Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PleisTechnoVar (Technological Variability during the Late Pleistocene in Eastern Africa: lithic assemblages as indirect witnesses of past human population dynamics)

Teaser

The project PleisTechnoVar investigated changes in human technical behaviours during the Late Pleistocene (between 70,000 and 15,000 years ago) in eastern Africa, the Nile Valley and the Levant, and discussed what it may mean in terms of adaptations to a changing environment...

Summary

The project PleisTechnoVar investigated changes in human technical behaviours during the Late Pleistocene (between 70,000 and 15,000 years ago) in eastern Africa, the Nile Valley and the Levant, and discussed what it may mean in terms of adaptations to a changing environment or contacts between / isolation of populations. This period sees a major behavioural shift from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) to the Late Stone Age (LSA). However, very few sites document this shift and consequently, there is limited information about the nature of change from the MSA to the LSA. In addition, the Late Pleistocene is characterised by rapid climatic fluctuations and a global shift to arid conditions, which is likely to have posed major adaptive challenges to modern human populations. Genetic studies also document during the Late Pleistocene major human dispersals, within, Out-of and Back-into Africa but the number, routes and timing of these dispersals are highly debated and archaeological evidence remains sparse. The evidence thus suggests complex population dynamics at that time, which have contributed to shape the human diversity observed today.

Very few archaeological data are available to discuss possible links between technological variability, environmental changes and dispersals of modern humans in Africa during the Late Pleistocene. The PleisTechnoVar project aimed to contribute to this topic by focusing on some of the key areas for the understanding of past human dispersals: eastern Africa, the Nile Valley and the Levant, one of a possible route out of and back into Africa. In particular, it addressed the following questions: How is the technological variability characterised in these regions? What were the environmental constraints? Which methods can we use to best compare lithic assemblages on a multi-regional scale? May we identify technological indicators of contacts between populations? The main overall objectives were (1) to analyse technological variability in Kenya and Ethiopia, (2) to develop methodological tools to study technological variability during the Late Pleistocene on a multi-regional scale (eastern Africa, northeastern Africa and the Levant) and (3) to develop models of interpretation of lithic assemblages to test hypotheses of contacts / migrations between human groups.

Work performed

The project focused on two main case-studies: technological variability in eastern Africa during the Late Pleistocene and technological variability in the Nile Valley and the Levant between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago.

Dr Leplongeon relied on an innovative approach to comparative stone tool analysis, based on the combination of the ‘Anglo-American’ and ‘French’ approaches to stone tool analysis, complemented by the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and exploratory multivariate statistics. She reinforced her expertise in stone tool analysis and acquired the skills relevant to the application of this methodological approach by attending trainings and attending and organising seminars and discussion groups at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, at the University of Cambridge. She organised a three-day workshop on methods in lithic analysis at the McDonald Institute, which brought together researchers from different institutions and ‘schools’ of lithic analysis.

The study relied on data collected during previous research, as well as new data collected during study visits at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi, the British Museum in London where Late Palaeolithic lithic assemblages from Egypt are stored (the ‘Wendorf Collection’) and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. This led to the constitution of a large database including 12 sites from these regions.

The main results of this project (1) reinforced the model of a non-linear shift from the MSA to the LSA, (2) highlighted the importance of the use of various approaches to stone tool analysis, as well as the consideration of results of all other related fields (palaeoenvironments, palaeoanthropology, genetics, geology) in the discussion of large geographical scale research questions such as testing dispersal hypotheses and (3) applied these approaches to test the hypothesis of a Back to Africa dispersal at the end of the Pleistocene between the Levant and the Nile Valley. Results are detailed in four papers in peer-reviewed journals (published or in press). One paper has also been submitted and two others are in preparation. In addition, results were presented at seven international conferences and workshops (with two abstracts published in conference proceedings).

Results were disseminated towards the wider public through the organisation and participation in several events, such as the Festival of Ideas, the Science Festival and participation in three public seminars in Cambridge, as well as one in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and one in Nairobi, Kenya.

Final results

Through the study of three major eastern African sites (Porc-Epic and Goda Buticha in Ethiopia, and Enkapune Ya Muto in Kenya), the project showed that the southeastern Ethiopian record present Middle Stone Age characteristics at an unusually late date for the region (i.e. 6000-8000 years ago). On the contrary, the archaeological record from Enkapune Ya Muto displays an early (>50,000 years ago) abrupt change to the Late Stone Age, and show evidence for variability within the early LSA. This adds to the evidence for a non-linear and multiple shift from the MSA to the LSA in Africa.

The project also included a comparative analysis of assemblages from the Egyptian Nile Valley and from the Negev Desert (Israel), dated to between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago. The analysis aimed to see whether the assemblages from these two areas presented similarities, which would support the hypothesis of contacts (Back-into-Africa?) between populations in the Nile Valley and populations in the Levant at this time. However, the two groups of lithic assemblages show very distinct typological and technological characteristics, which might suggest that they formed distinct techno-cultural entities. These results raise other questions, such as the role of the Nile Delta as a possible environmental barrier at that time.

Publications are available in ‘gold’ or ‘green’ open access and all data used for these publications are also available online with the publications. The researcher has created and maintained a webpage (http://www.pleistechnovar.jimdo.com) on the project.

The PleisTechnoVar project improved our knowledge of Late Pleistocene human technical behaviours and their changes in eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya), the Nile Valley and the Levant. It also contributed to discuss technological changes in relation to dispersal hypotheses, as well as other factors of change (e.g. environmental changes), while stressing the limitations of using comparative lithic analyses to test dispersal hypotheses resulting mainly from genetic studies. Comparisons between the archaeological record of the regions around the hypothetical ‘routes’ of Out-of and Back-into Africa dispersals are at the heart of testing dispersal hypotheses and their archaeological visibility. The results of this project set our current knowledge one step closer to better understand the context of these dispersals and the limitations of testing these dispersals using solely the archaeological record.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.pleistechnovar.jimdo.com.