Late Stone Age variability in the Main Ethiopian Rift: New data from the Bulbula River, Ziway–Shala basin

Ménard, Clément; Bon, François; Dessie, Asamerew; Bruxelles, Laurent; Douze, Katja; Fauvelle, François-Xavier; Khalidi, Lamya; Lesur, Joséphine; Mensan, Romain

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.019

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…a EH, b EMH, c LMH and post-LMH, d LH and burial cairns, e HP and burial cairns, and f archaeological sites of unknown age (image in full color online) which people exploited (Stewart 1989). EH sites adjacent to lakes Ziway and Shala in the central Ethiopian Rift also include high proportions of fish in the faunal assemblages (Ménard et al 2014). Fishing is presumed to have taken place using barbed bone points and cooking done in ceramic vessels (Fig.…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such networks laid the foundation for what was to later transform the economy of sub-Saharan Africa when the ecosystem would no longer support fishing. However, regional technological variants abound such as at lakes Ziway-Shala, where the production of the BEthiopian Blade Tool traditiond iverge, from known EH lithic traditions elsewhere in Africa (Ménard et al 2014), suggesting localized adaptations to pluvial conditions. Early Middle Holocene, 9,000-4,500 Years BP This period begins with lake regressions in all local basins (Turkana, Chalbi, Suguta, Chew Bahir) potentially associated with cooler SSTs in the western Indian Ocean and weakening of the East African Monsoon (Bard et al 1997;Tierney and deMenocal (Robbins 1974), and d-e surface collected uniserial barbed bone point from GcJh11 (Beyin 2011).…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

et al. 2015

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Throughout the Holocene, Lake Turkana has been subject to drastic changes in lake levels and the subsistence strategies people employ to survive in this hot and arid region. In this paper, we reconstruct the position of the lake during the Holocene within a paleoclimatic context. Atmospheric forcing mechanisms are discussed in order to contextualize the broader landscape changes occurring in eastern Africa over the last 12,000 years. The Holocene is divided into five primary phases according to changes in the strand-plain evolution, paleoclimate, and human subsistence strategies practiced within the basin. Early Holocene fishing settlements occurred adjacent to high and relatively stable lake levels. A period of high-magnitude oscillations in lake levels Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) ensued after 9,000 years BP and human settlements appear to have been located close to the margins of the lake. Aridification and a final regression in lake levels ensued after 5,000 years BP and human communities were generalized pastoralists-fishers-foragers. During the Late Holocene, lake levels may have dropped below their present position and subsistence strategies appear to have been flexible and occasionally specialized on animal pastoralism. Modern missionary and government outposts have encouraged the construction of permanent settlements in the region, which are heavily dependent on outside resources for their survival. Changes in the physical and cultural environments of the Lake Turkana region have been closely correlated, and understanding the relationship between the two variables remains a vital component of archaeological research.Résumé Tout l'Holocène, le lac Turkana a été soumis à des changements drastiques dans l'altitude des lacs et les stratégies de subsistance des gens utilisent pour survivre dans cette région chaude et aride. Dans cet article, nous reconstruisons la position du lac au cours de l'Holocène dans un contexte paléoclimatique. Mécanismes de forçage atmosphériques sont discutées afin de contextualiser les changements de paysage plus larges qui se produisent en Afrique orientale au cours des 12.000 dernières années. L'Holocène est divisé en cinq phases principales en fonction des changements dans l'évolution altitude du lac, paléoclimats et les stratégies de subsistance humains pratiqués dans le bassin. Premiers établissements de pêche de l'Holocène ont eu lieu à proximité d'altitude d'eau élevés et relativement stables. Une période d'oscillations de grande amplitude dans l'altitude du lac s'ensuit après 9000 années BP et les établissements humains semblent avoir été situé à proximité des marges sur le lac. Aridification et une régression finale du altitude des lacs s'ensuit après 5000 années BP et les communautés humaines sont généralisées éleveurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs. Au cours de l'Holocène tardif, les altitudes des lacs pourraient avoir chuté en dessous de leur position actuelle et les stratégies de subsistance semblent avoir fait preuve de souplesse et de temps en temps spécialisé sur le pas...

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Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

et al. 2015

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“…Ethiopia (Bon et al, 2013;Ménard et al, 2014). To this end, a closed water system known as the Ziway-Shala basin (including lakes Ziway, Abijata, Langano, Shala) was selected for exploration.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As part of the "LSA Sequence in Ethiopia" project, we turned our attention to the thick sedimentary deposits filling the vast alluvio-lacustrine plain of the Bulbula, which takes its name from the narrow river that currently connects lakes Ziway and Abijata (Bon et al, 2013;Ménard et al, 2014). The Bulbula plain is bordered by the Alutu volcano on the East and is surrounded by Waso Hill, Macho Hill and Agadima, which constitute the southern tip of the Gademotta Ridge to the West.…”

Section: -Bulbula and Deka Wede Localitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleoenvironmental and biogeographic implications of terminal Pleistocene large mammals from the Ziway–Shala Basin, Main Ethiopian Rift, Ethiopia

Lesur

Faith

Bon

et al. 2016

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…L'analyse de ces différents assemblages archéologiques ainsi que leur comparaison avec les informations recueillies auparavant dans la même zone par Gallagher (1977a), Humpreys (1978) et Street (1979), apportent de nouveaux éclairages afin de décrire la nature et l'évolution des industries lithiques de cette région dans la longue durée. Cela concerne à la fois l'identité technologique du MSA final, le développement des industries microlithiques lors des phases finales du Pléistocène et du début de l'Holocène (Ménard et al, soumis ;Ménard, thèse en cours ;Behailu Habte, 2013), ou bien encore la perduration de traditions lithiques lors des périodes historiques. Certains de ces contextes ont par ailleurs livré des vestiges fauniques permettant d'établir une corrélation entre cette évolution industrielle et celle des stratégies d'acquisition des ressources alimentaires (Lesur, étude en cours).…”

Section: Contexte Géologique Et Archéologique De La Plaine De La Bulbulaunclassified

Archéologie préhistorique de la partie centrale du Main Ethiopian Rift : contribution à l’établissement de la séquence Late Stone Age d’Afrique orientale

Bon¹,

Dessie²,

Bruxelles³

et al. 2013

ethio

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Prehistory of the Central Main Ethiopian Rift (Ziway-Shala basin) : Establishing the Late Stone Age sequence in Eastern Africa Supported by the CFEE, ARCCH, MAEE, INRAP and the laboratory TRACES, this project, " Late Stone Age sequence in Ethiopia", is devoted to the collection of new data on the late prehistory of the Horn of Africa. To answer to this objective, several fieldwork seasons have been carried out since 2007 in the area of lakes Ziway, Langano and Abijata, located in the central part of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley. Over the course of this project, we have intensively explored different geological contexts, and in particular the fluvio-lacustrine plain of the Bulbula river and the impact of volcanic eruption on the landscape and on human acquisition strategies. This area provides an ideal terrain for the study of prehistoric human/ environment relationships in the context of a shifting natural environment (lake fluctuations / volcanic activity). This collaborative program, developed in a region with a uniquely rich and well preserved sedimentary and archaeological record, has supplemented new data establishing the geomorphological and geological setting, with a stratigraphic sequence in which several new archaeological sites have been discovered and studied. Most notable are several sites dating to around 30,000 BP, a period previously poorly documented in Ethiopian Prehistory, and several sites dating to the transition between the Pleistocene and Holocene periods (between 12,000 and 9,000 cal BC). The archaeological sequence we have identified in the Bulbula plain is discontinuous because it is linked to lakelevel fluctuations but also to arid and volcanic events. Nevertheless, the different windows of preservation identified shed new light on a variety of issues regarding the late Prehistory of this area. It concerns particularly a final stage of the MSA (contemporary OIS3) and diverse expressions of the LSA. The signature of this diversity is both technical and economical, around the role of hunting and fishing practices. This interdisciplinary project combines geomorphological and archaeological perspectives with detailed work on raw material sampling and analysis.

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Late Stone Age variability in the Main Ethiopian Rift: New data from the Bulbula River, Ziway–Shala basin

Cited by 33 publications

References 47 publications

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Paleoenvironmental and biogeographic implications of terminal Pleistocene large mammals from the Ziway–Shala Basin, Main Ethiopian Rift, Ethiopia

Archéologie préhistorique de la partie centrale du Main Ethiopian Rift : contribution à l’établissement de la séquence Late Stone Age d’Afrique orientale

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