r t t i n e s p a n d u r i n g t h e d e p o s i t i o n
of t h e scdinwnt c o n t a i n i n g the p l l c n spectrcm. I n o r d e r t o a s s e s s t h e
e x t e n t t o which t h c patte-.;? ohoerve3wwzs s'able, f l u c t u a t i n g o r s u b j e c t
t o p e r s i s t e n t long term t r e n d s , we w i l l necd t o procure s p e c t r a from
other layers.
For d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n s e e a r t l c l e i n p r e s s i n "Nature".
R. B o n n e f i l l e
L a b o r a t o i r e de ~ e b 1 o ~ i -due
e Quaternaire,
C.N.R.S., Meudon-Bellevue, France

TANZANIA

D r . Gerhard Liesegang of t h e F r o b e n i u s - I n s t i t u t i n F r a n k f u r t r e p o r t s t h a t
funds have been made a v a i l a b l e by t h e Foreign O f f i c e of t h e F e d e r a l
Republic t o the Nation Museum of Tanzania and t h e r r o b e n i u s -Ins t i t u t ,
F r a n k f u r t t o c o n t i n u e r e s e a r c h on s i t e s w i t h rock p a i n t i n g s i n C e n t r a l
Tanzania. The f i r s t campaign took p l a c e i n June
October 1974 and was
d i r e c t e d by F.T. Masao, Curator of t h e National Museum of Tanzania, who
w i l l a l s o l e a d the second p i e c e of f i e l d r.?search. The f i e l d w o r k was
o r i g i n a l l y planned f o r June
September 1976 b u t s i n c e M r . Masao has j u s t
f i n i s h e d t h e f i r s t d r a f t oF t h i s t h e s i s a t Sinon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y , a
s l i g h t s h i f t nay be n e c e s s a r y .

EGYPT
S y s t e m a t i c p r e h i s t o r i c s t u d i e s of t h e Siwa O a s i s r e g i o n d i r e c t e d
by D r . F e k r i A. Hassan, Washington S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , Pullman, were
i n i t i a t e d d u r i n g t h e summer of 1975 a i d e d by Grant No. SOC75-00222
from t h e N a t i o n a l Science Foundation and Grant No. FU-54002 from t h e
Smithsonian I n s t i t u t i o n . The r e s e a r c h i s u n d e r t a k e n i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n
w i t h t h e G e o l o g i c a l Survey of Egypt.
P r e p a r a t i o n s f o r a second s e a s o n (Summer 1976) a r e underway.
The r e s u l t s of t h e f i r s t s e a s o n promise t o c l a r i f y t h e p l a c e of Siwa
d u r i n g t h e P a l e o l i t h i c - N e o l i t h i c t r a n s i t i o n and t h e p o s i t i o n of Siwa
w i t h i n t h e c u l t u r a l r e l a t i o n s among t h e Maghreb, t h e Nile V a l l e y , and
t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t of t h e Egyptian Sahara.

Department of Archaeology , U n i v e r s i t y of Ghana

P e r s o n n e l . Merrick Posnansky has announced h i s r e s i g n a t i o n from t h e
headship of t h e Department e f f e c t i v c from summer 1976 and he w i l l t a k e
up a p o s t a s P r o f e s s o r i n t h e Department of H i s t o r y a t UCLA from
September, 1976 on h i s r e t u r n from t h e 9 t h U.I.S.P.P.
Congress i n Nice.
Miss S. Nygaard w i l l a l s o be l e a v i n g Ghana i n September w i t h h e r
husband, D r . M. T a l b o t who w i l l be t a k i n g up a n appointment i n t h e
Department of Geology of Leeds U n i v e r s i t y . M r . D. Kiyaga-Mulindwa has
f i n i s h e d h i s r e s e a r c h on t h e earthworks i n t h e Oda r e g i o n and a n
a r t i c l e on h i s f i n d i n g s w i l l appear i n Sankofa, Volume 2 .
Excavations. The h a l f - y e a r has been a n a c t i v e one a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y w i t h
e x c a v a t i o n s b e i n g conducted a t Brong Ahafo by M r . J . Boachie-Ansah (Ahwne
Koko) , M r . E . Effah-Gyamf i (Bono ans so) , P r o f e s s o r Posnansky (Debibi) and
P r o f e s s o r Posnansky and t h e Brathay Group a t Hani; i n A s h a n t i Region by
M r . J , Anquandah a t Boyasi H i l l ( s e e f o l l o w i n g r e p o r t ) and i n Western
Region a t F o r t Ruychaver ( s e e f o l l o w i n g r e p o r t ) . The West A f r i c a n Trade
P r o j e c t was brought t o a n end and a f i n a l r e p o r t w i l l be i s s u e d i n June*
which c o n t a i n s summaries of t h e work on Begho by P r o f e s s o r Posnanaky and
M r . L.B. C r o s s l a n d , on t h e Kintampo ' c u l t u r e ' s i t e s by D r . J . C . Dombrowski,
on Experimental Archaeology a t Hani by M r . R. McIntosh and on t h e L a t e r
Stone Age of t h e Kwahu S c a r p by M r . F r a n c i s Musonda. During t h e c o u r s e
of t h e 5 - y e a r p r o j e c t , funded l a r g e l y by t h e Leverhulme T r u s t , 31
e x c a v a t i o n s were u n d e r t a k e n , 20 of them i n t h e Begho a r e a . A t o t a l of
76 Ghanaian s t u d e n t s and s t a f f p a r t i c i p a t e d and 25 from o u t s i d e Ghana.
S i x h i g h e r d e g r e e s ( 5 from Ghana and one from Cambridge) were obtained*Jc
on r e s e a r c h c a r r i e d o u t d u r i n g t h e p r o j e c t

**

Copies can be o b t a i n e d from M. Posnansky e i t h e r a t Legon u n t i l

p r i c e $2.50 ( i n c . p o s t a g e )
mid-July o r a t UCLA a f t e r September

2 t h e s e s a r e due t o be submitCed i n 1976.

Deb i b i (Dapaa)
Survey work and e x c a v a t i o n s continued i n A p r i l a t t h e i r o n working
s i t e d e s c r i b e d i n Nyame Akuma vol 7 . h t o t a l of 2 7 a l a g mounds w i t h i n a n
a r e a of 1% h e c t a r e s have now been mapped, the l a r g e s t of them b e i n g
n e a r l y 2 metres high and 25 metres long. This mighty i r o n working complex
secins .to d a t e from t h e heyday of Begho and s o f a r 3 r a d i o c a r b o n d a t e s have
been o b t a i n e d from c h a r c o a l s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f u r n a c e s i t e s :

GX
4226 A.D. 1430
100) Mound
N - 2286 A.D. 1480 2 65 )
GX

- 4227

A.D.

1650

+ 95

) Mound 2

( A l l based on t h e 5568 h a l f l i f e )
F o r t Ruychaver
Excavations were conducted a t F o r t Ruychaver on t h e Ankobra R i v e r
n e a r P r e s t e a (5O 22'N, 2O 8 ' 8" W) d u r i n g t h e Christmas v a c a t i o n w i t h t h e
h e l p of t h e Brathay E x p l o r a t i o n Group and a p a r t y of I 1 Ghanaian s i x t h formers and s t u d e n t s . The f o r t , b u i l t by the Dutch i n 1654 i n a n a t t e m p t
t o t a p t h e s o u r c e of t h e gold r e a c h i n g t h e f o r t s on t h e Gold Coast, was
t h e only f o r t b u i l t f a r i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r by t h e European powers b e f o r e
t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y and was blown up i n 1659. The s t o r y of t h e
d e s t r u c t i o n has always been somewhat mysterious and romantic and i n
e a r l i e r d e s c r i p t i o n s of the Cold c o a s t ' s f o r t s ( a s i n Lawrence 1963) o r
i n g e n e r a l h i s t o r i e s of Ghana, t h e r e i s e i t h e r no i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e
f o r t o r i t i s piecemeal and c o n f l i c t i n g . D r A. van Dantzig* and M r . D.
Mathewson r e l o c a t e d t h e f o r t i n 1969 f r o n t h e Ankobra r i v e r f o l l o w i n g
t h e d i s c o v e r y of a r e c o r d of a v i s i t t o the f o r t by a Colonel S t a r r e n b u r g
i n 1817. The p r i n c i p a l aims of t h e p r o j e c t were t o put t h e f o r t c o r r e c t l y
on t h e map, t o d e s c r i b e i t s l o c a t i o n , t o c l e a r the f o r t and c o n t o u r t h e
a r e a and conduct a small e x c a v a t i o n t o determine t h e n a t u r e of i t s
d e s t r u c t i o n and whether t h e r e was any l a t e r s e t t l e m e n t .
A s the f o r t i s
s o c l o s e l y d a t e d i t meant t h a t any a r t e f a c t could a l s o be c l o s e l y d a t e d
i f i t could be proved t h a t t h e r e was no subsequent s e t t l e m e n t .
The f o r t had been b u i l t on a s t e e p s i d e d 30 metre h i l l i n v e r y
t h i c k f o r e s t immediately above a s e r i e s of r a p i d s and a rock b a r on
t h e Ankobra r i v e r which would a c t a s a b a r r i e r t o a g g r e s s i v e moves up
t h e Ankobra from t h e c o a s t . Most of t h e a v a i l a b l e t h r e e weeks was
t a k e n up w i t h c l e a r a n c e work and mapping. N e v e r t h e l e s s a t o t a l of 20
p i t s were sunk. The f o r t , a s found, c o n s i s t e d of a mud and p o l e s t r u c t u r e
approximately 13.5 x 6 metres w i t h a r e d P a n - t i l e d r o o f . The t i l e s had
been shipped from Holland presumably a t g r e a t expense. The f o r t had been
d e s t r o y e d i n what must have been an e x c e s s i v e l y s t r o n g c o n f l a g r a t i o n a s
a l l t h a t remained was b u r n t mud and t i l e s which i n some c a s e s were
v i t r i f i e d . From t h e lumps of b u r n t c l a y i t was p o s s i b l e t o r e c o n s t r u c t
t h e s i z e of t h e b u i l d i n g timbers and t o a s c e r t a i n w a l l s of two t h i c k n e s s e s .

A. van Dantzig, The Ankobra Gold I n t e r e s t , T r a n s a c t i o n s of t h e

H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y of Ghana, v o l . XIV, 2(1973)

pp. 169-183

The Lodge, a s i t should more p r o p e r l y be termed, was of 2 s t o r e y s and

t h e i n s i d e w a l l s of the upper s t o r e y ware almost c e r t a i n l y p l a s t e r e d .
There was a marked l a c k of f i n d s due t o t h e i n t e n s i t y of t h e f i r e
and t h e p i l l a g i n g of the s i t e a f t e r i s d e s t r u c t i o n , which was presumably
caused by t h e F a c t o r himself i n a n a c t of s e l f - i m m o l a t i o n . The small
amount of earthenware was s i m i l a r t o t h a t p r e v i o u s l y dug by R.B. Nunoo
from Nsuta, some 20 k i l o m e t r e s t o t h e S o u t h - e a s t . The s i t e was never
reoccupied.
Hani

A s p a r t of a c o n t i n u i n g p r o j e c t on experimental archaeology i n t h e
Begho a r e a , two r u b b i s h dumps, which cons i s t e d of low mounds i n t h e
g a l l e r y f o r e s t around the p r e s e n t v i l l a g e of Hani, were excavated d u r i n g
t h e v i s i t of t h e Brathay Group under the s i t e s u p e r v i s i o n of Simon Grimes
of Durham U n i v e r s i t y . From o r a l evidence i t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t they d a t e
from t h e 1930's and 4 0 ' s . The excavated m a t e r i a l i s a t p r e s e n t b e i n g
s t u d i e d and p r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s i s i n d i c a t e s some of t h e changes t h a t have
t a k e n p l a c e i n t h e Hani cormunity d u r i n g t h e p a s t 35 y e a r s which have
s e e n t h e disappearance of s p i n n i n g u s i n g s p i n d l e whorls and t h e expanded
use of g a l v a n i z e d i r o n , enamel ware, p l a s t i c and aluminium which i s
r e p l a c i n g earthenware. It was of i n t e r e s t t o n o t e t h e percentage of
pot s h e r d s of d i f f e r e n t s i z e s which we hope may be of h e l p d u r i n g t h e
e x c a v a t i n n of Begho s i t e s i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e midden d e p o s i t s from
occupation a r e a s and mud w a l l s which o f t e n i n c c r p o r a t e (so~netimes
i n t e n t i o n a l l y ) l a r g e amounts of broken p o t t e r y . It i s hoped t h a t
the comparison of the f a u n a l m a t e r i a l w i t h t h a t from t h e nearby Begho
s i t e s w i l l a l s o be of s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e s t u d y of t h e economic b a s i s .
Merrick Posnansky
Department of Archaeology
Univers i t y of Ghana.
Excavations a t Ronoso and Ahwene Koko:

A-Preliminary Report

During the Christmas vacatiori of 1974/75 academic y e a r , an a r c h a e o l o g i c a l survey was conducted i n t h e Wenchi t r a d i t i o n a l a r e a by t h e w r i t e r .
The main aim of t h i s survey was co p l a n e x c a v a t i o n s which were scheduled
t o take p l a c e i n t h e long vacation. From 22nd September t o 1 5 t h October,
1975, e x c a v a t i o n s were conducted a t Eonoso and Ahwene Koko i n t h e Wenchi
t r a d i t i o n a l a r e a t o 3 s c e r t a i n what c o n t r i b u t i o n archaeology c a n make t o
t h e e a r l y h i s t o r y of the a r e a .
Bonoso 7O 3 7 ' ~2O 05'W:
Bonoso i s s i t u a t e d about 14 krn s o u t h of Wanchi i n t h e Brong Ahafo
Region. The Wenchis c l a i m t o have come from a hole a t Bonoso where
they s t a y e d f o r some time b e f o r e moving t o Ahwene Koko, which became
t h e C a p i t a l of enc chi.^
Excavations were conducted i n a n a r e a about 323 metres t o the n o r t h e a s t of t h e "hole of o r i g i n " . This a r e a was s e t t l e d by the Wenchis a f t e r
they had emerged from t h e
The Wenchi T r a d i t i o n a l Council f e l t t h a t

e x c a v a t i o n s would d e s e c r a t e t h e hole i f they were conducted c l o s e t o i t .

No e x c a v a t i o n s were t h e r e f o r e conducted near t h e hole a s o r i g i n a l l y
planned.
A & s t p i t (N26) measuring 1 metre s q u a r e and a t r e n c h ( ~ 2 0 ~ 2 0 )
measuring 1.5m by 3.0m were opened near an uprooted t r e e which had
exposed w e l l f i r e d p o t t e r y . A r b i t r a r y l e v e l s of 15cms each were adopted
s i n c e t h e s o i l , compacted by the heavy downpours which c o i n c i d e d w i t h
t h e p e r i o d of e x c a v a t i o n s , made i t d i f f i c u l t f o r s o i l changes t o be
d e t e c t e d . The t e s t p i t and t h e t r e n c h were 60cms and 90cns i n d e p t h
respectively.
P o t t e r y , u n i d e n t i f i a b l e animal bones , 3 ? bone of a n e l e p h a n t t a i l ,
g r i n d i n g s t o n e s , i r o n s l a g , u n i d e n t i f i e d i r o n o b j e c t s and a n i r o n k n i f e
were the f i n d s uncovered i n t h e e x c a v a t i o n s .
Most of t h e v e s s e l s from Bonoso a r e s p h e r i c a l . E v e r t e d r i m s a r e
common. Open hemispherical bowls and hemispherical bowls w i t h h o r i z o n t a l l y
e v e r t e d r i m s , b e l i e v e d t o be earthenware c o p i e s of b r a s s b o w l s Y 4 were a l s o
found. Grooving ( t h e predominant d e c o r a t i v e t e c h n i q u e ) , combstamping
t r i a n g u l a r and r e c t a n g u l a r stamping and r i m - l i p notching c h a r a c t e r i z e
Bonoso p o t t e r y , some of which i s well f i r e d s l i p p e d p o t t e r y i d e n t i c a l
Micaceous p o t t e r y from
t o Bonoware 1 from t h e s i t e of Bono
Bonoso belongs t o t h e type i n which t h e mica o c c u r s i n the f a b r i c r a t h e r
t h a n being r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e s u r f a c e a s a n i n t n e t i o n a l l y a p p l i e d ,
d e c o r a t i v e m a t e r i a l . The Lightweight Buff ware c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Begho
s i t e s 6 a l s o o c c u r s a t Bonoso.

ans so.^'

Two c h a r c o a l samples from t r e n c h L20M20 a t 50cms (N-2.243)and 50cms

(N2344) below t h e s u r f a c e were s e n t t o Japan f o r r a d i o c a r b o n age
d e t e r m i n a t i o n . They have produced d a t e s of 1240 +_ 9 0 BP and 970
85 BP
(710
90 A.D. and 980
85 A.D.) r e s p e c t i v e l y (based on h a l f l i f e of
5730 y e a r s ) , The d a t e s a r e q u i t e e a r l y , and a l t h o u g h N-2343,collected
9cms above N-2344 i s o l d e r than t h e l a t t e r by some 270 y e a r s , t h e two
d a t e s a r e q u i t e c l o s e t o each o t h e r .

Ahwene Koko 7O 29'N 2'

12'W:

I t l i e s some 35kms south-south-west of Wenchi. It f e a t u r e s i n t h e

t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r y of Wenchi as a c a p i t a l w i t h 177 q u a r t e r s .
Two s i t e s were e x c a v a t e d . The f i r s t , s i t u a t e d on t h e p r o p r t y of
t h e l a t e Nana Yaw Fosu, was g i v e n t h e name Yaw Fosu I (YF1). T h i s s i t e
l i e s a b o u t 387m t o t h e w s t of Ahwene v i l l a g e . The second s i t e , b e l i e v e d
t o be t h e p a l a c e a r e a , 7 l i e s about 270m t o t h e west of Ahwene v i l l a g e .
This s i t e was named P a l a c e Area I (PA1).
A t YF1, a t e s t p i t (M38) measuring 1 metre s q u a r e ; a t r e n c h (018P18)
measuring 3m by 1.5Om; and a p i t (R28S28) measuring 1.50 s q u a r e metres
were excavated. Excavations r e v e a l e d s h a l l o w o c c u p a t i o n . M38, OL8P18
and R28S28 went down t o d e p t h s of 64cms, 57cms, and 52cms r e s p e c t i v e l y .
A t t h e P a l a c e a r e a , a t r e n c h measuring 2.50111 by 2m reached a d e p t h
of 76cms below s u r f a c e .

P o t t e r y , tobacco pipe fragments, a p o l i s h e d s t o n e a x e , g l a s s bead,

fragments of copper ( ? o r b r a s s ) , g r i n d i n g s t o n e , pre-molars of ? r o a n
a n t e l o p e , pre-molars of ? cow8 , s n a i l s h e l l s , i r o n k n i f e , u n i d e n t i f i a b l e
i r o n o b j e c t s and animal bones were found i n t h e e x c a v a t i o n s .
P o t t e r y from Ahwene Koko i n c l u d e s w e l l f i r e d s l i p p e d and mostly
burnished s h e r d s tem;ered w i t h l a t e r i t i c nodules and c h a r a c t e r i z e d by
c a r i n a t i o n s . This typc of p o t t e r y , named i n the Begho a r e a a s Begho
Ware 1 by M r . ~ r o s s l a n d ~i ,s d e c o r a t e d w i t h r o u l e t t e d m o t i f s . Another
p o t t e r y type r e m i n i s c e n t of p o t t e r y from Begho found i n Ahwene Koko
i s the Light-weight Buff ware. Micaceous ware of t h e type found i n
Bonoso o c c u r s a t Ahwene Koko. As 2 t Bonoso most of t h e v e s s e l s from
Ahwene Koko a r e s p h e r i c a l and v e s s c l s w i t h e v e r t e d rims a r e common.
Open hemisphericzl bowls and h e ~ n i s p h e r i c a l bowls w i t h h o r i z o n t a l l y
e v e r t e d rims found a t Bonoso a l s o occur a t Ahwene Koko. Grooving i s
the predominant d e c o r a t i v e technique. T r i a n g u l a r stamping, r i m - l i p
n o t c h i n g and combs t a a p i n g were o t h e r d e c o r a t i v e t e c h n i q u e s enlployed by
t h e makers of Ahwene Koko p o t t e r y . Small bowls measuring between
2-3cms i n d e p t h and s i t h diameters between 2-4cms, s a i d t o have been
used f o r holding t h e 2nd o i t h e s p i n d l e when s p i n d l e whorls were used
f o r s p i n n i n g c o t t o n , 1 were a l s o found.
Most of t h e tobacco p i p e s a r 2 :rnz:wntary. One p i e c e of pipe
excavated a t a d e p t p of 3 8 c c s a t the P a l a c e a r c a , c e r t a i n l y belongs
t o Ozanne's typc 2
J.nothcr typc found a t a d e p t h of 34cms i n
t r e n c h 018P18 a t YF1 Looks l i k e Ozz?nets type " a . However, u n l i k e
most type 3a (which has cz round p r o j e c t i o n a t each c o r n e r of t h e b a s e )
t h i s type has f o u r t r i a n c u l ~ rp r o j c ~ c t i o n son what r o u g h t l y looks l i k e
a s q u a r e b a s e . I n form and s i z e t h i s tobacco pipe conforms t o type
3a r a t h e r than t o any o t h e r t y p c .

A c h a r c o a l s a r ~ pctl (N-2745) frnm a d e p t h of 42crns i n t r e n c h 018P18

s u b n i t t e d t o Japcn f o r radiccc?rlc;r a ~ dc e tcrri;inat i o n , gave a d a t e of
80 BP (1685 5 60 A . D , ) (Lased on h a l f l i f e of 5730 y e a r s ) . Since
365
tobacco pipe f r a g f i ~ e ~ .wz;e
ts
found c l o s e t o t h e bottom of K38 (58crns),
018P18 (46cms) and t h c Palacc Arca t r e n c h (Trench PA1) ( 5 9 c n s ) , i t
can be assulwd t h a t Ahrcn- Koko ~ 7 a soccupied s h o r t l y b e f o r e o r d u r i n g
the 1 7 t h c c n t u r y .

+-

Conclusions :
The Wenchis h c l i c v c t n n t t h e i r a n c e s t o r s emerged from t h e h o l e a t
~ ruled the a n c i e n t
Bonoso w i t h t h e i r s u b - c h i e f s arid ~ u c c n l n o t h e r lwho
Wenchi s t a t e . I f t h i s i s i n t e r p r e t e d a s t h e c r e a t i o n of a c e n t r a l i z e d
government w i t h i n n n c i c n t Wenchi and i f t h e r a d i o c a r b o n d a t e s from
Bonoso a r e c o r r e c t , thcn i C cnn 5 c concluded t h a t s t a t e f o r m a t i o n
began e a r l i c r i n Ghana than nlos t h i s t o r i a n s b c l i e v e .
There i s a wide gap b e t r ~ z e nt h e d a t e s o b t a i n e d f o r t h c two s i t e s .
The "missing l i n k " i s perhaps y e t t o bc found i n a n unexcavated a r e a
of t h e s e widespread and l a r p s i t e s .

I t i s p r e n a t u r e t o g i v ? ~ n yd e , a i l e d a c c o u c t of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p
between Bonoso and Atwene Xo'w s i n c e t h e p:Y.c y froin t h c two a r e a s i s
s t i l l being s t u d , k d . IL can, h w c J C Y , be s a i d t h a t the s i l n i l a r i t y i n
v e s s e l f orln and of d e c r , r a t i v e teclmi.qucs erqloyed by t h e makers of Bonaso and
Ahwene Koko p o t t e r y i s s u g g e s t i v e of a cmnmn o r i g i n o f , o r a t l e a s t
c u l t u r a l s i m i l a r i t y be t w c c ~ , the oiCllF3ntS of Bmoso and Ahwene Koko.
The cupruous (? b r a s s ) o b j e c t s c b n d t h e g l a s s beads a r c i n d i c a t i v e of
t r a d e connections with the oucsidc w o r l d . The small shallow bowls may
s u p p o r t t h e d o c n ~ e n t a r yr e f e r e ~ c ? ' ~
t o t h e cloLh i n d u s t r y i n 1 7 t h c e n t u r y
If the tobacco ?ip2 fouc.? a t
6 c p t h of 34cms i n t r e n c h 018P18
Wenchi.
belongs '-0 3 a , as 1 a ! l i n c l i n e d t o bcl lev^, t h e n t h e c l a i m t h a t Ahwene
Koko was abandoned L ~ t w e c nl G C O aqd 170014 rmst be r e j e c t e d i n f a v o u r
of abandonment towards rhc? end of 5~ r e i g n of Osei Tutu (1711-12) 15
d u r i n g whose time Litwcix X u i c ~was invaded
.C
-

Inf orrna t ion g i v e n by Nam Khwxe Pknsah a1ias. Kwame Owusu-Ansah

(Dec. 1974); Kana Kmmc /~_PP:-.oz.~a l ~ a sNana Kwame Abrefah (Dec
1974); Nanc 2 , E , Dmkoh ( J u l y 1975); a l l of Wenchi,
Information zivar. hy Y . r
Ansah (Dz:.
1074;. ".re
September 197.5.

i<w<.nz Honsnh a l i a s Nana Kwame Owusu:e:r;or stlowcd Ine t h c s i t e i n

" c T r c

A l l b o n c ~? ~ r t--,t
c
i ~ .. 1 : i ;j ,t.l
b y 2,-. 2 , Grubb of t h e Zoology
t h a t t h e r e were n o t
Dep.?rtmcnt, LTdon. I!c ;Ccrnql : r .r t:cs::ed
s u f f i c i e n t Boric; f oL cc ; d r i s o L , t r d i d e n t i f a c t i o n i n t h e Zoology
I am
Depart1ncr.t and t b c r c f o r c k j s , ~ n ? l y s c sa r c p c r c l y t e n t a t i v e .
g r a t e f u l t o hirl f o r hi-s x m ~ v s i .~ .
I

L.B.

CrosslLnd, 1273

a p c i c . p . 69

Inforination g i v e n by O?ani;l Y.?w Krah, Ex-Odikro of Ahwene V i l l a g e

(September 1975j an1 Y111.r. 'Cr.me Ksnsah ~ l i a sNana F r a n c i s Kwame
Owusu-Amah ( l k c . 1'374).

A1 though D r . Crubb' s a n s l y s r s i s t c n c a t i v e , t h e pre-molars a r e

i d e n t i c a l t o those of ? cow 5.n t h e .",oology Department. From p e r s o n a l
o b s e r v a t i o n I am convincod t h a t they a r e pre-molars of a cow.
L.B.

Crossland, 1913 - o p . c i ; .

p. 3 7 .

10.

I n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n by Opanin Yaw Krah, Ex-Odikro of Ahwene V i l l a g e .

11.

P. Ozanne, 1963? - Tobacco P i p e s of Accra and S h a i , I.A.S.

(Mimeographed), p. 6.

12.

The Queenmother, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t r a d i t i o n s , was Asaseba-a-ode-ns -ee

which 1i t e r a l l y t r a n s l a t e d means " c h i l d of t h e Mother E a r t h , whose
a n c e s t r y d a t e s t o t h e beginning".
The King went back i n t o t h e
h o l e when a Nkrunlah, a n i n t h born, amazed a t h i s r e g a l i a shouted a t
t h e t o p of h i s v o i c e .

13.

K.Y. Daaku, and Van D s n t z i g , 1966 - "An Annotated Dutch Map of 1629"
i n Ghana Notes and Q u e r i e s , No. 9 , pp. 10-13.

14.

P. Ozanne, 1966
"Ahwene Koko: Zeventeenth Century Wenchi" i n
Ghana Notes and Q u e r i e s , No. 8.

15.

K.Y. Daaku, 1968

"A Note on t h e F a l l of Ahwene Koko and i t s
S i g n i f i c a n c e i n Asante History1' i n Ghana Notes and Q u e r i e s , No.
1 0 , pp. 40-44.

16.

K.Y. Daaku, 1968 op. c i t . and personal c o l ~ n u n i c a t i o nw i t h Nana

Abrefah More Bediatuo, Ex-Wenchihene ( S e p t . 1975).

Legon,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am v e r y g r a t e f u l t o t h e Leverhulme T r u s t f o r p r o v i d i n g funds
t
h
e i n i t i a l p a r t of my r e s e a r c h .
for

J . Boachie-Ansah
Department of Archaeology
U n i v e r s i t y of Ghana

Lake Bosumtw i , Ghana

Thanks t o the kindness and i n t e r e s t of D r . J e a n Maley, CNRS,
Labo de P a l y n o l o g i e , USTL, M o n t p e l l i e r , and D r . G. D e l i b r i a s , Centre
de F a i b l e s R a d i e c t i v i t e s , CNRS, Gif -sur-Yvette, who c a r r i e d o u t t h e
age d e t e r m i n a t i o n s , I now have t h e f i r s t C14 d a t e s from t h e t e r r a c e s
of Lake Bosumtwi.
The o l d e s t d a t e of 9880 +_ 220 B.P. (GIF-3650) was o b t a i n e d from
carbonised wood c o l l e c t e d a t an e l e v a t i o n of a b o u t 2.%1 above p r e s e n t
l a k e l e v e l . The wood was found i n a sequence of f i n e l y - l a m i n a t e d
s i l t s and f i n e sands which r e a c h i n a p p a r e n t l y unbroken s u c c e s s i o n t o
a t l e a s t 30m a . p . L . L .
These sediments c o n t a i n o c c a s i o n a l whole f i s h
f o s s i l s and abundant, o f t e n s u p e r b l y preserved l e a f i m p r e s s i o n s ,
accumulation e v i d e n t l y o c c u r r i n g i n t h e deep, s t a g n a n t w a t e r s of a
l a k e t h a t was almost c e r t a i n l y overlowing t h e c r a t e r r i m ( t h e p r e s e n t
l a k e has no o u t l e t , the s u r f a c e b e i n g approx. 130m below t h e p o t e n t i a l
p o i n t of o u t f l o w ) .

Two d a t e s ; 2520 +_ 200 B.P. (GIF-3651) and 1940 +_ 300 B.P. (GIF-3652)
were o b t a i n e d from Melanoides t u b e r c u l a t a s h e l l s c o l l e c t e d a t
21m and
+ 22m r e s p e c t i v e l y . These come fro^:: a sandy u n i t t h a t accumulated i n
s h a l l o w , a g i g a t e d , a e r o b i c w a t e r s , w i t h i n a few metres of t h e former
lake surface.

Obviously more d a t e s a r e r e q u i r e d , b u t i f t h e s e d e t e r m i n a t i o n s
r e f l e c t t h e t r u e ages of the d e p o s i t s , then they a r e of c o n s i d e r a b l e
s i g n i f i c a n c e . The f i n e l y laminated s i l t s appear t o r e c o r d the l a s t
time t h e l a k e w a t e r s werc a b l e t o flow o u t of t h e c r a t e r ; c e r t a i n l y
no sedimentary evidence has y e t been found t o i n d i c a t e any subsequent
p e r i o d s of overflow. The period around 10000 B.P. i s w e l l known t o have
beep one when many A f r i c a n - l a k e s were p a r t i c u l a r l y h i g h . ( C l e a r l y
Bosumtwi was no e x c e p t i o n , b u t t h i s i s t h e f i r s t evidence f o r such a
s t a t e of .af.fa,irs f r o u an a r e a s i t u a t e d e n t i r e l y w i t h i n t h e p r e s e n t
f o r e s t zone of West A f r i c a .
. .

- U n f o r t u n a t e l y I have n o t y e t been a b l e t o o b t a i n d a t e a b l e m a t e r i a l
from t h e . ' t o p of .the laminated s i l t s , s o t h e d u r a t i o n of t h e p e r i o d of
overflow i s unknown, However, the l a k e was c l e a r l y much lower around
2000 B.P, than i t had been a t t h e 'beginning of t h e Holocene, a l t h o u g h
s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l y above p r e s e n t l e v e l . Again it is worth n o t i n g t h a t
some o t h e r A f r i c a n l a k e s were s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r than p r e s e n t c.2000 B.P.
'

Work on t h e sediments c o n t i n u e s . Recently more wood has Veen found

and John H a l l , Mike Swaine (Loth of ' t h e Botany Dept. U n i v e r s i t y of
Ghana) and myself, have made a l a ~ g cc o l l e c t i o n of l e a f impressions from
t h e s i l t s , s o we should soon have soine i n s i g h t i n t o the s o r t of
v e g e t a t i o n t h a t c l o t h e d t h e l a k e s h o r e s i n t h e E a r l y H o l o c e ~ e . The
s e a r c h f o r evidence of p r e - h i s t o r i c occupation around the l a k e has s o
far..proved d i s a p p o i n t i c g l y u n f r u i t f u l . To d a t e t h e f i n d s amouht' t o a
s i n g l e pol'ished axZ-he;?a;---

Mike T a l b o t
~ e p a r t m e n tof Geology
U n i v e r s i t y of Ghana.

. .

Dan Livings tone of t h e Department of ~ o o ' l o ,'g ~Duke U n i v e r s i t y , Durham,

North C a r o l i p a w i l l a l s o be working a t Lake Bosumtwi. A team c o n s i s t i n g
of h i m s e l f , John Melack, S a l l y MacIntyre, 2nd Pat Palmer of Louisburg
College w i l l l e a v e f o r Ghana i n May. Melack and L i v i n g s t o n e w i l l c o r e
Lake Bosumtwi near Kumasi, u s i n g 260m of Mg-Zr rod and a Winkie diamond
d r i l l i n g machine t o s p i n t h e c a s i n g . They hope t o d i s c o v e r when t h e
f o r e s t - s a v a n n a h boundary has passed by t h e l a k e d u r i n g t h e p a s t n X 104
y e a r s . Palmer and MacIntyre w i l l c o l l e c t s u r f a c e sediment samples t o
provide a b a s i s f o r i n t e r p r e t i n g the Bosumtwi p o l l e n and g r a s s s t o m a t e
stratigraphy

A f t e r c o r i n g Bosurntwi Melack and Livings tone w T Z 1 - c o l l e c t - - s u r f a c d

sediment i n t h e f o r e s t e d p a r t s of Cameroun and Gabon, w h i l e Palmer and
M a c U t y r e c o l l e c t and me-asure l a k e mixing r a t e s i n t h e l a k e s of Kenya.

32

Boyasi H i l l

- A Kintampo N e o l i t h i c

V i l l a g e S i t e i n t h e F o r e s t of Ghana.

I n t h e autumn of 1969, a s D r . Len Newton, a S e n i o r L e c t u r e r i n

Botany a t Kumasi U n i v e r s i t y of Science and Technology, took o f f from
Kumasi A i r p o r t i n a Ghana Airways Plane bound f o r Accra, he saw a
number of f a n palms of Borassus Ethiopum s p e c i e growing on a n i s o l a t e d
h i l l c l o s e t o t h e A i r p o r t . S t r u c k by t h e o d d i t y of t h e presence i n t h e
Kumasi f o r e s t of t h e Borassus palm which is normally found o n l y i n t h e
Savanna r e g i o n s of Northern Ghana o r t h e Accra p l a i n s , Newton r e t u r n e d
l a t e r t o explore the area.
On hacking h i s way t o t h e s i t e of Boyasi h i l l l o c a t e d on a g r a n i t e
i n s e l b e r g ( I 0 34'W 6' 44'N), n e a r Kenyasi town, about e i g h t k i l o m e t r e s
n o r t h e a s t of Kumasi, he found t o h i s amazement t h a t he was i n t h e m i d s t
of savanna v e g e t a t i o n which covered t h e whole of t h e h i l l t o p and was
conspicuously d i f f e r e n t from t h e s u r r o u n d i n g f o r e s t . Moreover, a p a r t
from t h e Borassus palm, t h e r e was evidence of ground o r c h i d s and t h e
s t a n d a r d winged n i g h t j a r which a r e normally domiciled i n Savannaland.
An examination of t h e s i t e on v a r i o u s v i s i t s r e v e a l e d heaps of r o c k ,
some of which seemed t o form h u t p a t t e r n s , a s w e l l a s numerous p o t s h e r d s , m i c r o l i t h s , p o l i s h e d s t o n e a x e s , a t e r r a c o t t a animal f i g u r i n e
and t e r r a c o t t a ' t a b l e t s ' , l a t e r i d e n t i f i e d a s belonging t o the "Kintampo
C u l t u r e ' . Newton concluded t h a t "the e x i s t .nce of a Savanna o u t l i e r
w i t h i n t h e f o r e s t s u g g e s t s t h a t such o u t l i e r s a r e r e l i c s of a time
when t h e whole a r e a was much d r i e r " , and t h a t s i n c e Kintampo c u l t u r e
people seemed t o p r e f e r open savanna, "it would s u g g e s t t h a t t h e
(Newton and
h i l l has had a savanna v e g e t a t i o n f o r a very long t h e " .
Woodcll, Sankofa, 1976)

These d i s c o v e r i e s were brought t o t h e n o t i c e of D r . Merrick

Posnansky, P r o f e s s o r and Head of t h e Archaeology Department, Legon,
who c a r r i e d o u t a r e c o n n a i s s a n c e of t h e s i t e , and recommended t h a t
i t be excavated.
Excavating Boyasi H i l l
I n A p r i l 1976, a t e s t e x c a v a t i o n was conducted under t h e d i r e c t i o n
of the a u t h o r by a combined r e s e a r c h team of t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s of Legon
Kumasi comprising Len Newton, T.K. Simpson (Surveyor of Department of
Geodetic E n g i n e e r i n g ) , , b o t h of U.S.T. and from Legon, two underg r a d u a t e s , two f i e l d t e c h n i c i a n s , and t h e a u t h o r .
I n a l l f i v e p i t s were excavated near t h e h i l l top:Mound A
Trench

- a quadrant
B - northeast

of a mound w i t h diameter 8.00m;

of Mound A:

Trench C

n e a r t h e c e n t r e of a c i r c u l a r heap of s t o n e s which
appeared t o be t h e base of a l a r g e h u t ;

P i t R102

j u s t s o u t h of Mound A;

P i t V93

s t o n e t o o l "workshop s i t e " a d j a c e n t t o a
g r a n i t e boulder having g r i n d i n g grooves i n i t .

- i n a l l t h e p i t s , t h e r e were two d i s t i n c t l a y e r s 1 - Upper b l a c k humus l a y e r , from ground l e v e l down t o

Stratigraphy
Layer

0.10
Layer 2

- 0.20m

Lower brown l a y e r , t h e main o c c u p a t i o n l a y e r ,

v a r y i n g between 0.40
1.20m.

pottery, polsiehd
Both l a y e r s c o n t a i n e d Kintampo c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l
s t o n e a x e s , s t o n e beads, grooved s t o n e s , t e r r a c o t t a o r s t o n e t a b l e t s .
Cultural Material

The p o t t e r y has the u s u a l Kintampo c u l t u r e t r a i t s

Pottery
a l r e a d y known from Ntereso, Chukoto, Mumute and Kumasi U.S.T.
s i t e , namely, heavy r o l l e d r i m s , bands of comb stamp d e c o r a t i o n
sometimes s e p a r a t e d by channelled o r i n c i s e d l i n e s ; i n c i s e d
r e c t i l i n e a r o r cross-hatched p a t t e r n s ; occasional red s l i p p i n g ;
and lugged h a n d l e s . The b a s i c p o t forms a r e t h e l a r g e hemisp h e r i c a l p o t s w i t h e v e r t e d rim and t h e c o n i c a l bowls, b o t h of
which a r e common i n ' n e o l i t h i c ' c o n t e x t s i n t h e Sahara, Sudan
and o t h e r Kintampo s i t e s i n Ghana.
T e r r a C o t t a o r Stone ' T a b l e t s ' - A num5er of ' t a b l e t s ' which
a r e a r e g u l a r f e a t u r e of Kj.;?tzmpo c u l t u r e s i t e s were found,
They a r e d e c o r a t e d w i t h cross-hatched i n c i s e d p a t t e r n s , and
shaped l i k e f l a t t e r e d c i , ; a r s , hence t h e i r o r i g i n a l name
I
t e r r a c o t t a c i g a r s ' . They a r c tllought by some t o have s e r v e d
a s r a s p s , by o t h e r s a s t o o l s f o r p o t t e r y technology. A t
Boyasi, t h e c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the p o t t e r y and t h e
t a b l e t s i s f u r t h e r cnphasized by t h e f a c t t h a t a number of
p o t s h e r d s hcve ex;:-tly t h e same c r o s s - h a t c h e d orn.\mentation
and f a b r i c a s t h e t a j l e t s .

Stone A r t i f a c t s - Ore ? a r s e e l e g a n t b i c o n i c a l l y p e r f o r a t e d
s t o n e beads was foucd e s w e l l a s one s t o n e bead, roughc u t , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t beads were manufactured a t t h e s i t e .

A n u r b e r of cornpletc p a l i s h c d s t o n e a x e s and p o l i s h e d axe

roughouts were a l s ~found. Quartz m i c r o l i t h s f e a t u r e d
prominently i n t h e s t o n e t o o l k i t and i n P i t R102, t h e y were
h e a v i l y c o n c e n t r a t e d i n tke l o w e s t d e p L n , i t s a b o u t 0.80m down.
A l a r g e fragment of what a p p e a r s t o be a s t o n e v e s s e l found
i n Mound A was among t h e c u t s t a n d i n g d i s c o v e r i e s , and i t
makes one wonder whether Boyasi may t u r n o u t t o b e a 'stone
bowl v a r i a n t ' of t h e Kin"2mpo n e o l i t h i c c u l t u r e ?
Even more unique t o Boyasi wc ce t e n l a r g e b i f a c i a l l y p o l i s h e d
s t o n e arrowheads of a type n o t y e t "ound i n any Kintampo
c u l t u r e s i t e i n Ghana. T h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n seems s i g n i f i c a n t .
A l l t h e examples found came from P i t V93, t h e s t o n e t o o l
'workshop s i t e ' a d j a c e n t t o a l a r g e b o u l d e r of g r a n i t e w i t h

g r i n d i n g grooves i n i t . A s u b s t a n t i a l number of rock exposures

on Boyasi H i l l have grooves, s o i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e h i l l
community may have s p e c i a l i s e d i n ' n e o l i t h i c ' s t o n e i n d u s t r i e s
comprising beads, a g r i c u l t u r a l and wood-working t o o l s , h u n t i n g
equipment, and perhaps s t o n e bowls. A number of g r i n d i n g s t o n e s
s u g g e s t p r e p r a t i o n of food. But no evidence of d o m e s t i c a t e d
p l a n t s and animals were found i n t h i s r a t h e r l i m i t e d t e s t
e x c a v a t i o n . But o t h e r Kintampo c u l t u r e s i t e s l i k e Mumute i n
n o r t h w e s t Brong, and Kintampo, t h e type s i t e , have produced
c o n c l u s i v e evidence of c a t t l e d o m e s t i c a t i o n b u t t h e e v i d e n c e
of remains of husks of o i l palm, c e l t i s f r u i t , and cow peas
found a t Kintanlpo i s n o t s o c o n c l u s i v e on a r a b l e farming. A t
Boyasi, t h e Borassus palm and the o i l palm s t i l l grow w i l d
today. It i s hoped t h a t from f u t u r e e x c a v a t i o n s it may be
p o s s i b l e t o s a y something more d e f i n i t e a b o u t t h e economy of
what appear t o be t h e e a r l i e s t farmers of t h e A s h a n t i F o r e s t l a n d s .

Architecture
A l l the p i t s excavated produced evidence of daub,
some w i t h impressions of poles on them, s u g g e s t i n g t h a t w a t t l e
and daub h u t s were i n use a t Boyasi. I s t h e r e any s i g n i f i c a n c e
i n having daub c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n many p l a c e s below t h e summit,
e s p e c i a l l y around rock exposures and g r a d u a l s l o p e s , w h i l e a t
t h e summit t h e r e a r e r u i n s of stone-based s t r u c t u r e s ? Were
t h e summit s t r u c t u r e s f ~ ar c h i e f l y person o r were they
d e f e n s i v e s t r o n g h o l d s o r j u s t c a t t l e - k r a a l s ? One wonders.

Sculpture
Boyasi H i l l has f u r n i s h e d evidence of a t e r r a
c o t t a f i g u r i n e of what a p p e a r s t o be a dog (Newton and Woodell,
1976). The c l a y m a t e r i a l and the e x t e n t of weathering of t h e
f i g u r i n e a r e s i m i l a r t o those of t h e p o t t e r y found i n t h e
e x c a v a t i o n . I f more f i g u r i n e s a r e found a t Boyasi, i t w i l l
f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n t h e evidence found a t N t e r e s o by D r . 0.
Davies, and a t Mumute by D r . J . Dombrowski which provide h i n t s
t h a t t h e Kintampo c u l t u r e people were n o t only makers of
Ghana's e a r l i e s t known t e r r a c o t t a animal f i g u r i n e a r t b u t a l s o
pas t o r a l i s t s who domesticated c a t t l e , sheep, and t h e dog
represented i n the f i g u r i n e a r t .
Dating
The Kintampo c u l t u r e h a s been dated t o t h e e a r l y and mid2nd millennium B.C. a t Kintampo, Ntereso, and Mumute. But t h e
carbon 14 d a t i n g of t h e Kumasi U.S.T. s i t e by Nunoo i s l a t e r and
s o Boyasi H i l l i s expected t o f a l l somewhere between N t e r e s o and
Kumasi U.S.T.
Meanwhile, we ,?re keeping our f i n g e r s c r o s s e d .

REFERENCE
NBWTON, L.E. and S.R.J. Woodell
1976
A newly -discovered s i t e f o r the Kintampo n e o l i t h i c
c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n n e a r Kuraasi. Sankofa, Vol. 2
forthcoming .
J. Anquandah
Legon

COASTAL GHANA:

----

----

ARCHAEOLOGY AND GEOLOGY

The e x i s t e n c e of a v a r i e d Upper Quaternary sequence i n t h e Accra-Tema

a r e a of s o u t h e r n Ghana has been known f o r some time, thanks p a r t i c u l a r l y
t o t h e work of ~ r k k n e r(1955) and Davies (1964). Over t h e p a s t two y e a r s
we have c a r r i e d o u t a d e t a i l e d re-examination of t h e a r e a w i t h t h e view
to: ( a ) e s t a b l i s h i n g a forclal l i c h o s t r a t i g r a p h i c s u c c e s s i o n ; ( b ) o b t a i n i n g
material s u i t a b l e f o r absolute dating; ( c ) elucidating the c u l t u r a l
We have now
sequence; :(d) a t t e m p t i n g palaeoerivironmental r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s
examined e u f f i c i e n t s e c t i o n s t o complete o b j e c t i v e s ( a ) and ( d ) . A c e r t a i n
amount of d r t n b l c m a t e r i a l has been c o l l e c t e d , b u t a l l c a r b o n a t e and a l l
from t h e younger f o r m a t i o n s . A long h i s t o r y of i n t e n s e weathering t h a t
has completely d e s t r o y e d o r g a n i c remains makes i t r a t h e r u n l i k e l y t h a t we
s h a l l e v e r be a b l e e n t i s f a c t o r i l y t o d a t e n e a r - s u r f a c e d e p o s i t s more t h a n
a few thousand y e a r s o l d . Analysis of t h e m a t e r i a l n e c e s s a r y t o a t t e m p t
( c ) i s s t i l l i n progress.

The o l d e s t c u l t u r a l n a t e r i a l found i n s i t u i n s u f f i c i e n t q u a n t i t i e s
f o r c o n f i d e n t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s Sangoan and t h i s i n d u s t r y has been
i n v e s t i g a t e d i n major e x c a v a t i o n s a t Asokrochona and Tema West. The
Asokrochona e x c a v a t i o n has been b r i e f l y r e p o r t e d i n Ny;~le Akuma b e f o r e
(no. 3 ) . It now seems c e r t a i n t h a t t h i s h i l l t o p s i t e was a f a c t o r y a r e a ,
t h e i n h a b i t a n t s e x p l o i t i n g q u a r t z v e i n s t h a t c u t t h e Dahomeyan metamorphic
basement and p e b b l e s , mainly of v e i n q u a r t z and q u a r t z i t e , o b t a i n c d from
a pebble hed t h a t r e s t s on the Dahomyan. A p r e l i m i n a r y a c c o u n t of
Asokrochona i s c u r r e n t l y i n p r e s s (W.A.J.A.,).
Tema West proved much l e s s
r i c h i n a r t i f a c t s and t o o l s t h a n Asokrochona, b u t the e x c a v a t i o n was
n e v e r t h e l e s s of c o n s i d e r a b l e v a l u e a s t h i s i s a s t r a t i f i e d s i t e w i t h
t h a t i s b e l i e v e d t o be a Middle Stone Age assemblage o c c u r r i n g above t h e
Sangoan.
The environmental c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d of Sangoan
o c c u p a t i o n a r e n o t p r e c i s e l y knqwn. The m a t e r i a l occurs on a l a n d s u r f a c e
t h a t developed i n a semi.-arid c l i m a t e , perhaps r a t h e r s i m i l a r t o t h a t
c h a r a c t e r i s i n g t h e p r e s e n t northernmoa t margin of t h e savanna zone ( i. e .
r a i n f a l l c . 400-500mm p . a . ) . Eowever t h e g e n e r a l l y u n r o l l e d n a t u r e of
t h e t o o l s and waste i n d i c a t e s s u r f a c e s t a b i l i t y t h a t probably r e q u i r e s
somewhat w e t t e r c o n d i t i o n s than those t h a t produced the u n d e r l y i n g
s u r f a c e and i t s a s s o c i a t e d d e p o s i t s .
Probably MSA m a t e r i a l i s widely d i s t r i b u t e d , b u t r a r e l y i n l a r g e
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s . Tool types a r e v e r y few and i n c l u J e mainly u n i f a c i a l l y
worked choppers, d i s c o i d a l and r a d i a l c o r e s , f l a k e s c r a p e r s and abundant
modified p i e c e s . An i n t r i g u i n g problem concerning t h e l i t h i c m a t e r i a l
i s t h e provenance of a r a t h e r d i s t i n c t i v e p o s s i l i f e r o u s c h e r t of
probable Lower T e r t i a r y a g e . No o u t c r o p s of rocks of t h i s type a r e
known from Ghana o r a d j a c e n t c o u n t i r e s , s o i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e raw
m a t e r i a l was o b t a i n e d from T e r t i a r y o u t c r o p s on t h e c o n t i n e n t a l s h e l f ,
exposed d u r i n g a p e r i o d of lowered s e a l e v e l .
The MSA o c c u r s i n a r a t h e r compact, mottled c l a y e y sand, o f t e n
r i d d l e d w i t h r o o t l e t t r a c e s and l o c a l l y capped by a p a l a e o s o l . ~ r G c k n e r
(1955) suggested t h a t t h i s d e p o s i t o r i g i n a t e d from t h e combined a c t i v i t i e s

36

of t e r m i t e s and slopewash, b u t t h e r e a r e s e r i o u s o b j e c t i o n s t o t h i s
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and i t seems more l i k e l y t h a t t h e sands a r e of a e o l i a n
o r i g i n . A s i m i l a r o r i g i n has been suggested f o r what a r e almost
c e r t a i n l y formations of s i m i l a r age o c c u r r i n g a l o n g the e a s t e r n c o a s t
of t h e Gulf of Guinea ( G i r e s s e and Kouyoumontzakis, 1974).
The sands extend below p r e s e n t s e a l e v e l and s o probably accumulated
d u r i n g t h e l a s t p e r i o d of lowered s e a l e v e l , c e n t r e d around 17000 B.P.
T h i s is known t o have been a p e r i o d of e q u a t r i a l a r i d i t y (Williams,
1975), t h u s enhancing the l i k e l i h o o d of a e o l i a n sand a c c u m u l a t i o n ,
The p o s t u l a t e d age i s a l s o i n accord w i t h t h e a d m i t t e d l y r a t h e r
l i m i t e d a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence. Under more humid c o n d i t i o n s t h e
sands were s u b s e q u e n t l y v e g e t a t e d and reddened, w h i l e a s o i l was
produced a t t h e s u r f a c e .
Overlying t h e MSA-bearing sands i s a f u r t h e r sandy f o r m a t i o n of
undoubted a e o l i a n o r i g i n , dune remnants s t i l l b e i n g r e c o g n i s a b l e a t
some p o i n t s a l o n g t h e c o a s t . P a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g s e c t i o n s o c c u r
near Kpone, e a s t of Term, where t h e dunes a r e l a r g e and w e l l - p r e s e r v e d .
A t the base occurs a n e x t e n s i v e shell-midden w i t h a n a s s o c i a t e d s m a l l
s c a l e f l a k e i n d u s t r y , b u t no p o t t e r y . A t t h e tope of t h e dune a r e s i t e s
w i t h much p o t t e r y , few l i t h i c fragments, few s h e l l s , b u t abundant f i s h
bones. A change i n economy i s thus a p p a r e n t o v e r t h e i n t e r v a l of dune
accumulation.
Dune growth probably comrnecced a s s e a l e v e l was n e a r i n g i t s
p r e s e n t p o s i t i o n , i . e . c . 5000 B.P., b u t we a r e n o t y e t s u r e when i t
f i n a l l y ceased.
REFERENCES
BUCKNER, W.D.
The mantle rock of t h e Gold Coast.
DAVIES, 0.
1964

Geol. Rclsch.
-

The Quaternary i n t h e Coastland of Guinea.

Glasgow.

43:307-327

Jackson,

and G. Kouyoumontzakis
Observations s u r l e Q u a t e r n a i r c c o t i e r e t sous-marin du
Congo e t d e s r e g i o n s l i m i t r o p h e s : Aspects e u s t a t i q u e s
c t climatiques. B
-.-u..l l . ASEQULL, 42-43: 45-61.
WILLIAMS, M.A. J.
1975
Late P l e i s t o c e n e t r o p i c a l a r i d i t y synchronous i n both
hemispheres. Nature, 253: 617-618.

Signe Nygaard
Department of Archaeology
U n i v e r s i t y of Ghana, Legon
Mike T a l b o t
Department of Geology ' (Uni.versity of Ghana, Lcgon

Reconnaissance t r i p t o Mole Game Reserve

Mole Came Reserve is 2 l a r g e (approxirxi'iely 2300 s q . m i l e s ) park which
has not been a d e q u a t e l y explored a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y . It i s s i t u a t e d n o r t h of
Larab .nga i n the Northern Region. The v e g e t a t i o n of t h e Reserve i s mainly
open woodhnd w i t h some a r e a s of r i v e r i m f o r e s t . This means t h a t , d u r i n g
t h e d r y s e a s o n a i t e r t h e g r a s s has been burned, s i t e s a r e f a i r l y e a s y t o
l o c a t e . Many house mounds a r e p r e s e n t , some liiarked by s t a n d s of Anogeissus
(Sabey, 1974).
Mole is l o c a t e d i n an a r e a of Conja domination, the Gonja t r a d i t i o n s
o v e r l i e p r e - e x i s t i n g c u l t u r a l groups, t r a c e s of which can be found i n t h e
a r c h i t e c t u r e and p o t t e r y of t h e a r e a . This r e g i o n was, a c c o r d i n g t o
t r a d i t i o n , hard h i t by the s l a v e r a i d s of t h c A s h a n t i and d i v i s i o n a l
wars among the Gonja's i n the 1870'9, which caused s e v e r e d e p o p u l a t i o n .
When t h c park was established, some v i l l a g e s were abandoned and
sometin~cs c a q s of t h e same name were e s t a b l i s h e d nearby. These
abandoned v i l l a g e s o f f e r a g r e a t d e a l t o t h e e t h n o e a r c h a e o l o g i s t . The
w a l l s a r e s t i l l s t a n d i n g i n many c a s e s , t h e i n h a b i t a n t s c a n s t i l l be
found (some a r e employed i n t h e park, some come back t o t h e v i l l a g e s
o c c a s i o n a l l y t o h a r v e s t rdngoes o r akee applc:)
These v i l l a g e s e x h i b i t
a mixture of b u i l d i n g s t y l c s a s t h e par!< seer's t o be i n a t r a n s i t i o n a l
zone between t h e round houses and compounds t o t h e n o r t h e a s t , t h e s q u a r e
f l a t roofed houses t o t h e n o r t h w s s t , and the s q u a r e o r r e c t a n g u l a r
houses w i t h g a b l e d r o o f s to t h e s o u t h . Sornc show i e a t u r e s s i n i i l a r t o
t h e Tal Lensi and I<onlcolltbav i l l a g e s , s o ~ mt o Con ja v i l l a g e s ( P r u s s i n ,
1968). There a r e u s u a l l y niidden h e l p s a t t a c h e d t o t h c v i l l a g e s , and
o f t e n o l d e r s i t e s a r e l o c a t e d ne3rby. Near G u m ~ e l e (Bungweli) f o r
example i s a f a i r l y l a r g e c e v e , today l n h a b i t c d by b a t s , w i t h a s u r f a c e
s c a t t e r of p o t e c r y , and all o r a l t r a d i t i o n of having bccn used i n t i r e s
of r a i d s .

Konkori, a sinall camp ncar the Konlcori s c a r ? , l i e s on t h e o l d WaTamale p a t h a c r o s s n o r t h e r n Ghaza. The p a t h i s marked by a s u r f a c e
s c a t t e r of s h e r d s . Ascending t h e s c a r p , one e n c o u n t e r s permanent s p r i n g s ,
which a t t r a c t ani,.ials d u r i n g t h e d r y s c a s o n (caves a r e a l s o t o bc found
i n the s c a r p ) . On t o p o i Lhc s c a r p a r c ,,iany s u r f a c e s c a t t e r s of p o t t e r y ,
s e v e r a l r,~ounds, and arrangments of l a t e x i t e and sands tone r o c k s , o b v i o u s l y
Inan madc.
Near t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s csmp, j u s t t o the s o u t h of t h e s c a r p on which
t h e n o r e l is l o c a t e d i s a s i t e w i t h Kintarnpo I n d u s t r y affinities. T h i s
Kintarnpo s i t e y i c l d e d , on t h e s u r f a c e , ' r a s p s ' o r ' c i g a r s ' , ground s t o n e
a x e s , a b r a c e l e t f r a g c e n t , wcathcred p o t t e r y , some c o n t a i n i n g d e c o r a t i o n s
s i n i i l a r t o t h o s c fro^., o t h e r Kintampo s i t e s (Dor~browski, n.2 .), daga,
grooved s t o n e s , g r i n d i n g s t o n e s , and c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of s t o n e . One of
t h e s e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s had been used s i n c e t h e l a s t r a i n y s e a s o n s i n c e i t
s t i l l c o n t a i n e d a s h e s . Other f i n d s i n d i c a t e r e c e n t use of t h e s i t e a l s o
( p o t t e r y , a broken b e e r b o t t l e , shoe l e a t h e r ) . To t h e s o u t h of t h e
Kintampo s i t e i s a c i r c u l a r d e p r e s s i o n t h a t may be t h e reiliains of a
r e c e n t d w e l l i n g ( a l t h o u g h 1ii0St form nounds r a t h c r n t h a n d e p r e s s i o n s ) .
The Kintampo I n d u s t r y m a t e r i a l i s conccntratcc! cn a l a r g e low mound s o w
170 meters by 50 !wirers, a l t h o u g h t h c s i t e nay extend f u r t h e r .

REFERENCES

J.
"Mumutc and Bonoose - Two s i t e s of t h e Kintampo I n d u s t r y "
Forthcoming i n Sankofa, Vol 2 .

Dor:irowski,
N.D.
P r u s s i n , L.
1968
Sobey, D.G.
1974

A r c h i t e c t u r e i n Northern Ghana.
Prcss.

U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f .

"Anogeissus

g r o v e s i n abandoned v i l l a g e s i t e s " , ' pp 51-75

i n Aberdeen U n i v e r s i t y Ghana E x p e d i t i o n s t o Mole N a t i o n a l
Park Report, E x p e d i t i o n I, July-August 1974.

Ghana National Pluseul.~s and Momments Board

Fieldwork

Archaeology

One of the i~lostr e w i r k a b l e f ieldworlc p r o j e c t s t h a t has been

done i s the reconnaissance and s u r v e y i n g of old s e t t l e n e n t s i n t h e
Krobo mountains i n t h e E a s t c r n Rcgion of Ghana.
Sone of the iilos t i n t c r c s t i n g f c a t u e s of t h i s d e s e r t e d s e t t l e m e n t
i n c l u d e d r y - s t o n e w a l l s ; sone a s high a s 2.5 n e t r c s a l l c a r e f u l l y
worlced i n t o oblong forms; bcar;ls used f o r roor'ing; s e v e r a l hcaps of
mounds which i n d i c a t e collapsed houses. The whole s i t e i s now o v e r grown w i t h t a l l t r e e s . I n t e r e s t i n g l y enough n o s t of t h e s e s t o n e houses were b u i l t on roclcs which for:.: p a r t of t h e colmon f e a t u r e of
t h e mountain?
Fur t h e r work on t h e s e , w i t h the s u p p o r t of o r a l t r a d i t i o n ,
which i s being undertskcn w i l l provide a nore l u c i d p i c t u r e of the
l i f e of t h c conm~uniryon t h e x o u n t a i n .
Dentebuor,i

. .

Another ficldworlc p r o j e c t was ~ l n d c r t a k e na t a rock s h e l t e r c a l l e d

Dentebuo~na t Agogo sone 60 k l ~ ss o u t h c a s t of KumSi. T h i s r o c l c s h e l t c r
i s b e l i e v e d t o have been i n h a b i t e d by S O I L I ~people and up t o d a t e many
people v i s i t t h i s roclc s h e l t e r t a s e e i t s ~.:agnificencc. It towers
a b o u t 5d metres high and so;;le 200 inetres long. Soi~eo t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g
t h i n g s found a t c h i s roclc s h e l t e r i n c l u d e p i t t e d roclcs which
were Believed t o have been used a s "Oware" games.
I n the v e r y near f u t u r e when work i s c o n p l c t c d on t h i s s i t e i t
w i l l be d e c l a r e d a inonurnent.
Other Research Prograrmes
A r c l m e o l o g ~ c a l survey work ond napping of s i t e s i s soon t o s t a r t
i n t h e Vol t a Region of Ghana.

Mr. E f fah-GyarJi, A s s i s t a n t Kccper (Archaeology) w i t h t h e Museum, hgs

r e s i g n e d h i s p o s t and i s now w i t h t l ~ cDepartment of Archaeology, U n i v e r s i t y
of Ghana, Lcgon a s A s s i s t a n t L e c t u r e r .
Exhibition
One of the c x h i b i t i o n s nountcd by the Museur,~i n r e c e n t nonths has been
one on f u n e r a r y t e r r a c o t t a s . It i s a diorai-la c x h i b l t i o n and i t g i v c s a
s i n g u l a r o p p o r t u n i t y f o r v i s i t o r s t o scc such o b j e c t s i n t h e i r n a t u r a l
cnvironr.lcnt.
D r . I . N . Debrah
Ghana Museuia, Accra.

P r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t on t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e x c a v a t i o n of ~ o g u g r 4Doupwil
and ~ o ~ u 6 G
r 6a l i a i n t h e Bani-Niger r e g i o n (Mali),
( T h i s r e s e a r c h was made ~ o s s i b l cby a g r a n t t o P r o f . D r . J . Huizinga
( D i r e c t o r of the I n s t i t u t e of Human Biology, S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y a t
U t r e c h t , t h e Netherlands) from t h e National Geographic S o c i e t y
(Washington).
From October 1 1 t h t o December 1 5 t h 1975, a team from t h e I n s t i t u t e
of Human Biology, S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y a t U t r e c h t ( t h e N e t h e r l a n d s ) ,
composed of P r o f . D- J . D . van d e r Waals (archaeology, D r . R.M.A.
Bedaux ( a r c h a e o l o g y ) , D r . L. Hacquebord ( p h y s i c a l geography), Mr. G.
Lange ( b o t a n y ) , and Mr. G. J a n s e n (photography) excavated two s i t e s
i n t h e Bani-Niger r e g i o n . A s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e I n s t i t u t d e s
Sciences Humaines (Bamako), M r . K. Sanogo joined the team.
Previoua work, f r o n 1964 onwards, on t h e g e n e t i c and c u l t u r a l
r c l a t i o n s h i p s be tween r e c e n t human groups (Dogon, Kurumba, P e u l )
l i v i n g i n t h e s c n i - a r i d zone s o u t h of t h e Niger bend on one hand,
and an e x t i n c t p o p u l a t i o n (Tellem) of which c u l t u r a l and s k e l e t a l
remains a r e found i n nlany caves i n the high c l i f f of Bandiagara on
t h e o t h e r hand, i n d i c a t e d t h a t :
1,

none of t h e groups s t u d i e d a r e t o be c o n s i d e r e d a s
b e i n g c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e teller^^;

2.

p o s s i b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o t h e now e x t i n c t Tellem
may w e l l be found i n groups who l i v e d i n t h e BaniNiger r e g i o n .

Archaeological and human b i o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e Bani-Niger

r e g i o n , of c r u c i a l importance t o the s t u d y of e a r l y m i g r a t i o n s i n
western Africa, i s lacking.

P r e v i o u s work on p o t t e r y i n d i c a t e d p o s s i b l e c u l t u r a l c o n t a c t s
XIIth century.
between t h i s r e g i o n and t h e Tellem a r e a i n t h e X I t h

The abundance of s i t e s and t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t o c o l l e c t human

s k e l e t a l m a t e r i a l f o r t h e s t u d y of g e n e t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s ( i f a n y ) ,
offered f u r t h e r p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r research.
A f t e r a survey i n November and December 1974 of t h e r i v e r b a n k s of
t h e Niger from Mopti t o Kouakourou and t h o s e of t h e Bani from ~ i e n n ;
t o Mopti, two s i t e s ( o u t of some 40) were s e l e c t e d f o r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l
excavation.

1.

~ o ~ u e rDoupwil
;
(~Gvar; I )

S i t u a t e d some 1Okn e a s t of Mopti i n t h e f l o o d p l a i n of t h e BaniNiger confluence, t h i s i s t h e l a r g e s t of a s e r i e s of 5 mounds n e a r

~6var6.
The mound i s roughly o v a l i n p l a n . The o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e long
a x i s (+_400m) i s n o r t h - e a s t . The s h o r t a x i s i s +_ 250n long. A t l e a s t
two summits a r e d i s c e r n a b l e (3.34m and 4.08m above s u r r o u n d i n g p l a i n
level).
Four s e c t i o n s (A, B, C , D) r e s p e c t i v e l y of 4m, 3.50m, 8m and 2m
i n l e n g t h , were c l e a n e d . S e c t i o n s A and B were chosen a s c l o s e t o
t h e sunmits a s p o s s i b l e , S e c t i o n D i n the s a d d l e between the two
summits. The v i r g i n s u b s o i l i n s e c t i o n s A , B and C appeared approximately
a t the l e v e l of t h e surrounding p l a i n . I n S e c t i o n D, mainly composed
of h i l l w a s h d e p o s t s , t h e s u b s o i l was found about 60cm under p l a i n l e v e l .
This may be considered a s an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e mount i n i t i a l l y
c o n s i s t e d of two small mounds w i t h a permanent ( o r semi-permanent)
watercourse n be tween.
The i n i t i a l s e t t l e m e n t was b u i l t on "nucleus t e r p s " ( a r t i f i c i a l
d w e l l i n g mounds) b u i l t on a n a t u r a l l e v e e from a g u l l y i n the f l o o d p l a i n of t h e Bani-Niger confluence. One was c l e a r l y v i s i b l e i n s e c t i o n
C. Remains of s t r u c t u r e s (stumps of w a l l s , f l o o r s , potterypavements)
were v i s i b l e i n a l l s e c t i o n s , e x c e p t D. Finds were c o l l e c t e d s t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y , a s w e l l a s carbonised s e e d s , and f a u n a l remains. Samples
f o r C-14 a n a l y s i s w i l l be submitted f o r a n a l y s i s i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e .
I n s e c t i o n C a c o f f i n - j a r was found. I n t h i s j a r one hurmn
s k e l e t o n was b u r i e d i n a f o r c e d c o n t r a c t e d p o s i t i o n . An i r o n b r a c e l e t
and a n k l e - r i n g were found a s grave-goods. Two C-14 d a t e s of samples
c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g t h e 1974 survey a r e p e r t i n e n t t o t h i s b u r i a l :
GX

3767: 470

+_ 100

GX

3767: 545

+ 95

B.P.

B.P.

( c h a r c o a l sample from s e c t i o n C a t a
h i g h e r l e v e l than t h e b u r i a l )
(human bone sample from a nearby
coffin-jar)

Thus, a 1 5 t h c e n t m y d a t e may be assumed f o r t h i s b u r i a l . Other

s t r a t i f i e d f i n d s included p o t t e r y , s p i n d l e - w h o r l s , i r o n o b j e c t s , and
scoriae

The s u r f a c e m a t e r i a l was much more d i v e r s i f i e d : earthenware

s t a t u e , n e t - w e i g h t s , c o w r i e s , beads, cupreous o b j e c t s , and f l i n t
a r t i f a c t s . The p o s i t i o n of t h e f l i n t - m a t e r i a l i s n o t c l e a r . They
e v e n t u a l l y d i f f e r e d from t h e f l i n t s used i n f l i n t - l o c k guns. No
f l i n t was found i n s t r a t i g r a p h i c c o n t e x t .

2.

Togue'rG Gal i a
/

The o t h e r s i t e which has been excavated was Toguere G a l i a n e a r ~ a l ;

on the r i g h t bank of t h e River Bani, ca 12km e a s t of ~ i e n n e . P a r t of
t h e mound has been c u t o f f by t h e r i v e r .

I n i t s p r e s e n t shape t h e mound i s b e s t d e s c r i b e d a s b e i n g semic i r c u l a r . I t s n o r t h - s o u t h long a x i s (180m) i s p a r a l l e l t o t h e r i v e r .

The remaining c a s t - w e s t a x i s is l O O m l o n g , The summit of t h e mound
i s 5.30m above t h e Bani l e v e l of 1 7 t h November 1975. A continuous
s e c t i o n i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t of t h e mound of 70m i n l e n g t h and 3
4m
high has been s t u d i e d . The composition of t h e s e c t i o n was d i f f e r e n t
from TogubrG Doupwil. On t h e v i r g i n s u b s o i l a c o r e of m a t e r i a l
d e p o s i t e d by t h e r i v e r and c o n t a i n i n g some s h e r d s was observed. T h i s
may i n d i c a t e t h e presence of a nearby s e t t l e m e n t a t a period i n which
t h e r i v e r b a n k s were s t i l l being b u i l t - u p by t h e r i v e r . On t o p was
found a homogeneous l a y e r , d i f f i c u l t t o i n t e r p r e t a s no c l e a r s t r u c t u r e s
were v i s i b l e . These d e p o s i t s were covered by a continuous s t r a t u m of
a s h e s of v a r i a b l e t h i c k n e s s .

I n t h c upper p a s t of the s e c t i o n , house s t r u c t u r e s were v i s i b l e ,

In t h c s e c t i o n 10 c o f f i n - j a r s wcre v i s i b l e . The s t a t e of p r e s e r v a t i o n
of the human bones was bad, a s most of t h e j a r s were g r a d u a l l y f i l l e d
up w i t h f i n e s i l t p a s s i n g through f i s s u r e s i n t h e j a r o r i t s l i d .
S t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y c o l l e c t e d f i n d s i n the s e c t i o n included one
cupreous r i n g , i r o n , baked b r i c k s and a bead. Also f a u n a l remains
a s w e l l a s C-14 samples were c o l l e c t e d .
The s u r f a c e m a t e r i a l of t h i s mound appcared t o be more d i v e r s i f i e d
t h a n t h e s u r f a c e m a t e r i a l from Togu&-6 Doupwil
Numerous cupreous
o b j e c t s , beads, smoking p i p e s , fragments of s t a t u e s , r i t u a l p o t t e r y ,
s t o n e b r a c e l e t s , s p i n d l e whorls, n e t weights and i r o n o b j e c t s
( i n c l u d i n g a n animal f i g u r e ) , wcre c o l l e c t e d

A s t u d y was done on modern p o t t e r y making techniques i n t h e

v i l l a g e of Seina n e a r Togucrg Gal i a . Our f i r s t impression is t h a t
t h e modern t e c h n i q u e s a r e q u i t e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e p o t t e r y
techniques used by t h e o l d i n h a b i t a n t s of b o t h Togu&r6 G a l i a and
~ o g u 6 r 6Doupwil

Most of t h e m a t e r i a l c o l l e c t e d from Togu;r6 Doupwil and ~ o & r ;

G a l i a i s d e p o s i t e d i n t h e I n s t i t u t e of Human Biology, U t r e c h t f o r
further investigation.

B f u l l r e p o r t of the e x c a v a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g s e c t i o n s on r a d i o c a r b o n
d a t i n g , t h e human s k e l e t a l remains, and t h e f l o r a l and f a u n a l remains
w i l l be ready by t h e end of t h i s y e a r .

We wish t o e x p r e s s our g r a t i t u d e t o t h e Malinese a u t h o r i t i e s

concerned f o r t h e i r c o o p e r a t i o n and t h e i r i n t e r e s t i n o u r work.

A g r a n t from t h e Netherlands Foundation f o r t h e Advancement of

T r o p i c a l Research ( t h e Hague) was accorded t o P r o f . D r . J. Huizinga
t o c o n t i n u e r e s e a r c h i n t h i s a r e a w i t h the human b i o l o g i c a l s t u d y of
the Bozo, t h e o l d e s t i n h a b i t a n t s of t h i s r e g i o n .

. . Bedaux .

R M.A

Archaeology a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a , Nsukka.
This p a s t y e a r t h e archaeology s e c t i o n of t h e Department of H i s t o r y
and Archaeology has grown c o n s i d e r a b l y , and I hope we w i l l have a s e p a r a t e
department i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e .
This depends upon a number of f a c t o r s ,
i n c l u d i n g adequate s t a f f i n g .
I n August 1975, D r . Fred Anozie joined t h e s t a f f and s i n c e t h e n ,
i n a d d i t i o n t o lectures, has been engaged i n a s s i s t i n g planning t h e
r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e l a b o r a t o r y , working on the a n a l y s i s of h i s
e x c a v a t i o n s i n t h e D e l t a a r e a , and i n March 1976, excavated Umundu,
a r e c e n t i r o n s m e l t i n g s i t e near Nsukka. D r . Anozie i s a l s o t h e
S e c r e t a r y of the S t e e r i n g Committee, West A f r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g i c a l
A s s o c i a t i o n , and i s busy o r g a n i z i n g t h e meetings t o be h e l d i n Enugu i n
December, 1976.

Mrs. Aliyya Emeruwa joined the department a s c u r a t o r i n June 1975,

and a t p r e s e n t i s engaged i n r e o r g a n i z i n g and c a t a l o g u i n g t h e c o l l e c t i o n s
of b o t h t h e l a b o r a t o r y and The U n i v e r s i t y Museum.

M r . Vincent Chikwendu r e c e n t l y completed e x c a v a t i o n i n t h e Afikpo

a r e a ; t h e Ugwuagu Rock S h e l t e r and t h e Ugwuagu abandoned h a b i t a t i o n s i t e .
The l a t t e r a p p e a r s t o be r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t , and t h e former nay be somewhat comparable t o the Ezi-Ukwu Rock S h e l t e r , Af ikpo, a L a t e r Stone Age
s i t e , which we excavated i n 1966. He has r e t u r n e d t o Birmingham,
England t o complete t h e r e p o r t on t h c s e e x c a v a t i o n s , and should r e t u r n
t o t h i s U n i v e r s i t y by September 1976.
M r . Cy. Nzewunwa, a J u n i o r Fellow, i s engaged i n p o s t - g r a d u a t e
s t u d i e s a t Cambridge, England. He e x p e c t s t o conduct f i e l d w o r k i n
N i g e r i a t h i s y e a r and i n two o r t h r e e y e a r s , a f t e r completing h i s
s t u d i e s , should r e j o i n t h e department.

For t h e p a s t two y e a r s I have been l e c t u r i n g on b o t h t h e Nsukka

and Calabar campuses and have had time t o do l i t t l e e l s e . However,
D r . Anozie and I a r e now working on a r e p o r t of t h e Ezi-Ukwu Ukpa Rock

S h e l t e r ' f o r which t h e r e a r e t e n C-14 d a t e s ranging from c a . 2935 B.C. t o

A.D. 15. We hope t o s a l v a g e a good d e a l of the d a t a , most of which was
last o r d e s t r o y e d d u r i n g t h e r e c e n t c i v i l war. I n J u l y 1976, I s h a l l be
on a y e a r ' s s t u d y l e a v e , and plan t o be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e A f r i c a n
S t u d i e s tCentre, U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles, C a l i f o r n i a .
Donald D. H a r t l e
P r o f e s s o r of Archaeology

The Inaugural Confercnce of Wcst A f r i c a n Archaeological A s s o c i a t i o n

A t a r e c e n t meeting of some concerned a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , mainly from Ghana

and N i g e r i a , which was h e l d a t t h e Ahmadu B e l l o U n i v e r s i t y , Z a r i a , under
t h e chairmanship of P r o f e s s o r Thurstan Shaw, a S t e e r i n g Committee comprising
f i v e members was s e t up t o a r r a n g e a conference of West A f r i c a n Archaeol o g i s t s . We hope t h a t t h i s conference w i l l be h e l d i n t h e Enugu Campus
of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a i n Decenber 1976, and t h a t a t t h i s c o n f e r e n c e ,
a t r u l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e A s s o c i a t i o n of Wcst A f r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g i s t s w i l l
be f o r m a l l y inaugurated and a c o n s t i t u t i o n adopted. Such a n a s s o c i a t i o n
w i l l , i t i s hoped, promote t h e s t u d y of t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l h i s t o r y of o u r
West A f r i c a n peoples a s w e l l a s the study of archaeology i n West A f r i c a .
The E d i t o r i a l Board of the West A f r i c a n J o u r n a l of Archaeology has
p r o v i s i o n a l l y approved t h a t the J o u r n a l should be t h e o f f i c i a l organ of
thc proposed a s s o c i a t i o n .
A s S e c r e t a r y of t h i s C o r n i t t e e , I arn w r i t i n g t o r e q u e s t t h a t you
f i r s t of a l l inform a 1 1 a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s , h i s t o r i a n s and
s c h o l a r s i n r e l a t e d f i e l d s , and secondly urge them t o a t t e n d t h e proposed
conference.

The Conference i s l i k e l y t o be h e l d d u r i n g t h e Christmas V a c a t i o n

and we hope t o house t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n i n d i v i d u a l r o o m i n t h e s t u d e n t
h o s t e l s . Arrangements c o u l d , of c o u r s e , be madc t o accoriunodate any of t h e
p a r t i c i p a n t s i n son= of t h e good h o t e l s i n Enugu b u t s u c h p a r t i c i p a n t s
should be prepared t o s e t t l e t h e i r b i l l s . Every p a r t i c i p a n t i s normally
expected t o pay f o r h i s o r h e r meals which could be provided by t h e
U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a Guest Houses.

I s h o u l d be v e r y g r a t e f u l i f you would l e t me have a l i s t of t h e

people who a r e l i k e l y t o a t t e n d from your Department, s o t h a t I c o u l d
send them a n o f f i c i a l i n v i t a t i o n .
D r . F.N. Anozie,
Department of H i s t o r y and Archaeology,
U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a ,
Nsukka ,
Nigeria

SENEGAL

Olga F. L i n a r e s w i l l be i n t h e Casamance, Senegal t h i s F a l l ,

c o n t i n u i n g h e r work on t h e e v o l u t i o n of w e t - r i c e a g r i c u l t u r e among t h e
D i o l a peoples. Although h e r work i s mostly ethnographic', i t w i l l
i n c l u d e t h e t e s t i n g of s e v e r a l hypotheses r e l a t e d t o t h e a n t i q u i t y
of r i c e c u l t u r e i n t h i s p a r t of A f r i c a where a n a n c i e n t c r a d l e of
0. g l a b s r r i m a e x i s t e d . Since t h e Diola s t i l l c u l t i v a t e s e v e r a l r a c e s
of 0. glaberrimama,t h e i r p r e s e n t p r a c t i c e s , and how t h e s e a r e r e l a t e d
t o t h e i r s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , p o l i t i c a l systems and p o p u l a t i o n
d i s t r i b u t i o n s a r e r e l e v a n t t o a n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a n c i e n t s u b s i s t e n c e
systems i n t h i s a r e a .

SOUTH AFRICA
U n i v e r s i t y of Cape Town

- Department

of Archaeology

Pro N. J. van d e r Merwe

The equipment i n s t a l l a t i o n i n t h e Archacometry Laboratory i s
n e a r i n g completion: the systems w i l l be used t o e x t r a c t carbon from
i r o n f o r d a t i n g ( c o u n t i n g w i l l be done a t t h e C.S.I.R.
i n Pretoria)
and carbon from human bone t o f i n d 1 3 p~r o p o r t i o n t o a s s e s s d i e t .

D r . B e a t r i c e Sandel owsky
P r e v i o u s l y of t h e Namib D e s e r t Research S t a t i o n now has joined
t h e s t a f f f o r 1976 and i s completing t h e r e p o r t on Mirabib S h e l t e r .

M r . John Parkington
Complctcd the f i r s t phase of a palaeo-economic s t u d y of h u n t e r g a t h e r s i n t h e southwestern Cape. P r e c m t l y engaged i n modelling
v a r i o u s a s p e c t s of t h e p r e h i s t o r i c s u b s i s t e n c e s y s tems and monitoring
inodern environmental v a r i a b l e s . Also engaged i n a n a r c h a e o l o g i c a l
s t u d y of Mgungundlovu, the r o y a l b a r r a c k s of Dingane, s u c c e s s o r of
Shanka, l e a d e r of t h e Zulu n a t i o n 1828-39.
Graduate S t u d e n t s from Elsewhere.
P e t e r Robertshaw (Ph.D. s t u d e n t from Cambridge) i s working on t h e
h u n t e r s and h e r d e r s i n t h e South-West Cape. A l i c e Hausnan (M.A. s t u d e n t
from SUNY-Binghamton) i s working on Terminal and P o s t - P l e i s t o c e n e human
s k e l e t a l remains from c o a s t a l caves and middens.

The Department of Archaeology, U n i v e r s i t y of Cape Town, i n v i t e s

a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r the p o s t of S e n i o r L e c t u r e r ( e q u i v a l e n t t o A s s o c i a t e
P r o f e s s o r i n t h e United S t a t e s ) . S a l a r y range up t o R11250. S t a r t i n g
d a t e a f t e r January 1 s t 1 9 7 7 . A p p l i c a t i o n s c l o s e August 1, 1976.

Alexandersfontein Basiq
During t h e sunimers of 1974 and 1975, P r o f e s s o r Karl Butzer (Chicago)
c a r r i e d o u t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l surveys and t e s t e x c a v a t i o n s i n t h e Alexandersf o n e e i n Basin, near Kimbcrley. This i s t h e type a r e a of t h e s o - c a l l e d
Alexanderefontein V a r i a n t of t h e Middle Stone Age. The p r o j e c t enjoycd
t h e c o l l a t r o r a t i o n of D r . Robert S t u c k c n r a t h (Smithsonian I n s t i t u t i o n ) , who
has a l s o done e x t e n s i v e C-14 d a t i n g of Holocene and l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e s p r i n g
c y c l e s of t h e nearby Gaap Escarpment, an3 of M r . Louis S c o t t ( U n i v e r s i t e i t
van d i e Oranje V r y s t a a t ) , who has c a r r i e d o u t e x t c n s i v e p o l l e n i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
a t A l e x a n d e r s f o n t e i n , i n t h c Vaal Valley ( R i v e r t o n Formation), and a t Doarnl a a g t e (Acheul i a n ) and 'Kiipf o n t e i n (7,. S . A . rock a r t ) .
The p r e l i m i n a r y r e s u l t s oE tke Pl.e:sand~rsfontein P r o j e c t can be
summarized ss f o l l o w s :
There i s a c l o s e relatj.cn of s u c c e s s i v e occupations (Acheulian,
L.S.A,) throughout the Kimbexley a r e a w i t h s p r i n g , l a k e s h o r e
and r i v e r b a n k l o c a t i o n s .

N.S.A.,

Except f o r viaarry s i t e s and r a r e c a v e s , t h e i n t e r v e n i n g upland p l a i n s

show n e x t t o no evid3ncc of . ? r t i f a c t s , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t s e t t l e m e n t was
always s t r o n g l y circum;cribcd w i t h r e s p c q t 5 s u i t a b l e micro- o r mesohabitaf:s

The M. S.L. m a t . - r i a ~ s c o l l c c i e d cnc' ::,cavated i n t h e A l e x a n d e r s f o n t e i n

Basin d u r i n g 1974-,5 a r c ch?ra;;crized
by a high p r o p o r t i o n of f l a k e s
and b l a d e s t r i t h para211cl d o r c a l s c 3 r s , w i t h o r w i t h o u t f a c e t e d b u t t s ;
o c c a s i o n a l t r i a n q u l a r p i c c e s ; a i-igh p r o ? o r t i o n of t h i n b l a d e s ; and
v e r y l i t t l e reioucll. 'i'i:c:r r i i f f e r f --c;n t11e museum c o l l e c t i o n s
regardless
a t t r i b u t e d t o the " C l l e : r a ~ ~ e r , L o ~ i t c iV
n a r i p l = t J t 3which
of t h e i r s c l e c t i v e bi7.s - hnve
? t i b s t a n t i ? l ~ r o p o r t i o nof l a r g e r
t h i c k e r , and ofterl r c t o * . w h ~ dp i e c c s t h a t a r e a l ~ s e n tfrom t h e 197475 assemblages. i,r 2. c..-tf-,:i- of -on\--- i e c c e t h e two c o l l e c t i o n s
a r e h e r e p r o v i s i m - l l y l a c l i c ' v ? c i e s ".tit1 (1975 e x c a v a t i o n s ) and
;
f a c i e s "i3" ( s c c n C C ' , ~ C C ~::'c).

F a c i e s A has n o t
Fsc;. tiat: d b 2 j a n d r e a s o n a b l e doubt, b u t i s
l i n k e d w i t h d r p c s l t - re1 atccl t c e:;par.rled l a k e s , g r e a t e r s p r i n g
a c t i v i t y , o r a c c l ? l c r a t $ Xuvvlal precesses t h a t a r e of mid-Upper
P l e i s t o c e n z ~ g c . A pal.:cjJLjl dcve!.oped d i r e c t l y upon t h e s e d e p o s i t s
ca. 16,000-11.,000 C..?
7123 p r o v i k s a f i r m e m i n u s a n t e quem.
F a c i e s B hod n o t y e t hecn recog.?ized
~ i t u b, u t probably i s
subs t a n t i a l l y o l d e r t h i i ; T a c i e s A..
F a c i e s A and B appea: t o r e c o r d t h e o n l y M.S.A. o c c u p a t i o n s of t h e
Kimberley r e g i c n . ?hy a r c t % u p o r a l l y s e p a r a t e d from t h e youngest,
l o c a l Acheulian ("Fauresmi'ih" a t Rooidarn 157,000 B.P.) by a s e t t l e ment h i a t u s of a t l e a s t '0,090 y e a r s and from t h e e a r l i e s t , d a t e d
l o c a l L;S.A.
( c a . 4500 B.P.) by a s much a s 20 m i l l e n n i a o r more.
F a c i e s A. e x t e n d s i n t o t h e Vaal ( R i v e r t o n ) and Upper Orange (Zeekoegat
27) v a l l e y s , 5 u t i s ebscnt a t F l o r i s b a d and V l a k k r a a l , d e s p i t e u s e of
i d e n t i c a l rat.7 ma t e r i z i t h e r e . Thcrc i s n c ' ' i n g t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y s i m i l a r
i n t h e g e n e r a l t i m e range cmong t h e cave s i t e s on t h e humid, submontane
margins of t h c Mig1-1 l'elc'.

7.

F a c i e s A marks a r e l a t i v e l y b r i e f o c c u p a t i o n of t h e s e m i - a r i d
i n t e r i o r , a t a time of c o o l e r and m o i s t e r c l i m a t e ( a t l e a s t double
t h e p r e s e n t r a i n f a l l of 400mi). Even s o , i t may r e p r e s e n t a n
a d a p t a t i o n t o a d r i e r macro-environment t h a t was g e n e r a l l y e x p l o i t e d
by M.S.A. groups. The s e t t l e m e n t p a t t e r n was h i g h l y d i s c o n t i n u o u s ,
w i t h s p r i n g s , l a k e s h o r e s , and permanent s t r e a m s forming t h e l o c i
of s e a s o n a l o c c u p a t i o n , w i t h a p e r i p h e r y of t r a n s i t o r y s e t t l e m e n t
t h a t graded outwards i n t o a v a s t , s p o r a d i c a l l y - u t i l i z e d economic
area.

8.

I n view of the s t r i k i n g s p a t i a l and temporal d i s j u n c t i o n s , t h e

impression o b t a i n s t h a t M.S.A. groups of the South A f r i c a n
i n t e r i o r were few i n number, whatever t h e i r s i z e . An i n t e r a c t i o n
model t h a t i n c l u d e s environmentai , s p a t i a l and demographic
components i s being developed.

The f o l l o w i n g a r t i c l e a r r i v e d t o o l a t e f o r i n c l u s i o n i n t h e p r e v i o u s
i s s u e of Nyame kkuma.
Research on t h e p r o j e c t "Late Quaternary environment and c u l t u r e
change i n the Southern Cape" i s c o n t i n u i n g w i t h t h e c u r r e n t main f o c u s
on e x c a v t i o n s a t Boomylaas Cave i n t h e Cango V a l l e y , Oudtshoorn
D i s t r i c t , The 5 m t r e s of d e p o s i t i n t h e cave cover t h e whole Upper
P l e i s t o c e n e and Holocene time p e r i o d , a c o n c l u s i o n s u p p o r t e d by t h e
n i n e r a d i o c a r b o n d e t e r n i n a t i o n s c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e . The e x c a v a t i o n
s t r a t e g y has involved t h e h o r i z o n t a l s t r i p p i n g of t h e uppermost 90cm
of l a t e Holocclne d e p o s i t s over an a r e a of 100 s q . metres and c u r r e n t
plans a r e t o excavate a reduced a r e a of 20 s q . metres through t h e
e a r l i e r Holocene and Uppei"P1eistocene d e p o s i t s t o bedrock over the
n e x t t h r e e y e a r s . This. should provide adequate Upper P l e i s t o c e n e
c u l t u r a l , f a u n a l and o t h e r samples f o r i n i t i a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .
Because of the g e n e r a l p a u c i t y of good d a t a i n t h i s Upper P l e i s t o c e n e
time range i n t h e Southern Cape, Boomplas w i l l provide a unique s e t
of observa t i o n s .
The e x c a v a t i o n r e s u l t s thus f a r show the use of t h e cave a s a s t o c k
k r a a l a b o u t 1700 y e a r s ago by h e r d e r s w i t h sheep and probably c a t t l e .
H i s t o r i c a l l y t h e a r e a was i n h a b i t e d by H o t t e n t o t s and anccs t r a l H o t t e n t o t
h e r d e r s a r e presumed t o be evidenced i n t h e d e p o s i t s . C i r c u l a r s t o n e
h e a r t h f e a t u r e s and p o t t e r y a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e h e r d e r o c c u p a t i o n and
i t provides a n i n t e r e s t i n g comparison w i t h t h e immediately p r i o r use of
the cave some 2000 y e a r s ago by groups who were e s s e n t i a l l y h u n t e r g a t h e r e r s b u t had some a c c e s s t o s t o c k . The l a t t e r o c c u p a t i o n h o r i z o n
demonstrates t h e h a r v e s t i n g of o i l r i c h Pappea c a p e n s i s f r u i t s , a n
a c t i v i t y which was n e c e s s a r i l y very r e s t r i c t e d s e a s o n a l l y .
The s u b s i s t e n c e ecology of t h e Holocene p o p u l a t i o n s i n t h e
Southern Cape i s r e l a t i v e l y w e l l known and t h e emphasis on monocotyledenous
geophytes precluded the need f o r food s t o r a g e , y e t f a i r l y . e l a b o r a t e g r a s s
and Boophane l i n e d p i t s were made f o r t h e s t o r a g e of t h e o i l r i c h f r u i t s
i n t h e l a t e r Holocene.

The e a r l i e r d e p o s i t s have s t i l l t o be s t u d i e d i n d e t a i l . There a r e ,

however, changes i n the macro- and micro-mammalian f a u n a s , i n t h e sediments
and i n the s t o n e a r t i f a c t i n d u s t r i e s which r e f l e c t changing a d a p t a t i o n s t o
t h e e n v i r ~ n m e n t sof t h e l a t e Upper Pleistocene and Holocene. A major
i n d u s t r i a l d i s c o n t i n u i t y i s e v i d e n t a t some 20,000 y e a r s B.P. would seem
t o r e p r e s e n t change of a d i f f e r e n t o r d e r s i n c e it has no d i r e c t p a l a e o environmental c o r r e l a t e . It i s t h i s kind of change t h a t i s of t h e l e v e l
u s u a l l y conceived of i n terms of a change from the Middle Stone age
i n d u s t r i e s , b u t i t s r e a l meaning i s l i t t l e understood. A c l e a r e r p i c t u r e
aay emerge from t h e n e x t phase of i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
The Bo,omplaas e x c a v a t i o n i s dependent on c o l l a b o r a t i o n of a number of
r s e a r c h e r s , The f i e l d work i s under t h e o v e r a l l d i r e c t i o n of H.J. Deacon
and Mary Brooker, t h e macromamrnalian f a u n a l a n a l y s e s a r e being u n d e r t a k e n
by R,,G. K l e i n and t h e micromammals a r e being s t u d i e d by D.N. Leakey. A
survey of the r e g i o n a l f l o r a has becn i n i t i a t e d by R.O. M o f f e t t and
M . J . Wilson i s s t u d y i n g t h e p o t t e r y from the h e r d e r l e v e l s . F.B. S i l b e r b a u e r
is c u r r e n t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e c u r a t i n g of the c o l l e c t i o n s . A p r e l i m i n a r y
s t a t e m e n t on t h e Boornplaas Cave i s t o bc published i n t h e Proceedings of t h e
1975 SASQUA Conference. P r e p r i n t s a r e a v a i l a b l e on r e q u e s t .
H.J. Deacon,
Department of Archaeology
Univcrs i t y of S t e l l e n b o s c h
M r . Lewis Matiyela of F o r t Hare U n i v e r s i t y has r e c e n t l y surveyed
a n I r o n Age s e t t l e m e n t s i t e a l o n g the Swart: Kci River on t h e Turnstream
Farm, n e a r C a t h c a r t , Capc Province. Hc hopes t o g e t f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e
t o procced w i t h f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n and e x c a v a t i o n of t h e s e t t l e m e n t .
He i s hoping t o r e - e x c a v a t e t h e Ratshaka H i l l s L a t e r I r o n Age s i t e near
P r e t o r i a i n t h e Transvaal a s , due t o time l i m i t a t i o n s , he could n o t
i n v e s t i g a t e t h e f u r n a c e and the hut/house f l o o r s he had d i s c o v e r e d . Also,
very l i t t l e d a t a was collected on the i r o n and the s l a t e s t o n e beads
(which a r e s t r i k i n g i n t r o d u c t i o n s i n any Late I r o n Age assemblage and
t h c f i r s t ones t o be d i s c o v e r e d i n t h e Witwatersrand-Magaliesberg r e g i o n )
f o r t h e drawing of any c o n c l u s i o n s and the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of some t r a d e
l i n k s w i t h o t h e r p l a c e s i n c l u d i n g the E a s t e r n Transvaal where s o r e were
found by Evers. An extended f u l l s c a l e e x c a v a t i o n of t h e Ratshaka H i l l s
needs t o be made v e r y soon i n view of the danger t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l remains
f a c e from the l o c a l people and b e f o r e much harm is done.

South A f r i c a n Museum
The South A f r i c a n Museum is proceeding w i t h i t s major programme of
i n v e s t i g a t i n g c o a s t a l and i n l a n d a d a p t a t i o n s by l a t e Quaternary peoples
i n t h e South Western Cape. F i e l d work a t t h e c o a s t a l cave of Die K e l d e r s
ceased a f t e r r e a c h i n g a cenlented cobble beach a t a d e p t h of 7 . 5 m e t r e s .
The sample i n c l u d e d two p e r i o d s of human o c c u p a t i o n s . These comprise ( a )
s h e l l middens d a t i n g back some 2000 y e a r s which i n c l u d e p o t t e r y and t h e
bones of domesticated shce ( a l r e a d y w r i t t e n u p ) , s e p a r a t e d by s t e r i l e
sands from (b) Upper L e i s t o c e n e d e p o s i t s d a t i n g back from a b o u t 30430,000
y e a r s . A nearby cave, Byeneskranskop, s i t u a t e d some 5km i n l a n d has

r e v e a l e d a n a d d i t i o n a l occupation d a t s d from 3500 t o 12500 y e a r s B;P.

The m a m a l i a n fauna of t h e s e s i t e s has a l r e a d y been analysed by R.G.
K l e i n ( U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago). Examination of t h e micro fauna i s b e i n g
undertaken by Mrs. M. Leakey of t h e South A f r i c a n Museuct. S e d i r e n t a r y
a n a l y s e s of Die Kelders were undertaken by K a r l Butzer ( U n i v e r s i t y of
~ h i c a g o ) a n d A. J . Tankard (South A f r i c a n Museum). We a r e c u r r e n t l y
engaged i n cortlpleting t h e a n a l y s e s of the r e w i n i n g samples.
Inves t i g a t i o n s - - i n t o . open s i t e middens and f i s h t r a p s i n t h e same
a r e a are b e i n g w r i t t e n up by Graham Avery Archaeological Data Recording
Centre of t h z South Af r i c a n Ehseum.
The r c s u l t s of t h e s e probes w i l l c o n t r i b u t e towards o b t a i n i n g
a b e t t e r understanding of t h e environnicntal and c u l t u r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s
a t t h e c o a s t . Rescue archaeology has a l s o been undertaken a t a number
of Capte s i t e s ;:~arked f o r i n d u s t r i a l expansion. These i n c l u d e t h c
Duinf o n t e i n s i t e a McLkbos where Upper P l e i s tocene f a u n a l remains
have been found a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s t o n c a r t e f a c t s .
Avery, G.
1975

The P r e s e r v a t i o n of Rock-Art wit31 s p e c i a l r e f e r e n c e

t o South A f r i c a n p r o b l e i ~and c o n d i t i o n s . S. Afr.
Arch. B u l l . 3 0 : 133-142.
D i s c u s s i o n on t h e age and use of t i d a l f i s h - t r a p s
(Visvywers). S, A f r . Arch. B u l l . 30: 105-113.

1975

K l e i n , R.G.
i n press

A p r e i i ~ n f n a r ynote on tkx "Middle Stone Age" o p e n - a i r

s i t e of DuFncfonLcin 2 (Plelkbosstrand, South-Western
Capc P r o v i n c e , South A f r i c a ) . S, A f r . Arch. B u l l .

Schweitzcr, F.
1974
-

Tankard, A . J .
1974

Archaeological cvidencc f o r sheep a t t h e Cape. S. A f r .

Arch. B u l l . 29: 75-82.
and P.R.

Schweitzer

The Geology of Die Kelders Cave and Environs: A

Palaeoenvironraental Study. S. A f r . J o u r n . of S c i ,
Vol. 70.'

F.R. S c h w e i t z e r ,
South A f r i c a n Museun
Cape Town

SOUTH WEST AFRICA

I ain a t p r e s e n t engaged i n a number of p r o j e c t s .

a)

These i n c l u d e :

The Archaeology of the Brandberg. Research i n t o t h e c u l t u r a l

s u c c e s s i o n , ecology and rock a r t of t h i s massif is proceeding

f a v o u r a b l y and soiue i n t e r e s t i n g r e s u l t s a r e a t hand. P r e l i m i n a r y n o t e s

on t h e r o c k a r c and t h e d a t e s have b e e n p u b l i s h e d . 1'2
Open s t a t i o n midden s i t e s from t h e Kuiseb r i v e r mouth. A s t a r t w i l l be
made a n t h e s c s i t e s e a r l y i n 1976. A preli1,rinary s u r v e y i n d i c a t e s t h a t
a n u n b e r of d i f f e r e n t s i t e s y i e l d i n g c v i d e n c c of d i f f e r e n t economic
a c t i v i t i e s a r e p r e s e n t . T h i s i s of i n t e r e s t a s i t i s known froill
h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s t h a t t h i s a r e a was e x t r e m l y r i c h i n gane and t h a t
h u n t e r s a s w e l l a s h e r d e r s were p r e s e n t . Whether t h e d i f f e r e n t s i t e s
show h u n t e r l h c r d e r a f f i n i t i e s o r s i m p l y onc g r o u p s food p r e f e r e n c e s
c h a n g i n ~o v e r t i n e r e x a i n s t o be t e s t e d

Dana o r i g i n s , Dana o r i g i n s have b e e n t h e s u b j e c t of s p e c u l a t i o n f o r

many y e a r s . They a r e t h o u g h t o f e i t h e r a s t h e o l d e s t i n h a b i t a n t s of
t h e c o u n t r y o r a s r e c e n t immigrants a s c l i e n t s o f t h e Khoi. These
p e o p l e a r e N e g r o i d s , s p e a k a Nama ( i.e Khoi) l a n g u a g e , have Narna
c u l t u r a l t r a i t s y e t , according t o the l i t e r a t u r e , i n h i s t o r i c a l times
p o s s e s s e d a " s a c r e d f i r e " ( a Bantu n o t a Khoi c u l t u r a l e l e m e n t ) . They
a r e r e p o r t e d t o have b e e n h u n t c r / g a t h e r e r s , h e r d e r s , i r o n s n i t h s
A r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h h a s t u r n e d up a nunber of c l u e s and i n
c o r h i n a t i o n w i t h a s o c i o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s of t h e l i t e r a t u r e o n and
p r e s e n t day s o c i e t y of t h e Dana by M r . E . du P i s a n i , t h e Museum
E t h n o l o g i s t , i t i s hoped t o produce a more a c c u r a t e model of D a n a
origins

Neutron a c t i v a t i o n a n a l y s i s of S.W.A p o t s h e r d s . D r s . P e i s a c h and

B o u l l e a r e c a r r y i n g o u t n u c l e a r a n a l y s e s of a r a n g e of b o t h
Khoi and I r o n a g e p o t t e r y . It i s hoped t h a t t h e f i r s t r e s u l t s w i l l
b e p u b l i s h e d d u r i n g mid-1976.

G.J.

Open S t a t i o n S e t t l e n e n t S i t e s i n the Z e r r i s s e n e M t . A r e a . P r e l i m i n a r y
work i n c o n-i u n c t i o n w i t h DR. and Mrs. F1. C a r r has b c e n contpleted.
W r i t i n g up i i n p r o g r e s s . A r e p o r t on t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n and t y p o l o g y
o f t h e s c s i t e s w i l l h ~ p e f u l l yb@ p u b l i s h e d i n 1376. These s i t e s
c o n s i s t of c l u s t e r of irlul t i c e l l u l a r s t o n e s t r u c t u r e s . T h e i r
d i s t r i b u t i o n and t y p o l o g y h a s b c e n meticulously r e c o r d e d by t h e
C a r r s who have now r e t u r n e d t o New Zealand. O r g a n i c and c u l t u r a l
r e m a i n s n r e s p a r s e b u t s t i e r d s of presumably Khoi p o t t e r y a r e f o u n d .
One s a y s p r e s u i , ~ a b l ya s t h e l o c a t i o n of t h e a r e a ( s o u t h o f t h e Ugab
R i v e r and 30-40kr.1 from t h e c o a s t ; 2135's and 1 3 0 5 Q 1 E ) l i e s o u t s i d e
t h e a r e a of known I r o n Age Bantu s e t t l e m e n t and t h e s h e r d s thefiiselves
a r e of a n u n d i a g n o s t i c and f r a g m e n t e d n a t u r e . F a u n a l r e m a i n s arc
a l x o s t n o n - e x i s t e n t b u t i t i s t h o u g h t t h a t a p a s t o r a l economy was
p r a c t i c e d . A n a l y s i s of what a p p e a r s t o b e h a i r found i n a r a r e dung
sample i s underway of c o u l d o f f e r 3 s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem of t h e
economy.
A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Survey of t h e Kaokoland. A t r i p t h r o u g h Kaokoland d i d
n o t produce a n y new s i t e s t h o u g h t t h e f 4 r s t r o c k e n g r a v i n g s f r o m t h i s
area were n o t e d a l o n g t h e Cunene ~ i v e r . '
References

1.

Jacobson, L.
1975 The gemsbok c r e a t i o n lilyth and Brandberg r o c k a r t .
J . S c i . 71:314

S. A f r .

2.

3.

Jacobson, L. & J.C. Vogel

1975 Recent r a d i o c a r b o n d a t e s from the Brandberg.
J . S c i . 71:349

S. A f r i

Jacobson, L.
1975 Report on the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l p o t e n t i a l of Kaokoland.
Unpublished r e p o r t .

I n a d d i t i o n t o my own work, t h e f o l l o w i n g a r e a l s o engaged i n

research:
D r . D.E. Wendt of the U n i v e r s i t y of Cologne i s engaged i n work i n t h e
s o u t h . He has r e c e n t l y published e a r l y d a t e s f o r SWA a r t .

Dr. G. Corvinus has r e c e n t l y t a k e n up a p o s i t i o n i n Oranjecwnd and

w i l l be i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e archaeology of t h a t a r e a . Her s p e c i a l
i n t e r e s t i s the Acheulian.

Mr. P. Robertshaw of the U n i v e r s i t y of Cape Town has been working on

h e r d e r s i t e s along t h e Orange and F i s h R i v e r s .
The f o l lowing pub1 i c a t i o n s m y be of i n t e r e s t :
Malan, J.S.
1974
Wendt, W.E.
1975

1975

and G.L. Smith-Owcn

T h e e t h n o b o t a n y of Kaokoland.

C i ~ & e b a s i a (B) 2:131-178

Notes of soc~e unusual a r t e f a c t s from SWA.

2 : 17-3-186.

CiiXi~&~~.j~
(B)

Die A l t e s t e n D a t i e r t e n Kunstwerlce A f r i k a s .
Wissenschaf t . 10:44-59

Bild d e r

Leon Jacobson,
S t a t e Museur.1,
Wind hoelc
WIRE

The y e a r 1975 saw the c o n t i n u a t i o n of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h i n

the r e g i 3 n of Shaba (ex- Katanga)

A f t e r new e x c a v a t i o n s a t Sanga
- and i n Katongo cemetery ( s e e Nyart~e
Akurm NO.^), P i e r r e de Iviaret ( a s p i r a n t t o the F.N.R.S.
Royal 14useum 3f
CentralAfrica
Tcrvuren and the LJniversitG Libre d e B r u x e l l e s ) and
Kaninba Misago ( a s s i s t a n t a t t h e National Museum I n s t i t u t e of Z a i r c ,
Lubumbashi) , excavated t h r e e new s i t e s a l o n g the Z a i r e River f r o ~ nA p r i l
t o August 1975.

T h i r t e e n graves were excavated a t t h e s i t e of Kanilamba. Some a r e

K i s a l i a n , o t h e r s a r c Kaban~bian (new name suggested f o r the Mulongo and
R e d - s l i p ware of Nenquin), b u t e x p e c i a l l y i n s t r a t i g r a p h y a Late Stone
Age l e v c l , a K i s a l i a n l c v e l , a KabalSian Level and a Luba l e v e l .

The s i t e of Kikulu gave 22 g r a v e s , most of which a r e Kabambian. With

t h e s e we should be a b l e t o e s t a b l i s h a chronology of t h e c v o l u t i o n of t h i s
ceramic t r a d i t i o n .
The s i t e of Malemba-Nkulu gave 37 K i s a l i a n and Kabambian g r a v e s , some
of which have v e r y r i c h s e t s and w i t h l e v e l s of a c c u p a t i o n s i n s t r a t i g r a p h y
from K i s a l i m t o Luba.
Some new s u r v e y s have been done i n K a t o t o c c m t e r y (excavated by
D r . J. Hiernaux i n 1959) and samples f o r carbon-14 d a t i n g were c o l l e c t e d .
Apart from t h e s e e x c a v a t i o n s i t has been p o s s i b l e t o draw up a
of r e p a r t i t i o n of more than 40 s i t e s .

lisp

A series of 1 3 d a t e s from carbnn-14 samples have been o b t a i n e d f o r

Sanga and Katongo. They show an a p p a r e n t l y continuous o c c u p a t i o n of
t h e s i t e s f r o n t h e 8 t h t o 1 9 t h c e n t u r i e s A.D.

Kanimba Misago
I n s t i t u t d e s Musees Nationaux,
Piuske de Lubumbas h i .

ZAMBIA

- The L i v i n g s t o n e Museum

I n August l a s t y e a r , D r . J . O . Vogel, Kecper of P r e h i s t o r y , L e f t

Zambia f o r holm i n t h e U.S.A. a f t e r cocipletion of t e n y e a r s of r e s e a r c h
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t h e V i c t o r i a F a l l s Region. What a tremendous and
remarkable volume of work he has done f o r Zambian archaeology!
M r . N , L Katanekwa, S e n i o r A s s i s t a n t Kecper of P r e h i s t o r y - I r o n
Age, c a m back t o t h e Museum i n J u l y , a f t e r c o ~ ~ ~ p l e t of
i o na p o s t g r a d u a t e
diploma i n A f r i c a n Archaeology and P r e h i s t o r y a t B i r m i n g h a ~~~n i v c r s i t y ' s
Centre of West A f r i c a n S t u d i e s . Hc has s i n c e been a c t i n g a s Head of t h c
Department of 'Prchis t o r y .
Upon a r r i v a l , M r . Katanekwa, i n i t i a t e d a programme of work e n t i t l e d
Phase I
Sesheke".
"The Upper Zambczi I r o n Age Research P r o j c c t
Undcr t h i s prograime and a s a followup t o h i s 1974 s u r v e y of t h e Zambezi
R i v e r , he went o u t f o r a n o t h e r s u r v e y of t h c Machile V a l l e y , a t r i b u t a r y
of t h e Z a d e z i ' i n s o u t h w e s t e r n Zambia. T h i s survey l o c a t e d 2 8 I r o n Age
s i t e s r a n g i n g i n age from milid-first millenium t o t h e end of t h e 1 9 t h
c e n t u r y . some C-14 d a t e s have been o b t a i n e d from f i v e of t h e s e s i t e s
c o n f i r m i n g s u c h a sequence and a r e t o be p u b l i s h e d soon. The s p a t i a l
time range o f t h e ceramic m a t e r i a l s i s s i g n i f i c a n t and i t i s hoped t h a t
f u r t h e r work from h e r e w i l l g i v e us a much c l e a r e r p i c t u r e of E a r l y I r o n
Age and L a t e r I r o n Age archaeology and p r e h i s t o r y i n Southwestern Zambia.
E x c a v a t i o n work i s planned by Mr. Katanekwa f o r t h e a r e a and May and June 1976.

Mcanwhil-e, t h e Department a w a i t s t h e a r r i v a l sometime i n May t h i s y e a r ,

of M r . F r a n c i s Musonda, who has been s t u d y i n g f o r a n M.A. i n Archaeology a t
Legon, Ghana. M r . Musonda's f i e l d of s p e c i a l i s a t i o n w i l l mainly be t h e
Stone Age, more c s p e c i n l l y t h e L a t e Stone Age.
N.M. Katanekwa
L i v i n g s tone Museum

I n Nyame Akuma No. 4, we published a l i s t of names and a d d r e s s e s

of a u t h o r i t i e s t o be c o n t a c t e d f o r permits e t c . t o c a r r y o u t r e s e a r c h
and e x c a v a t i o n work i n v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s .
The i n ormation c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s 1i s t was n e c e s s a r i l y b a s i c , and
i t would seem t o be u s e f u l f o r us t o make a v a i l a b l e more d e t a i l e d
i n f o r m a t i o n of t h e l e g a l requirements and c o n d i t i o n s of v a r i o u s
c o u n t r i e s , t o people u n d e r t a k i n g r e s e a r c h .
We have r e c e i v e d t h e f o l l o w i n g o u t l i n e s from Kenya and Zambia
and would welcome s i n i l a r contributions *om o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , e s p e c i a l l y
t h o s e l e s s t h a n o f t e n heard from, such a s the Sornalivl R e p u b l i c ,
Cameroun, L i b e r i a e t c . Our thanks go t o David P h i l l i p s o n and t h e
S c c r e t a r y / I n s p e c t o r of t h e N a t i o n a l Nonunents Commission, Zambia,
f o r t h c i r notcs .
Research i n Kenya:

A Note on t h e Legal Requirements

A l l persons, of wha t e v e r n a t i o n a l i t y , proposing t o conduct cny

form of f i e l d o r a r c h i v a l r e s e a r c h i n Kenya, must o b t a i n a n A u t h o r i t y
t o Conduct Research from t h c O f f i c e of tha P r e s i d e n t . A p p l i c a t i o n
shoulcl be made w e l l i n advance ( a t l e a s t 3 months) of t h e intended
d a t e of the conuilencenwnt of t h e r e s e a r c h . Fornis f o r t h i s purpose a r c
o b t a i n e d from the Perrnancnt S c c r e t a r y , Of f i c e of t h e P r e s i d e n t , P.O.
Box 30510, N a i r o b i , t o whom they should be r c t u r n c d when cor::.pletcd.
A p p l i c a n t s should t a k e c a r e t o answer a l l q u e s t i o n s i n f u l l , a s
f a i l u r e t o c10 t h i s 111ay r c s u l t i n d e l a y i n t h e p r o c e s s i n g af t h e
application.
A p p l i c a n t s f o r A u t h o r i t y t o Conduct Research a r e asked t o p r o v i d e ,
i n t e r a l i a , a one-page sumrtery of t h e i r proposed r e s e a r c h , a c u r r i c u l u x
v i t a e and a l e t t e r from t h e sponsor of t h e r e s e a r c h . Theyare asked t o
s t a t e t h e s o u r c e of f i n a n c e f o r t h e proposed r e s e a r c h and t o s u p p l y t h e
names and a d d r c s s e s of t h r e e s e n i o r academic r e f e r e e s . S t u d e n t s
conducting r e s c a r c h l e a d i n g t o a p o s t - g r a d u a t e degree a r e encouraged t o
have a s u p e r v i s o r who i s r e s i d e n t i n Kenya. A l l r e s e a r c h e r s must s e e k
a f i l i a t i o n o r s p o n s o r s h i p w i t h a n a p p r o p r i a t e Kenya i n s t i t u t i o n
concerned w i t h s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h .

-9

Researchers from o u t s i d e Kcnya should n o t normally t r a v e l t o Kcnya

t o commence t h e i r r e s e a r c h u n t i l they have been n o t i f i e d by t h e O f f i c e of
t h e P r e s i d e n t t h a t A u t h o r i t y t o Conduct Research has been g r a n t e d .
P o s s e s s i o n of A u t h o r i t y t o Conduct Research w i l l e n a b l e t h e Immigration
a u t h o r i t i e s t o i s s u e a permit a l l o w i n g t h e r e s e a r c h e r t o remain i n Kenya
f o r t h e proposed d u r a t i o n of h i s r e s e a r c h .
I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e A u t h o r i t y t o Conduct Research, persons w i s h i n g
t o conduct a r c h a e o l o g i c a l o r p a l a e o n t o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s need t o
o b t a i n a s p e c i f i c permit f o r t h i s fro1.i the 14inistr2 of Housing and
S o c i a l S e r v i c e s , P.O. Box 45053, N a i r o b i . Applicatbns ( t h e r e i s no
s p e c i a l form) should be s e n t t o the Pcrr.iancnc S c c r e t a r y of t h e M i n i s t r y ,

w i t h a copy t o the D i r e c t o r of the National Museuus of Kenya, P.O. Box

40659, N a i r o b i . They should quote t h e r e f e r e n c e of t h e O f f i c e of t h e
P r e s i d e n t ' s A u t h o r i t y t o Conduct Research, and should s t a t e i n d e t a i l
t h e s i t e ( s ) o r a r e a s i n which t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a r e t o be conducted,
and t h c d a t e s between which t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a r e planned t o t a k e p l a c e .
A l l p e r m i t s and A u t h o r i t i e s t o Conduct Research a r e i s s u e d s u b j e c t
t o c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s , which a r e c l e a r l y s t a t e d on t h e documents concerned.
R e c i p i e n t s of such p e r m i t s and A u t h o r i t i e s should read t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s
c a r e f u l l y and f o l l o w t h e n i n every d e t a i l . It i s i n t h c i r own i n t e r e s t s
and those of t h e i r c o l l e a g u e s t h a t they should do s o .

Research i n Zambia: P e r m i t s f o r Research and A f f i l i a t e S t a t u s

Legal C o n t r o l . The National Pionurnents Conmission i s g i v e n undcr t h e N a t u r a l
and H i s t o r i c a l l h n u n e a t s and Relccs Act a b s o l u t e c o n t r o l over a r c h a e o l o g i c a l
s i t e s and f i n d s i n Zambia and i s t h e s o l e body f o r t h e i s s u e of permits t o
e x c a v a t e , a l t e r d e s t r o y , damage, i n j u r e o r d i s t r u b any s i t e ; t o a l t e r ,
d e s t r o y , darlage, move o r c x p o r t any a r c h a e o l o g i c a l o b j e c t . Archaeological
s i t e s a r e d e f i n e d a s t h o s c d a t i n g b e f o r e 1890; p r o t e c t e d o b j e c t s may be even
l a t e r . Thc Com.iission i s thus e f f q c t i v e l y t h c o v e r s e e i n g body f o r a l l
a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h i n Zambia; t h c p c r n i t - g i v e r f o r p a l a c o n t o l o g i c a l
r e s e a r c h , and i t has c e r t a i n d u t i e s over o t h e r s i t e s such a s t h o s c of
n a t u r a l b e a u t y , and o v e r o t h e r c l o s s e s of ob j c c t s .
A p p l i c a t i o n s and E n q u i r i e s . The s c n i o r s t a f f o f t h e Co~xnissiona r e
p r o f e s s i o n a l a r c h a c o l o g i a ~ sand a r e a v a i l n b e f o r c o n s u l t a t i o n on proposed
r e s e a r c h prograrwes , c x p o r t arrangemcncs and o t h c r s p e c i f i c q u c r i e s
P e r m i t s w i l l norriiaLly be i s s u e d by t h e Cornmission's s t a f f b u t may be
r e f e r r e d t o onc of t h e meetings, normally h e l d b i a n n u a l l y , of t h e Government
nonlina t e d r.~nibers of t h e C o m i s s i o n . Appl ici?nts f o r p e r m i t s a r e t h e r e
f o r e a d v i s e d t o inakc a p p l i c a t i o n s a s f a r i n advance a s f e a s i b l e , and t o
t a k e i n t o c o n s i d c r a t i o n i n timing a r c s e a r c h prograriune t h e v e t t i n g of
a p p l i c a t i o n s , a s w e l l a s the period r e q u i r e d f o r o b t a i n i n g v i s a s f o r
f o r c i g n r e s e a r c h workers.

F i e l d . Research. The Comwiss i o n ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a r e mainly i n archaeology

and p a l a e o n t o l o ~ y . S c h o l a r s and s t u d e n t s whose proposed work f a l l s more
i n t o the academic f i e l d s of anthropology o r h i s t o r y should a p p l y t o :
The D i r e c t o r , I n s t i t u t e f o r A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y of Zambia, P.O.
Box 900, Lusaka, Zambia.
The I n s t i t u t e has a n a f f i l i a t i o n scheue f o r v i s i t i n g s c h o l a r s and
r e s e a r c h s t u d e n t s i n t h o s e branches of t h e humanities which f a l l under
i t s scope, wt&ch i n c l u d e s a p p l i c a t i o n f o r s t u d y v i s a s f o r approved researchers
Research workers who a r e u n c l e a r whether t h e i r f i e l d of work f a l l s more
under t h e scope of t h e Commission o r t h e I n s t i t u t e imy send a n o u t l i n e of
proposed work t o e i t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e .

A r c h a e o l o g i s t s and P a l n e o n t o l o g i s t s who wish t o c a r r y o u t work

which does n o t involve the removal of a r t e f a c t s from s i t e s o r e x c a v a t i o n ,
and who a r e l i k e l y t o remain i n Zambia f o r l e s s t h a n t h r e e months, do
n o t r e q u i r e a Conmission p e r m i t . A number of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s a r e
opened t o t o u r i s t s , and o t h e r s can be v i s i t e d , b u t a n i n t r o d u c t i o n t o
l o c a l o f f i c i a l s by t h e Commission f o r I n s t i t u t e would b6 recommended
f o r c e r t a i n types of r e s e a r c h . For a v i s i t t o s t u d y t h e c o l l e c t i o n s
of Livingstone Museum s c h o l a r s should w r i t e d i r e c t l y t o : The D i r e c t o r ,
Livingstone Museurn, P.0. Box 438, L i v i n g s t o n e , Zambia.
Excavations and Survey

Any f i e l d w o r k
archaeological o r paleaontological
involving the
c o l l e c t i o n of a r t e f a c t s from s i t e s o r e x c a v a t i o n w i l l r e q u i r e a permit
from t h e Commission and i t i s a c o n t r a v e n t i o n of t h e law t o c o l l e c t o r
e x c a v a t e w i t h o u t such a permit.
An a p p l i c a t i o n should g i v e u s f i l l d e t a i l s of a p p l i c a n t , proposed
r e s e a r c h , a v a i l a b l e f i n a n c e and p u b l i c a t i o n programme. The Commission
has e q u a l d u t i e s t o promote r e s e a r c h and p r o t e c t s i t e s o r f i n d s ;
a p p l i c a t i o n s w i l l be considered w i t h sympathy b u t by s e t c r i t e r i a .
The v e t t i n g of a n a p p l i c a t i o n will t a k e i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e academic
s t a t u s and r e f e r e n c e s of the a p p l i c a n t , t h e f e a s i b i l i t y of t h e proposcd
p r o j e c t and i t s d e s i r a b i l i t y i n ternis of t h e o v e r a l l r e s e a r c h p a t t e r n
of Zambia, t h e funds a v n i l a b l e f o r resea-.ch and the g u a r a n t e e s t h a t can
be g i v e n f o r f u l l and adequate p u b l i c a t i o n of r e s u l t s . For example,
r e - e x c a v a t i o n of a s i t e r e c e n t l y dug would be u n l i k e l y t o g a i n a p p r o v a l ;
a n over-ambitious p r o j e c t w i t h o u t g u a r a n t e e of r e c u r r e n t f i n d s might
s i m i l a r l y be r e f e r r e d back; and a r e s e a r c h s t u d e n t planning e x c a v a t i o n
should be a b l e t o g i v e some forward cxpe . t - . t i o n s of proper p u b l i c a t i o n ,
o t h e r t h a n d i s s e r t a t i o n fortl.
The ComrAssion lilay be a b l e t o provide l i m t e d work space for
s c h o l a r s , o r even 1 9 c w a so:ne e q u i p ~ m n t( b u t not v e h i c l e s o r p e r s o n n e l ) ,
b u t plans should not assume t h i s c ~ i l lbc a v a i l a b l e . The former a r r a n g e ments by which v i r * i t i n e , r c s c a r c h c r s could be acco!;mlodated i n t h e Comnission's
h e a d q u a r t e r s have be2n conplc t o ? y a h o l i s h c d .
A permit i s i s s u e d z u h j ~ c tt o t h e w r i t t e n acceptance by t h e pcrmith o l d e r of a s e r i e s of farrn31 c a n d i t i o n s . Thesc i n t e r a l i a d e f i n e t h e
a r e a , type and period of work; dctcricinc the f i n a l d e s t i n a t i o n of t h e
f i n d s w i t h i n Z7mbia, and r e q u i r e the cornplction of a f i n a l r e p o r t i n a
l i m i t e d time and the submissioc uf c o p i e s t o the Commission and o t h e r
r e p o s i t o r i e s i n Zambia. F a i l u r e t o f o l l o w t h e c o n d i t i o n s of t h e p e r ~ x i t
would r e s u l t i n c a n c e l l n t L o c and t h c non-issue 3f f u t u r e p e r m i t s t o t h c
permit-holder a n d / o r h i s p a r e n t i n s t i t u t i o n , b e s i d e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of
legal action.
Export Permits
V i s i t i n g f i e l d w o r k e r s a r e encouraged t o s t u d y t h e i r f i n d s i n
Zambia. Export p e r n i t s rr,a,y be r a n t e d t o a s c h o l a r f o r t h e temporary
e x p o r t of h i s own f i n d s f a r s t y , a n a l y s i s o r i l l u s t r a t i o n o v e r s e a s
b u t t h e s e rnust be r e t u r n e d i n a s p e c i f i e d perio:! t o the Conunission a t

t h e permit-holders expense. Archaeological c o l l e c t i o n s a r e normally

donated t o t h e Livingstonc Museum a3 a perinanent s t u d y m a t e r i a l .
C e r t a i n c l a s s e s of p a l a e o n t ~ l o g i c a lm a t e r i a l ( e . g . microfauna samples)
may r e c e i v e permits f o r permanent e x p o r t w i t h t h e concurrence of t h e
Commission and t h e Geological Survey Department who nay be c o n s u l t e d f i r s t :
The D i r e c t o r , Geological Survey Department, P.O. Box R.W. 135, Lusaka,
Zambia

It i s u n l i k e l y t h a t p e r ~ n i s s i o nwould be g r a n t e d f o r temporary e x p o r t
f o r s t u d y of o b j e c t s i n Museum c o l l e c t i o n s o t h e r than those r e s u l t i n g from
t h c a p p l i c a n t ' s r e c e n t work.

C e r t a i n o t h e r c l a s s e s of o b j e c t s
items of t r a d i t i o n a l use and d a t e ,
of a r t i s t i c o r h i s t o r i c a l v a l u e , f o r i n s t a n c e - r e q u i r e a permit f o r t h e i r
e x p o r t , and Customs and Excise o f f i c i a l s h a y been i n s t r u c t e d t o s e i z e
such o b j e c t s being e x p o r t e d w i t h o u t a permit and apprehend t h e i r e x p o r t e r s .
An i n f o r m a t i o n l e a f l e t i s a v a i l a b l e t o the Commission. This does n o t apply
of c o u r s e t o t o u r i s t c u r i o s o r o b j e c t s of r e c e n t manufacture.
Affiliate Status
A v i s i t i n g r e s e a r c h worker, whether a s e n i o r s c h o l a r o r a r e g i s t e r e d
s t u d e n t , may apply f o r r e g i s t r a t i o n a s an A f f i l i a t e of the Commission.
Research f i e l d w o r k e r s would normally be expected t o be s o r e g i s t e r e d ,
and a s s i s t a n c e i n v i r a a p p l i c a t i o n s and i n t r o d u c t i o n s would be r e s t r i c t e d
b such A f f i l i a t e s .
A f e e of K20 per annum i s payable f o r a f f i l i a t i o n .
A p p l i c a n t s f o r a f f i l i a t i o n who a r e n o t a l s o a p p l y i n g f o r a permit f o r
e x c a v a t i o n o r fieldwork should s t a t e t h e i r academic q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ,
programme a period of work and names of academic r e f e r e e s . S c h o l a r s and
s t u d e n t s who v i s i t Zambia t o a s s i s t i n r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s of Zamnbianbased i n s t i t u t i o n s nay be r e g i s t e r e d a s a f f i l i a t e s w i t h o u t f e e .

Visas and E n t r y F o r m a l i t i e s
Approval of a r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t o r a f f i l i a t i o n by the Commission i s
independent of approval by t h e immigration a u t h o r i t i e s of a v i s a o r
p e r m i t . The r e l e v a n t r u l e s may ch3n.g from time t o time and i n t e n d i n g
v i s i t o r s a r e advised t o make e n q u i r i e s from t h e i r n e a r e s t Zambian High
C o m i s s i o n o r Embassy. Appl i c n t i o n forms may be obtained d i r e c t l y f ron:
The Chief Imnligration O f f i c e r , M i n i s t r y of Home A f f a i r s , P.O. Box RW 300,
Lusaka, Zambia.
V i s i t o r s t o Zambia f o r l e s s t h a n t h r e e months may normally a p p l y f o r
a t o u r i s t v i s a ; t h e s e can be g r a n t e d a t t h e b o r d e r f o r most Commonwealth
c i t i z e n s . Such a v i s a cannot be extended f o r more t h a n t h r e e months i n
a year.

or
Research workers whose p r o j e c t s may l a s t more t h a n t h r e e months
do n o t c a r r y h n d s adequate f o r t h e i s s u e of a t o u r i s t v i s a
may a p p l y f o r
a Study Permit. This cannot be done d i r e c t l y b u t t h e r e l e v a n t forms must
b e c o u n t e r s i g n e d by t h e Comnission i f t h e f i e l d of s t u d y f a l l s w i t h i n i t s
s p h e r e . Study Permits w i l l only be c o u n t e r s i g n e d f o r r e s e a r c h workers
approved f o r a f f i l i a t i o n .

Although t h e wording of t h e Study Permit i s designed f o r t h o s e

a t t e n d i n g f u l l time c o u r s e s i t i s a c c e p t a b l e b o t h f o r r e s e a r c h s t u d e n t s
and f o r s e n i o r s c h o l a r s , who should s t a t e "Research" under "Course of
Study".
The I n s t i t u t e f o r A f r i c a n S t u d i e s w i l l sponsor s i m i l a r l y
approved r e s e a r c h workers whose f i e l d of i n t e r e s t f a l l $ w i t h i n t h e i r
range

Persons i n the c a t e g o r y of employees, even when t h e s e a r e paid

o v e r s e a s ( ~ 8 .t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n t s on a n expedition) may r e q u i r e an
Employment Permit and e n q u i r i e s should be made about t h i s w e l l i n
advance t o t h e Chief Immigration O f f i c e r .
F u r t h e r Information
E x t r a c o p i e s of t h i s l e a f l e t , c o p i e s of the N a t u r a l and H i s t o r i c a l
Monuments and ~ e l i c bAct o r answers t o F u r t h e r q u e r i e s can be o b t a i n e d
. from: The S e c r e t a r y / I n s p e c t o r , National Monuments Com;11ission, P.O. Box
124, L i v i n g s t o n e , Zambia.

CURRENT RESEARCH

M r . F r a n c o i s Kense, of t h e Department of Archaeology, U n i v e r s i t y

of Calgary i s c u r r e n t l y u n d e r t a k i n g an examination of A f r i c a n i r o n working t e c h n i q u c s . Such s t u d i e s were e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y c a r r i e d o u t
i n the l a t e 1 9 t h and e a r l y 2 0 t h c e n t u r i e s , b u t had become n o t i c e a b l y
i n f r e q u e n t by t h e 1 9 5 0 ' s . An important f a c t o r i n t h e i r demise was
the inaPi.1 i t y of r e s e a r c h e r s t o e x p l a i n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d / o r
d i f r e r e n c e s i n m e t a l l u r g i c a l techniques between a r e a s i n Af r i c a
However, t h e i n c r e a s i n g amount of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l d a t a c o l l e c t e d
d u r m g the p a s t two decades has enabled i r o n working s t u d i e s t o
broaden t h e i r scope and r e l e v a n c e .

A s t u d y of i r o n s m e l t i n g f u r n a c e s ( t h e i r type and c o n s t r u c t i o n ) ,
the mechanisms f o r inducing d r a u g h t s , t h e q u a l i t y of i r o n - o r e u t i l i z e d
and the n a t u r e of the bloom a r e some of t h e a s p e c t s t o be a n a l y s e d .
It i s intended t o concluJe w i t h an overview of f u r n a c e and i r o n
working p a t t e r n s a c r o s s A f r i c a and thereby g a i n some f u r t h e r i n s i g h t i n t o the development of t h e I r o n Age i n P r e h i s t o r i c A f r i c a .

M r . Kense would be $leased t o hear from anyone w i t h any e t h n o graphic o r archaeological information pertaining t o African i r o n
n e t a l l u r g y . He can be reached through t h e Department of Archaeology,
U n i v e r s i t y of Calgary, Calgary, A l b e r t a , Canada.

PERSONAL
Frank W i l l e t t has been appointed D i r e c t o r of t h e Hunterian Piuseuin and
A r t G a l l e r y i n Glasgow, S c o t l a n d . He and Connie w i l l be l e a v i n g
Evanston i n June and t h e i r f u t u r e a d d r e s s w i l l be:

The Hunterian Museum,

The Unive rs i t y ,
Glasgow G12 &&Q,
Scotland,
.
,
U.K.
P r o f e s s o r B r i a n Fagan r e p o r t s :
"There a r e t h r e e Ph.D. s t u d e n t s under t r a i n i n g a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
C a l i f o r n i a , Santa Barbara: Susan Keech, Barbara Sacharow and Donna Shand.
It i s hoped t h a t e a c h of t h e n w i l l work i n A f r i c a b e f o r e 1976 is ended.
These a r e t h e l a s t t h r e e g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s i n t h e A f r i c a n I r o n Age t h a t
I s h a l l a c c e p t a t Santa Barbara. Once BarbarqDonna and Susan have
completed t h e i r d e g r e e s I s h a l l t e phasing o u t a l l g r a d u a t e t r a i n i n g i n
A f r i c a n archaeology h e r e . This is becuase of my own c h a n ~ i n g i n t e r e s t s
and a l s o on account of t h e g r e a t d i f f i c u l t i e s i n p l a c i n g g r a d u a t e s i n
c a r e e r p o s i t i o n s , I n f u t u r e , I s h a l l be c o n c e n t r a t i n g almost e n t i r e l y
on undergraduate t e a c h i n g , mainly a t t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y and a r e a survey
leve4.. Since most s t u d e n t s here have b u t a c a s u a l i n t e r e s t i n d l d
World archaeology, I t h i n k i t i s worth c o n c e n t r a t i n g on g e n e r a l t r a i n i n g
of l a y people a s a primary pedagogical o b j e c t i v e . P r o s p e c t i v e a p p l i c a n t s
f o r g r a d u a t e t r a i n i n g i n A f r i c a n archaeology a t UCSB w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y
be r e f e r r e d e l s e w h e r e .
"Hy most r e c e n t r e s e a r c h has c e n t e r e d around The Rape of t h e N i l e
( C h a r l e s S c r i b n e r s , New York), a n account of e a r l y archaeology i n t h e
N i l e Valley published i n December 1975. It was a book of the Month
A l t e r n a t e S e l e c t i o n i n March 1976."

The f d l o w i n g i s a b r i e f a b s t r a c t of a paper g i v e n a t t h e SAAM meetings

i n Boston, A p r i l 1975.
"The e l u s i v e concept of s t y l e and s t o n e a r t i f a c t s "
A summary of t h e dimensions of choice i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n of s t o n e
a r t i f w t s , and t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r energy investment and t h e i d e n t i f i e a t ion of t h e p r o p e r t y of " s t y l e " i n t h e p a l e o - a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d ,
from t h e viewpoint of t h e "design process".
The paper aims a t a n e x p l i c i t
c l a r i f i c a t i o n of t h e long-held, i m p l i c i t assumptions w h i c h h v e d i r e c t e d
a n a l y s e s of s t o n e a r t i f a c t s i n archaeology. The a u t h o r s s u g g e s t ways i n
which e x p l i c i t a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e p r i n c i p l e s embodied i n t h e d e s i g n
p r o c e s s l e a d t o dynamic, r a t h e r t h a n s t a t i c a n a l y s e s of l i t h i c a r t i f a c t s .

Charles M. K e l l e r ,
U n i v e r s i t y of I11i n o i s ,
Urbana ,
I l l i n o i s , U.S.A.

Maxine R. K l e i n d i e n s t ,
Scarborough C o l l e g e ,
U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto,
Toronto, O n t a r i o , Canada

EAST AFRICA
B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e i n Eastern Africa
Volume IX (1974) of t h e I n s t i t u t e ' s j o u r n a l Azania, c o n t a i n s t h e
f o l l o w i n g main a r t i c l e s .

J.H.

Chaplin,

John Tosh

"The P r e h i s t o r i c Rock A r t of t h e Lake V i c t o r i a Region"

( e d . , w i t h a d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l , by M.A.B.
Harlow)
"Small - s c a l e R e s i s t a n c e i n Uganda: t h e Lango ' ~ i s i n g '
a t Adwari i n 1919"

"Tenth Century S e t t l e m e n t of t h e E a s t A f r i c a n
Randall L. Poucwlls
Coast: t h e c a s e f o r Q a r m a t i a n / I s m a t i l i Connections"
"Trade Wind Beads : a n I n t e r i m
C l a i r e C. Davisori & J . Desmond C l a r k
Report of Chemical S t u d i e s "

M i b l Bisson & Stephen Home

" P r o b a b i l i t y Sampl ine, Techniques f o r
I n v e s t i g a t i o n of A f r i c a n I r o n Age S i t e s "
J . d c V. A l l e n

"Swahili Culture Rcconsidered: Some H i s t o r i c a l

I m p l i c a t i o n s of t h e M a t e r i a l C u l t u r e of t h e Northern
Kenya Coast i n t h e 1 8 t h and 1 9 t h c e n t u r i e s "

Roderic Blackburn

"The Okiek and T h e i r History"

Nevi1 l e C h i t t i c k

"Excavations a t Aksura: a P r e l i m i n a r y Report"

J.C.

Sharman

"Eleroitic: i t s Ancestors and Descendants : Some

Relationships"

Memoir No. 6 of the I n s t i t u t e , D.W.

E a s t e r n Zambia is now i n proof.

B h i l l i p s o n ' s The P r e h i s t o r y of

E a s t A f r i c a and t h e O r i e n t , e d . R. I. Rotberg and N e v i l l e C h i t t i c k ,

i s now published (Africana P r e s s , New York. $30; f 15 i n U.K.)
The following a r t i c l e s by members of the s t a f f have eppeared r e c e n t l y .
N e v i l l e C h i t t i c k , "On t h e c o i n s and chronology of t h e S u l t a n s of Kilwa"
Numismatic C h r o n i c l e , 1973.
D.W. P h i l l i p s o n , "Iron Age h i s t o r y aild archaeology i n Zambia", J o u r n a l
of A f r i c a n H i s t o r y , XV:l-25.

D.W. P h i l l i p s o n , "The chronology of t h e I r o n Age i n Bantu A f r i c a "

J o u r n a l of A f r i c a n His t o r y , XVI321-42.

Ethiopia
b r v i 8 e k , P. and U. Braukhmper:
1975
Rock P a i n t i n g s of Laga Gafra ( E t h i o p i a ) , Paideuma 21 :47-60.
(The s i t e i s n e a r Harar and i n c l u d e s p a i n t i n g s of c a t t l e ,
human b e i n g s and a f a t t a i l e d sheep)
.I

^.

.'

.,

Bonnef i l l e R., Letouzey:

In press
F r u i t s f o s s i l e s d l A n t r o c a r y o n dan l e s d e p a t s p l i b / & i s i b c e n e e '
de l a Formation de Shungura ( v a l 6 e de llOmo, E t h i o p i e ) , i n
Adansonia , P a r is.
Kenya

'

B o n n e f i l l e It.
In press
Paleoenvironmental i m p l i c a t i o n s of a p o l l e n assemblage from
t h e Koob i Fora Format i o n "Eas t Rudolf Kenya, Nature

R i o l l e t , G'.
, R. ~ o n n e f i l l e
In press
P o l l e n d e s A m a r a n t h a c h s du b a s s i n du l a c Rodolphe (Afrique
O r i c n t a l e ) . Determinations gEnGriques e t s p e c i f i c q u c s .
P o l l e a e t Spores.
Mocambisue
Gerharz, R.
1975

G
Die Brabung i n Nianara (Mocambique) , f o r s c h u n s s g e s c h i c h t l i c h e ,
k u l t u r - und e t h n o h i s t o r i s c h e Aspekte. Paideuma, 21:151-181.

The P o t t e r y of Ancient Egypt, i s t o be p u b l i s h e d by t h e Royal O n t a r i o Museum

t h i s surnmcr. d o p i e s may be o r d e r e d by w r i t i n g t o t h e E g y p t i a n Department,
Royal O n t a r i o tiluseum, 100 Queen's P a r k , Toronto, O n t a r i o , Canada.
GHANA
-

We have r e c e i v e d f u r t h e r i n f ormat ion' f ;om P r o f . Posnansky a b o u t SANKOFA;

he writes :
"With refe'ra'nce t o your p o i n t on y.'54 of Nyame Akuma No. 7 , Sankofa is
b a s i c a l l y a new p u b l i c a t i o n though t h e name is t h e same a s t h e now d e f u n c t
c y c l o s t y l e d j o u r n a l of t h e Legon A r c h a e o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y , t h e l a s t i s s u e d which
appeared i n 1973. The new j o u r n a l h a s t h e s u b t i t l e The Legon J o u r n a l
A r c h a e o l o n i c a l and H i s t o r i c a l S t u d i e s . From No. 2 i t w i l l be p u b l i s h e d y
t h e Department of Archaeology, who were r e a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e p u b l i c a t i o n
of volume 1, though s t u d e n t s w i l l bc encouraged t o c o n t r i b u t e % The new j o u r n a l
All be p r i n t e d a s opposed t o b e i n g d u p l i c a t e d , w i l l be l o n g e r and c a r r y more
s u b s t a n t i a l g e n e r a l a r t i c l e s . We would l i k e t o s t r e s s t h e i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y
n a t u r e of t h e new J o u r n a l and w i l l have on o u r e d i t o r i a l board a t ' l e a s t one
member from t h e H i s t o r y Department. I hope t h i s c l e a r s up t h e coa'fusion."

R e p o r t s on E x c a v a t i o n s i n Ghana. D r . O l i v e r D a v i e s , now a t t h e N a t a l Museum,

P i e t e r r n a r i t z b u r g , S o u t h A f r i c a , i s co:nple t i n g t h e r e p o r t s on h i s e x c a v a t i o n s
i n Ghana. Owing t o expense i t h a s n o t b c e n p o s s i b l e t o p r i n t t h e s e r e p o r t s ,
b u t d u p l i c a t e d c o p i e s w i t h p h o t o l i t h o g r a p h e d d r a w i w s have b e e n d i s t r i b u t e d
t o p r i n c i p l l l i b r a r i e s , and o f some t h e r e a r e a v a i l a b l e a few a d d i t i o n a l
copies f o r s a l e t o individuals.
The r e p o r t on s e d i m e n t s a t L i m b i s i and o t h e r s i t e s i n t h e V o l t a
B a s i n (most now f l o o d e d ) was d i s t r i b u t e d i n L975. A f u l l r e p o r t on
XVII-century t e r r a c o t t a s and r i t u a l p o t t e r y from a f u n e r a r y s i t e a t
Ahinsan i s b e i n g p r e p a r e d . Owing t o t h e d i f f i c u l t y of p h o t o s t a t i n g
p h o t o g r a p h s , o n l y one f u l l copy w i l l be a v a i l a b l e , a t t h e P i t t - R i v e r s
Museum, Oxford; a second copy w i t h a l l t h e drawings a n d a s e l e c t i o n
of t h e photographs w i l l be k e p t i n N a t a l . A much s h o r t e n e d r e p o r t ,
c o n t a i n i n g o n l y s i x photographs and a s e l e c t i o n of drawings of p o t t e r y
w i l l be d i s t r i b u t e d t o a l i m i t e d number of l i b r a r i e s .

A . J . A r k e l l r e p o r t s t h a t "my P r e h i s t o r y of t h e N i l e V a l l e y h a s b e e n
p u b l i s h e d by B r u l l as t h c S i c b e n t e A b t c i l u n g , E r s t e r Band, Z w e i t e r
a b s c h n i t t , A L i c r u n g 1 of t h e i r Handbuch d e n O r i e n t a l i s c h e , 1975
( ~ e i d e n / ~ o l n ) /)

.f

T h i s auturm a t y p o l o g y of p h a r a o n i c wheelnade p o t t e r y froin t h e

c o n c e s s i o n of t h c S c a n d i n a v i a n J o i n t E x p e d i t i o n t o Sudanese Nubicl
w i l l be p u b l i s h e d i n t h e S c a n J i n a v i a n J o i n t E x p e d i t i o n S e r i e s ,
Volume 5 . T h i s typology i n c l u d e s d e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e methods of
taxonomy and a n a l y s i s a s w e l l c s a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of a b o u t 3000
p o t t e r y p i e c e s . The t y p o l o g y h a s b e e n p r e p a r e d by R o s t i s l a v H o l t h o e r .

WEST AFRICA
West Af r i c o n J o u r n a l of Archacol ogy
We have been a d v i s e d by Devid C a l v o c o r e s s i , E d i t o r of t h e above j o u r n a l ,
t h a t t h e j o u r n a l w i l l no l o n g e r be p u b l i s h e d by Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s ,
Ibadan, N i g e r i a . A l l c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , o r d e r s , s u b s c r i p t i o n s e r c . s h o u l d
be s e n t t o : The E d i t o r , West A f r i c a n J o u r n a l of Archaeology, Archaeology
D e p a r t n c n t , U n i v e r s i t y of I b a d a n , I b a d a n , N i g e r i a .
PaynlcnL s h o u l d be inade t o West A f r i c a n J o u r n a l of Archaeology.
T h e i r b a n k e r s a r e S t a n d a r d Bank N i g e r i a , Ltd. Agodi Branch, PMB 5153,
S e c r e t a r i a t , Ibadan, N i g e r i a .
The c u r r e n t p r i c e p e r i s s u e ( p r e p a i d i s H7.00 p o s t a g e p a i d ( a t
p r e s e n t H 1 . O O = $1.61 =j0.80).
D i s t r i b u t i o n of v o l . 5 i s i n hand.
l a t e r t h i s year.

Vol. 6 w i l l be p u b l i s h e d

F i n a l l y , we have r e c e i v e d n copy of t h e 1973-1974 R e p r i n t s Exchange

L i s t from t h e C.N.R.S. i n France. The list i s t o o long t o bc reproduced
h e r e and we s u g g e s t t h a t anyone i n t e r e s t e d i n s e e i n g i t should r e q u e s t
a copy froni:
L a b o r a t o i r e de Geologic da Q u a t c r n a i r e
Bib1 i o t h e q u e ,
Centre National de l a Recherche S c i e n t i f i q u e ,
1 P l a c e A r i s t i d c Briand,
92190 Meudon-Bellevuc ( F r e n c c ) .

1977 SAAAM MEETING VENUE

The SAAAM s t e e r i n g committee h a s completed i t s s u r v e y o f

p r o f e s s i o n a l meethings s c h e d u l e d f o r 1977. The p u r p o s e . o f t h i s
e x e r c i s e was t o s e l e c t a c e n t r a l l y l o c a t e d venue a t which t h e
SAAAM c o u l d meet e i t h e r b e f o r e o r a f t e r some o t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l
m e e t i n g o f g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t t o t h e S o c i e t y ' s membership. A l t h o u g h
some key i n f o r m a t i o n is s t i l l u n a v a i l a b l e , t h e committee d e c i d e d
t o d e l a y no l o n g e r i n b r i n g i n g i t s c h o i c e t o t h e S o c i e t y ' s mcnbership.
P l e a s e i n d i c a t e y o u r f i r s t , second and t h i r d p r e f e r e n c e by
p l a c i n g numbers 1, 2 and 3 i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e b o x e s .
Before
SAA Meetings
AAA Meetings
M A Meetings
By I n v i t a t i o n
By i n v i t a t i o n

New O r l e a n s , e a r l y May
Houston, Nov. 26
Dcc. 2
Seattle,nid-April
C a l g a r y , l a t e A p r i l o r e a r l y May
B e r k e l e y , e a r l y May

After

Please m a i l t h i s s h e e t t o C. G a r t h Sampson, Chairman, Department

of A n t h r o p o l o g y , S o u t h e r n M e t h o d i s t U n i v e r s i t y , D a l l a s , Texas 75275
b e f o r e J u l y 1 5 , 1975. The f i n a l announca1i:ent of t h e 1977 v e n u e , b a s e d on t h
on t h i s b a l l o t , w i l l a p p e a r i n t h e n e x t i s s u c of Nyame Akul:la,

David L u b c l l
Sheryl M i l l c r
G a r t h Samps on
SJAM S t e e r i n g Committee