Nyame Akuma Issue 018

8/10/2019 Nyame Akuma Issue 018

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NYAME AKUMA

N0.18 May, 1381.

N e w s l et t e r o f t h e S o c i e t y of A f r i c a n i s t A r c h a e o l o g i s t s i n Am er ica .

Edi ted by P.L. Shin nie and i ss ue d f rom th e Depar tment of Archaeology,The U n i ve r s i t y o f Ca lga ry, Ca lga ry, A lbe r t a , T2N 1N4 Canada. Typingand e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t a n c e by A m a Owusua Shinnie.

I t h as u n fo r t una t e ly no t been pos s i b l e t o o rga n i s e t h e SAAAMm ee ti ng o r i g i n a l l y p l an ne d t o b e h e l d i n B e rk e le y t h i s m onth. Onlyt w en t y- s ix s u b s c r i b e r s r e t u r n e d t h e p i n k s h e e t a s k i n g f o r p r e f er e n c e sf o r San Diego o r Berke ley and i n Pro fes so r Desmond C la rk ' s absence i tw a s n o t p o s s i b l e t o a r ra n ge m a t t e r s . I a m p r op o si n g t o P r o f e s s o r C l a r kt h a t h e p l a n t o have a m ee ti ng i n t h e F a l l . T h o s e i n t e r e s t e d s h o u l dwrite t o him:

P r o f e s s o r J . Desmond ClarkDepartment of AnthropologyU n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i aBe rke l ey, Ca l i f o r n i a 94720U.S.A.

There i s no fu r t h e r i n fo r ma t ion abou t t h e Pan -Af r ic an Congres sp la nn ed f o r N i g e r i a t h i s y e a r , D r Ekpo Eyo w a s i n C algary f o r t h eopening of the Arts o f N ige r i a exh ib i t i on which w a s he ld he r e f r omMarch 16 th t o May l o t h , 1981 , bu t he w a s u n ab l e t o g i v e a ny f i r mi n f o rm a t i o n i n t h e a bs en ce o f a dec i s i on f rom the commi t t e e . I t seemsm ost u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e C on gr es s w i l l be h e ld t h i s y e ar .

Therea r e s t i l l

c o n t r i b u t o r s who do n o t pay a t t e n t i o n t o t h eN ot es t o C o nt r i b ut o r s which a r e p r i n t e d o n t h e i n s i d e o f t h e ba ckcover a s w e l l a s b e i n g s e n t o u t as a s epd ra t e shee t w i th no .17 . T h i sf a i l u r e t o n o t e t h e r e q ui re me nt s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t i c e ab l e w i thr e ga r d t o r e f e re n c es t o o t he r l i t e r a t u r e . Most o f t h e s e a r e n o ta p p r o p r i a t e n o r r e q u i r e d a n d I am u s i n g my d i s c r e t i o n i n r em ovi ng m ostof them.

I a m o c c a s i o n a l l y r e c e i v i n g items i n mimeographed form whichs u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y ha ve b een more w i d el y d i s t r i b u t e d I am a g a i nu s i ng my d i s c r e t i o n i n t h i s m a t t e r b u t my g en er al a t t i t u d e i s t h a tNyame Akuma i s f o r o r i g i n a l m a t e r i a l a n d t h a t i n most c a s e s mimeographed

m a t e r i a l i s n ot s u i t a b l e f o r r ep u b l ic a t i on .

I n c o nc l us i on I s ho ul d l i k e t o r e f e r t o t h e C on fer en ce of t h eCanadian Assoc ia t ion of Afr ican S tudies which w a s h e l d h e r e i n C a lg ar yfrom 6 t h t o 9 t h May o f t h i s yea r . P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e co nf er en ce i nt h e main reas on f o r t h e l a t e appearan ce of Nyame Akuma. F o r t h e f i r s tt im e i n t h e h i s t o r y of t h e A s s o c ia t i o n a n a r c h ae o l o g i c a l p an e l w a si n c l u d e d i n t he con fer ence t he t heme o f which w a s The S t a t e of t h e A r t .The members of t h e pa ne l were A l i Osman, Nevi l le Chi t t i ck , Nic David ,Merr ick Posnansky, Jack Robert son each of t he se prepar ed a paper onh i s own a r ea and Thurs tan Shaw ac t ed as d i s c u s s a n t and a l s o p r ep a re d


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a paper. was chairman of t h e panel . l l th es e paper s whichprovide a u s e f u l o ve rv ie w of t h e s t a t e o f a r c h a eo l o gy i n t h e m ain

a r e a s of A f r i c a w i l l be p u bl is h ed i n a special volume which w i l lappear towards the end of the year.

P L Shinnie


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Co mm ittee f o r t h e Th i rd In t e rn a t i o na l Congre s s o f Egypto logy (1982 )

Glencairn AvenueToronto , Ontar io , Canada M ~ R M5

Telephone (416) 487-9604

Canada t o H o st 3 r d I n t e r n a t i o n a l C on gr es s

on Egyptology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , t h e C a na di an members o f I n t e r n a t i o n a lE g y p t o l o g i s t s w i l l h o s t t h e 3 r d I n t e r n a t i o n a l C on gr es s onEgy ptol ogy. The Congress w i l l be he ld from September 5-12, 1982a t t h e S k y li n e H ot e l i n To ro n to , Canada.

t i s e xp e c t ed t ha t be tween 700 and 800 de l ega t e s w i l l a t t e n d t h eCongress which i s h e l d e v e r y t h r e e y e a r s .

The meeting i s s t i l l i n i t s p l a n n i n g s t a g e s b u t t o d a t e t wo th em eshave been developed: Archaeology of Egypt on which 3 r e p o r t sw i l l be g i ve n on c u r r e n t a c t i v i t i e s ; t h e se co nd t h e s e E gy pt ia nP h i l o l o g y w i l l have 32 papers which w i l l i nc lu de l i n g u i s t i c s ,i n s c r i p t i o n s and l i t e r a t u r e .

There w i l l a l s o be a n op p or tu n it y f o r d e le g a t e s t o p r e s e n t t h e i rown papers a t t h e C o ng r es s . T h e t o p i c s w i l l range f romp h a ra o n ic h i s t o r y H i s t o r y o f A r t and Arc h i t e c t u r e TheMe di te rr an ea n World Graeco-Roman Egypt.

f you r e q u i r e a n y f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n c o n ce r n in g t h e C on gr es sp l e a s e c o n t a c t M r Jeff Freeman a t t h e a b o v e a d d r e s s .


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Association Ouest Africaine d fArc h601 0gie

West African Archaeological Association

The following minutes of the meeting of the committ ee of theAssociation have been received and ar e printed here to show the presentsituation. The editor of Nyame A k m a has made several attempts to jointhe Association and also tried to go t o the meeting at Bamako in 1979he was frustrated in both attempts by receiving no information from theSecretary. He also notes that the only member of the committee to be onthe mailing list of Nyame Akuma is M. Descamps. Mr.Qbayemi the secretary,used to receive the newsletter but when it was made availabl e free onrequest never asked for it. This is sad state of affa irs and NyameAkuma is at the disposal of the committee should they wish to make useof it.

Compte-rendu de l a r6union du 3 mars 1981 Dakar

Sur convocation de Alpha 0 Konare, 6lu pr6sident de l fAss ocia tionen d6cembre 1978 2 Bamako, le bureau de 1 Association s est rguniDakar, le 3 mars 1981.

Etaient ~r gs en ts :.O.Konare Pr6sident. Lame Secrgtaire-Adjoint. Descamps Membre coopt6

Le Vice-pr6sident J.B. Kiethega, retenu 2 Paris,

f4it excuser par lettre.Le Secrktaire g6n6ral A. OGayemi dont lfa rr iv 6e6tait attendue n1 6t ai t pas pr6sent Dakar aumoment de la r6union.La s6ance est ouverte h 30 sur l ordre dujour suivant:

-1 Vie de llAssociation-2 Questions diverses

Abordant le premier point de l ordre du jour , le ~ rk si de nt aitremarquer que le quorum permettant un e rgunion du bureau (4 membres)n est pas atteint et que depuis d6cembre 198 0, l actuel bur eau , selonles statu ts de ltAsso ci at ion, urait dl3 Stre renouvelk.

I1 insiste cependant sur la n6ces sit6 de tenir cette r6union pourperp6tuer llA sso cia ti on, ont les statuts ne pr6voient aucune proc6durede dissolution. Le Pr6sident d6plore le manque de coordination qui aparalys6 les activit6s de lfAs so ci at io n, anque dont il estime que lesprincipaux responsables sont le ~e cr 6t ai re 6n6ral et lui-mSme. I 1s etonne de ce que le West African Journal of Archeology 6dit 6 Ibadancontinue d Etre publi6 ind6pendamment de l Associat ion, alors qu ildevrait en Etre l organe.

En ce qui concerne la publication des actes du colloque de Bama ko,A.O. Konare signale que de nombreux textes avaient d6jg 6t 6 rassembl6s,mais qu on a omis de dresser une lis te des adresses de tous les

participants, ce qui a rendu imposs ible les correspondances qui s imposaient


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entre Bamako et certains auteurs de communication. tLe Prksident a constatk que la trgsorikre ne s'etant plus

manifestke depuis la rkunion de crgation de llAssociat ion, 'on ne

sait rien sur la situation financikre de 1'A.O.A.A.Aprks de longs 6changes de vues, les mesures suivantes sontarrEt6es

-Le troisikme colloque de 1'A.O.A.A. se tiendra dans la premizrequinzaine de dkcembre 1981

-11 aura lieu soit Abidjan soit Dakar.-En plus des communications prksentkes par les participants, un

dkbat aura lieu autour d'un thkme central: formation des archkologuesen Afrique de ll Ou es t, structures d'enseignement et de recherches dans lesdiff6rents pays, chantiers de fouilles.

Compte tenu de la volontk du gouvernement ivoirien de favoriser surson territoire les manifestations culturelles, le bureau espzre qu'unaccord sera obtenu pour la tenue du colloque en C6te dlIvoir e. Lad6cision dkfinitive sur le lieu et les dates prkcises du colloque seraprise dkbut mai 1981, par le Prksident de l lAssocia tion .

Les participants d6sireux de pr6senter des communications devronten envoyer le titre avant le 15 octobre 1981

Tous les membres sont priks de relire les statuts de l lAs soc iat ionafin que les propositions d'amendements puissent Stre faites dans lesens d'une meilleure efficacitk du bureau.

Au second point de l'ordre du jour, a 6tk examinke la rkpartition destgches immgdiates entre les membres prgsents. A.O. Konare a kt6 charg6d'entrer en contact avec les autoritgs gouvernementals s6nkgalaises et

ivoiriennes. C. Descamps, qui se propose de se rendre en CGte dlIvoiredu 30 avril au mai 1981, sera chargk de faire le point avec notrecollkgue V. Ciabate et les membres de 1'Association. C. Descamps est6galement chargk de centraliser les propositions relatives'a la modificationdes statuts et d' n dkgager un pro j t

Des contacts sont prkvus avec les services de la Coop ationfr an ~a is e, lA UPE LF, et tous organismes susceptibles d'apporter aide etassistance llAssociation.

M. Lame, charg6 des travaux du skcrktariat, est tenu d'informer tousles membres du bureau klu 2 Bamako en 1978

La skance est levke 11 h 45.A l'issue de la rkunion du bureau, une rkunion d'information groupant

une dizaine de participants, membres ou sympathisants de llA.O.A.A.,s'est tenue dans le ~k pa rt em en t e Pr6histoire de 1'IFAN.

Fait Dakar, le 6 mars 1981

Massamba Lame


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NEbJS ITEMS

ALGERIA

D r L Krzyzaniak of t h e Poznan Museum Poland sends t h i s re po rt :

TASSILI-N-AJJER

On th e ba s is of t h e cur ren t Alger ian-Pol i sh agreement ons c i e n t i f i c and c u l t u r a l c o l l a b o ra t i o n t oo k p a r t i n t h e A lg er ia ne x p ed i t io n t o t h e Ta s s il i -n - A jj e r a r e a l a s t November. The expedi t ionwas o rg an i z ed by t h e O f f i c e du P a rc N a t io n a l d e Ta s s i l i a nd d i r e c t e dby M r Sid-Achmed Ke rz ab i head of th e OPNT The f i e ld -work l a s t ed af o r t n i g h t an d t h e t eam p e n e t r a t e d a h i t h e r t o r a t h e r p o o r l y k n o w n a r e aof t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o f t h e Ta s s i l i r na ss if e. The p r os p ec te d a r e a l i e st o t he e a s t o f t h e Zaouatallaz Dider Algiers p i s t e and c o n s i s t e d ofs u c h l o c a l i t i e s as t he D ide r bas in and Ikhe i rkhe in and Ighas sanemoun tains . Most ly pa i n t i ngs were found i n t he se a r e as a s w e l l a s anumber of a rch aeo log ica l d ep os it s and occur rence s which seem t o bea s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f t h e r o c k - a r t . t was f o u n d t h a ti n g e n e r a l t h e s t a t e o f p r e s e r v a ti o n of p a i n t i n g s i s bad i n t h e s el o c a l i t i e s . The mot ives of t h e pa i n t i ngs be long mos t ly t o t h eBovidian and l a t e r s t y l e s ; only few cas es of Round-headed Men s t y l ewere found. S e v er a l p o t e n t i a l l y r i c h a r c h a e o lo g i c a l d e p o s i t s w erea l s o f o un d i n t h e p a i n t e d r o ck s h e l t e r s and i n t h e d i r e c t neig hb ou rho odof t h e concen t r a t i ons of t h e rock - a r t . On th e su r f ac e o f t h e s e

a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m a t e r i a l was r e co r d ed c o n s i s t i n g mo s tl y o f q u a r t z f l a k e dimplements and potsherds bearing impressed decorat ion somewhat s i m i l a rt o t he Khartoum Neo l i t h ic t r a d i t i o n wi th few Wavy Line mot ives .

t i s p l a n n e d t h a t a P o l is h team w i l l p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e n e x tseason o f t h e OPNT e x pe d it io n t o t h e Ta s s i l i a r e a wi th t h e a i m ofr e c o r d i ng t h e r o c k - a r t and t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m a t e r i a l . T h i s w i l l bef ol lo we d by t e s t i n g t h e d e p o s i t s i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n s a mp le s f o ri s o t o p i c d a t i n g a r ch ae o zo o lo g ic al and a r ch a e ob o t an i c al i d e n t i f i c a t i o nand s t u d i e s on l i t h i c m a t e r i a l and p o t t e r y. The a i m of t h i s r e s ea r c hw i l l be t o co l l ec t new in fo rma t ion on th e c u l tu ra l development i n t heTa s s i l i a r e a a t t h e adven t of t h e food-p roduct ion i n gen e ra l wi thp a r t i c u l a r e mp ha si s l a i d upon t h e q u e s t i o n s o f t h e d o m e s t i c at i o n an dth e development of e a r l y animal and pla nt husbandry.


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TEXTILE FI NIS AT QASR IBRIM

The f o r t r e s s - t o w n o f Q a s r I b r i m , l o c a t e d i n t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f E gyp-t i a n N ub ia p r e v i o u s l y r e p o r t e d i n Nyame Akuma* h as , from t h e e a r l i e s ty e a r s o f e x c a v a t i o n b y t h e E gyp t E x p l o r a t i o n S o c i e t y, y i e l d e d u n p r e ce d e nt e dnumbers o f t e x t i l e s . I n i t i a l l y t h e s e w ere c o l l e c t e d on a s e l e c t i v e b a s i s ,a nd l a t e r i n E ng la nd t h e y w e r e a n a l y s e d a n d r e c or d e d b y E l i s a b e t h C ro w fo ot ,a n a l y s t a nd c o n s u l t a n t on a r c h a e o l o g i c a l t e x t i l e s . I n 1 97 6 s h e j o i n e d t h ef i e l d t eam a t Q as r I b ri m , a nd d u r i n g ea c h of t h e e x c a v a t i o n s e a s o n s s f 1 97 6,1 97 8 and 1 98 0 s h e h a s , w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f t h e a u t h o r , recorded anda n al ys ed e ve ry p i e c e of t e x t i l e a s i t has come from the ground. A s r e s u l to f t h i s p r a c t i c e f ro m t h e s e l a t e r s e a s o n s we now ha ve a c o r p u s o f m ore t h a n5 0 , 00 0 t e x t i l e s , m os t f ro m w e ll -d o cu m en te d p r o v e n i e n c e s . A p o i n t t o n o t e i st h a t most o f t h e s e t e x t i l e s come from r e f u s e d e p o s i t s , h ou se and p i t f i l l ,a nd t h u s ha ve u s u a l l y b ee n r e du c ed t o an d us e d a s r a g s b e f o r e b e f n g d i s c a r d e d ;t h e f a b r i c s we f i n d a r e t h o s e t h a t p eo p l e use d i n t h e i r e v er yd ay l i v e s , a ndt h e y a r e n e a r l y a l w ay s v e r y f r a g m en t ar y. The p u r p o s e o f t h i s p a p er i s t o

o f f e r a p r e li m i na r y c h ro n o lo g i ca l s ur v ey o f t h e t e x t i l e s a t Qasr I b r i m .

The e a r l i e s t p e r i o d f ro m w h ic h w e h av e s u b s t a n t i a l numbers o f t e x t i l e si s t h e Roman--beginn ing a t Qasr Ib r im i n 23 B.C. The f a b r i c s fro m t h i sp e r io d a r e a lm os t a l l o f e i t h e r f l a x o r wool. The w o ol le n p i e c e s a r e o f t e nf i n e , many undyed o r d a r k brown, i n p l a i n t ab by ) weave o r o c c a s i o n a l l y t w i l l .P u r p l e ba nd s o c cu r i n t h e c re am -c ol or ed w oo ls p r o b a b ly p o r t i o n s o f c l a v i ont u n i c s ) ; t h e s e s t r i p e s , a t some p e r i o d s, d en ot ed t h e r a n k o f t h e w e a re r .One of t h e da rk brown wo oll ens h as a curve d hem, and w e h a v e n e c k o p e n i n g sof th e same m at er ia l f rom two garments : t h e s e o p e ni n g s a r e ed ged w i t h a p l i e dc o rd w hi ch , o r i g i n a l l y , w er e pr ob a bl y e xt en d ed t o make a t i e on e i t h e r s i d e .More c o l o r f u l w o o ll e n f r ag m e nt s i n c l u d e s h ad ed s t r i p e s i n r e d , y e l l o w an dblue , and a checked t w i l l p i e c e woven f r om much c o a r s e r y a r n i n b l u e a n d w h i t e .D e c o r a t i v e m o t i f s , w hi ch h av e a l s o be en f ou nd t o t h e r Roman s i t e s , i n c l u d egamma f i g u r e s F i g . l ) , a nd n o t c h e d b a n d s F i g . 2 ) . L i ne n p i e c e s fo un d i nt h e Roman l e v e l a r e g e n e r a l l y r a t h e r c o a r s e , o f t e n l o o s e l y woven, and e x h i b i tl i t t l e e v i de n c e o f t a i l o r i n g . Much o f t h i s m a t e r i a l was u nd o ub t ed ly u se d f o rb a gs o r s a c k i ng , and f o r c u r t a i n s and o t h e r f u r n i s h i n g s .

A t Q a s r I b r i m t h e M e r o i t i c o c c u p a t i o n s u c c e e d s t h e Roman a r ou n d t h e e ndof t h e f i r s t c en t ur y A.D. Te x t i l e s from t h e M e r o i t i c p e r i o d a r e e s p e c i a l l yi n t e r e s t i n g f o r two r e as on s . F i r s t , f l a x and wool a r e l a r g e l y r e p l a c e d byc o t t o n . S ec on dl y, t h e M e r o i t i c g ar m en ts , l i k e many a s p e c t s o f M e r o i t i c c u l t u r e ,

c o n t i n u e t h e t r a d i t i o n s o f p h a ra o n ic E g yp t. We f i n d many f r ag m e nt s of k i l t sa nd l o i n c l o t h s , f a m i l i a r f ro m t e m pl e r e l i e f s a nd tomb p a i n t i n g s . Commonlyemployed el e m en t s i n t h e d e c o r a t i o n o f M e r o i t i c t e x t i l e s i n c l u d e t h e s

F i g . 3 , a nk h F i g . 4 ) , a nd u r e a u s P i g . 5 ) . Among dec or a t iv e te chn iqu eswe f i n d e m b r o i d er y, t a p e s t r y w ea ve , a n d t h e u s e o f p i l e . A s o - f a r u n i q u ef e a t u r e of M e r oi t i c t e x t i l e s i s a n e l a b o r a t e d e c o r a t i v e op en wo rk , w h ic h ap -p e a r s a l o n g t h e e d ge o f f r i n g e d g a r me n t s. T h i s o pe nw or k i s crea ted by wrap-p in g s e l e c t e d warp e nd s t o g e t h e r t o form l a t t i c e - l i k e p a t t e r n s . The f r i n g ei s c o n s t r u c t e d w i t h t h e r em ai nd er o f e a c h warp e n d, o f t e n w i t h t h e a d d i t i o nof o t h e r y a r n s , g i v i n g i t a ve r y r i c h , f u l l e f f e c t .

*No. 3 , pp. 42-43; No. 9 , pp. 16-17; No. 1 2 , pp. 18-20; No. 1 7 , pp. 34-36.


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The t r a n s i t i o n f r om t h e M e r o i t i c t o t h e X-Group p e r i o d , a r o u nd 3 50 A.D.i s c l e a r l y a t t e s t e d i n t h e p o t t e r y , b u t i t t a k e s some t i m e f o r a s i m i l a rchange t o be r e f l e c t e d i n t h e t e x t i l e s . t i s o n l y i n t h e l a t e r X -Group p e-r i o d , t h a t t h e r e i s a g e n e r a l r e p l a c e m e n t o f c o t t o n b y w oo l. l a r g e p er -c e n t a g e o f t h e w o o l l e n s a r e d a r k brown, a n d some o f t hem e x h i b i t a c u r i o u sweaving techn ique sometimes c a l l e d a wedge , i n which a w e f t t h r e a d t u r n sa ro un d w i t h i n t h e p i e c e a nd r e t u r n s t o t h e same s i d e i t s t a r t e d f r o m i n s t e a do f c o n t i n u i n g a c r o s s t h e w i d t h o f t h e f a b r i c . The l a t e r X-Group p e r i o d a l s oy i e l d s w o ol l en s w i t h m u l t i- c o l o re d b an ds , a c h a r a c t e r f s t i c w hi ch c o n t i n u e sw e l l a f t e r t h e coming o f C h r i s t i a n i t y t o Qasr Ib r im around 550 A.D.

With C h r i s t i a n i t y we a g a in f i n d t h e t e c h n iq u e of t a p e s t r y w ea vi ng , t h i st i m e i n w oo l. O t h e r d e c o r a t i v e fo rm s i n w oo l i n c l u d e e m b r o id e r y, i n l a y , a n dp l a i d . L a t e r i n t h e C h r i s t i a n p er i od w e h av e t h e r e a p pe a r a nc e o f c o t t o n i nundyed form, i n b l u e and w h i t e s t r i p e s and c he ck s, a nd e v e n t u a l l y w i t h p r i n t e da nd r e s i s t - d y e d d e c o r a t i o n i n t h e f or m o f g e o m e t r ic , f l o r a l a nd a r a b e s q u e p a t -

t e r n s . S i l k makes i t s f i r s t a pp ea ra nc e a t Qasr Tbrtm i n t h e C h r i s t i a n p e-r i o d , most o f t e n i n im po rt ed l u x ur y goods and a s t i n y s c r a p s o f b r i l l i a n tc o l o r sewn t o l a r g e r p i ec e s o f c o t t o n o r f l a x , The u s e o f f l a x i n c r e a s e s ,b u t i t i s n e v e r a g a i n a s p r e v e l e n t a s d u r i n g t h e Roman p e r i o d .

The f i n a l c o l l a p s e o f N ubian C h r i s t i a n i t y o c c u r r e d some d e c a de s b e f o r eth e beg inn i ng of Ottoman occupa t ion , which da te s a round 1550 A.D. a t QasrI b r i m. A g ai n, t h e r e i s n o i mm e di at e a nd o b v i o us c ha n ge i n t h e t e x t i l e s . Byt h i s ti m e however, t h e l a r g e s t pe r c e n ta g e o f t h e f a b r i c s a r e o f c o t t o n , e i t h e rundyed o r b l u e , i n s o l i d c o l o r s a s w e l l a s i n s t r i p e s a nd c hec ks . e c o n t i n u et o f i n d re s i s t- d y e d and p r i n t e d c o t t o n s a s w e l l a s f u s t i a n ( a c l o t h which h asa f l a x warp a n d a c o t t o n w e f t ) .

I n t h e Ottoman pe ri od s i l k becomes much more common tha n pr ev io us ly , andi t i s found i n much b i gg er p i ec es , somet imes compr i s ing whole garments . Somew o o l l e n p i e c e s a r e s t i l l found. F l a x a l s o o c c u r s, o c c a s i o n a l l y i n a p a t t e r n e dweave, o r i n p l a i n o r t ab by weave w i t h s l i k i n cl u d e d i n t h e w ar ps a n d / o r w e f t s ,b u t m o st o f t e n u ndyed a nd i n p l a i n w ea ve .

most i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e o f t h e O ttoman p e r i o d i s t h a t we f i n d r e co g-n i z a b l e g a r me nt s an d o t h e r n e a r l y c om p le te o b j e c t s o f c l o t h , a nd n o t m e re l yrags which l i m i t u s t o d e t a i l s o f weave and d e c o ra t i o n. I n f a n t s ' a nd c h i l d -r e n ' s d r e s s e s h a ve b ee n d i s c o v e r e d , i n c l u d i n g on e o f b l u e a nd w h i t e c h ec ke df l a x w hi ch was c o mp l et e . Mens1 c a p s , o f wo ol o r o f c o t t o n , o c c u r o f t e n , a ndwe h a ve many f r a g m e n t s o f m ens' a nd l a d i e s ' s c a r v e s a nd v e i l s i n b o t h w oo land s i l k . L i t t l e g i r l s most p ro ba bl y r e ce i ve d t h e i r f i r s t sewing l e s s o n sw h i l e m ak in g d o l l d r e s s e s , o f wh ic h we h a v e r e c o v e r e d m ore t h a n f i f t y . Necko p en i ng s of t h e f a m i l i a r M id dl e E a s t e r n g a l a b i y y a a r e f r e q u e n t l y f o u n d, p r e -s e r v ed b e ca u se t h e f a c i n g h a s g iv e n them e x t r a s t r e n g t h . O th er t a i l o r e d p or -t i o n s i n c l u d e s l e e v e c u f f s , p a n t s l e g s a nd d r a w s t r i n g w a i s tb a n d s , a nd p a r t so f c o a t - l i k e g ar me nt s w i t h a f u l l f r o n t o pe ni ng . T he re a r e b a g s o f a l l d i f -f e r e n t s i z e s : s m a l l o n es f o r a m u l e t s o r s e e d s , s a d d l e b a g s made o f p l i e dg oa t h a i r , and even a b e a u t i f u l l i t t l e pu r se c ro ch et ed i n s i l k y a rn w i t h ach ev ro n p a t t e r n i n s e v e r a l c o l o r s . O th er t e x t i l e o b j e c t s of t h e Ottomanp e r i od i n c l u d e s a d d l e g i r t h s , h o r s e - h a ir s i e v e s , a nd cu s hi o n c o v e rs .


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T h i s b r i e f a cc ou nt o f t h e Q asr I b r im t e x t i l e s h a s n e c e s s a r i l y b e ens i m p l i f i e d and g i v e s o n l y a h i n t o f t h e i r v a r i e t y and r i c h n e ss . h av e n o ta t t e m p te d t o d i s c u s s t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s a b o ut econo mic c o n d i t i o n s t r a d i n g r e l a -t i o n s h i p s a nd d o m es t ic p r o d u c t i o n w h ic h t h e s e f r a g m e n ts s u g g e s t n o r h a v e

made c o mp ar is on s t o s i m i l a r t e x t i l e s f ou nd e l s e w h e re i n E gy pt a nd t hr ou g h-

o u t t h e M id dl e E a s t . more d e t a i l e d d i s c u s s i o n w i l l a p p e a r we h o p e i nt h e n o t t o o d i s t a n t f u t u r e .

N e t t i e K AdamDepartment of AnthropologyU n i v e r s i t y o f K e n t u c k y


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BASKETRY ANALYSIS AT QASR I B R I M EGYPT

Boyce N D r i s k e l lU n i v e r s i t y o f K e n t u c k y, Department of Anthropology

Lex ing ton , Kentucky 40506

P r i o r t o t h e 1 980 f i e l d s e a so n a t Qasr I b r i m , b a s k e t r y r e c o v e r e dd u r i n g t h e e x c a v a ti o n was ha n d le d on a p i e c e by p i e c e b a s i s w i t h i n t a c t ,p r i ma r i l y i n t a c t , o ~ n us ua l b a s k e ts r e c e i v i n g i n d i v i d u a l a t t e n t i o nf ro m t h e o b j e c t r e g i s t r a r , w h i l e o t h e r more common a n d / o r l e s s c o m p l et eb a s k e t s r e c ei v e d l e s s a t t e n t i o n . D ur in g t h e 198 0 f i e l d s e a s o n a tQ a s r I b r i m , a ma j o r a t t e m p t w a s made t o a n a l y s e a l l b a s k e t s a nd b a s k e t r yf r ag m e nt s r e co v e re d d u r i n g t h a t s e a s o n ' s f i e l d w ork . B a s k e t ry, l i k eo t h e r p e r i s h a b l e m a t e r i a l s , i s u a u a l l y w e l l p r e s e r v e d w i t h i n t h e d r yd e p o s i t s of t h i s town s i t e . A s a r e s u l t , a d e t a i l e d a t t r i b u t e a n a l y s i sw a s p o s s i b l e f o r w e l l o v e r 18 00 b a s k e t s o r f r a g m e nt s .

The t h r e e m a jo r m et ho ds of b a s k e t r y m a n uf a ct u re ( p l a i t i n g , c o i l i n g ,a nd t w i n i n g ) a r e r e p r e s e n t e d a t Q a s r I b r i m , h ow ev er , t w in e d b a s k e t r ycomprised a s m a l l m i n o r i t y o f b a s k e t s a nd b a s k e t r y f r a g m e n ts i n t h ea r c h a e o lo g i c a l c o l l e c t i o n . About 8 0% a r e p l a i t e d a n d m os t o f t h er em a in i ng sp ec im en s a r e c o i l e d . The f o l l o w i ng d i s c u s s i o n b r i e f l ysu mm ariz es t h e m aj or v a r i a b l e a t t r i b u t e s r e co g n iz e d i n t h e I b r i mb a s ke t r y c o l l e c t i o n t o d at e .

W hile t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l p l a i t e d b a s k e t ry t e c hn i q ue s r e p r e s e n t e d

i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n , t h e most p r e v a l e nt i s a c o m p o s i te t e c h n i q u e w h er et h e work p i e c e i s formed from p l a i t e d s t r i p s (f ro m t o 8 i n c h e s w i de )c o nn e ct ed t o e a c h o t h e r a t t h e n a t u r a l s e l v a g e s formed when e l e m e n t sa r e t u r n e d s y s t e m a t i c a l l y b ac k i n t o t h e c o n t i n u i n g wo rk. The s e l v a g e so f e ac h s t r i p a r e tu r n ed o v er a ru n ni ng e le me nt ( s t r i n g e r ) , a nd t h ea d j a c e n t s t r i p u t i l i z e s t h i s same ru n ni ng e le me nt t o f orm a s t r o n g ,i n t e r l a c e d s e a m t h a t a p p e a r s a s a r i b i n t h e work p i e c e . T h i s t e ch n o lo g yl en ds i t s e l f e a s i l y t o e i t h e r f l a t , m at - l ik e a r t i f a c t s o r t o c o n t a i n erforms. Mats were produced by c o n ne c ti ng s t r i p s i n a p a r a l l e l s e r i e s ;c o n t a i n e r s w er e p ro du ce d by w a rp in g a s t r i p ar ou n d o n t o i t s e l f f o r mi n ga cen ter f rom which t h e s t r i p s p i r a l l e d o u t a nd a roun d as work cont inued .T h e s e t y p e s a r e s t i l l made i n t h e N i l e Va l l ey a nd c o n s t i t u t e t h em a j o r i t y o f modern b a s k e t r y mats and c o n t a i n er s s e e n i n t h e a r e a .

Most p l a i t e d b a s k e t ry a t I b r i m i s p l a i n . D e c o r a t i o n i s a p p l i e di n many c a s e s by u s e o f f an cy s t i t c h i n g when a p p l y i n g c o m p o s i tes e l v a g e s o n mats P olych ro me b a s k e t r y d o es o c c u r i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n ,b u t t h e s e p i e c e s a r e r a r e . W hi te , t a n , b l a c k o r d a r k brown, and b u r n tr e d c o l o r s a r e t h e m os t common a nd p a t t e r n s a r e c r e a t e d u s i n g t h e s ec o l o r s i n two ways. F i r s t , i n d i v i d u a l p l a i t e le m en ts o f d i f f e r e n tc o l h r s a r e u se d i n a p l a i t s t r i p t o p ro du ce ge om e tr ic d e s i g n s . S ec on d,t h e se s t r i p s a r e a l t e r n a t e d w i th s t r i p s o f a s i n g l e c o l o r t o pr od uc ea n o v e r a l l d e s i g n composed o f p a n e l s o r f i e l d s .


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C o il e d b a s k e t s a t I b r i m a r e u s u a l l y p l a i n a nd fo rm ed by u s e o fs p l i t s t i t c h i n g t e c h n iq u e a l th o u g h a few sp ec im en s show d e c o r a t i v ep a t te r n i ng . I n t h e s e , p a t te r n e d o r d e c o r a ti v e e f f e c t i s a c h i e v e d byv a r i o u s a l t e r n a t i o n s o f n o n -i n te r lo c k in g o r i n t e r l o c k i n g s t i t c h e s w i t hw rap s t i t c h e s . I n many c a s e s , t h e s e n o n - in t e rl o c k in g o r i n t e r l o c k i n g

s t i t c h e s s p an two c o i l s and form d i s t i n c t i v e p a t t e r n s o f l i n e s r a d i a t i n gfrom t h e c e n t e r t o t h e r m and s e p a r a t i n g f i e l d s of wrap s t i t c h e s .O b vi ou sl y, t h e s e b a s k e t s , w h i l e h i g h l y d e c o r a t i v e , a r e n o t v e r y s t r o n gs i n c e o nl y a l i m i t e d number of s t i t c h e s a c t u a l l y l o c k t h e f o u n d a t i o nc o i l s t o g e th e r . B as ke ts w i t h d e c o r a t i v e s t i t c h p a t t e r n s a p pe a r t o b ec o n c e n tr a t ed i n t h e e a r l i e r d e p o s i t s , a l t h ou g h t h i s i m p r e ss i o n may b edue t o t h e v e ry l i m i t e d s am ple a n a l y s ed t o d a t e .

O th e r d e c o r a t i v e el em e nt s a r e r a r e on c o i l e d b a sk e t ry from t h e s i t e .Sometimes p a t t e r n s o f o v e r l a i d s t i t c h e s s p i r a l o u t f rom c e n t e r t o r i mTh ese a r e a p p l i e d a f t e r t h e b a sk e t i s c o m p l e t e . P o l y c h r o m e b a s k e t s w i t hf i e l d s of c o l o r a l t e r n a t e d i n su ch a way s t o d e v el op o v e r a l l g e o m e tr ic

p a t t e r n i n g a l s o o c cu r. Th ese b a sk e t s a r e r a r e i n t h e I s la m i c l e v e l s ,b u t a p p e a r t o b e more common i n t h e o l d e r o c c u p a t i o n s .

P r e l i m i n a r y i m p r e s s i o n s a r e t h a t t w i ne d b a s k e t s o c c u r m os t commonlyi n t h e p re - Is la m ic l e v e l s an d w ere n e v e r a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h et e c h n ol o g y o f b a s k e t m ak in g a t I b r i m . I n f a c t , t w in e d b a s k e t s may h av eb ee n i m p o rt s t o t h e a r e a . T h i s i s y e t t o b e d em o ns tr at ed s i n c e t h e s eb a s k e t s a p p e a r t o be made of m a t e r i a l s a b u nd a n tl y a v a i l a b l e i n t h e a r e a .So few sp ec im en s h av e b ee n se e n t o d a t e t h a t v e r y l i t t l e e l s e c a n b e s a i d .

The a n a l y s i s h a s c o n c e n t r at e d t h u s f a r on r e c o r d i n g a n m b e r of

m e t r ic and d i s c r e t e a t t r i b u t e s s ee n i n t h e c o l le c t i o n . M e t r ic a t t r i b u t e sr ec or de d f o r a l l ba s ke t ry i n c l u de o v e r a l l s i z e and s i z e of v a r i ou sc o n s t r u c t i o n e le m en ts . D i s c r e t e a t t r i b u t e s r ec o rd ed i n c l u d e v a r i o u sa s p e c t s of f o rm , c o m p o si ti o n m a t e r i a l s , a nd s p l i c e t y p e s w e l l a s c e n t e rt y p e , r i m o r s e l v a g e t y p e, h a n d l es , a nd d e c o r a t i o n w he re p r e s e n t .

While c o n s i d e ra b l e v a r i a t i o n i n t h e s e a t t r i b u t e s h a s be en n o t e d,d e t a i l e d c o m p u ta t io n a l sum maries and t h e i r t e m po r al and s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n -s h i p s h a ve n o t be en c om p le te d a t t h i s ti m e. W hi le p r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s i si s o ng oin g, d e f i n i t i v e r e s u l t s must a w ai t t h e r e t r i e v a l o f a morer e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a mp le s i n c e most of t h e s pe ci me ns a n a l y s ed t o d a t e a r efro m t h e up p e r l e v e l s of t h e s i t e t h e Ottoman g a r r i s o n o c c u p a t i o n )a nd , a s a r e s u l t of e x c e l l e n t p r e s e r v a t i o n o f b a s k e t r y t hr o ug h o utt h e 3 ,0 00 y e a r h i s t o r y o f t h e s i t e , s ec o nd a ry d e p o s i t i o n o f b a s k e t r y i nu pp e r l e v e l s may b e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f a ny of t h e u n d e r l y i n g d e p o s i t s .T he se p ro bl em s c an no t be e a s i l y s o l v ed i n l i e u of a d d i t i o n a l d a t a d e r i v e df ro m m ore s e c u r e c o n t e x t s .

A lth ou gh b a s k e t r y a n a l y s i s a t I b r i m i s s t i l l i n a v e ry p r e l i m i n a rys t a g e , a t t r i b u t e s a r e now r ec o rd ed i n enough d e t a i l t o b e a b l e t op o s s i b l y d e r i v e c o r r e l a t i o n s betw een t e c h n o l o g i c a l a t t r i b u t e s a n dc u l t u r a l / s p a t i a l c o n t e x t. T h e re f or e , t i s hoped t h a t , a s t h i s a p s e c tof r e s e a r c h c o n t i n u e s a t Q as r I b r im , b a s k e t r y a n a l y s i s w i l l r e s u l t i n

a n i nh a nc ed un d e rs ta n d in g o f t h e l o c a l c u l t u r e h i s t o r y and a b e t t e ru n d er st a nd i ng o f t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and r o l e s o f b a s k e t r y i n t h e N i l eVa ll e y. R eg ar di ng t h e l a t t e r , c om p ar at iv e i n f o rm a t i on fro m o t h e r s i t e s a sw e l l a s i n f o r m a t i o n on modern b a s k e t r y t e c h n o lo g y w ou ld b e o f i n t e r e s t t o u s .


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GHANA

P r o f e s s o r J S u t to n s en d s t h i s r e p o r t :

New work a t Dam, southern Ghana

One of the f i r s t s u b s t a n t i a l p u b l i c a t i o n s o n t h e West A f r i c an I r o nAge w a s Thurs tan Shawls Excavat ion a t Dam ( ~ e ~ o nnd Edinburgh, 1961) ,which d es cr ib ed work und er taken as e a r l y a s 1 94 2 on t h e f o r e s t e dAkwapim r i d ge , some f i f t y k i l o me t r e s i n l an d o f Acc ra . Here Shaw dug ac u t t i n g t hr ou g h a l a rg e mound measur ing a lmos t e i g h t m e t r e s h ig h . I tshowed i t s e l f t o be n o t a n occupa t ion mound, bu t a r u b b i s h t i p ,c o n t a i n i n g bo th d o m e st ic an d i n d u s t r i a l r e f u s e and t h e s c r a p i n g s f romf l o o r s , compounds a nd d o u b t l e s s s t r e e t s t o o . A t f i r s t i t w a s assumedt h a t t h e mound h a2 a cc um u la te d o v e r s e v e r a l c e n t u r i e s , w i t h i t s app rox i -m ate m id -p oi nt i n t h e e a r l y s e v e n t e en t h be i ng i n d i c a t e d by t h e f i r s tappea rance o f l o c a l t obacco-p ipes. However, subsequen t d i s c us s i on s byOzanne, by Shaw himself , and more recently by Garrard suggest a muchmore r e s t r i c t e d c h ro n ol og y, c o v e ri n g l i t t l e more t h a n a s i n g l e c e n t u ry ,and ending perhaps r a t h e r suddenly wi th t h e Akwamu expans ion about 1680.This p ro po se d f i n a l d a t e , i f d i f f i c u l t t o con fi rm p r e c i s e ly , i sc o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e l a c k o f l a t e t y p e s o f s m ok in g- pi pe s a nd o fe i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y i m p o r t s .

I t has been known a l l a l o n g t h a t t h i s mound i s no t un ique bu t i sr a t h e r one of s ev er a l i n Dawu and i n th e ad jo in in g town of Awukugua

(around 5 59 N and 0 0 5 ~ ) . A re c en t su rve y begun by myself andcont inued by M r . B. Osei-Tutu ha s reve a le d e ig ht ee n such mounds, eachm ea su ri ng f i v e t o n i n e me t re s h i g h ( e x c e p t i n a few badly damaged cases) .From t h e no r th er n end of Awukugua t o t h e sou the rn end of Dam t h e s ee ig ht ee n mounds ( p l us a c o u pl e o f p o s s i b l y c o m p l e t e l y d e s t r o y e d o n e s ,i n d i c a t e d by p o t s h e r d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s ) c o ve r a d i s t a n c e o f two k i l o m e t r e sa l on g t h e r i d g e . oreov over a f t e r a ga p o f o ne k i l o m e t r e a t t h esou the rn end , a t l e a s t t h r e e m ore mounds a r e l o c a t e d i n A b i r i u . A t t h en o r t h e r n end l i k e w i s e t h e r e i s a gap of one ki lo me tre between t h e moundsof Awukugua and Adukrom, where t h e s i t e s of a t l e a s t t h r e e mounds, nowa lm o st e n t i r e l y d e s tr o y e d , h av e be en e s t a b l i s h e d . A l l these moundsc o n s i s t , s u p e r f i c i a l l y a t l e a s t , of a s o f t d a r k s o i l which b e a r sl u x u r i a n t v e g e t a t i o n o r i s u se d f o r c u l t i v a t i o n s ( o f c ocoyams , bananas ,c oc o a, c a s s a v a , m aize e t c ) . T h i s s i m i l a r i t y o f form i s complemented byt h e p l e n t i f u l p o t t e r y , which c an be c o l l e c t e d from t h e i r s u r f a c e s o rdamaged exposures, and which covers a r ange of forms comparable t otho se o b t a ine d by Shaw and d i s t i n c t f rom those u sed by t h e p r e se n tp o p u l a t i o n . T he se o b s e r v a t i o n s , a n d e s p e c i a l l y t h e s i z e a nd number oft h e s e r u b b i s h - t i p s , p r o v i d e co g e nt e v id e n ce o f a s u b s t a n t i a l t o w n a tDam-Awukugua (and wit h o ut ly in g s e t t le m en ts where Adukrom and Ab iri unow s t a n d ) i n t h e s e v e n te e n t h c e n t u r y. I t i s odd t h a t t h i s t ow n,whatever i t w a s c a l l e d , i s no t c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i a b l e i n t h e c o a s t a lre co rd s , o r even on t h e famous Dutch map da t ed 1629 of th e Gold Coas t

and i t s h i n t e r l a n d . F o r t h e r i s e of Dawu must be c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o


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t h e o p en in g o f t h e A cc ra c o a s t t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l commerce i n t h e l a t es i x t e e n t h c e n t u ry and t o t h e c h a n n e ll i n g o f t h e t r a d e t o a nd from t h eA k a n i n t e r i o r.

I n 1 98 0 i t w a s dec ided t o t e s t ano the r mound by excav a t ion . Theo n e s e l e c t e d i s known as Larbi-Kom and l i e s a t t he no r the rn end o fDawu where i t abuts Awukugua. The work was a s s i s t e d b y a team ofunde rg radua t e s ( and suppor t ed by t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f Ghana s r e se a rc hf u n d ) . I n summazy t h e r e s u l t s are v e r y c l o s e t o t h o s e o b t a i ne d f romS ha w s mound i n 1 9 42 , b o t h i n t h e s t r a t i g r a p h y o f t h e s u c c e s s i v et i p p i n g s (a nd t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s c au se d by r o o t s a nd i n s e c t s ) a nd i n t h ef i n d s . A lth oug h t h e p o t t e r y i s s t i l l being s tu di ed , t h e common ty pe sand t h e r a n g e o f f or ms a r e s t r i k i n g l y s imi lar t o Shaw s. The smoking-p i p e s , aga in f rom th e uppe r p a r t on ly o f t h e mound, f a l l i n t o t h ee a r l i e r s t y l e s as c l a s s i f i e d by Ozanne. f e w small d i s c s made from

po t she rds , one o f them deco ra t ed s ec ond a r i l y, a r e p r esumab ly go ld -we igh t s . Cuprous was te and moulds f o r brass -working were s ca rc e r a tLarbi-Kom th an i n Shaw s exc ava tion . T h i s i s p a r t l y b e c a u s e i t w a sp o s s i b l e t o e x c av at e o n l y a small s e c t i o n o f t h e l ow e st l a y e r s ; b u t i tseems t h a t Larbi-Kom w s s i t u a t e d f u r t h e r away fr om t h e b ra ss -w o rk in gq u a r t e r o f t h e t o w n .

S am pl es f ro m d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s h a ve b ee n s u b m i tt e d f o r r a d i o -c a r b o n d a t i n g . I n v iew o f t h e a ssumed r a p id i t y o f t h e mound saccumula t ion , i t i s o f c ou rs e u n l i k e l y t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t c h r o n o l o g i c a lsequence could be ob ta in ed by t h i s method. t s e e m s n e v e r t h e l e s sworthwhile t o u n d er t ak e s uc h a n e x e r c i s e a s a t e s t o f t h e a p p l i c a b l i t yo f r ad ioca rbon measu rement s f o r r e ce n t c en tu r i e s on such a s i t ep o s s e s si n g u n u s u a ll y c l e a r i nd ep e nd e nt d a t i n g p o i n t e r s as w e l l a sp l e n t i f u l c h ar c oa l l a y e r by l a y e r . E s p e c i a l l y i m p o r t a n t w i l l i t be t ocompare t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n f o r t h e g ro un d s u r f a c e a t t h e b as e o f t h emound, which cou ld r e p r e s en t e a r l i e r s e t t l em en t . So f a r n o t h i n g i sknown abou t s e t t l em en t i n Akwapim be fo re t h e s i x t ee n t h cen tu ry. Th i si s s u r p r i s i n g an d i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e much l o n g e r I ro n- Ag e a nd t e r m i n a l -LSA sequence emerging f o r t h e Accra p l a i ns .

Although t h e rubbish-mounds pro vid e th e o b v i o u s a r c h a e o l o g i c a ls t a r t i ng -p oi n t , an under s tandin g of o ld Dam-Awukugua w i l l r e q u i r e

a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s et t le m e nt s i t e s t o o . Because o f t h e e f f i c i e n c y o ft h e a n c i e n t s we e pi ng , s c r a p i n g an d t i p p i n g , t h e h om es te ad s i t e s a r eno t obv ious . They must l i e a lo ng th e r id ge be tween th e mounds, andt h i s i s wh ere f u r t h e r w ork n e ed s t o c o n c e n t r a t e .

There appea r s t o have been a h ia tu s be tween the o ld t own and t hepr es en t s e t tl e m e n ts of Dawu and Awukugua. N e v e r t h e l e s s a connec t ioni s claimed which seems more tha n l o c a l wi sh fu l inv en ti on . Dawu andAwukugua a r e two of t h e s i x towns which mai nta in t h e Kyerepong langu age ,one of t h e Guan group, whereas t h e l a r g e r pa r t of Akwapim h as beenAkanized ( ap pa r en t ly ove r t h e l a s t two o r t h r e e c e n t u r i e s ) . t i sg e n e r a l l y assumed t h a t t h e s e v e n t e e n th - c e n tu r y town a nd t h e s t a t e w i t hwhich i t w s connected was Guan-speaking.


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A no th er p l a c e on t h e Akwapim r i d g e w hich f i . g u r e s i n t r a d i t i o n a lh i s t o r y , ap pa re n t ly more prominent ly t ha n Dam-Awukugua, i s Abotakyi .There i s a s u sp i c io n t h a t t h e r e may have been some con fus ion be tweent h e two p l a c e s i n l o c a l m emory. Abotakyi i s a dese r t ed and ove rg rown

s i t e , s i t u a t e d nea r l y t e n k i l om e t r e s sou th -wes t o f Dawu-Awukugua,betw een t h e p r e s e n t town s o f Amanokrom and Mampong. A r c h a e o l o g i c a li n t e r e s t was a r o u s e d a few years ago when D r . 0 Ampofo ( recent lycha irm an o f t h e Ghana Museums and Monuments ~ o a r d ) a s r e c l a i m i n g asmall p l o t i n Ab ot ak yi on which t o b u i l d a modern house, whereupon aR hi ne la nd s to n ew a re ewer d a t e d t o a b o u t 1 6 32 (a nd a t t r i b u t e d t o t h eRaeren f a c t o r y n e ar ~ a c h e n ) ame t o l i g h t i n a f o u n d a t i o n t r e n c h .

1t i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n M A Kwamena-Poh, Government and p o l i t i c s i n t h eAkuapem s t a t e , 1730-1850, Legon Hi s t or y S e r i e s , 1975 f a c i n g . l 8 ) ,E a r ly i n 1981 moreover, a new p i e c e o f l a n d , o p p o s i t e D r Ampofo s,was c l e a r e d m e c h an i c a ll y. A q ui ck i n s p e c t i o n r ev e a l ed p l e n t i f u l

o t t e r y of t h e t yp es re pr es en te d i n t h e mounds o f Dawu and Awukugua

and one g laz ed European she rd ) . S o c l o s e a p a r a l l e l h a s n o t b eeno b se rve d e l s e w he re so f a r . Although a t A bo ta ky i t h e p o t t e r y d o e s n o tap pe ar t o come from a mound com para ble t o t h o s e of Dawu-Awukugua, ac l o s e c o n n e c t io n a nd d a t e a r e s t r o n g l y su g g e st e d .

KENYA

u r . Wandibba of t h e Nat io na l Museums of Kenya send s t h i s re p o r t :

A NOTE O N RIG0 CAVE SITE

Rig o Cave s i t e i s l o c a t e d a b ou t 15 m south-wes t of Njoro Township,n e a r N akuru, i n t h e R i f t Valley of Kenya. I t s e x i s t e n c e w a s r e p o r t e dt o t h e N at io na l Museums of Kenya by a l o c a l e n t h u s i a s t , M r JamesS a s a t i . A b r i e f v i s i t t o t h e s i t e i nd i ca t ed t h a t t h e s i t e was mostp r o b a b l y o f a n e o l i t h i c a ge a s t h e r e were a s tone bowl f r agmen t , ag r in d s t o ne a n d bones o f wha t appea red t o be o f domes t i c s t oc k on t h ef l o o r of t h e c a ve . A t t h e e n t ra n ce t o one of t h e s h a f t s w a s a humans k u l l .

A two-week p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s b e i n g u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e

National Museums of Kenya. The work i s be ing d i r e c t ed by myse l f andh a s t h e f o l l o w i n g b a s i c a i m s :

a ) To su rvey and map t h e s i t e , i nc lud in g s u r f a ce mapp ing oft h e spec imens .

b ) To e s t a b l i s h t h e n a t u r e an d c o n t e n t o f t h et e s t - t r e n c h e x c a v a t i o n s .

c ) To d e te r mi n e t h e e x t e n t t o which t h i s s i t eco n t r a s t s w i th t he f amous N jo ro R ive r Cavesame g e n e ra l l o c a l i t y a nd w a s excava t e d by

1938

s i t e t h r o u g h

e i t h e r c om pa re s o fwhich i s i n t h et h e Lea ke ys i n


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D r . J Bar the lme sends t h i s :

The p r e s e n t w r i t e r c an now r e p o r t t h a t h i s Ph.D d i s s e r t a t i o n , L a t eP le i stocene -Ho locene P r eh i s to ry t o t h e Nor theas t o f Lake Turkana, Kenya

ha s been com l e t e d . The d i s s e r t a t i o n f oc u se d o n t h r e e p r im a ryo b j e c t i v e s : 91) r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f l a t e P le is to c en e- Ho lo ce n es l a k e l e v e lf l u c t u a t i o n s , ( 2 ) d o c um e nt at io n o f c h a ng in g l a n d u s e p a t t e r n s f o r t h enumerous e a r ly t o midd le Ho locene f i s h i n occupa t ions , and 3 ) i n v e s t i -g a t i o n of s e v e r a l e a r l y ( mi dd le Ho locen e p a s t o r a l i s t s e t t l e m e n t s . F o rt h os e who a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n ' s f i n d i n g s , a l i s t ofp u b l i c a t i o n s which h av e a l r e a d y a pp ea re d i n p r i n t o r a r e c u r r e n t l y i np r e s s f o l l o w s :

Holocene S i t e s Nor the as t of Lake Turkana: A P r e l i m i n a r y R e p o r t ,Azania X (1977) pp: 33-41.

E a r l y E vi de nc e f o r Animal D o m es t ic a ti o n i n E a s t e r n A f r i c a , i nThe Causes and Conseauences of Food Product ion i n Af r i ca ,(J .D. C la rk and S.A. B r an d t, e d i t o r s ) , i n p r e s s .

Geology, Paleolimnology and Archaeology of t h e Holocene De po si tst o th e Nor the as t of Lake Turkana, Kenya (co-authored wi thD r s . B. Owen, R Renaut and A Vincens) submi t t ed t o Na tu re.

T h e w r i t e r w i l l be r e tu rn in g t o Kenya t h i s summer a s D i r e c t o r(1981-1982) of th e S t . Lawrence Un iv ers i ty N ai robi Overseas Program.A s of Ju ly 1981 my new ad dr es s w i l l be Res iden t D i r e c t o r , S t . Lawrence

Univers i ty, Nai robi Program, P O Box 43795 Nai rob i , Kenya. U n t i lth en , cor respondence should be mai led t o th e Depar tment of Socio logyand Anthropology, S t . Lawrence Un iv er si ty , Canton, N Y 13617.

Di ac hr on ic Stu dy of t h e Demography, Human Eco log y, andHis tory of Pas tora l Groups of Nor thern Kenya

D an ie l S t i l e sDepartment of HistoryUn i ve r s i t y o f Na irob i

I n Nyame Akuma 17 t h e background of th e re se ar ch p r o je c t named i nt h e t i t l e w a s o u t l i n e d . S i n ce t h a t r e p o r t two more f i e l d t r i p s h av ebeen made. The re se ar ch condu cted i s out l ined be low:

1 ) Se t t l em en t s tudy - Three o l a s (Gabbra nomadic camps) weremapped us ing a theodol i te and tape measure . The l o c a t i o n o f h o u s e s ,bomas, a nd a ny o t h e r s t r u c t u r e s were p l o t t e d . H ou se s i n e ac h o f t h eo l a s were g ive n numbers and a census w a s c a r r i e d o u t , r e c o r d i n g n a m e s ,a g e s , s e x , p h r a t r y, c l a n , p l a c e o f b i r t h , and c u r r e n t w he re ab ou ts o f

t h e pe o p le o f e a ch f a m i l y u n i t . I t was n o t p o s s i b l e t o c o l l e c t a c c u r a t ed a t a on d e ce a s ed o f f s p r i n g .


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A s t u d y was conduct ed o f t he en v i ro n ment a l s e t t i n g o f e ach o ft h e t h r e e m Data w a s g at he re d on v e g e t a t i o n , s o i l s , s l o p e ,a l t i t ude , a n d p rox imi ty and na tu r e o f wa t e r and wood sou rce s .

2 M a t e r i a l c u l t u r e - M r Kipchilowen Araptal lam , an .A. s t u d e n to f t h e D epa rt m en t of H i s to ry , Un i ve r s i t y o f Na i rob i , conduct ed ad e t a i l e d s t u d y of t h e m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e o f t h e Gabbra a s p a r t o f t h er es ea rc h f o r h i s M A t h e s i s i n A rch aeo lo gy. He worked i n numeroush o u s es i n s e v e r a l o l a s r e c o r d i n g t h e v er nacu1a.r nam es, r a w m a t e r i a l s ,t e c h n i q u e s o f m a nu f ac t ur e , f u n c t i o n , a nd l o c a t i o n of s t o r a g e , u s e , a ndd i s c a r d o f i t em s . Over 60 d i f f e r e n t i t e m s were i n v e n t o r i e d of t r a d i -t i o n a l m a n u f a c t u r e .

M r A s ap ta ll am a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e r e m ai n s o f s e v e r a l a b an don edo l a s c a l l e d o n n s) , n o t i ng t h e m a t e r i a l r em ai ns and t h e i r l o c a t i o n s .

mapped one of t h e o m s which was t h e p r e v i o u s s e t t l e m e n t a p p r o xi m a t e ly

100m

e a s t of one of t he alas s t u d i e d .3 S o c i a l o rg an i za t i on and customs- I n t e rv i ew s were conducted wi th

num erous i n f o rm an t s con t ac t e d i n o l a s su r round ing w e l l a r e a s t o t h e e a s tof the Chalb i deser t be tween Kalacha and Nor th Horr. R e p r e s e n t a t i v e sfrom t h r e e of t h e f i v e Gabbra p h r a t r i e s ~ l ~ a n a , ara, a n d ~ h a r b a n a )wer e q u es t i o ned abou t ma t t e r s conce rn ing l and-use , t ime r eckon ing ,h i s t o r y, g e ne r at i on s e t s , s o c i a l o r g a n i z at i o n i n te rm s of m o i et y,p h r a t r y , c l a n , s ub -c la n d i v i s i o n s , p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y an d l aw,r e s id e nc e r u l e s , b u r i a l p r a c t i c e s w i th v i s i t s t o r e c en t g r a v es ) , ando t h e r t r a d i t i o n a l c us tom s. Some v i s i t i n g R e n d i l l e i n K al ac ha were a l s oq u es t i on e d ab ou t b u r i a l custom s and were t a k e n t o v i s i t t h e s t o n e c a i r n

g r av es exca va t e d du r ing t h e l a s t two f i e l d t r i p s s e e Nyame Akuma 1 7t o s ee i f they could provide any informat ion on the makers . They, alongwi t h G abb ra an d Boran ques t i one d , den i ed be ing t h e maker s o f any o f t h ec a i r n s .

4) Oral t r a d i t i o n s - M s Aneesa Kassam of t h e Uni ver s i ty of Nai rob ic o l l e c t e d numerous f o l k t a l e s a nd o r a l h i s t o r i e s of t h e G abbra a s p a r tof h e r d o c t or a l r es e ar c h i n L i t e r a t u r e a t t h e U n i ve r si t y o f P a r i s . Thet a l e s were r e c o r d ed o n t o t a p e a n d s u b s eq u e n tl y t r a n s c r i b e d a ndt r a n s l a t e d b y M r Roba Abudo i n t he f i e l d and M r Halake Guyo i n Nai r obi .

5 Ethnoar chaeolog y- On t h e l a s t f i e l d t r i p t h r e e abandoned o l a swer e p l o t t e d a nd t e s t excava t i ons were done i n and a round t he houseremains and a t random sp o t s away f rom the h ab i t a t i o n a r e a s . Two of t h eo l a s were ones t h a t we had worked wi th pr ev io us ly , mentioned above, andth u s we h ad a k nowledge o f t he demographi c a s pe c t s , t h e a c t i v i t i e sper formed, and th e le ng th of occupat i on t ime . M r K Asaptal lama s s i s t e d i n t h e e xc av at io ns and i s a n a l y z i n g t h e r e m ai n s e x t r em e l yl i t t l e ) . T h e t h i r d o excavate d was abandoned i n 1971 and , e x c e p t f o rhea r t h s t o ne s , t h e r e were a lmos t no o th e r r ema ins .

6) Archaeology- Only one f u r t h e r ca i r n w a s excava ted a t Kalacha ,of t h e p l a t f or m t y p e , t o compare t o t h e b u r i a l f oun d i n c a i r n 2 and t o

o b t a i n a n o t he r C-14 sample of a pla t for m ca i r n ; samples of bone f romca i r n were to o smal l f o r su cc es s f u l da t i ng se e Nyame Akuma 17 ) .


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Survey work w a s a l s o c o nd uc te d i n t h e c i rc um -C ha lb i on t h e e a s t ,sou th, and southwest si de s. Numerous c ai r n s were observed alo ng t h ev o l c a n i c es ca rp me nt b o r d er i n g t h e C h a lb i i n t h a t a r e a and r i n g c a i r n sof t h e type seen a t Kalacha were f ound n e ar t h e k o l e w a te r ho l e t o

t h e south of t h e Cha lbi . MSA and LSA a r t e f a c t s were observed ero di ngt o th e southwest o f t h e Cha lb i from ra i s ed beaches o f a f o rm e r l a k eand i t i s hoped t o e x c a va te t hem i n t h e f u t u r e .

7 ) Pol len- Two p i t s were dug i n th e Cha lbi n ea r t h e tu rn - o ffwhere one pro ceeds t o Kalacha. There a r e now samples from th e no rt h

n e a r North ~ o r r ) c e n t r a l ~ a l a c h a ) and s ou th er n n e ar ~ a i k o n a )C h a l b i l a k e a r e a s . Po l le n samples were a l so ta ken f rom one of th e deep,ca . 6 m wel l s used by th e Gabbra t o c o l l e c t more anc ien t po l l e nsamples. One cannot d i g deeper t ha n 2 m i n t h e Cha lbi because o f wa te rand ha rd ca l ca reo us de po s i t s .

M r . John Ogolla, a t h i r d y e a r s t u d e n t i n A rch aeo lo gy a t t h eUni vers i ty of Nairobi who ha s accompanied me on th re e of t h e f i e l dt r i p s , i s c u r r e n t l y an a l y zi n g t h e c e r am ic s of t h e N or th H or r s i t e se xc av at ed i n 1 97 9 f o r a B.A. d i s s e r t a t i o n . Only one o f t h o s e s i t e s ,GoJm 3 , has ye t been dated . t r e c e i v e d a da te on cha rcoa l o f11502110 b p GX-7395, C 1 3 c o r r e c t e d ) t i s a lm os t c e r t a i n t h a to t h e r s i t e s ex ca va te d a r e o l d e r , as Phi l l ipson and Bar the lme obta inedda te s i n excess o f 4500 B.P. from s i t e s wi th p o t t e r y s i m i l a r t o t h a tseen a t our Nor th Hor r s i t e s .

One of the la t form cai rns GdJn 2) from Kalacha has been datedt o 9 6 0 3 9 0 b ,p , GX 73 6-A, C 13 corrected) on human bone and one oft h e r i n g c a i r n ~ d ~ n b u r i a l s t o 111 0 5 5 5 b .p . G X-7397, C 1 3co rr ec te d) on powdered wood remains from next t o t h e b u r i a l a t dep th .Both o f t h e s e d a t e s f a l l w i t h i n t h e r a n ge o f e r r o r o f e ac h o t h e r a ndwith GcJm 3 a t North Hor r, an in t e re s t in g f ind ing . Unfo r tu na te ly, nod e c o ra t e d p o t t e r y h a s b een f ou nd i n t h e c a i r n b u r i a l s , t ho ug h a fewu nd ec or at ed s h e rd s were r ec ov er ed from t h e p l at f or m c a i r n ~ d ~ nmost recent ly excavated . t i s p o s si b l e t h a t t h ey a r e of r e c e n tor ig in , however, a s t hey were found i n the uppe r l a ye r s of t h e s to nes .

M r . John Kimengitch of t h e Nat io na l Museum ha s completed t h ef a u n a l a n a l y s i s from t h e North H or r s i t e s . ~ h e e ~ / ~ o a ta s d e f i n i t e l y

id en t i f i ed a t GcJm 4 and p o s s i b l e ~ h e e ~ / ~ o a t em ai ns from GcJm 2 .P o s s i b l e cow w a s found a t GcJm 2 , GcJm 3, and GcJm 4. The problemw i t h p o s i t i v e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s the highly comminuted and worncon di t i on of th e bone and te e t h recovered .

M s Annie Vincens of th e Labor a to i re de Ggologie du Qua ter na i reof t h e CNRS a t Marse i l l e s has ana lyzed the ma te r i a l f rom the Nor thHorr and Maikona pollen pits . The Maikona samples were s t e r i l e , butthos e f rom North Horr provided some very in te r e s t in g informa t ion .Samples from th e -120 cm and -160 cm l e v e l s below th e sur fa ce con tain edu n u s ua l l y hi g h p er c e nt a g e s of Po do ca rpu s p o l l e n , i n d i c a t i n g s i g n i f i c a n t -l y h ig he r r a i n f a l l th an a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e . She i s c u r r e n t l y a n a l y z -ing the Kalacha and well samples.


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The o r a l t r a d i t i o n s c o l l e c t e d on t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e Gabbrap h r a t r i e s a nd c l a n s p r e s e n t a p i c t u r e of m u l t ip l e o r i g i n s . Some o ft h e t r a d i t i o n s a r e o b v i ou s ly a p oc ry p ha l an d o t h e r s c o n t r a d i c t o nea n o t h e r. The t r a d i t i o n s o f many p e o p l e p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e B or an a nd~ e n d i l l e ) must be compared and analyzed before a c o m p l e t e h i s t o r i c a lp i c t u r e w i l l emerge.

The Archaeology Tr ai ni ng Promam a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f N a ir o b i

P r io r t o 1978 t h e r e w a s no a rc h a eo l og y t r a i n i n g a t t h e U n i v e rs i t yof Nai robi . S t u d e n t s c o u ld g e t e xp os ed t o a r c h a e o l o g y by a s e r i e s o fl e c t u r e s i n t h e f i r s t y e ar S ou rc es i n A f r i c a H i s t o r y c o u rs e an d i n t h es ec o nd y e a r P r e h i s t o r y o f A f r i c a , b o t h o f f e r e d i n t h e D ep ar tm en t o fH i s t o r y . I n 1977 78 a curr icu lum was d e v e l o p e d f o r a B.A. i n H i s t o r y,Archaeology Opt ion , and i n 1978 79 t h e program went i n t o e f f e c t . T h i s

yea r, 1980 -81 , a l l t h r e e ye a r s o f t h e program are f u nc t io n i ng f o r t h ef i r s t t i me . I n a d d i t i o n t o c ou r se and l a b w ork , t h e s t u d e n t s r e c e i v ep r a c t i c a l t r a i n i n g a f t e r t h e seco nd y e ar i n t h e A rc ha eo lo gi ca l F i e l ds c h oo l , h e l d f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e r e c e n t l y a t Lukenya H i l l u n d e r t h es u p e r v i s i o n o f M r R o be rt So pe r o f t h e I n s t i t u t e o f A f r ic a n S t u d i e sand myself . S t u d e n ts c a n a l s o g e t f i e l d t r a i n i n g b y acco mpan yin gp r o j e c t s p romoted by U n i v e r si t y p e rs o n ne l , by t h e B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e i nE a s t A f r i c a , a n d by f o r e i g n e x p e d i t i o n s .

The B.A. c ou rsework i s a s f o l l o w s :

F i r s t Year

I n t r o d u c t i o n t o A rc ha eo lo gyS o ur ce s i n A f ri c an H i s t o r y

Second Year

P r e h i s t o r y o f A f r i c aA rc ha eo lo gy L a b o r at o r y i n c l u d i n g F i e l d s c h o o l )H i s t o r y o f K enya t o t h e P r e s e n tP hy s i ca l Geology and H i s t o r i c a l Geology ~ e o l o ~ ~ e ~ a r t m e n t )

Third Year

Archaeology Area Course t h i s ye ar , t h e Medi te r ranean wor ld)Themes i n Af r i can H i s to r y o r Reg ional Su rveyGeomorphology ~ e o g r a ~ h ~ e ~ a r t m e n t )D i s s e r t a t i o n

The M A program w a s r e v i s e d t h i s y e a r an d , a s su mi ng t h eUn ive r s i t y Sena t e app roves i t t h e f i r s t y e a r co urse work i s g i v e nbelow. The second year i s d ev ot ed t o t h e s i s r e s e a r c h a nd w r i t i n g .

Hi s to ry and Theory i n ArchaeologyArchaeological Methods and Research Design


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A r c h a e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s :Our s t u d i e s p e r t a i n t o a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m a t e r i a l s r e c o v er e d fro m

t h e p l e i s t o c e n e d e p o s i t s , which un co nfo rm ab ly o v e r l i e t h e f o s s i l i f e r o u sp l io c e ne s eq ue nc e. The p o t e n t i a l f o r f i n d i n g a r t e f a c t s o f P l e i s t o c e n e

age i n t h e a r e a was f i r s t recogn ized by Kohl Larsen , who rep or te ds t o n e a r t e f a c t s , i n c l u d in g b i f a c e s , from a l o c a l i t y r e f e r r e d t o sMarambu. Studies a t Laetol i were renewed by D r . Mary Leakey i n 1974and i n s u b se q u en t f i e l d s e a s o n s a r c h a e o l o g i c a l o c c u r re n c e s we re n o t e di n s e d i m en t ar y d e p o s i t s e q u i v a le n t t o Bed I a t Olduvai Gorge, whicha r e i n f o rm a l ly named th e O lp i ro beds. Wea thered a r t e f a c t s and f aunawere f ou nd l o c a l l y i n c o a r s e g r a i n e d s e d i me n ts fr om s e v e r a l p l a c e s i swhat a r e i n f o r m a l l y c a l l e d t h e O l p i r o b e d s, i n c l u d i n g t h e g e n e r a l a r e aKohl Larsen called Marambu.

One hundred and fo r t y s t o ne a r t e f a c t s we re an a ly sed f rom one ofthe se occu r r ences found t Grubb 's s i t e , i n l o c a l i t y 1 6 . I n t h e

c o r e - t o o l c a t e g o r y, ll t h e b a s i c t y p e s were p r e s e n t : c h o p p e rs ,p o ly h e dr o n s, d i s c o i d s s c r a p e r s a nd s p h e r o id s / s u b -s p h e r o id s w i t h t h ea d d i t i o n o f 3 small b i f a c i a l specimens. Edge damaged specimensinc luded mod i f ied ba t t e r e d cobb le s , hammerstones and f l ak e s . Thewhole f l a k e s an d f l a k i n g d e b r i s i n d i c a t e s i m p le t e c h n o l o g i c a lp r a c t i c e s , w h i c h i s c o n s i s t e n t w it h t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f s t o n ea r t e f a c t o c c ur r en c e s fo un d e le s ew h e re i n t h i s t i m e r a n g e , a p p ro x im a te l y1 . 5 t o 1 . 0 m i l l i o n y e a r s ag o. A lthough co re t o o l s p r edomina te , t h ea d d i t i o n o f s e v e r a l c r u d e l y made b i f a c i a l s pe ci me ns i n d i c a t e a t o o l -k i t a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l p r a c t i c e s g e n e r a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e DevelopedOldowan o r e a r l y Acheulian .

The main f o c us o f o u r f i e l d e f f o r t s was t o e x c a v a te a n a r c h ae o -l o g i c a l o c c ur r e n c e i n l o c a l i t y 2 3. The a r e a was ch o se n b e ca u s e al i g h t s c a t t e r of a r t e f a c t s , i n c lu d i ng b i f a c e s and s e v e ra l f o s s i l i z e db on es i n f r e s h c o n d i t i o n , w ere e r o d i n g o u t o f a c l ay ho r i zon whe re ap a r t i a l l y e x po se d s iv a t h e ri u m c ra ni um w a s e x c a v a t e d p r e v i o u s l y.c a r e f u l l y c o n t r o l l e d t e s t e x c av a ti on of 5 m2 w a s under taken based onth e met re gr id sys tem. Approximately 800 s to ne and bone spec imenswere recovered .

The g eo lo g y o f l o c a l i t y 2 3 i s complex and on ly p r ov i s i on a ls t r a t i g r a p h i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e r e po r te d h e r e . The a r chaeo log i ca loccurrence i s s t r a t i f i e d n e ar t h e t o p o f a 5 m e t r e t h i c k n e s s of darkbrown c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y s . U n d er l yi n g t h e c l a y se qu e nc e a r e l i g h tbrown c l a y s , f i n e s a n d s , t u f f a c e o u s s i l t s and d e t r i t u s r e s t i n gu nc on fo rm ab ly on a p a l e y e ll ow t u f f u n i t t h a t b e l o n gs t o t h e L e a t o l i lb ed s which a r e b e t t e r e xp os ed e ls ew h er e i n l o c a l i t y 23.

S e v e r a l f e a t u r e s o f t h i s e x c av a te d o c c u rr e nc e a r e wo rt h n o t i n g :

( a ) The a r chaeo log i ca l occu r r ence w a s s t r a t i f i e d i n d a r k brownc la ys which s ugge s t s t he env ironmen t o f dep os i t i on w s i n l ow e n e rg yc o n d i t i o n s . The d e p o s i t i o n a l e nv ir on me nt a nd s e v e r a l o t h e r f a c t o r s

p o i n t t o m in im al ly d i s t u r b e d c o n t e x t . C e r t a i n l y, t h e r ei s

oned i s c r e t e a r c h a e ol o g i c al h o r iz o n s 95 o f t h e s pe ci me ns were s t r a t i f i e d


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w i t h i n a 20 cm th ic knes s of c l ays and i t was p o s s i b l e t o e x c av a tefo l lowing th e anc i en t l andsu r fac e and r eco rd th e bones and s tones i np lace . Fu rthermore, t h e r e i s no c on sp ic uo us o r i e n t a t i o n t o t h eassemblage a s a whole.

(b) The occurrence i s one of the few examples from east Africawhere such ex t r ao rd in ar i l y wel l preserved f au nal remains have beenr ec ov er ed i n d i r e c t a s s o c i a t i o n w it h st o ne a r t e f a c t s . I n t h e a r e a t h a twas e x ca v at e d t h e g r e a t e r p r o po r t i o n o f t h e p o s t c r a n i a l s k e l e t o n o f al a r g e m a m m a l w a s uncovered. The d i s a r t i c u l a t e d bo ne s of t h e s c a p u l a ,r i b s , ve r t eb ra e , sacrum and l imbs appear t o be long t o one an ima l ,p o s s i b l y o f a l a r g e g i r a f f e - l i k e c r e a t u r e c a l l e d s iv a th e ri u m. T h e i rw e l l p r e se r v ed n a t u r e and s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s a c r o s s t h e e x c a v a ti o nin d i ca t e minimal pos t -depos i t i ona l d i s tu rbance .

c )The s to ne ar t e f a c t assemblage comprises crudely fashi oned

u n i f a c e s , b i f a c e s a n d p i c k s , as w e l l as massive c o res , f l ak es andf l ak in g de br i s which t oge t he r a re d i agno s t i c e l emen t s of Acheul i anoccurrences . Th i s i s the only recorded excavated occurrence f rom EastAf r i ca where ca l c re t e was u s e d e x t e n s i v e l y as a raw m a t e ri a l i n s t on ea r t e f a c t m a nu fa ct ur e. Of t h e t o t a l a r t e f a c t s (n -4 37 ), 94.3% were madeon c a l c r e t e which s t a n d s i n c o n t r a s t t o o n l y 3.9 made on l a v a and1 @ made on quartz. t was n ot p o s s i b l e t o t r a c e t h e s o u rc e , b u tca l c re t e s were p re sumably r e ad i l y a va i l ab le because ou tc rops a r e foundl o c a l l y i n many l e v e l s t h ro ug ho ut t h e s t r a t i g r a p h i c s eq ue nc e.

The u t i l i z a t i o n of such an amorphous r a w m a t e r i a l as c a l c r e t e

h e l p s i n p a r t t o e x p la i n t h e c rude a nd po o rl y f i n i s h e d n a tu r e o f t h ea r t e f a c t s . The p re se nc e of l a r g e b i f a c i a l t o o l s t o ge t h e r w i th c or e sand f l a k i n g d e b r i s i n d i c a t e s t h e f a b r i c a t i n g o f s t o n e i mpl em ent s onth e spo t . The i r a s soc ia t ion wi th we l l p re se rved r ema ins of a l a r g ea ni m al s u g ge s t t h e i r u s e i n b ut c h e ri n g and meat p r o c e ss i n g a c t i v i t i e s .

Survey i n the uppe rmost s t r a t i g r ap h i c u n i t , t he Ngaloba beds ,was not comprehensive. Severa l a rchaeologica l occurrences compris ingq ua rt z to ol s of M.S.A. cha r ac t e r and f l ak es wi th p repa red p l a t fo rmswere noted. t one l o c a l i t y r e p o r t e d by D r . Mary Leakey, but nots t u d i e d , a r t e f a c t s t o g e t h e r w i t h f a un a were f oun d e ro d i ng o u t o f t h eunde r ly ing sed imen t s. I n a r e c e n t l y p ub li sh ed r e p o r t , a f o s s i lhominid skull showing anatomically modern morphology w a s d e s c r i b e d ,which was found i n depo s i t s of t h e Ngaloba beds t h a t a l s o y i e ldedM.S.A. a r t e f a c t s and o th er fauna .

Summary:One of t he most impor tant fe a t ur es about La et o l i i s t h e

pa laeogeograph ica l s e t t i ng o f t h e ev idence. So f a r i t i s one of thefew l o c a l i t i e s t o be s t u d i e d a t h i g h a l t i t u d e on t h e p l a t e a u a l o n gt h e f l a n k s of t h e R i f t Va ll e y. I n t h e p a s t , p a l ae o ge o gr a ph i cs e t t i n g s su ch a s t h i s may have been ve ry d i f f e r en t ec o log ica l lycompared to h ab i t a t s found a round the sho res of anc i en t l ak es l i k e

Olduvai and Koobi Fora , f o r example . I n t h i s r e sp ec t , t he pa s ta r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d o f h o m i n i d a c t i v i t i e s i s h igh ly b i a sed because


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A p r e l i m i n a r y a s se s sm e nt o f t h e a s se mb la ge show s a f f i n i t i e s t ot h e Sangoan o r ~ a n ~ o a n / ~ o w e r upemban indus t r ies . A d e t a i l e dcompara t ive s tudy w i l l be under taken wi th assemblages of s i m i l a rc h a r a c t e r a n d c om p os i ti o n r e c o ve r e d f rom Ka la no F a l l s P r e h i s t o r i cs i t e and from North-Ea st Angola.

Some of th es e oc currence s have been da te d and should hope ful lyp rov ide a p r o v i s i o n a l a g e o f t h e M u gu nk s i t e s i t w a s n o t p o s s i b l et o o b t a i n d a t a b l e s am pl es from t h e s i t e . F u r t h e r m o r e , s t r a t i g r a p h i cs t u d i e s a r e b ei ng p ur sue d i n a n at te mp t t o c o r r e l a t e t h e s i t e w i t h i nt h e r e g i o n a l s eq ue nc e of t h e Lake Vi c t o r i a b a s i n .

NAMIBIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE I N SOUTHERN NAMIBIA

by: L E. NEWTON ( ~ u m a s i U n i v e r s i t y , ~ h a n a )and

BUTLER (BOX 4603, J oh ann es bur g, S ~ f r i c a )

I n t h e c o u r se o f a r e c e n t b i o l o g i c a l e x p e d i t i o n i n N amibia t h ew r i t e r s o f t e n n o ti c e d s t o n e im pl em en ts , e i t h e r l y i n g on t h e s u r f a c eo r p a r t l y bu ri ed i n t h e s o i l . Usua l ly on ly a few i t e m s were s e e n i neach p l ace , but a t one l o c a l i t y i n t h e s o u t h o f t h e c o u nt r y we camea c r o s s p a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e c o nc e nt r at i on on t h e s u r f a c e o f d r yr i v e r b e d . s t h e w r i t e r s a r e n o t a rc h a e o l o g i s t s ( b ei n g, r e s p e c t i v e l y,

b o t a n i s t a nd z o o l o g i s t ) t h e a i m o f t h i s no te i s t o b r in g t h ed i s c ov e r y t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f i n t e r e s t e d a r c h a e o l o g i s t s who mig ht h a vea n o pp o r t u n i t y t o make a d e t a i l e d s t u d y o f t h e a r e a .

The s i t e r e p o rt e d h e r e i s abou t 10 km south of the mining townof Rosh Pinah (approx. 280S, 16O 4 5 ~ ) . When we f i r s t r e a c h e d t h el o c a l i t y we n o t i c ed t h a t t h e r e w ere s e v e r a l hun dr ed s t o n e t o o l ssc a t t e r e d ove r t he outwash p l a i n ex t end ing f rom a d r y r i v e r be d.

T h i s l i e s on t h e w e st s i d e o f t h e r o a d f rom Rosh P i na h t o t h e O rangeR i v e r. The s i t e i s only about 100 metres f rom th e road , where t h er ive r va l l ey emerges f rom a gorge i n r an ge of h i l l s . We t h e nwalked i n t o t h e v a l l e y f o r a b o u t 500 m e tr e s and f ou nd t h a t t h e s c a t t e rof implements cont inued in t o th e gorge . U n f o rt u n at e l y ou r ti m e i nt h e a r e a w a s very l i mi te d and we were unable t o go f u r t h e r and make amore extens ive search .

Most of th e implements were made from brown i ro ns t on e , andgood v a r i e t y o f d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f t o o l were s e e n . There were anumber o f c o r e t o o l s , i n c l u d i n g l a r g e b i f a c i a l a x e s and s c r a p e r s .Small t o o l s were made on l e v a l l o i s f l a k e s , many wi t h t h e i r e d ge sre touched on one s ide . I n a d d it i o n t o r ec og ni sa bl e t o o l s t h e r e w a sl a rg e quan t i t y o f b roken rock f r agmen t s , i nc l ud ing wha t appea red t o be


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r o u gh - o ut s f o r t o o l m a n uf a ct u re . A s a m p l e c o l l e c t i o n , p i c k e d u p a trandom a s we walked around, ha s been de pos i ted i n t h e S t a t e Museumi n U indhoek.

The great abundance and v a r i e t y o f t h e m a t e r i a l s ug g e st s t h a t i ti s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a f a c t o r y s i t e . What i s n o t c l e a r i s whe the r t heo r i g i n a l working s i t e h as been i n t h e l o c a l i t y w e v i s i t e d o r f u r t h e rup t h e v a l l e y. The wi de ly s c a t t e r e d d i s t r i b u t i o n on t h e ou twash p l a i np o i n t s t o t h e p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t t h e material had been c a r r i e d down-s t r e a m a n d d e p o s i t e d o v e r t h e p l a i n a s th e water emerged from t h egorge . However, a l l t h e m a t e r i a l w a s i n re m a rk a bl y good c o n d i t i o n ,w it h v e ry l i t t l e s i g n of w ea th er in g o r r o l l i n g . t i s l i k e l y ,t h e r e f o r e , t h a t i f t h e m a t e r i a l h ad b ee n c a r r i e d b y water t h e o r i g i ncannot be f a r away.

The ag e an d s i g n i f i c a n c e o f o u r f i n d must b e l e f t f o r a rc h a e o l o-g i s t s t o d e te rm in e. The few i n d iv i d u a ls t o whom w e have shown thesmall sample c o l l e c t e d seem t o a g r ee t h a t t h e y r e p r e s e n t a n e a r l yM e s o l i t h i c i n d u s t r y, b u t a more d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e s i t e i sr e q u i r e d .

NIGERIA

1980 Excavations a t Agadagbabou, Yenegoa Local Governmenta r e a , R i v e r s S t a t e N i ge r ia : A P r e l i m i n a r y R e p o r t.

by: D r Nwanna Nzewunwa, School of Humanities,Un i ve r s i t y o f P o r t Ha rcou r t and Abi A Derefaka, Departmentof Archaeology, Univers i ty of Ibadan .

The excavat ions a t Agadagbabou ar e p a r t of an a r ch ae ol og ica lr e s e a r c h p r o j e c t i n t h e f r e s h w a t e r Ni ge r D e l t a of N i g e r ia . T h e s i t eof Agadagbabou, i s l o c a t e d on 'Wi lb e rf o rc e I s l a n d ' ,

a l a rg e i s l a nd c r e a t ed by t he Nun R ive r and Igbed i Creek . Today theI s l a n d i s a l a r g e mass o f fr e sh w a te r f o r e s t , t h e r e f u g e o f d i f f e r e n tsp ec i e s of an ima l. s a r e s u l t i t o f f e rs o p p o r t un i t i es f o r v a r i e deconomic p u r s u i t s c u l t i v a t i o n , t r a p p i n g , h u n t i n g , cr e e k a nd c r e e k l e tf i s h i n g .

Agadagbabou i s s i t u a t e d on t h e e a s t bank of Opuba creeklet a tthe junction between Somoun creek and Opuba creeklet . t i s abou t1 0 km f rom th e no r thwes t e rn l an d in g po in t a long t h e Igbed i Creek on

Wi lb e rf o rc e I s l a n d . The s i t e i s a c c e s s i b l e o n l y by f o o t f ro m t h el a n d i ng p o i n t .


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I n F i t s I and I V t h e r e were c l e a r e r c u l t u r a l and n a t u r a ls t r a t i g r a p h i e s . I n P i t I t h e c u l t u r a l l a y e r s w ere s e p a r a te d by l a y e r so f c l ay . P i t I V on the o the rhand , was made up of a t o p s o i l f o ll ow edby a d i s t i n c t m idden be low which was what l ooked l i k e t h e s ub so i l . P i tI V p ro du ce d t h e g r e a t e s t number o f a r t e f a c t s . There w s a l o t ofcha rco a l from bo th t h e midden o f P i t I V and t h e c u l t u r a l l a y e r s o fP i t 11

Finds P o t s h e r d s a bo u t 1 5 ,0 0 0 ) c o n s t i t u t e t h e m aj or f i n d s fro mt h e s i t e . From P i t I came one and a h a l f c y l i n d r i c a l g l a s s b ea ds w i thg r e e n , r e d a nd ye ll ow s t r i p e s . From P i t I a l o t o f b u r nt palm k e r n e l s ,a smoking pipe stem, a smoking pipe bowl fragment were recovered. P i tI produced a compara t ive ly small amount of sherds . P i t I V producedone smoking pipe bowl and two bowl fragments a s w e l l as a smoking pipestem and a smok ing p ipe pedes t a l . Two pi e ce s of bone no t y e ti d e n t i f i e d ) p r o b ab l y b e lo n gi ng t o s m a l l a n i m a ls w er e a l s o r e c o v e r e dfrom P i t I V .

Samples and Anal ys is S o i l , Charcoa l and bur n t c la y samples werec o l l ec t e d f o r f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s . Analys is of a l l m a t e r i a l r e c o v e r e df r o m t h e e x c a v a t i o n i s i n p ro g re ss . A more d e t a i l e d r e p o r t w i l l

f o l l o w l a t e r .

Genera l An NTV crew from P o r t Har co ur t l e d by M r . D i b i r e c o r d e dp a r t s o f t h i s ex ca v at io n . The s t a f f and s tu de nt s of t h e Government

Seconda ry Schoo l , Asoama, Saba g re i a and t h e r e s id en t D i spense r v i s i t e dt h e s i t e . A t t h e c l o s e o f t h e e x c a v a ti o n s a n e x h i b i t i o n o f t h e m a jo rf i n d s and l e c t u r e s we re made t o t h e l e a de r s o f t h e Sa bag re i a communitya nd t h e s t a f f a nd s t u d e n t s o f t h e S e co n da ry S c h oo l .

Acknowledgements The f i n a l sur vey and ex ca va tio ns were spons ored bya Research Gran t f rom th e Un iv e r s i t y o f P o r t Ha rcou r t w i th ha rdwarefrom th e School of Humanit ies . The Ri ve rs S t a t e Research Scheme fundedt h e i n i t i a l Reco nn aissance. We a r e g r a t e f u l t o t h e P r i n c i p a l o fGovernment Secondary Scho ol , Asoama, Sabag re ia f o r h o s p i t a l i t y andp eo p le o f S a b a g r e i a f o r p e rm i ss i on t o e x c a va t e on t h e i r l a n d .


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RW ND ND BURUNDI

THE IRON AGE I N RWANDA AND BURUNDI.A r c h a e o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s d u r i n g 1978 - 1979 - 1980.

M a r i e - C l a u d e Van G r u n d e r b e e kV r i j e U n i v e r s i t e i t va n B r u s s e l

D u r i n g f o u r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m i s s i o n s , p r o s p e c t i o n s a nd ex-c a v a t i o n s w ere made a t s e v e r a l E a r l y a nd L a t e I r o n a g e s i t e si n t h e B u t a r e r e g i o n , Rwanda. A t t h e same t i m e , x p l o r e d t h eG i t e g a r e g i o n i n B u r u n d i , w here i n 1972 E a r l y I r o n a g e p o t -s h e rd s h a d been s i g n a l i s e d .

T h i s c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i l l be a s u r v e y o f t h e f i e l d w o r k w i t ht h e a l r e a d y o b t a i n e d C I4 -d a t in g s a n d t h e f i r s t c o n c l u s i o n scame t o a f t e r a s u p e r f i c i a l s tu d y o f t h e d a ta .

a v e h ad t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e a l i z e t h i s w ork t h a n k s t ot h e f i n a n c i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f t h e K o n i n k l i j k Museum v o o rM i d d e n - A f r i c a o f T e r v u re n , t h e I n s t i t u t N a t i o n a l de Re c h e rc h eS c i e n t i f i q u e o f Rwanda a nd t h e B e l g i a n N a t i o n a a l Fonds v o o rWe t e n s c h a p p e l i j k O n d e r z o e k .

m v e r y g r a t e f u l t o P r o f . F.Va n N o t e n , who g u i d e d me i nmy f i e l d w o r k d u r i n g t h e f i r s t t h r e e w eeks.

RWANDAB ecause o f t h e q u a n t i t y o f f i n d s , t h e w o r k in g a r e a r e m ai n edl i m i t e d t o t h e B u t a r e r e g i o n , w h i c h i s s i t u a t e d i n t h e C e n t r a lP l a t e a u , e a s t o f t h e C o ng o - Ni le c r e s t . t i s a h i l l y l a n d s c a p ew i t h r e d l a t e r i t i c s o i l s .

E a r l y I ro n-a geA t d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s o f t h e K a b u y e - h i l l [I] a r l y I r o n

a g e p o t s h e r d s , b e l o n g i n g t o t h e U r e w e - t r a d i t i o n , w ere c o l l e c t e dby i n h a b i t a n t s d u r i n g t h e i r a g r i c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s .CI4-dates w ere o b t a i n e d f o r : a n open b o w l w i t h b e v e l l e d r i mc r o s s - h a t c h i n g a n d p a r a l l e l g r o o v in g s o n t h e b o dy ,

Kabcye V I I I b GrN-9665 1665+ 50 BP 285 A Ds h e r d s o f a l a r g e j a r w i t h a n

u n u s u a l d e c o r a t i o n o f p a r a l l e l g ro o v in g s o n t h e n e c k a ndf i n g e r - p in c h e s on p a r t o f t h e b o d y , f o u n d i n a f i r e - p l a c e t o -g e t h e r w i t h a d i m p le - b as e a n d c r o s s -h a t c h e d s h e r d s ,

Kabuye X V GrN-9667 14 90 + 55 BP 46 0 ADA t Remera ( 21 , s h e rd s o f a t y p i c a l necked p o t [ F i g 2 3 ,w i t h b e v e l l e d r i m c r o s s - h a t c h in g o n t h e ne c k an d p a r a l l e lg r o o v i n g s w i t h V-shaped k i n k s o n t h e s h o u l d e r , w ere f o u n d n e a rby a t h i r d c e n t u r y i r o n s m e l t i n g f u r n a c e .

F i v e i r o n s m e l t i n g f u r n a c e s o f a b l a s t f u r n a c e t y p e w eree x c a v a t e d . A t e v e ry o c c a s i o n , d i s c o v e r e d a h o l l o w , d ug i n t ot h e g r o u n d , f i l l e d w i t h i r o n s l a g , a l o t o f c h a r c o a l , f r a g m e n t so f c l a y t u y e r e s , p o t t e r y s he rd s a n d a b o ve a l l , t h e b ro k e n p i e -c e s o f a c o n i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n , w h i c h ha d been b u i l t ab o ve t h eh o l l o w b y a s e r i e s o f s u pe rp os e d h um ic c l a y c o i l s . These c o i l s

h ad been d e c o ra t e d w i t h w a v e- cu r l s a t t h e o u t e r s i d e , e x c e p tt h e u p p e r c o i l , w h i ch was m o uld ed w i t h c a n n e lu r e s a t t h e u pp era n d o u t e r s i d e .


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Dahwe I GrN-9668 1710 + 25 BP 240 AD ( 3 1 ,G i s a g a r a V I GrN-9666 1695 7 30 BP 255 AD ( 4 1 ,N y a r u h e n g e r i I GrN-9670 1570 7 50 BP 3 8 0 AD ( 5 1 ,Ngoma I GrN-9686 12857 30 BP 6 6 5 AD ( 6 1 ,

Dahwe I i s a g a r a V I a nd Ngoma 1 11 -[in d a t i n g ] a r e o f s m a l ld i m e n s i o n s : t h e h o l l o w d o e s n ' t e x c e e d 9 0 cm d i a m e t e r b y 20 cmd e p t h .N y a r u h e n g e r i I s a v e

Nyame Akuma Issue 018

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