The Middle Stone Age of the northern Kenyan Rift: age and context of new archaeological sites from the Kapedo Tuffs

Tryon, Christian A.; Roach, Neil T.; Logan, M. Amelia V.

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.03.008

Cited by 40 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…INAA, instrumental neutron activation analysis; SSMS, spark source mass spectrometry (now uncommon); SIMS, secondary ionization mass spectrometry (known also as ion probe/microprobe); SEM, scanning electron microscopy. Measurements of the refractive index (RI) of glass shards and also free crystals were widely used prior to the advent of the electron microprobe; high-precision RI methods for glass and crystals (e.g., cummingtonite) remain in limited use (e.g., Danhara et al, 1992;Soles et al, 1995;Nakamura et al, 2002;Enache and Cumming, 2006; Matsu"ura et al, submitted for publication) b Where crystal quantities are abundant, ferromagnesian minerals may be identified using X-ray diffraction Glass composition approximates the composition of the magma at the time of its eruption and, because of the complexity of the eruptive processes, provides a potentially unique signature or "fingerprint" (Tryon et al, 2008). However, because some tephra layers in reality are closely similar to others compositionally, they are strictly not unique and hence "fingerprinting" in this sense is a misnomer.…”

Section: Tephra Characterization and Correlation: Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tephrochronology and its application: A review

Lowe

2011

Quaternary Geochronology

649

535

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Tephrochronology (from tephra, Gk "ashes") is a unique stratigraphic method for linking, dating, and synchronizing geological, palaeoenvironmental, or archaeological sequences or events. As well as utilizing the Law of Superposition, tephrochronology in practise requires tephra deposits to be characterized (or "fingerprinted") using physical properties evident in the field together with those obtained from laboratory analyses. Such analyses include mineralogical examination (petrography) or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals using an electron microprobe or other analytical tools including laser-ablation-based mass spectrometry or the ion microprobe. The palaeoenvironmental or archaeological context in which a tephra occurs may also be useful for correlational purposes. Tephrochronology provides greatest utility when a numerical age obtained for a tephra or cryptotephra is transferrable from one site to another using stratigraphy and by comparing and matching inherent compositional features of the deposits with a high degree of likelihood. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method that provides an exceptionally precise volcanic-event stratigraphy. Such age transfers are valid because the primary tephra deposits from an eruption essentially have the same short-lived age everywhere they occur, forming isochrons very soon after the eruption (normally within a year).As well as providing isochrons for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological reconstructions, tephras through their geochemical analysis allow insight into volcanic and magmatic processes, and provide a comprehensive record of explosive volcanism and recurrence rates in the Quaternary (or earlier) that can be used to establish time-space relationships of relevance to volcanic hazard analysis.The basis and application of tephrochronology as a central stratigraphic and geochronological tool for Quaternary studies are presented and discussed in this review. Topics covered include principles of tephrochronology, defining isochrons, tephra nomenclature, mapping and correlating tephras from proximal to distal locations at metre-through to sub-3 millimetre-scale, cryptotephras, mineralogical and geochemical fingerprinting methods, numerical and statistical correlation techniques, and developments and applications in dating including the use of flexible depositional age-modelling techniques based on Bayesian statistics.Along with reference to wide-ranging examples and the identification of important recent advances in tephrochronology, such as the development of new geoanalytical approaches that enable individual small glass shards to be analysed near-routinely for major, trace, and rare-earth elements, potential problems such as miscorrelation, erroneous-age transfer, and tephra reworking and taphonomy (especially relating to cryptotephras) are also examined. Some of the challenges for future tephrochronological studies include refining geochemical analytical methods further, improving understanding of cryptotephra dis...

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Section: Tephra Characterization and Correlation: Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tephrochronology and its application: A review

Lowe

2011

Quaternary Geochronology

649

535

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“…This is also true of many southern African MSA sites (e.g., Thackeray 1989), and the rarity of retouch has made it difficult to directly apply typologies such as that of Bordes (1961) that emphasize shaped or modified tools (see discussion in Villa, Delagnes, and Wadley 2005). In some areas, retouch frequency is directly linked to the presence of fine-grained raw materials, with retouch being rare on lava artifacts but more common on those made of chert or similar rocks (Tryon, Roach, and Logan 2008). The Bordes system has been successfully applied to sites in northern Africa where chert is widespread (e.g., Hublin, Tillier, and Tixier 1987) and in eastern Africa to sites such as Gademotta/Kulkuletti, Ethiopia (Wendorf and Schild 1974), where obsidian was used nearly exclusively.…”

Section: Other Shaped Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These tools are also found in Acheulian or other earlier regional industries or industrial complexes such as the Sangoan and are likely a retention of characteristic ESA technologies (table 1). These MSA sites include Koimilot in the Kapthurin Formation (Tryon 2006) and the Kapedo Tuffs of Kenya (Tryon, Roach, and Logan 2008), assemblages from Kibish Formation of Ethiopia (surface collected and not from the localities listed in table 1; Shea 2008), and the 168-130 ka basal Bed VI at Mumba Rockshelter, Tanzania (Gliganic et al 2011;Mehlman 1989: 194). Similar tools also occur at the undated sites of Muguruk (McBrearty 1988), FxJi 61 near Koobi Fora (Kelly 1996:159), and the basal MSA levels at Mtongwe in Kenya (Omi 1986(Omi , 1988.…”

Section: Other Shaped Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability in the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa

Tryon¹,

Faith²

2013

Current Anthropology

174

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“…; Kuehn et al, 2011). Though not unproblematic, as glass composition approximates the composition of magma at the time of eruption it can provide a unique signature or 'fingerprint' of tephra (Lowe, 2011: 120;Tryon et al, 2008). Electron probe microanalysis (EPMS) of individual glass sherds may prove more effective than analysis of bulk samples because the variable phenocrysts, xenocrysts, xenoliths, and detrital grains not related to the eruption are removed (Lowe, 2011: 120;Shane, 2000).…”

Section: Correlating the Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cultural nature of tephra: ‘Problematic’ ecofacts and artifacts and the Barú volcano, Panamá

Holmberg

2016

Quaternary International

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a b s t r a c tThis paper presents data from archaeological stratigraphy and lacustrine core samples containing tephra from the Barú volcano in western Panama. The discussion seeks to refine the understanding of medial tephra deposits near Barú in relation to the eruption history indicated by geological, palaeoecological, and archaeological data. A primary goal of this fieldwork is the identification and correlation of tephra from major Barú eruptions encountered in archaeological contexts by their lithology, stratigraphic position, and mineralogy without resorting to geochemical fingerprinting. The intention is to develop a cost efficient and reproducible means of utilizing tephra as a chronostratigraphic marker in archaeological contexts and examine the intersection of human life with volcanic events and dynamic environments. Tephra in archaeological contexts can have ambiguous placement between ecofact and artifact, as is the case with a small number of crude tephra sculptures in my excavated material and that of a seminal prior study. While the research project utilizes visible tephra layers, not cryptotephra, by all means the tephra data prove to be cryptic. Engagement with the imperfection entailed in meshing multidisciplinary data sets and different scientific communities with interests in tephra, particularly in lesser studied regions, is posited as a 'total' view of tephra.

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The Middle Stone Age of the northern Kenyan Rift: age and context of new archaeological sites from the Kapedo Tuffs

Cited by 40 publications

References 119 publications

Tephrochronology and its application: A review

Tephrochronology and its application: A review

Variability in the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa

The cultural nature of tephra: ‘Problematic’ ecofacts and artifacts and the Barú volcano, Panamá

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