Transport and Subsistence Patterns at the Transition to Pastoralism, Koobi Fora, Kenya

Ndiema, K. E.; Dillian, Carolyn; Braun, David R.; Harris, Jack L.; Kiura, Purity

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00595.x

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…As environment and subsistence changed, people created new technologies, social networks, and forms of cultural expression. Whereas early Holocene fishers used mainly local lithic raw materials (28,29), middle Holocene herders preferred obsidian from a variety of local, distant, and island sources, some of which required extended exchange networks or boat travel (34,35). Pottery production changed, from early Holocene ceramics with wavy-line motifs resembling Saharan traditions (27) to intricately decorated middle Holocene Nderit ware (SI Appendix, Fig.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

Hildebrand

Grillo

Sawchuk

et al. 2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Monumental architecture is a prime indicator of social complexity, because it requires many people to build a conspicuous structure commemorating shared beliefs. Examining monumentality in different environmental and economic settings can reveal diverse reasons for people to form larger social units and express unity through architectural display. In multiple areas of Africa, monumentality developed as mobile herders created large cemeteries and practiced other forms of commemoration. The motives for such behavior in sparsely populated, unpredictable landscapes may differ from well-studied cases of monumentality in predictable environments with sedentary populations. Here we report excavations and ground-penetrating radar surveys at the earliest and most massive monumental site in eastern Africa. Lothagam North Pillar Site was a communal cemetery near Lake Turkana (northwest Kenya) constructed 5,000 years ago by eastern Africa's earliest pastoralists. Inside a platform ringed by boulders, a 119.5-m mortuary cavity accommodated an estimated minimum of 580 individuals. People of diverse ages and both sexes were buried, and ornaments accompanied most individuals. There is no evidence for social stratification. The uncertainties of living on a "moving frontier" of early herding-exacerbated by dramatic environmental shifts-may have spurred people to strengthen social networks that could provide information and assistance. Lothagam North Pillar Site would have served as both an arena for interaction and a tangible reminder of shared identity.

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

Hildebrand

Grillo

Sawchuk

et al. 2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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show abstract

“…7; Lynch and Robbins 1979;Robbins 1984). Second, analysis of obsidian analysis shows sustained trade in artifacts and raw materials across the lake, probably by the use of watercraft (Nash et al 2011;Ndiema et al 2011). The obsidian analysis shows the lack of cultural barriers inhibiting the movement of specific materials across ethnic or language divides.…”

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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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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“…Lothagam North and Lothagam West). Present data indicate that the greatest degree of artefactual similarity exists between Jarigole and Lothagam North, which are !100 km apart even assuming the ability to cross Lake Turkana by boat (see Ndiema et al 2011): both have abundant Nderit pottery, obsidian, mortuary remains and beads. Each of the other West Turkana sites deviates from this pattern, but in ways that are not standard and require further exploration.…”

Section: Pillar Sites As Burial Grounds?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The context of early megalithic architecture in eastern Africa: the Turkana Basinc.5000-4000 BP

Grillo

Hildebrand

2013

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Transport and Subsistence Patterns at the Transition to Pastoralism, Koobi Fora, Kenya

Cited by 25 publications

References 53 publications

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

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

The context of early megalithic architecture in eastern Africa: the Turkana Basinc.5000-4000 BP

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