NYAME AKUMA

No.19 November, 1981.

Newsletter of t h e Society of Af r ican i s t Archaeologists i n America. - --

Edited by P.L. Shinnie and issued from t h e Department of Archaeology, The Universi ty of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. Typing and e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t ance by A m a Owusua Shinnie, Administrative ass i s t ance by Sco t t McEachern. .................................

This is probably t h e last number f o r which I w i l l be responsible. I a m going t o Cambridge as V i s i t i n g Fellow a t S t . John's College from January-June 1982 (address: c/o S t . John's College, Cambridge, CB2 lTP, &-gland) and a f t e r t h a t probably t o Ghana. My fu tu re at t h e Universi ty of Calgary is uncer ta in , though I s h a l l be back t h e r e i n September 1982, so it seems wise t o make o t h e r arrange- ments f o r t h e f u t u r e of Nyame Akuma. A decis ion can be taken a t t h e meeting at Berkeley next May but those with suggest ions might send them t o M r . S. McEachern at t h i s address. M r . McEachern is now handling a l l adminis t ra t ive matters.

E d i t o r i a l mat ters , f o r t h e time being, w i l l be d e a l t with by D r . N. David a l s o of t h e Universi ty of Calgary and he w i l l be responsible f o r t h e i s su ing of no.20 i n May 1982.

The e d i t o r is gra te fu l t o t h e increas ing number of con t r ibu to rs who a r e typing t h e i r a r t i c l e s i n such a form t h a t re-typing is not required. However many a r e ignoring the reques t as t o s t y l e given i n the notes t o contributors. S ing le space please. Many contr ibut ions a r e now being received on the new i n t e r n a t i o n a l (except North ~ m e r i c a ) paper s i z e - t h i s can be reproduced on our quarto page i f t e x t i s kept within the frame pr in ted on p.3 of t h e cover. Please note what is s a i d about i l l u s t r a t i o n s .

P .L. Shinnie .

ANNOUNCEMENT of the 1982 Occasional Meeting of t h e SOCIETY f o r AFRICANIST

ARCHAEOLOGISTS I N AMERICA

Thursday t o Sunday, May 13-16, 1982 a t t h e Universi ty of Ca l i fo rn ia , Berkeley

The Berkeley group i n v i t e s a l l colleagues involved i n

African Archaeology and any o the rs with r e l a t e d i n t e r e s t s t o a t t end a 3

o r 4 day meeting i n May. We envisage t h a t people might assemble i n t i m e

f o r a s o c i a l function on the evening of Thursday May 13, t o be followed

by papers and discuss ions on Friday, Saturday and perhaps, i f needs be ,

p a r t of Sunday.

I f you th ink you may be a b l e t o a t tend please f i l l out t h e

accompanying form and send it t o Professors J .D. Clark and G. I saac ,

Department of Anthropology, U.C. Berkeley, Ca l i fo rn ia 94720 (or , i f you

do not have a form j u s t write and l e t us know).

We w i l l attempt t o arrange a program on the b a s i s of t h e

response t h a t w e receive before February 1, 1982 and w i l l then send out

program announcements.

W e a r e a l s o hoping t o arrange f o r a p r a c t i c a l workshop i n

associa t ion with t h e meeting ( e i t h e r j u s t before o r j u s t a f t e r ) . This

w i l l cover demonstrations and discuss ions of use-wear s tud ies . This

remains t e n t a t i v e and we w i l l advise people i f t h e plan is confirmed.

The object ive of t h e meeting is t o allow information exchange

on current research, with oppor tuni t ies f o r d iscuss ing approaches, methods

and r e s u l t s . W e w i l l a l s o t r y t o make t h i s a convivial occasion f o r personal

in te rac t ion . Please do put a r i n g around these da tes on your ca lendar ,

and do t r y t o come! (We w i l l do our bes t t o arrange reasonably low-cost

accomodation and w i l l l e t people know about t h i s l a t e r ) .

ASSOCIATION OUEST-AFRICAINX D ' ARCHEOLOGIE

3 WEST-AFRI CAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL

ASSOCIATION

3.2me Colloque A . O . A . A . - W .A .A.A.

Dakar: 8-10 dgcembre 1981

Lars de son 2eme colloque, tenu Bamako e n dgcembre 1978, l e bureau nouvellement g lu a v a i t r e t enu l a candidature de l a Haute- Volta e t d e l a Mauritanie pour l a tenue du prochain col loque.

Ces deux pays s ' g t a n t successivement d g s i s t g s , e t l e d g l a i s t a t u t a i r e &ant expi rg , une rzbnion du bureau s ' e s t tenue 5 Dakar l e 3 m a i 1981, sous la prgsidence de M . Alpha KONARE, pour prendre l e s mesures propres a s s u r e r l a cont inuat ion des a c t i v i t g s de l ' a s s o c i a t i o n .

I1 a 6t.G dgcid6 que l e t rois i6me cozloque s e t i e n d r a i t dans l a premi&e quinzaine de decembre en Cote d l I v o i r e ou au %&gal.

Nos coll&ges dlAbidjan viennent de nous faire s a v o i r q u ' i l s renongaient 2 l ' o r g a n i s a t i o n du colloque dans l e s d g l a i s impar t i s . Le t ro is igme colloque s e t i e n d r a donc g Dakar, sous 1' ggide de 1 'Universi t g .

Le programme pr;vu e s t l e su ivant :

- Lundi 7 dgcembre : a c c u e i l d e s p a r t i c i p a n t s . - Mardi 8 dgcembre : sgance d 'ouver ture ; communications. - Mercredi 9 dgcembre : communications; dgbat s u r l e s problgmes

de l a formation d e s archgologues a f r i c a n i s t e s .

- Jeudi 10 dgcembre : assemblge g6n6rale de 1 ' A . O .A. A . 2 Gorge e t v i s i t e de l ' i l e .

- Vendre 11 e t samedi 1 2 dgcembre : excursion dans l e Sine- Saloum; v i s i t e des amas c o q u i l l i e r s e t des s i t e s mggalithiques .

Nous sommes consc ients des d i f f i c u l t & en t ra inges pa r l a pr6parat ion d 'un colloque dans l a br igvet6 des d g l a i s impar t i s . Aussi comptons-sous s u r la comprghension de nos col l&es e t p r i o n s ceux d ' e n t r e eux qui d e s i r e n t p a r t i c i p e r 5 c e t t e rgunion de s e f a i r e connaTtre avant l e l e r octobre (ce d g l a i &ant ramen; au 15 j u i l l e t pour ceux qu i d6s i r en t que des rgse rva t ions h b t e l i z r e s s o i e n t e f f ec tuges ) . Nous f a i s o n s d ' a u t r e p a r t appel 5 chacun pour q u ' i l v e u i l l e d i f f u s e r l e p lus largement poss ib le c e t t e c i r c u l a i r e . Les t i t r e s des communications sont 5 jo indre g l a demande de p a r t i c i p a t i o n . Cel les-c i ne doivent pas excgder quinze minutes.

Une seconde c i r c u l a i r e , p r6c i san t l e programme du col loque e t donnant l a l i s t e des communications, s e r a envoyze avant l e 31 octobre .

Pour l e Comitg d ' o rgan i sa t ion Massamba LAME

BOTSWN;ii?

by J, Denbow

The National Science Foundation has made a small g r a n t f o r t h e r e fu rb i sn ing of an h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g i n ~Gborone , Botswana, t o s t o r e a rchaeologica l m a t e r i a l s c o l l e c t e d by United States-based expedi t ions over t h e l a s t 15 years , The bu i ld ing w i l l a l s o house t h e National Flonuments f i l e s f o r t h e country, c o l l e c t i o n s made by o the r i n v e s t i g a t o r s , and provide much needed a n a l y s i s and work sgace f o r re- searchers based both i n s i d e and outs ide Botswana, cons t ruc t ion w i l l begin i n October o r November,

Two new radiocarbon d a t e s have been received. f o r r e c e n t l y excavated sites, A t Moritsane near Gaborone a site conta in ing a v i t r i f i e d k r a a l depos i t has been da ted t o R O D , 1 0 9 5 ~ 7 5 ( I - 8 , Ceramics from t h i s s i t e a r e r e l a t e d t o mater ial s from Eiland and o the r s i t e s i n t h e Transvaal, a s wel l a s t o s i t e s such a s Ntshekane i n Natal , A t Depression Cave i n t h e Tsodi lo H i l l s i n t h e north-western corner of t h e country a d a t e of A.D,1645+75 (1-11,824) has been recs ived , Late Stone Age l i t h i c deb& and charcoal tempered p o t t e r y were recovered,

Analysis of t h e f a u a a l remains from t h r e e Ear ly I ron Age 1oc:ltions a t T'sodilo has been completed by D r , E, Voigt, Transvaal Museum, ltemains of c a t t l e , goats and sheep were found i n a l l levels--cat t le outnumbering gc?ats/sheep by a f a c t o r of 2:1, A t l e a s t one cow of a humped o r Zebu type was represented i n t h e small sample,

I n September, a midden i n t h e litwebe H i l l s south of I&e P.lgmi was excavated, The midden produced both lugged, khoi ceramics and Tswana p o t t e r g decorated by n icking along t h e r i m s i m i l a r t o Euisport i n t h e Transvaal, Carbonized sorghum, a s wel l as remains of' c a t t l e and goats/sheep were recovered, along w i t h seve ra l pa t ina ted b lue and red g l a s s cane beads, a cowry s h e l l , copper bangles , and i r o n t o o l s , A radiocarbon sample has been submitted f o r da t ing , hkcavati ons were a l s o c a r r i c d out a t t h e Hippo Tooth s i t e near t h e e a s t e r n end of t h e B o t l e t l i itiver. Early I r o n Age p o t t e r y of Gokomere- Bambata type was recovered, along with Late Stone dge l i t h i c debr i s , 20 charcoal was preserved, s o a sample of bone has been submitted f o r dat ing.

A prospection for prehistoric sites in Middle Egypt.

In addition to their recent archaeological research, which was the outcome of a prospection tour undertaken in 1976, the team of the Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project made a complementary survey in 1981. It visited the lower desert on both sides of the Nile Valley, between Assyut and Qena. Some Middle Palaeolithic sites, showing an elaborate Levallois technology of Nubian Type, were discovered two km into the desert, at Nag el Ezba (ME81/7), which is situated on the East bank, halfway between Sohag and Nag Hammadi. The higher levels of the lower desert, the core of which consists of black pliocene clays, as well as the slopes, are covered with gravels. The southern slope of a sidebranch of Wadi Qasab was examined. Under a desert pavement, an important concentration of artifacts, together with huge stone blocks and gravel, was embedded in consolidated red soil material.

It is our impression that Middle Palaeolithic industries which are geologically in situ, such as we previously discovered in El Gineimya, Beit Allam, El Amrah and Nazlet Khater, are rather scarce in the area we explored.

A concentration of artifacts was found on a low hill, 6 m above the alluvial plain. The industry was collected both on the surface of and also in a local gravel resting upon a thick deposit of Nile gravels. It consisted of Levallois cores and Levallois flakes, most of which are small and of inferior quality, and also of cores with one and with two striking platforms, some of which are for blades.

Near the hamlet of Nag El Ezba (ME81/6) a Late Palaeolithic in- dustry was disc0vere.d within an important stratigraphic sequence, which can be summarised as follows. A lower complex of layers consists of a Nile silt and local gravel. This lower complex was eroded by a wadi in which a new Nile aggradation took place with the deposition of a dark gray humiferous silty gravel. This layer contains hundreds of flints in secun- dary position. The Nile aggradation continued with the deposition of pale gray silt up to 4 m. above the present alluvial plain. This surface was stabilised by a humiferous soil. In the last aggradation phase the site was covered by 2.5 m of local wadi gravel. The industry is characterised by a lamellar debitage from prismatic cores producing flakes and blades. No distinctive tools were found. In the neighbourhood of El Isawiya Sharq (ME81/1), 24 m above the wadi bed, on top of a clay hill, the surface of which has been disturbed by local gravel digging, two small concentrations of Late Paleolithic artifacts were found. This material is characterised by numerous bladelets, backed bladelets and burin spalls. A most inter- resting site is situated in between the hamlets of Ezbet Radouan and Arab ed Sabaha (ME81/9). The site consists of a small silt elevation 2 m above the alluvial plain. Some material can be found underneath the surface up to a dept of 20 cm. This material is limited to cracks in the sediment so that it is likely that the whole site is to be considered as a surface site without stratigraphical implications. On the surface one can find a large quantity of microlithic artifacts.

A preliminary analysis of the industry reveals the presence of a bladelet debitage mostly from cores with two striking platforms. Backed

b l a d e l e t s most of which a r e pointed do account f o r more t han 60 % of the t o o l s . Some of them a r e of Ouchtata type. Borers a r e f r equen t . T r i - ang les a r e t h e only represen ted geometr ic m i c r o l i t h s . Bur in , notched p i eces and t r u n c a t i o n s a r e p r e s e n t i n smal l amounts whereas s c r a p e r s a r e very r a r e . Microburins a r e numerous.

I t i s our i n t e n t i o n t o execute new excava t ions i n 1982.

P.M. Vermeersch, E . P a u l i s s e n , G. G i j s e l i n g s , R . Lauwers, D . Huyge.

KENYA

Br i t i sh I n s t i t u t e i n Eastern Africa

Peter Robertshaw, the Assistant Director, and Fiona Marshall of U.C. Berkeley have j u s t returned from three month's fieldwork i n the Lemek Valley, Narok D i s t r i c t , S.W. Kenya. The major a i m of t he work w a s t e excavation of an Elmenteitan s i t e , named Ngamuriak. About 9 100 m were dug t o obtain a la rge sample of a r t e f a c t s and fauna and t o reveal something of t he i n t e rna l layout of t he s i t e . The remains of a burnt hu t , e i t h e r c i r cu l a r or oval i n shape, w a s found at the edge of the s i t e . Significant i n t r a s i t e var ia t ion i n the d i s t r i bu t i on of stone a r t e f a c t s was recorded, i n pa r t i cu l a r c l a s s i c Elmenteitan blades occured only i n r e s t r i c t e d patches. Faunal remains were abundant and over- whelmingly dominated by the bones of domestic stock. Teeth appear t o ind ica te t h a t t he c a t t l e at the s i t e were much l a r g e r than the Masai c a t t l e of today.

A small Elmenteitan s i t e , Sambo Ngige, w a s a l s o t e s t ed and t he pa t te rn of refuse disposal at t h i s s i t e seems s i m i l a r t o t h a t a t Ngamuriak .

Test excavations were a l so conducted at Lemek North-East, a s i t e with Narosura pot tery located i n bush country at a higher a l t i t u d e than the other s i t e s . Lemek North-East yielded a very high densi ty of faunal remains, while the stone a r t e f a c t s showed a grea te r use of cher t as r a w material and a higher frequency of backed t oo l s compared t o t he Elmenteitan s i t e s .

A complete foo t survey covering some 40 kmz of t he Lemek Valley revealed 60 archaeological s i t e s , most of them re fe rab le t o t h e Elmenteitan, though s i t e s with Narosura and Akira pot tery were a l s o discovered. Only one Pastoral I ron Age (P .I .A. ) s i t e , probably nineteenth or twentieth century, was found i n contras t t o t he numerous P. I .A , s i t e s discovered last year on t h e edge of the Mara Plains .

An i n t e r e s t i n g i s o l a t e d discovery near Lemek w a s p a r t of a n Ear ly I r o n Age v e s s e l , probably r e l a t e d t o t h e Urewe t r a d i t i o n .

F i n a l l y , t h e s i t e of Gogo F a l l s ( see Asania XV, 133) w a s r e v i s i t e d by David C o l l e t t and P e t e r Robertshaw. Recent earthworks at t h e dam have r e s u l t e d i n t h e exposure of a l a r g e s e c t i o n through t h e si te. This r e v e a l s t h a t t h e Kansyore p o t t e r y is coming from a l a sge ash midden over one metre t h i c k . Fur ther p o t t e r y and bone were c o l l e c t e d from t h e s e c t i o n and t h e c o n t r a c t o r ' s s p o i l heaps. A small excavation w a s a l s o undertaken t o ob ta in samples f o r radio- carbon da t ing .

A t t h e time of wr i t ing , t h e D i r e c t o r , is about t o l eave t o ca,rry out a rchaeologica l survey work on Pemba i s l a n d and t h e R u f i j i Delta. During t h e first h a l f of 1982 he expects t o be i n Cambridge having obtained leave of absence t o take up a v i s i t i n g Fellowship a t Clare H a l l . I n h i s absence P e t e r Robertshaw w i l l be Acting Direc tor .

It i s hoped t o co-operate with D r . Steve Brandt on work on t h e p r e h i s t o r y of t h e Juba Valley upstream from Bardera and i n N.E. Somalia where i t should be poss ib le t o ob ta in information on human adapta t ions t o changing environments dur ing much of t h e l a t e Quaternary.

Note by e d i t o r

D r . Robertshaw has wr i t t en t o express s u r p r i s e " tha t t h e names of t h e o the r members of t h e 1981 Southern Sudan Expedition had been omitted from my r e p o r t i n t h e last i s s u e of Nyame Akuma." The e d i t o r is s o r r y i f egos have been bruised and lists t h e o the r s who were given as co-authors of t h e previous r e p o r t . They were A r i S i i r i a i n e n , Amum Tor, Bernard Mbae, Torben Andersen, Jeremy Coote, Andrew Mawson.

The e d i t o r of course r e se rves t h e r i g h t t o e d i t but as t h i s w a s a s p e c i a l r eques t from t h e Di rec to r of t h e B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e he i s glad t o r e p a i r t h e omission.

. Dr. Wandibba of the National Museum of Kenya sends

this report:

In No.18 of 'N~~me'Akuma, I reported that a two-week preliminary

investigation was being undertaken at Rigo Cave. The work consisted

of mapping all the surface finds as well as test-excavating the site.

The test-excavations consisted of three pits, two of them inside the

cave whilst the third one ran from the entrance down the talus slope.

Apart from one of the pits in the cave which was Imx2m, the other

two were Imx3m.

The materials recovered from the work included five stone vessel

fragments, two beads, a bone a d fragment, a harpoon-like wooden

object and a pendant-3ike object made of jasper. Obsidian chippings

and artefacts of a non-diagnostic industry were also found. In

addition, lots of faunal remains were recovered. A preliminary analysis

indicates that at least 21 species are represented (John Kimengich:

personal communication). Amongst these human beings and rodents were

the commonest. The human skull mentioned in No.18 turned out to be

that of a very old individual.

The preliminary analysis of the material recovered from the

excavation seems to suggest that the cave was most probably not a

habitation site. Thus, this cave is unlikely to be comparable to

the Njoro River Cave.

AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF BUNGOMA DISTRICT

Bungoma District is one of the areas in Kenya that appear to

have been neglected by previous researchers in the field of prehistory.

It is for this reason that the present writer is carrying out both an

ethnoarchaeological and an archaeological investigation. The ethno-

archaeological aspects of the research is concentrating on the pottery

industry.

The archaeological survey done so f a r has a l r eady r e s u l t e d i n the l o c a t i o n

of over 40 s i t e s , most, of them belonging t o the i r o n age but a middle

s tone age s i t e a s well a s a l a t e s tone age one have a l s o been found. A l l

t h e s i t e s loca ted a r e being given SASES numbers and a s ix- f igure g r i d

reference number. I am very g r a t e f u l t o t h e L.S.B. Leakey Foundation

f o r awarding me a g ran t t o c a r r y out t h i s research.

NIGERIA

The following r e p o r t has been s e n t i n by M r . Agbaje-Williams and D r . Onyango-Abuje, both of t h e Univers i ty of Ibadan. . The o r i g i n a l has been s l i g h t l y ed i t ed .

RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK AT OLD OYO: 1979-81

1. Int roduct ion

The s i t e of Old Oyo w a s t h e c a p i t a l of t h e former Oyo Yoruba Empire of t h e 17 th and 18 th century. Most of its s t r u c t u r a l f e a t u r e s are still preserved. The ancient c i t y l i e s wi th in 4' 26'-4' 20E' and 8' 56'-9' 03'N. It covers an a r e a of about s i x t y square k i lometres and t h i s is c l e a r l y marked by i t s w a l l system some of which i s i n concent r ic formation. The s i t e i s now a Game Reserve.

The first archaeologica l work was c a r r i e d out a t t h i s s i te i n 1956-57 by Frank W i l l e t t . This revealed t h e ex i s t ence of a Late Stone Age assemblage at Mejiro rock s h e l t e r . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h i s Wi l l e t t gave a b r i e f desc r ip t ion of some of t h e a rchaeo log ica l f e a t u r e s l i k e t h e gr inding stone-hollows and t h e w a l l system. Following W i l l e t t ' s excavation, was Robert Soper whose work covered a period of seven years (1973-79). This work has been of s i g n i f i - cance i n s t r e s s i n g t h e need f o r f u r t h e r r e sea rch at t h e s i t e but not enough information on t h e na ture of t h e se t t lement p a t t e r n at Old Oyo, o r on d i s t r i b u t i o n of a rchaeologica l f e a t u r e s t h e r e and a l s o t h e depth of occupation. Because of t h e s e shortcomings, a comprehensive programme of research was designed i n 1978 t o complement previous work and a l s o t o broaden our knowledge of Old Oyo's h i s t o r y .

Considering t h e l a rgeness of t h e Ci ty of Old Oyo, t h u s a sample examination w a s r e s o r t e d t o , and w e chose a sys temat ic t r a n s e c t i n g procedure, mis was a 10% samyle of t h e a rea . This approach i s appropr ia te at Old Oyo because t h e f i n a n c i a l and time c o n s t r a i n t s a r e minimized, and it was e a s i e r than any o t h e r approach t o l o c a t e sample u n i t s i n t h e f i e l d . This work w a s c a r r i e d out between March and May, 1978, a t o t a l of nine weeks.

The first t r a n s e c t s t a r t e d from t h e West of t h e s i t e (western w a l l ) , with o t h e r s fol lowing eastward. I n t h e end w e had four teen t r a n s e c t s ; every t r a n s e c t separa ted by h a l f a ki lometer . The t r a n s e c t s have a f i x e d width of f i f t y meters with t h e i r length varying between 1 .6 ki lometers and 10 k i lometers . No su r face c o l l e c t i o n s were made because t h e ob jec t ive w a s t o i d e n t i f y a c t i v i t y a r e a s and t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n . Some of these a r e compounds, courtyards, potsheyds , mounds, w e l l s , gr inding st ones/hollows and c i r c u l a r s tone s t r u c t u r e s and t h e landforms and vege ta t ion types were a l s o noted and recorded.

I n March of 1979, we re turned t o t h e s i t e f o r a d e t a i l e d examination of t h e inse lbe rgs . From t h i s w e l e a r n t t h a t almost a l l of them (with t h e exception of t h e northern ones) were occupied at one time o r t h e o the r f o r a s c a t t e r of potsherds and metal o b j e c t s w a s found. It w a s during t h i s per iod t h a t Robert Soper with t h e he lp of some s tuden t s from t h e Department of Archaeology, Univers i ty of Ibadan, had a c u t t i n g on one of t h e w a l l s . Along with t h e wa l l excavation w a s t h a t of a mound west of t h e i n s e l b e r g wi th in t h e i n n e r (palace) w a l l . Mater ia ls from t h e s e excavations we hope w i l l soon be published.

We re turned t o t h e s i t e i n May of 1979 i n company of a palynologis t , M.A. Sowunmi, of t h e Department of Archaeology, Universi ty of Ibadan. The s o l e purpose of t h i s e x e r c i s e was t o check and c l a r i f y t h e vegeta t ion terms used dur ing t h e t r a n s e c t survey of t h e previous year (1978). From t h i s , we agreed t h a t t h e general vegeta t ion type p reva i l ing at Old Oyo i s t h a t of wooded savanna with patches of f o r e s t of d i f f e r e n t types (baobab f o r e s t , g a l l e r y f o r e s t on w a l l s and stream courses and a l s o around t h e inse lbe rgs ) . Common t r e e s a r e p a r k i a c lapper tonia Dan ie l i a o l i v e r i , Butmospermum paradoxurn, Afzel ia a f r i cana and Terminalia ,qloucessus; while thorns and t h i c k e t s are made up of Acacia ataxacantha, Securingea v i r o s a and Cissus populnea. Grasses a r e of t h r e e types , H.werrhenia , Andropoaon and Pennisetum .

I n t h e d ry season of t h e fo l lowing yea r , January, 1980, we a l s o c a r r i e d out a systematic t r a n s e c t survey of t h e town of Igboho, about seventy k i lometers south-west of Old Oyo. The town w a s e s t ab l i shed i n t h e l a t t e r p a r t of t h e 16 th century A , D , , when Old Oyo was abandoned due t o onslaught from Nupe. Four Alaaf ins (kings) ru led here and t h e i r b u r i a l s p o t s a r e preserved till today. The ob jec t of t h i s exe rc i se w a s t o f i n d out i f comparable m a t e r i a l s exist at Igboho t o f a c i l i t a t e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Old Oyo mate r i a l s . The outcome of t h i s we p lan t o p resen t i n another paper. Another v i s i t was pa id t o Old Oyo f o r a few days i n February 1980 i n company of Professor Biobaku, the Di rec to r of t h e I n s t i t u t e of African S tud ies , Univers i ty of Ibadan.

With a grant from t h e Univers i ty of Ibadan, we re tu rned t o Old Oyo i n March, 1981, f o r a four-week expedit ion. Four test p i t s of 2x2 m each were excavated at f o u r d i f f e r e n t loca t ions . The first one i s l e s s than two hundred meters west of Soper ' s 1979 excavation wi th in t h e inne r w a l l . On t h i s excavation w a s John Onyango-Abuje who had joined t h e Department of Archaeology, Univers i ty of Ibadan some months e a r l i e r . The first s i t e i s a low mound which y ie lded p lenty of charcoal samples f o r radiocarbon da t ing . Along with t h i s i s a q u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l amount of potsherds, s tone t o o l s which increased i n number with depth (deepest l e v e l is 2 .2 m) and l a s t l y some fauna l remains inc luding wet weather s n a i l s h e l l s .

The o the r s i t e s a r e (1) a s h r i n e wi th in t h e pa lace a r e a , e a s t of OKE DIARA ( ~ i a r a ill) , (2) EBU an ash mound (3) AKA, granary. The last two s i t e s a r e wi th in a hundred meters reach of each o the r . They a r e found i n t h e southern p a r t of Old Oyo.

From t h e above r e p o r t i t i s obvious t h a t a l o t still needs t o be done before any s e r i o u s r econs t ruc t ion can be made of Old Oyo's h i s t o r i c a l development. The t r a n s e c t survey has c l e a r l y opened our eyes t o a r e a s of dense concentrat ion of a rchaeologica l remains, and has a l s o narrowed down t h e search f o r excavation s i t e s . So a range of ma te r i a l s i s now known and comparative s t u d i e s a r e poss ib le with neighbouring towns l i k e Igboho. I n add i t ion t o t h i s t h e 1981 excavation has thrown more l i g h t on t h e r e l a t i v e depth of occupation at Old Oyo.

A t t h e first s i t e we reached a l e v e l of 2.2 m below ground su r face ; while i n the southern a r e a , a maximum depth of about a meter w a s obtained. We hope t h a t our next season 's (1982) excavation expedit ion w i l l be more rewarding and we a l s o look forward t o any s o r t of support . Old Oyo is an important s i t e and both t h e Nigerian Federal Government as wel l as i n t e r n a t i o n a l research foundations ought t o be i n t e r e s t e d i n support ing both moral ly and f i n a n c i a l l y .

The following has been received from D r . F.N. Anozie, Department of Archaeology, Universi ty of Nigeria, Nsukka, Anambra S t a t e , Nigeria.

A Department of Archaeology has j u s t been created at t he University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

I n i t i a l l y we s h a l l be o f fe r ing combined honours degrees i n Archaeology and History, Archaeology and f i i losophy, Archaeology and English L i te ra tu re , Archaeology and Religious Studies , Archaeology and Sociology, Archaeology and Soc ia l Anthropology, Archaeology and Geology and Archaeology and Zoology.

We s h a l l be i n t e r e s t ed i n cooperating with Departments of Archaeology o r Anthropology o r African Studies anywhere i n t he Ftorld i n t he f i e l d s of Research, Exchange of Lecturers/Research fel lows and students. We have a few vacancies f o r l e c t u r e r s spec ia l i z ing i n one o r more of the following s t r e s s a reas -

- Techniques and Methods of Archaeology - Fie ld Archaeology - Origins of Food Production & Urbanization - Physical Anthropology - Museum Studies - Typology (L i th ic and ceramic)

Invest igat ing ethnographic po t te ry f i r i n g temperatures

According t o Anna Shepard "A record of f i r i n g i s incomplete without a temperature record." Pioneering fieldwork with t he a i d of a pyrometer w a s undertaken among a Pueblo Indian group, the Hopi, decades ago (colton 1951), ye t l i t t l e has been done i n t h i s sphere since. A s Shepard remarked, "ethnologists a r e r a r e l y equipped with a pyrometer, and consequently we have few records."

I n Nigeria, Michael Cardew (1970) used pyrometric cones t o record f i r i n g temperatures, but cones provide a measure of "heat work donev r a the r than a record of temperature r i s e and fa l l throughout the f i r i n g duration. I n an a r t i c l e i n p ress I descr ibe a simple method of operating a thermoelectr ic pyrometer i n t he f i e l d , and discuss da t a from two Ib ib io v i l l age s i n southwest Cross River S t a t e . Pa r t i cu l a r a t t en t i on i s given t o solving t he p r a c t i c a l problem, i n t he bonfir ing context , of not burning o r melting the cable which runs from the thermocouple t o the meter. This account i s

accompanied by a descr ipt ion of po t te ry production and t rade i n the Cross River region.

A fu r the r contribution t o t h e subject of ceramic pyrometry is cur ren t ly i n preparation f o r an in te rna t iona l conference on "Ceramic technology: ethnography and experiment" t o be held a t the University of Leices ter , 18-20 December 1981. This paper w i l l present da t a from an Igedde v i l l age i n t he Ogoja a rea of northwest Cross River S t a t e , where pot tery making techniques d i f f e r from those of the Ibibio . It a l so describes how Igedde po t t e r s achieve a high success r a t e , even when a thunderstorm occurs before t he c r i t i c a l f i r i n g temperature has been a t ta ined.

I contend (a) t h a t non-kiln f i r i n g methods a r e not t he hazardous undertakings which we might suppose, and (b) t h a t i n ce r ta in respec t s t he bonfire technique makes e f f i c i en t use of l o c a l materials and time i n non-industrial pot tery manufacture.

References

Casdew, M. " Introduction" t o Nigerian Pot tery by 197 0 Sylvia Leith-Ross. Lagos & Ibadan.

Colton, H.S. "Hopi pot tery f i r i n g methods." 1951 Plateau, 24. Flagstaff .

Keith Nicklin, Curat o r Powell-Cotton Museum Quex Pask, Birchington Kent CT7 OBH, U ,K.

SIERRA LEONE

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK I N NORTHEASTERN SIERRA LEONE

b Y Chris topher R. DeCorse

Department of Archaeology, UCLA

From December 1978 u n t i l January 1981, I conducted archaeologi- c a l f ie ldwork i n no r theas t e rn S i e r r a Leone. Largely c a r r i e d ou t dur ing my s p a r e t ime, my research concent ra ted on t h e f o r t i f i e d Limba, Yalunka, and Koranko towns loca t ed i n t h e chiefdoms of Yagala, Bafodia, Musaia, Sinkunia, Sulima, Mongo, and Sengbe. Whenever poss ib l e , no te s were made on t h e defences of each town, s u r f a c e c o l l e c t i o n s were made, o r a l h i s - t o r i e s were c o l l e c t e d , and a l i m i t e d amount of excavat ion was done. The work undertaken from December 1978 u n t i l J u l y 1980 was summerized i n t h e November 1980 e d i t i o n of Nyame Akuma. This r e p o r t o u t l i n e s t h e r e sea rch c a r r i e d out from J u l y 1980 u n t i l January 1981.

The l a s t seven months of f ie ldwork i n S i e r r a Leone w a s , f o r t h e most p a r t , devoted t o the f u r t h e r examination of s i t e s prev ious ly i d e n t i f i e d dur ing 1979 and 1980. Only one a d d i t i o n a l f o r t i f i e d town, t h e h i l l t o p Limba v i l l a g e a t Balandugu, was noted. This brought t h e number of f o r t i - f i e d towns loca t ed t o twenty f i v e . Unfortunately, t i m e r e s t r i c t i o n s d i d not a l low complete surveys a t each of t h e towns. General ly , much more thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were done i n t h e Limba and Yalunka chiefdoms, as these a r e a s were more e a s i l y reached from bases a t Musaia o r Kabala.

During November and December of 1980 maps o r ske t ch maps were made a t Musaia, Sinkunia, Falaba, Sokoria , Kamba, Bafodia, Kakoya, Yagala, and Koinadugu. Surface c o l l e c t i o n s were made a t t h e s e and a number of o t h e r s i t e s . Musaia, which was more ex tens ive ly s u r f a c e c o l l e c t e d then any o t h e r town, was mapped and a l l a r t i f a c t s were loca t ed on a g r i d . Finds a t o t h e r s i t e s were approximately placed on maps, o r descr ibed . A r t i f a c t u a l occurances va r i ed from i s o l a t e d po t sherds t o s u r f a c e s c a t t e r s , inc luding ground s t o n e t o o l s , f laked q u a r t z , i r o n s l a g , n a t i v e p o t t e r y , and a r t i f a c t s of European o r i g i n .

Native po t t e ry was t h e most common type of a r t i f a c t recovered. Today t h e r e a r e few women l e f t i n no r theas t e rn S i e r r a Leone t h a t p r a c t i c e t h e p o t t e r ' s a r t and those t h a t do l eave t h e i r ware undecorated. However, pre- l iminary examination of s u r f a c e f i n d s and excavated m a t e r i a l r e v e a l s a va- r i e t y of decora t ions and v e s s e l forms. C e r t a i n a t t r i b u t e s appear t o b e a s soc i a t ed wi th c e r t a i n l o c a l s . For example, t h e r e seems t o be p o t t e r y s t y l e s p e c u l i a r t o t he Limba and Yalunka a reas . Some Limba deco ra t ions a r e comparable t o motifs found on p o t t e r y from p e r i p h e r a l Limba a r e a s t o t h e South, such as Bumbuna and Mabonto.

Stone a r t i f a c t s were not a s p l e n t i f u l a s pot sherds , bu t quar tz t o o l s , f l a k e s , and cores were not uncommon. Quartz is common i n north- e a s t e r n S i e r r a Leone and pebbles of t h a t ma te r i a l can be found on almost any eros ional surface . I so la ted f l a k e s of quar tz were f requent ly en- countered on roads and paths. P a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e s c a t t e r s of quar t z were found a t the Yalunka v i l l a g e s of Musaia and Sinkunia. It is no tab le t h a t no such concentrat ions were found i n any Limba towns. This d i s p a r i t y may be explained by the d i f fe rences i n t h e Limba and Yalunka se t t l ement pa t t e rns . Many Yalunka towns a r e located on l e v e l ground, c l o s e t o r i v e r s , i n a reas t h a t would have been d e s i r a b l e t o t h e e a r l i e r inhab i t an t s of the region. The Yalunka f o r t i f i e d these sites by surrounding t h e i r se t t l ements with mud wal ls . The loca t ions of many of t h e Limba towns, on the otherhand, were c l e a r l y s e l e c t e d f o r t h e i r n a t u r a l inaccessab i l i ty ; not t h e i r proximity t o r i v e r s and farm land. Eas i ly defended Limba se t t lements l i k e Yagala, Siamamaia, Balandugu, and Kakoya were most l i k e l y s e l e c t e d a s l i v i n g sites during the t r i b a l wars of the r e l a t i v e l y recent pas t . It is hoped t h a t ques- t ions r e l a t i n g t o se t t lement pa t t e rns w i l l be explored i n a f u t u r e publica- t ion .

A small quant i ty of nineteenth century European a r t i f a c t s were found. Finds included stoneware, glazed redware, hard white earthenware, g l a s s , c lay pipes, t r ade beads, and a l a r g e number of gun f l i n t s . The l a t t e r were a l l English f l i n t s ; most were of the "blade" type, bu t a few of the e a r l i e r I I wedge'' types were represented. Many of the g u n f l i n t s found were extens ively retouched o r sha t t e red , while some remained i n r e l a t i v e l y new condit ion. A few of the f l i n t s had a d i s t i n c t i v e "U" shaped depression i n the s t r i k i n g edge suggesting they may have been used with s t r ike -a - l igh t s . Oral h i s t o r i e s ind ica te t h a t t h e f l i n t l o c k r i f l e may s t i l l have been i n use f o r t y o r f i f t y years ago. Locally made percussion cap r i f l e s a r e s t i l l i n use today.

During November 1980 the mapping of the Sinkunia i r o n smelt ing furnaces was completed. A group of t e n furnaces was located approximately t e n minutes walk t o the northwest of the town. Oral h i s t o r i e s suggest the most recent furnace i n the group may be f i f t y o r s i x t y years old. A number of o the r fur - naces were discovered i n Musaia and Sinkunia chiefdoms, b u t the group near the town of Sinkunia a r e d i s t i n c t i v e because of t h e i r good preservat ion .

Further excavation a t the rock s h e l t e r i n Yagala Old Town was undertaken during the t h i r d and four th weeks of December, 1980. Eight one meter squares were excavated t o rock base o r s t e r i l e s o i l . The maximum depth reached was 2.25 meters. The f l o o r of the s h e l t e r narrowed rap id ly and i t seems unl ike ly t h a t the s h e l t e r was used f o r hab i t a t ion during i t ' s e a r l y h i s t o r y . However, the l a r g e amount of a r t i f a c t s , charcoal , and bone t h a t was found suggests t h a t the s i t e may have been used as a r e fuse p i t and perhaps l a t e r a s a cook- ing s h e l t e r . European a r t i f a c t s and i r o n s l a g were found i n most of t h e upper l e v e l s while the lower l e v e l s contained mostly pot tery . One i n t e r e s t i n g ex- ample of carved bone was a l s o excavated. Charcoal samples were co l l ec ted f o r poss ib le use i n C-14 dat ing.

A r ep resen ta t ive sample of material c o l l e c t e d i n S i e r r a Leone is now i n t h e United S t a t e s and a more d e t a i l e d r e p o r t is presen t ly being prepared. Further pub l i ca t ions a r e promised f o r t h e f u t u r e .

SOUTH AFRICA PROGRAMME OF THE

SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY FOR QUATERNARY RESEARCH

SIXTH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE

PRETORIA, MAY 27 - JUNE 1, 1981

Wednesday, May 27 - Transvaal Museum

1st Sess ion: CAVES AND FOSSIL SITES

PART I : Aus t ra lopi thec ine S i t e s . Chairman: H . J . Deacon T.C. Pa r t r i dge : The s t r a t i g r a p h y and sedimentology o f t he Kromdraai s i t e ; E.S. Vrba & D.C. Panagos: Recent excavat ions and new f i n d s at Kromdraai; C .K . Bra in : Cycles of depos i t i on and e ros ion i n t h e Swartkrans cave depos i t .

PART 2 : Chairman: 0. Davies J .S . Brink & H . J . Deacon: A s tudy o f a Last I n t e r g l a c i a l midden and ca rn ivo re l a i r a t Herold 's Bay; P. Beaumont: The no r the rn Cape P l e i s t o - cene p r o j e c t ; H. de Vil l iers : Later Stone Age i n h a b i t a n t s of t h e Agulhas Region, C.P. ; F.M. Gamble: Problems of conducting r e sea rch i n t h e Transvaal k a r s t caves; R . J . Mason: La ter Stone Age p l a n t p re se rva t ion i n Transvaal Caves.

2nd Session : PALAEOCLIMATES. Chairman: J. A. Coetzee

J . A . Coetzee: Pol len evidence f o r a ( sub - ) t rop ica l environment i n t h e Saldanha region dur ing t h e Early/Middle Miocene; L. S c o t t : Pol len a n a l y s i s o f Late Cainozoic depos i t s i n t h e Transvaal and i t s bea r ing on palaeo- c l imates ; R. Crossley: High l e v e l s of Lake Malawi - an at tempt t o extend records back 2000 yea r s ; L. Jacobson: Ra in fa l l p r e d i c t i o n i n t h e c e n t r a l Namib d e s e r t and i t s impl ica t ions f o r hunter -ga therer and p a s t o r a l i s t mobi l i ty .

P r e s i d e n t i a l Address. E.M. van Zinderen Bakker: African Palaeoenvironments 18000 years B . P.

Thursday, May 28 - National Physical Research Laboratory, Centre f o r S c i e n t i f i c and I n d u s t r i a l Research

2nd Sess ion: PALAEOCLIMATES [cont inued) . Chairman: E.M. van Zinderen Sakker

D. Price-Williams, A. Watson, A.S. Goudie 6 R.M. Hooker: Late Quaternary sediments and c l i m a t i c change i n Swaziland; Keynote address . K. Heine: The main s t a g e s i n t h e Late Quaternary evolu t ion o f t h e Kalahari .

Iron smelting furnaces near the Yalunka town of SINKUNIA.

The excavation at the rock shelter in YAGALA OLD TOWN.

3rd Sess ion: GEOMORPHOLOGY. Chairman: T.C. Pa r t r i dge

J. Rogers: Cenozoic L i thos t r a t ig raphy between Cape Town and Lambert!s Bay; R. Crossley: Late Cenozoic s t r a t i g r a p h y of t h e Karonga a r e a i n t h e Malawi R i f t Valley; D.H. Yaalon: On t h e Aeo l i an i t e Red Sands r e l a t i o n s i n c o a s t a l Nata l .

4 th Sess ion: PALAEOSOLS. Chairman: D.H. Yaalon -

In t roduct ion . D . H . Yaalon: The s i g n i f i c a n c e of pa l aeoso l s i n Quaternary s t u d i e s ; F . Net terberg: Dis t inguish ing f o s s i l from contemporary c a l c r e t e s ; D . C . Grey 8, C . J . Taylor: Pa laeosols i n t h e southern Cape; F . E l l i s 6 B . H . A . Schloms: A no te on the Dorbanks (Duripans) o f South Af r i ca ; F. Net terberg: Calcre tes and t h e i r d e c a l c i f i c a t i o n around Rundu, South West Af r i ca .

Pos te r Session: PALAEOSOLS

D . C . Grey G C . J . Taylor: Palaeosols i n t h e southern Cape ( d i s p l a y ) ; F . Net te rberg G J . C . Vogel: Dating and development of a c a l c r e t e p r o f i l e ; V i s i t t o Natural I so topes Divis ion, NPRL (Radio-carbon d a t i n g and s t a b l e i so topes l abo ra to ry ) .

Friday, May 29 - Transvaal Museum

5 t h Session: THE NAMIB DESERT. Chairman: M . K . Seely

D.H. Yaalon: Observations on c a l c r e t e and r ecen t c a l c i c hor izons jn r e l a t i o n t o landforms i n t h e c e n t r a l Namib d e s e r t ; M . E . Marker: Aspects o f Namib geomorphology: a Doline k a r s t ; N . Lancaster : S p a t i a l v a r i a t i o n s i n dune morphology and sediments i n t h e Namib sand s e a ; J . C . Vogel: The age of Homeb s i l t s i n t he Kuiseb r i v e r va l l ey ; J . D . Ward: Aspects of a sedimentary sequence i n t h e Kuiseb v a l l e y ; S. Endrody-Younga: The evidence of co l eop te ra i n da t ing t h e Namib d e s e r t ; W.D. Haacke: D i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n s of r e p t i l e s as i n d i c a t o r s of geomorphological events i n t h e Namib d e s e r t .

Panel Discussion: THE AGE OF THE NAMIB DESERT. Chairman: M . K . Seely

Panel: E.M. van Zinderen Bakker, C . K . Brain, J . Rogers, D.H. Yaalon, J . C . Vogel. In t roduct ion: M . K . Seely; Summary: C . K . Brain.

BIENNIAL MEETING

S i t e s v i s i t e d on t h e Post-Conference Excursion o f t h e Kimberley Area.

Saturday, May 30: Rooidam I and 11; t h e "MSA-paved road"; Biess resput ; Dornlaagte; ULCO Quarries-Ghaap Escarpment, Gorrokop, GrootE.loof.

Sunday, May 31: The Kimberley Head; Norlim 3 Calc re t e p r o f i l e ; Taung; Vaal River Gravels and t h e Windsorton a rea . An excursion guide was compiled by J . M . Maguire, with con t r ibu t ions by A . J . Humphreys, F . Net terberg, R . Mason and o the r s .

SOUTHERN AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME - 1st - 5 th J U N E , 1981

T r a n s v a a l M u s e u m , Pretoria, RSA.

Monday, June 1 s t

REGISTRATION MEETING OF CURATORS OF COLLECTIONS: Subjec t : The S.A. Archaeological Data Recording Centre

Tuesday, June 2nd (Morning)

REGISTRATION WELCOME AND OPENING: D r . C. K. Bra in , D i rec to r , Transvaal Museum. RESEARCH REPORTS: Stone Age. Chairman: D r . Andy Smith. C .K . Brain: Bone t o o l s from t h e lower l e v e l s of Member 1 a t Swartkrans; A. Jacobson, D. Gihwala E M. P l e i sach : Trace element s t u d i e s on southern African a rchaeologica l ma te r i a l ; J. Binneman: Experimental de te rmina t ion of adze and s c r a p e r use-wear from Boomplaas Cave, southern Cape; A. Mazel: Prel iminary a rchaeologica l work i n t h e Natal Drakensberg; D. Price-Williams : Brief Report on Swaziland p r o j e c t . PANEL DISCUSSION on paper by J . E . Parkington e n t i t l e d : Time and Place: some observa t ions on s p a t i a l and temporal p a t t e r n i n g i n t h e s t o n e age sequence i n southern Afr ica . S. Afr. Archaeol. Bull . 35. Dec. 1980 Chairman: P ro f . Garth Sampson. P a r t i c i p a n t s : H . J . Deacon, J. Volman, J . E . Parkington.

(Afternoon) RESEARCH REPORTS: Stone Age (cont inued) . Chairman: D r . Andy Smith. T. Volman: I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of v a r i a t i o n i n Acheulean b i f a c e measurements; H . J . Deacon e t a l . : The occurrence o f charcoa l i n P l e i s tocene and Holocene depos i t s i n southern Afr ica ; H. Opperman: No t i t l e ; S . H a l l : Test excavat ions a t Edgehi l l . WORKSHOP : Stone Age THEME: The Transvaal Later Stone Age. Chairman: Prof . H i l a ry Deacon. P a r t i c i p a n t s : R . J . Mason, A. Meyer, I . Plug, M. Tamplin.

Wednesday, June 3rd (Morning)

RESEARCH REPORTS: Stone Age (cont inued) . Chairman: D r . Andy Smith. M. Tamplin: Observations on Later Stone Age i n d u s t r i e s i n t h e Lepokole H i l l s , Eastern Botswana; C . G . Sampson: D i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e Smi th f i e ld B Indus t ry i n t h e Cent ra l and Upper Zeekoe Valley, Northern Cape; P . B . Beaumont: The Stone Age sequence a t Kathu Pan; A. Smith: Archaeological research i n Bushmanland, Cape.

ROCK ART. Chairman: D r . Tim Maggs. T. Maggs: Introductory remarks. RESEARCH REPORTS: P . J . Loubser (C.S.I.R.) Report on National Building Research I n s t i t u t e research i n t o the physical preservat ion of rock a r t ; A.R. Willcox: Terminological problems i n rock a r t ; M. Ripp: Remote sensing techniques; A. Manhire: Rock A r t o f t h e Sandveld; W . van Ri jssen: Rock A r t of t h e Ol i fan t s River Valley; A , Mazel: Rock a r t survey of t h e Natal Drakensberg; L. Smits E Colleagues (Lesotho); D . Lewis-Williams: I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f rock a r t .

(Afternoon) Depart i n individual vehic les t o Broederstroom Early Iron Age se t t lement . Host: Prof. R. J . Mason.

(Evening) FUNCTION: a t Department of Archaeology, Universi ty of P re to r i a . Viewing and discussion o f Mapungubwe and Kruger National Park mate r i a l . S l i d e show of rock pain t ings i n Kruger National Park by Mike English. Host: Prof. J. F. Eloff .

.Thursday, June 4 th (morning)

RESEARCH REPORTS: Iron Age. Chairman: M r . Mike Evers. C . Thorp: No t i t l e ; R . J . Mason: Development of comprehensive Iron Age ana ly t i ca l procedures; S. Hal l : Stone wall se t t lements of t h e Rooiberg D i s t r i c t ; D. Davies: Shongweni North Cave botaonical remains; T.M. Evers: No t i t l e ; M . Tamplin E R . Jones: Analysis of s o i l s a t Mmamagwa and o t h e r Iron Age s i t e s i n Eastern Botswana. , PANEL: The Nature of the Iron Age i n sub-Saharan African. Chairman: Prof. Revil Mason. Contributors: T.N. Huffman, T. Maggs, M. Hal l .

(afternoon) WORKSHOP: Iron Age. THEME: The e a r l i e s t Iron Age i n southern Africa (200-700AD). Chairman: D r . G. Mgomezulu. Pa r t i c ipan t s : T.M. Evers, E . Hanisch, T.N. Huffman, M. Klapwijk, T.M. O I C Maggs, R . J . Mason, H. Prinsloo. FUNCTION a t t h e National Cul tura l His tory and Open A i r Museum, P r e t o r i a . Exhibition: The c lay f igur ines from t h e schroda Iron Age s i t e . Lecture by E. Hanisch:.The Schroda f igur ines .

Friday, June 5 t h (morning)

RESEARCH REPORT: Ethnoarchaeology. Chairman: Prof . Tom Huffman. C . Liengme: Ethnobotany a t t h e Botanical Research I n s t i t u t e ; D. C o l l e t t : The ethnology o f popula t ion spread: an a rchaeo log ica l pe r spec t ive ; J . Loubser: Ndebele archaeology, P i e t e r sbu rg a r e a . PANEL: Hunters, Herders and Farmers. Chairman: Prof . Tom Huffman. Cont r ibutors : Andy Smith, P. Davison.

Post-conference Excursion of the Northern and Eastern Transvaal

Saturday June 6 : Papo s Hill, Ndebele stone-walled site ; arrive reef swald.

Sunday June 7: Mapungubwe and K2 Iron Age sites.

Monday June 8: Schroda Iron Age site; Pont Drift - painted rock shelter, dinosaur footprints, Khami-type walling; Ratho, Khami-type walling.

Tuesday June 9: Depart Greefswald; Machemma's Kop stone-walled site; Klein Afrika early Iron Age site; arrive Hans Merensky Nature Reserve.

Wednesday June 10: Eiland salt factory Iron Age site; Tsonga Kraal Open Air Museum; Bushman rock shelter LSA/MSA site; Heuingsnekrans shelter LSA site; arrive Pilgrim's Rest.

Thursday June 11: Lydenberg "Head" site and Klingbeil site (Iron Age)

An excursion guide was edited by Elizabeth A. Voigt of the Transvaal Museum with other contributions by E.O.M. Hanisch, J.F.Eloff and A. Meyer, Ina Plug and P.B. Beaumont.

This material was submitted by Morgan J. Tamplin, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada. Dr. Tamplin attended both conferences with support from an International Canference Grant awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

SOUTH AFRICA

CURmT RESEARCH BY THE ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT, SOUTH AFRICAN - MUSEUM

P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.

1. BYNESKRANSKOP

Two pub l i ca t ions r e l a t i n g t o t h e excavations at Bynekranskop i n t h e southern Cape are now i n t h e hands of t h e E d i t o r of t h e Annals of t h e South African Museum and are expected t o be i n p r i n t i n t h e first h a l f of 1982. The major pub l i ca t ion ( ~ c h w e i t z e r & ~ i l s o n ) d e a l s with t h e l a t e Frank Schweitzer 's excavation of t h e 135000 - year sequence a t Byneskranskop 1 (BNK 1 ) covering t h e period from t h e te rminal P le is tocene u n t i l t h e beginnings of white se t t lement a t t h e Cape, which have revealed a comprehensive p i c t u r e oc c u l t u r a l and economic change dur ing t h e L a t e r Stone Age. The second paper ( ~ e Villers & ~ i l s o n ) d e a l s with t h e e i g h t human b u r i a l s excavated at BNK 1 and BNK 3 . Bone from t h r e e of t h e ind iv idua l s has been da ted t o between 1480 and 3190 B.P., and Professor Hertha de Villiers' a n a l y s i s of t h e remains has shown t h e f o u r a d u l t s and f o u r immature i n d i v i d u a l s t o have been members of a San (Bushman) populat ion.

M. L . Wilson.

2. SITE DISTRIBUTIONS, CAPE AGULHAS REGION

Following Schweitzer and Wilson's excavation at Die Kelders and Byneskranskop s h e l t e r s , we are now examining t h e s p a t i a l dimension of Late Stone Age communities by p l o t t i n g d i s t r i b u t i o n s of open s t a t i o n s i t e s i n t h e Agulhas region ( t h e southernmost poin t of t h e con t inen t ) . So far, some 150 s h e l l middens have been recorded i n a c o a s t a l s tudy a r e a t h a t extends some 5 kms from t h e shore l ine . Fieldwork i n January w i l l r e s u l t i n su r face samples from known s i t e s t o e s t a b l i s h v a r i a b i l i t y i n a r t e f a c t u a l and fauna l content and t h e f u r t h e r extension of t h e survey in land.

Martin H a l l .

3 . BIRD REMAINS FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND FOSSIL SITES

Inves t iga t ion of h i s t o l o g i c a l methods t o determine age, breeding and poss ib ly moult i n b i r d bones is being undertaken f o r use i n seasonal s tud ies . Medullary bone, ind ica t ing breeding, has been found i n a lba t rosses , gannets and cormorants. 'Incomplete' o s s i f i c a t i o n of juvenile bones is showing promising r e s u l t s f o r age determination. Further information w i l l de r ive from monthly surveys of beached b i r d s (though t o have been t h e primary hunter-gatherer source) which show seasonal mor ta l i ty peaks f o r b i r d s i n general as well as f o r pa r t i cu lax species and age groups. Collect ion of prey remains of l a r g e b i r d s of prey is making it poss ib le t o demonstrate the inf luence cave/rockshelter-using b i r d s can have on faunal samples through t h e accumulation of small mammals normally considered t o represent human d i e t a r y remains. Changes i n proport ions of seabirds and some t e r r e s t r i a l b i r d s are providing information on palaeoenvironments.

Graham Avery.

4. MICROMAMMALS AND PRMISTORY

Micromammalian remains from archaeological sites i n South Africa a r e providing t h e beginnings of a useful framework of environmental change f o r use i n archaeological s tud ies . Evidence from t h e southern and northern Cape Province and Natal ( ~ w a ~ u l u ) i n d i c a t e s concurrence i n general changes but regional v a r i a t i o n i n d e t a i l , as would be expected. For ins tance , whereas t h e same general p a t t e r n of change i s exhibi ted at Boomplaas A (S , cape) and a t Border Cave (Natal) , the re is g r e a t e r amplitude of change i n t h e former and 180 s t age 4 i s bry here but wet at Border Cave. There is ample evidence at a l l sites examined t o ind ica te c l e a r l y t h e f l u c t u a t i o n s i n t h e nature of t h e vegeta t ion, more closed t o more open, more trees/bushes t o more g r a s s , depending on t h e cl imate. The a i m now is t o extend t h e coverage both geographically and temporally. If anyone has o r expects t o acquire good samples ( f a i r l y l a r g e and preferably from a sequence of horizons) I should be most g r a t e f u l f o r t h e opportunity t o examine these .

k g a r e t Avery.

5. ELANDSFONTEIN SITE PROJECT

Invest igat ions a r e being ca r r ied out at t he Elandsfontein f o s s i l s i t e , a Middle Pleistocene occurrence which, i n t he pa s t , yielded a r i c h m a m m a l i a n fauna, including t h e Saldanha s k u l l , and a l so Final Acheulian a r t e f ac t s . M.S.A. and L.S.A. a r t e f a c t s a l s o occur i n mixed context and t he recen t discovery of Upper Pleistocene faunal remains fu r the r emphasises t h e complexity of the s i t e . A manuscript on e a r l i e r work on t he s i t e is being prepared by R. Singer of t he University of Chicago. New evidence ind ica tes t h a t t h e occurrences r e s u l t mainly from predator/scavenger a c t i v i t i e s , This evidence i s i n t he form of cha rac t e r i s t i c gnawing and chewing marks on bones and i n t h e context and alignment of bone accumulations thought t o be the remains of burrows of hyaenas (and smaller carnivores) and porcupines. Residue of s ing le individuals of g ian t buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant and hippopotamus may represent k i l l s o r natural mortal i ty. The latter i s thought more l i k e l y and t he influence of man is seen as being l imi ted , possibly t o scavenging. The overa l l a i m i s t o understand t h e in te rac t ion of man and other animals i n the whole landscape.

Graham Avery and k g a r e t Awry.

6 . ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA RECORDING CENTRE

The centre continues t o update records of archaeological s i t e s as the information is received. Fieldwork is a l s o being ca r r ied cut i n t he southwestern and western Cape spec i f i c a l l y i n t h e Clanwilliam d i s t r i c t . The a r ea extends from t h e Cedarberg range i n t he e a s t , t o t he At lant ic Ocean i n t he west and is approximately 30 kilometres long i n t he north-south d i rec t ion . About 700 archaeological s i t e s - mainly rock paint ing s i t e s have been located and recorded i n the area . During 1981 along, a t o t a l of over 200 previously unrecorded s i t e s were located, p lo t ted on 1:50000 maps and recorded. This information, once recording is complete, w i l l provide useful indicat ions of the way i n which t he p r eh i s to r i c inhabi tants used t h e i r environment, and t h e i r pa t te rns of movement.

W . J . J . van Ryssen.

Department of Archaeology, Natal Museum.

Tim Maggs returned t o the Department i n July 1981 a f t e r a years leave which he spent l e c tu r ing on t he I ron Age and Rock A r t i n t h e Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town.

I n 1980 the Annals of t he Natal Museum contained, f o r t he first time, a group of archaeological papers along with the na tura l h i s to ry papers. While t he archaeological papers were bound with t h e others they were a l s o avai lable as a co l lec t ion of papers bound together. This separate binding was popular and sold out quickly. The 1982 i s sue of t he Annals w i l l contain a second group of archaeo- log ica l papers which w i l l again be avai lable as a co l lec t ion bound together.

The volume w i l l include papers by Tim Maggs on 16th century Portuguese ship-wrecks on t he Pondoland Coast; a repor t on excava- t i ons at a terminal Late I ron Age r u i n s i t e near Bergvil le; a repor t on excavations of Late I ron Age smelting furnaces on t he Tugela River near Colenso and possibly a repor t on 8th century Early I ron Age s i t e s on the Tugela River near Kranskop. Martin Hall and Kathy Mack w i l l repor t on a Late I ron Age s i t e near Babanango which has associa t ions with Pungashe, chief of the Buthelezi i n Shaka's time. Stone Age papers authored by Aron Maze1 a r e North/South contras ts i n rock paint ing themes i n the Natal Drakensberg and Evidence of Early occupation i n t h e Natal Drakensberg. D r . 0 . Davies has wr i t t en a paper on Stone Age findings at an i lmenite mine at Umgababa on the Natal coast . There w i l l be 2 annotated bibl io- graphies with indices ; the first on Archaeology i n Natal, Zululand and East Griqualand from 1871-1980 by P a t r i c i a Stabbins and t he second on Rock A r t i n Natal, Kwaklu, East Griqualand and adjacent pa r t s of Lesotho from 1874 t o mid 1980 by Marilyn Cherry.

The provisional estimate of coast of the bound co l lec t ion is about R5. Anyone in te res ted i n obtaining copies should wr i te t o the Assistant Director , Natal Museum.

Three years ago the Department of Forestry contracted t h e Natal Museum t o casry out a project f o r t he conservation and management planning of rock art i n the Natal Drakensberg range.

The aims were as follows:

1. es tab l i sh accurately t he l o c a l i t i e s of as many rock art and other archaeological s i t e s t h a t occur i n t he Natal Drakensberg.

2. t o record f u l l y these sites.

3. t o assess t h e quanti ty, qua l i t y and general value of t h e paintings at each s i t e and t h e i r condition with regard t o natural degradation and vandalism.

4. t o gather the basic information e s s e n t i a l t o devise conservation measures.

5. t o make recommendations as t o t he s teps necessary t o conserve t he paintings. This would include iden t i fy ing 'bench mark' s i t e s with a view t o keeping t rack of t he influence of conservation measures, v i s i t o r usage, and na tura l degradation of t he art.

6 . record data f o r fu tu re research.

The pro jec t , s t a r t e d by Valerie Ward w a s completed i n April 1981 by Aron Mazel a f t e r two years of in tensive fieldwork, with t he submission of a de ta i l ed repor t on h i s research and recommendations f o r conservation and management s t r a t eg i e s . The repor t w a s sub- mitted a l s o as h i s d i s s e r t a t i on f o r a Masters degree which Aron Mazel received from the University of Cape Town i n mid 1981.

On completion of the rock art project Aron commenced h i s ongoing research i n t o the Late Stone Age of the Tugela Basin i n Natal. H.9 has already undertaken th ree excavations and is present ly working on a four th s i t e .

The department is closely associated with the Kw&ulu National Monuments Committee which i s present ly involved i n planning t he res to ra t ion of Ondini, Cetshawayo's Great Place near Ulundi. Ondini w a s burnt during the Anglo Zulu w a r of 1879. Rob Rawlinson of Cape Town w a s appointed a s archaeologist at Ondini and has s t a r t ed excavations i n advance of reconstruction. S t a f f of the depastment w i l l continue t o supervise excavations and reconstruction and w i l l advise on the Museum t o be es tabl ished at the s i t e .

The following has been received from Dr.0. Davies.

I excavated i n July 1981 at t h e caves at Shongweni near Durban. The South Cave w a s l a rge ly excavated ten years ago, but a small t e s t w a s made t o resolve ce r t a in problems; the l a t e s t l ayer the re i s Early Iron Age. The North Cave w a s t e s t ed i n 1979, and fu r the r work i n 1981 revealed a complex s t ra t igraphy of t h e Middle I ron Age and in te rmi t ten t occupation t o well back i n the Stone Age. The examination of these caves cannot yet be considered complete. Their main i n t e r e s t cons i s t s i n t he extremely well preserved vegetable remains, leaves seeds nu ts e t c , of which a good many have been i den t i f i ed ; a l s o i n well preserved cul t igens , including two s t r a i n s of Eleusine coracana, of which t he more pr imit ive

i s now found only i n Ethiopia. It w i l l r equ i re at least a year t o s o r t t h e f i n d s made i n 1979 and 1981 and t o re-examine a l l t he vegetat ion from a l l t he excavations.

I n 1980 a survey was made, with the help of t he Geological Survey, of t he s t r a t i f i e d coas ta l dune at Umgababa south of Durban. Only t he upper pa r t of t he dune is exposed. A f u l l account of t h e i ndus t r i e s , from a very l a t e Acheulian t o Late Stone Age, has been prepared and is expected t o be published i n 1982.

SUDAN

SURVEY OF THE GASH DELTA - NOVEMBER 1980.

I n November 1980 t he Italian Archaeological Mission i n Sudan ( ~ a s s a l a ) , sponsored by the Department of African Studies of the I s t i t u t o Univers i tar io Orienta le , Naples, has completed t he archaeological reconnaissance of t h e Gash Del ta , previously explored by the same Mission i n February 1980. The Mission w a s formed by D r . Rodolfo Fattovich, Assistant Professor of Ethiopian Archaeology at the I . U . O . , Naples, D r . Marcello Piperno, Inspector f o r p r eh i s t o r i c a l archaeology at t h e Ethnographical P r eh i s t o r i c a l Museum 'L . P igo r in i ' , Rome, and M r . Eltayeb Mohammed Khalifa E l Amin, Inspector of t he Sudan Ant iqui t ies Service.

On t h i s occasion the proper d e l t a and its western and eas te rn s ides were explored. Within t he d e l t a the a reas around Hadalya S ta t ion and from Aroma t o Kassala were examined. Along t he western s ide t he a r ea from the Kassala-Port Sudan paved road t o Khor G a r a t i t w a s surveyed. Along t he eas te rn s i d e t he a r ea along t he Gash, Jebel Haboba, the Sabira, Jebel Keshaidari, Jebel Tukulabab and Kassala w a s explored. F ina l ly the area SE of Jebel Kassala, included among t h e Gash, Khor Tagando and Khor S h a i t a l i t , up t o Jebel Gulsa was explored.

The a r ea around Eriba and Amm Adam s t a t i o n s at t he northern end of t he d e l t a and t he one near Khor Dilulayeb at i ts SW s i d e , already explored i n February, were v i s i t e d again by t he Mission. A de t a i l ed surface survey of Mahal Teglinos (K 1 ) w a s a l s o ca r r i ed out t o t e s t the pos s ib i l i t y of s t a r t i n g excavations i n 1981.

No s i t e w a s observed within t h e d e l t a . If such ac tua l l y ex i s ted , they were l i k e l y destroyed by f loods and cu l t iva t ions . The Mission d id not t r a ce the 'ancient v i l l age s ' recorded on t h e Sudan map 1: 250.000 46 M near Hadalya s t a t i on .

me s i n g l e s i z e s can De a e s c r i Dea as ~ o u o w s :

Er iba S t a t i o n , S i t e n. 3 (ES 3) : l o c a t e d at c 1 km SE of ES 1, c 200x200 m ; many a r t e f a c t s l i t h i c i n d u s t r y , ground s tones , s tone r ings ) , f auna l remains ; some oval tombs.

Er iba S t a t i o n , s i t e n. 4 (ES 4 ) : l oca ted at c 300 m S of ES 3, c 150x100 m; at t h e cen te r one mound of c 15x15 m and f i v e oval tombs ax. 220x130 crns, min. 120x70 crns) ; f e w a r t e f a c t s and fauna l remains.

Khor G a r a t i t , s i t e no. 1 (KG 1): loca ted at c 25 km NW of J . Kassala, 1 km W of Khor Garatit, c 20x30 m; few a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry , potsherds) .

Khor Garatit, s i t e no. 2 (KG 2) : l oca ted at c 700 m S of KG 1, c 100x150 m; many a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c i n d u s t r y , potsherds) .

Khor Garatit, s i t e n. 3 (KG 3): loca ted at c 700 m 1 km SE of KG 2 , c 70x70 m; many a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c i n d u s t r y , potsherds) .

Khor Garatit, s i t e no. 4 (KG 4) : l oca ted at c 700-800 m S of KG 3, c 50x50 m; few a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry , potsherds) .

Khor Garatit, s i te no. 5 (KG 5) : l oca ted c 1 km Ski of KG 4, c 70x70 m; very d i s tu rbed by a modern camp of nomads; some a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry ; potsherds) .

Khor Garatit, s i t e n. 6 (KG 6): loca ted on t h e E s i d e of K . Garatit, a t c 2 km SE of KG 5 , c 200x200 m; many a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry ; potsherds) ; on t h e su r face t h e t r a c e s of a poss ib le cont rac ted b u r i a l with t h e head at NW a r e v i s i b l e .

Khor Dilulayeb, s i t e n . 7 (GS 7): l oca ted at c 1500 m S of t h e GS s i t e s discovered i n February 1980, c 50x70 m; very d is turbed by a modern camp of nomads; few a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry ; potsherds) .

Khor Dilulayeb, s i t e n. 8 (GS 8): loca ted at c 3 km SW of GS 7 , c 50x30 m; few a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c i n d u s t r y , ground s t o n e s , potsherds) . Khor Tagando, s i t e n. 1 (KT 1 ) : l oca ted immediately S of K . Tagando, i n f r o n t of Wad Shafadi, c 150x150 m; some a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c indus t ry ; po t t e ry ) . Khor Tagando, s i t e n. 2 (KT 2) : l oca ted at c 3 km SE of KT 1, almost completely destroyed; f e w a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c i n d u s t r y , very few potsherds) .

13. J ebe l Tefanani, s i t e n. 1 ( ~ ~ e f 1 ) : rock-shelter on t h e S s ide of t he jebel , few a r t e f a c t s ( l i t h i c industry , potsherds) .

Surface col lect ion was made on these s i t e s and on t h e previously discovered ES 1, 2 and AAS 1 s i t e s . I n t h e last ones pa r t i cu l a r a t t en t i on was paid t o ge t faunal remains.

F ina l ly at Mahal Teglinos (K 1 ) one s m a l l round s t ruc tu r e , probably a hu t , and one rectangular grave (150x80 crns) were recorded. A t t h e same s i t e one rectangular a r ea (2x3 m) was i n the middle of t he s i t e and a l l mater ia ls up t o 5 crns of depth were col lected. One small s t r a t i g r aph i c p i t (1x3 m) was opened i n i t , but the discovery of a grave a t 10 crns of depth from the s o i l ' s surface compelled us t o stop t he t e s t . The grave consisted of a simple burial i n the s o i l , with contracted body, t he head at NW and two f la t stones placed over and under the head. I n t he NW s ide of t h e s i t e , an open sect ion i n a sand querry w a s a l s o examined and some samples from two d i s t i n c t archaeological l e v e l s were col lected. On the bas i s of such observations it seems t h a t at Mahal Teglinos (K 1 ) an archaeological deposit with an average depth of 100-150 crns s t i l l e x i s t s and t h a t a la rge par t of the ancient s i t e is well preserved and very r i c h i n a r t e f a c t s and faunal remains. Different phases of settlement can be a l so recognized i n t he s t ra t ig raphy and two major set t lements can be dist inguished on t he surface. The first one, characterized by orange combed ware, was mainly located i n the cen t ra l and eas tern pa r t of the s i t e ; t he second one, characterized by brown r ippled ware, was located i n t he NW pa r t . The s t ra t ig raph ic sequence v i s i b l e i n t he open sec t ions is in su f f i c i en t t o suggest a chronological sequence. The 1981 mission w i l l start proper excavations at t h i s s i t e .

The main r e s u l t s of the survey i n November 1980 a re :

i ) the discovery of a new cu l tu r a l un i ty , d i s t i n c t from the previously recognized ones.

il) t he col lect ion of a lasge amount of faunal remains w i l l give indicat ions of t he palaeoenvironmental s i t ua t i on i n t he regions E of A t b a r a r i v e r ;

i i i ) t he discovery i n some s i t e s of potsherds l i k e t he Early Kerma ones.

The new cu l t u r a l un i ty i s documented by the s i t e s KG 1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6 near Khor Garatit. It is characterized by a micro l i th ic blade and f lake industry and by brown po t te ry , usual ly without decorations. The decorative pa t te rns a r e r e s t r i c t e d t o t he top of t he r i m and consis t of oblique or f i s h ta i l grooves.

A microl i th ic industry , characterized by crescents , and few orange p l a in potsherds were found a l so at JTef 1. Its posi t ion i n the cu l t u r a l sequence of t he d e l t a however must be defined.

A l o t of faunal remains were col lected a t ES 2, 3, 4, U S 1, K 1 (Mahal ~ e ~ l i n o s ) . I n the sites n e w Eriba and Amm Adam s t a t i ons (ES 2, 3, 4; AAS 1 ) t h e fauna includes bones of hippos and b ig f i she s typ ica l of a r i ve r ine hab i t a t .

Potsherds s i m i l a r t o the Early Kerma ones have been found at ES 2 , 3 and AAS 1 i n the same assemblages with the r i ve r ine fauna. They a r e decorated with moulded do t s c los ing cy l indr ica l holes within t he paste . Their aspect anyway i s coarser than t h a t of t h e Early Kerma ones and might suggest an e a r l i e r da te going back t o t he I I I r d millennium B.C.

With the survey of November 1980 the archaeological reconnai- ssance of t he Gash d e l t a i s f in ished. The next s teps of research i n the a rea w i l l be t he excavation of some s i t e s , pa r t i cu l a r l y K 1 ( ~ a h a l ~ e ~ l i n o s ) and AAS 1, Presently 43 s i t e s have been discovered, going back t o the IVth/lIIrd millennium B.C. - ea r ly I Ind millennium A , D , They include sett lements and cemeteries, sometimes d i r e c t l y connected t o ancient v i l l ages .

On the bas i s of the col lected data a provisional p ic tu re of the cu l t u r a l sequence i n the a rea can be described. The e a r l i e s t remains a r e wavy l i n e ( ~ a r l ~ ~har toum) potsherds found a t K 1 , perhaps t he microl i th ic i ndus t r i e s found at JTef 1 and GS 1. The last ones a r e some Christ ian ca i rns of baked br icks , associated with l a t e Christ ian pot tery , found at M 6 , W of Amm Adam s t a t i on . His to r ica l sherds (1s t M i l l . A . D . ) have a l so been found at K 4 near Jebel Kassala. Finnaly the scat tered stone ca i rns around Jebel Kassala, Jebel Tukulabab and Jebel Timberi Tie go back probably t o a recent (Christ ian ?) age and might be a t t r i bu t ed t o nomads l i k e the Beja.

Within these chronological l i m i t s four cu l t u r a l u n i t s can be recognized. The e a r l i e s t ones a r e documented by the s i t e s ES 2 , 3, 4 and AAS 1 and KG 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The s i t e s ES 2 , 3, 4 and AAS 1 share some common types of pot tery , p a r t l y l i k e t he Early Kerma one, but show a s l i g h t d i f ference i n l i t h i c industry . They possibly go back t o the I I I r d millennium B.C, and might be a t t r i bu t ed t o hunter-gatherers exploi t ing the r i ve r ine hab i t a t of the ancient Gash. The s i t e s KG 1-6 share t he same micro l i th ic industry and brown ware and a r e l i k e l y characterized by t h e absence of ground stones. Their age i s still undertain, but t he archaic fea tures of the remains suggests an ea r ly date . The t h i r d cu l t u r a l un i t i s documented by the s i t e s ES 1, M 1, GS 1-5, K 1, 2, 4, t he most impressive one being K 1. It i s dif fused over the whole d e l t a

and i s mainly characterized by orange combed w a r e . Its' age i s uncertain; probably it goes back t o the IInd-1st mi l lenia BC, some developmental phases being represented by d i f f e r en t s i t e s . The f0urt.h cu l t u r a l uni ty is documented mainly by the s i t e s JM 2, 3, 4, 5 near Jebel Mokran. It is characterized by orange o r red p l a in ware and mat impressed ware. It possibly goes back t o t he beginning of t he 1st millennium BC, insofa r as one s i t e (N 120) with the same pot tery , recorded nea,r Khashm e l Girba, is dated back t o 1,100 + 90 BC (see J . Shiner, The Prehistory and Geology of Northern Sudan, 11, Dallas 1971). Similar mat impressed ware moreover w a s col lected at Ntanei and Kokan near Agordat i n E r i t r e a and i n the pre-Aksumite s i t e at Yeha i n T igra i , suggesting the existence of an a rea of i n t e r ac t i on including t he middle Atbara Valley, t he Gash Delta, the upper Baraka va l ley and t he Tigrean plateau i n the 1st millennium BC.

Rodolf o F a t t ovi ch

k c e l l o Piperno

SEDEINGA ARCHAEOLOGlCAL UNIT SUDAN

POST-OFFICE : ABOU RAGA NORTHERN PROVINCE

REPUBLIC O F THE S U D A N

MISSION ARCH~OLOGIQUE DE SEDElNCA CORRESPONDANCE

77. R U E QEOROES LARDENNOIS - 78019 PARIS

SEDAU : 38me campagne de f o u i l l e s 2I Sedeinga (Nubie soudanaise) .

La mission f r a n ~ a i s e SEDAU (Sedeinga Archeological Uni t ) a

pour su iv i ses recherches du 19 f 6 v r i e r au 15 mars 1981 B Sedeinga, en

Nubie soudanaise . E l l e comprenait M. Jean Lec lan t , Mlle Cather ine Berger

e t M. Audran Labrousse. Elle B t a i t accompagnee pa r Mme L6one Allard-Huard

q u i s l e s t rendue une nouvel le f o i s au &be1 Gorgod OD e l l e a compl6t6 - son enquete s u r cet ensemble impressionnant de gravures r u p e s t r e s .

A Sedeinga meme, l a f o u i l l e a p o r t 6 s u r l a limite Sud-Est du

secteur de l a n6cropole m6roi t ique d6nomm6 "I". Une v ing ta ine de

s d p u l t u r e s o n t 6 t 6 mises en dvidence, l a p l u p a r t s6vhrement p i l l 6 e s .

En dehors de p l u s i e u r s c o n s t r u c t i o n s de b r iques c r u e s voOt6es, t o u t e s

B l l ex t&me l i m i t e du t e r r a i n , il s ' a g i t de t o m b e s s a b o t s , comportant

un pui t s -descender ie donnant acc&s, s u r l e meme axe , 21 un caveau de f a i b l e s

dimensions, grossi6rement t a i l 1 6 dans l e gebe l , un s o l rouge, a s s e z

inBgal , de t r g s mauvaise q u a l i t 6 . L 1 0 r i g i n a l i t 6 e s t que c e r t a i n e s de c e s

s 6 p u l t u r e s , au l i e u d t 8 t r e o r i e n t 6 e s d 1 E s t en Ouest, l e s o n t i c i B l ' i n v e r s e ,

d lOues t en E s t . En c e r t a i n c a s , il s 1 a g i t de s d p u l t u r e s doubles : deux

caveaux juxtapos6s, pourvus de pu i t s -descender ies ind&pendants , s o n t group&

sous l a meme s u p e r s t r u c t u r e , Celle-ci semble a v o i r 6 t 6 de facon cons t an t e

une pyramide; mais ces pyramides s o n t l e p l u s souvent r d d u i t e s 2I de tr&s

f a i b l e s ves t i ge s ; dans l a ma jo r i t 6 des c a s , les pyramides B t a i e n t en

br iques c rues , de 4 B 5 m de c8 t6 ; une pyramide semble a v o i r 6 t 6 cependant

f a i t e de p e t i t s b locs de s c h i s t e n o i r . Les pyramides comportent s u r l e u r . -

f a c e E s t une chape l l e min ia ture , dont l ' o u v e r t u r e compor ta i t en facade

deux murets en r e t o u r d l ang le . Parmi l e m a t e r i e l 6pargn6 pa r les vo leu r s / il f a u t c i t e r p l u s i e u r s p o t e r i e s i n t a c t e s , de formes e t de decors

S E D E I N G A A R C H A E O L O G I C A L UNIT S U D A N

POST-OFFICE : ABOU RAGA NORTHERN PROVINCE

REPUBLIC O F THE SUDAN

MISSION ARCHEOLOGIQUE D E SEDEINGA CORRESPONDANCE

77. RUE GEORGES LARDENNOIS - 7 S O I O PARIS

typiquement mero i t iques : p e t i t s bo l s , vases g l o b u l a i r e s i3 h a u t c o l ,

p i c h e t s ; mot i f s v6g6taux, p i t t o r e s q u e s g r e n o u i l l e s devant d e s a u t e l s

ha thor iques ou des signes-ankh s t y l i s 6 s en 616ments v6g6taux; i n c i s i o n s - ponct i formes de d e s s i n s g6omdtriques s u r des vases g l o b u l a i r e s en p a t e

b runa t r e ; B n o t e r a u s s i un p e t i t vase de ver re . Pour tdmoigner de La

q u a l i t 6 du reste du m a t e r i e l , il n ' a 6 t 6 r e c u e i l l i qu'un 616ment de

pendent i f en co rna l ine e t une p e t i t e ronde l l e apparemment en test de

c o q u i l l e d toeu f d 'autruche. Parmi les b locs u t i l i s d s en couver ture d e s

tombes se t r o u v a i t une t a b l e d ' o f f r ande m6roIt ique ddcoree de q u a t r e p a i n s

ronds a i n s i que d t u n vase v e r s a n t et un b l o c de g r h s provenant vraisembla-

blement de l a decora t ion du temple du Nouvel Empire. La mission a e n f i n

r e c u e i l l i un montant de p o r t e min i a tu re decor6 d'un Anubis f a i s a n t l a

l i b a t i o n .

Jean Lec l an t

, Report on Reconstruction of mroitic W a l l Paintings : 1981 . I

During the 1975 and 1976 excavation seasons a t bkroe Tbmsite i n the Sudan, a large nunnber of fragments of w a l l paintings w e r e recovered from a complex of smll temples lying to the eas t of the great Wnple of Amun. These fragments becare the subject of a reconstruction and conservation project carried out in fac i l i t i es provided by the Sudan National Museum of Antiquities in Khartoum, with funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humani t ies &search Council of Canada. The project was directed by Prof. P.L. Shinnie of the University of Calqry; the f ie ld s taff consisted of W c a Bradley, Archaeologist, s . Clara Semple, a r t i s t , and Wendy Baker, conservator. In the 1981 season, the fourth of the project, the i n i t i a l aims of the project =re successfully completed: recording the fragments, munting a selection for display, and conserving the rest of the corpus for storage in the museum and possible future study.

A l l £ragrents with reconstruction potential w e r e photographed, drawn, desalinated, and consolidated. Seven panels were prepared for display, consisting of aluminum honeyconb panels onto which the fragnwts were bonded with a strong, lightweight plaster. The technique was designed to be fully reversible, in case of further study adding to the reconstructions; that is, fragmnts can be added, m v e d , o r shifted around on the panels without difficulty o r damage. The seven panels are as follows:

Panel 1:

Panel 2:

Panel 3:

Panel 4:

Arensnuphis and Isis, 48"x32". Left portion of "Arensnuphis scene" from Temple M. 720, depicting large portions of a red-robed, ch.1uris-cmd god, presurrably Arensnuphis, follmed by a goddess dressed in the vulture-wing garb. King and Kandake, 48"x48". Right portion of "Arensnuphis scence" from Temple M. 720, depicting large p r t i o n s of two royals figures in long white robes, fringed and enbroidered. The figures have been positioned i n the panel so as to leave space for a possible third such figure whose presence is indicated by several similar but hereto unreconstructable fragmnts . KC104, 24"x23$". No complete scene was reconstructed from the Temple KC.104 material, but several clusters of matched fragments were munted toqether. Processional Scene I, 24"x23%". Upp& portion of figures from M.720 "Processional scene". includina heads and shoulders of ixo m l e figures.dressed & richly embroidered robes and lion-skin regalia, plus forward hand of a third bearing offerings .

Panel 5:

Panel 6:

Panel 7:

Processional Scene 11. 16 "xl6 ". m r portion of one figure framM. 720 "Processiondl scenew, munted separately due to lack of infomation regarding definite placerrrent i n relation to upper portions (Panel 4) . h e decorations an the rabe include a unique arrangemmt of beads and fringes, and oh the feet the sandals are quite well-presexved. F'ragmnts of fine painting. 16"xl6". Assorted f r a m t s of finely detailed work, mainly fromM.720, showing a cross-section of artistic sk i l l s and conventions of the Memitic nuralists. None of these fragments originated in either the Arensnuphis or the Processional scenes. Coloured fragmnts, 16 "xl6". Assorted fragmnts on which the pigmnts are exceptionally well-preserved, inclding a selectim fromM.720 and K12.102. This panel gives an idea of the range of pigments available to the &mit ic mralist, without the f i r e dam* present in mst of the other panels. The fragments selected did not f i t irnt any of the reconstructions munted in the other panesl; so11.e of the plaster was of the exterior (gyps&based) type of plaster rather than the interior (Nile --based) type*

'Ihe seven panels and the fi t t ings for munting them on w a l l s were handed over to the curator of the K h r t o u m Museum for temporary display. The remainder of the material was consolidated and recorded, and packed into mtal trunks for storage, also in the meurn. Potentially valuable pieces were segregated from those for which l i t t l e hope of inclusioi in future reconstructions is held. Photographs and coloured drawings were prepared of all panels and potentially reconstructable fragments; these are in ny care while publication is being arranged.

bbecca Bradley

ZAIRE

During the month of October 1980 a b r i e f a r chaeo log ica l survey of the Boma a r e a i n Lower Zayre was c a r r i e d o u t by J. Cornet and Shaje T s h i l u i l a of t he I n s t i t u t des Musges Nationaux du ~ a z r e and P. de Maret of the Musge Royal de l l A f r i q u e Cen t r a l e (Tervuren).

Two k i lome te r s upstream from ~ o k a , a concent ra t ion of po tsherds w a s observed on the r i g h t bank of t he Za?re River ( l a t 5°51'371'S., long 13' 4 ' 2 3 " E . ) . The s i t e was t e s t e d wi th t h r e e 2x3 meter u n i t s . Near t h e r i v e r the depos i t was only 10 cm t h i c k above the bedrock b u t f u r t h e r u p h i l l a high concent ra t ion of a t y p i c a l potsherds were c o l l e c t e d between the su r f ace and a depth of 50 cm. Some remains of 19th century European china i n d i c a t e t h a t t h i s occupation l a y e r i s probably no t o l d e r than one o r two cen tu r i e s . One sample of a s soc i a t ed charcoal h a s been however submitted f o r da t ing .

Fu r the r upstream the famous " I l e des Pr inces" was v i s i t e d . I n i t s no r theas t e rn p a r t , s e v e r a l graves of Kongo c h i e f s mentioned by previous v i s i t o r s (S tan ley , Devroey, Dar t eve l l e ) and decorated wi th broken guns and anchors can s t i l l be seen. According t o S tan ley , s e v e r a l members of t h e Tuckey expedi t ion of 1816 were a l s o bur ied on t h i s i s l a n d b u t t h i s has never been confirmed. La te Stone Age a r t i f a c t s of q u a r t z and f l i n t were c o l l e c t e d on s u r f a c e throughout t h e i s l a n d .

Severa l Kongo cemeter ies were v i s i t e d h a l f way between Boma and Matadi. Near Kid iak i , we t e s t e d a grave on top of which one of t h e wel l - known s tone scu lp tu re s c a l l e d Ntadi o r more e x a c t l y , B i t m b a , had been c o l l e c t e d previous ly , ( P i e r r e s sez.iZpt&es du Bas Zat re , IMNZ, Kinshasa 1978, f i g . 3 ) . The remains of an i r o n camping bed, p i eces of a sewing machine s tand , a p i ece of a gun, a r i f l e and broken S t a f f o r d s h i r e jugs were lay ing nearby t h e scu lp tu re . They a l l poin ted t o a l a t e 19th century da t e b u t they may have been depos i ted a t a l a t e r d a t e on the grave.

A t t he reques t of t he i n h a b i t a n t s of t he nearby v i l l a g e , we d i d only a small t e s t p i t a s they d id no t want us t o t ake away anything and t o leave the grave open a f t e r sunse t . I n the s h a f t of t he grave, t e n i r o n n a i l s were c o l l e c t e d . A t a depth of 180 cm, two p l a i n copper b r a c e l e t s wrapped i n a p i ece of red f a b r i c were co l l ec t ed . Under them, the p e l v i s and p a r t of the l e f t femur were unearthed. Severa l whi te but tons from a f l a p were found. This i s of some i n t e r e s t as it confirms t h a t t he grave was indeed no t o l d e r than the l a t e 19th century and t h a t i t was a man's grave. As the s tone s c u l p t u r e c o l l e c t e d on top was a male f i g u r e , a c o r r e l a t i o n i s l i k e l y between the sex of t he deceased and t h e one of t h e B i tumba.

I n the v i c i n i t y of Lubmbashi, E. Anciaux de Faveaux, M. Lohay and M. Verbeek have co l l ec ted over the p a s t three years, numberous polished axes i n hematite.

W. Van Neer has now completed h i s Ph.D. on the study of the faunal remains from the caves of Matupi and Kiantapo. A b r i e f study of the mostly Late Iron Age mate r i a l co l l ec ted during G. Mortelmans excavation of the l a t t e r s i t e w i l l soon be made ava i l ab le (G. Mortelmans & P. de Maret, Rgsultats des f o u i l l e s de 1955 devant l a g r o t t e de Kiantapo au Shaba, AfYYica Tervuren, forthcoming) .

P i e r r e de Maret Royal Museum of Centra l Afr ica (Te rvuren) Universi ty of Brussels

Prel iminary Report on t h e Luano Archaeological Survey

by

Michael S. Bisson McGill Univers i ty

The presence of a r chaeo log ica l s i t e s i n t h e a r e a of t h e Luano h o t s p r i n g and s t ream e a s t of Chingola, Zambia (12'32' sou th , 27'55' e a s t ) was f i r s t r epo r t ed by Sampson i n 1965, who descr ibed Middle Stone Age, La te Stone Age and I r o n Age a r t i f a c t s c o l l e c t e d from t h e s u r f a c e of t h e h o t sp r ing . I n t h e fol lowing yea r s P h i l l i p s o n and o t h e r s i nves t iga t ed t h e a r e a and demonstrated i t s a rchaeo log ica l p o t e n t i a l . This r e p o r t summarizes t h e pre l iminary r e s u l t s of t h e most r e c e n t of t hese s t u d i e s , an i n v e s t i g a t i o n of p r e h i s t o r i c s u b s i s t e n c e and s e t t l e m e n t p a t t e r n s i n t h e Luano drainage c a r r i e d out by t h e au thor from J u l y through November 1980. I w i l l focus on t h e a rchaeo log ica l sequence h e r e a s t h e a n a l y s i s of subs i s t ence and se t t l emen t is n o t y e t complete.

The Luano Survey

The g r e a t e s t number of s i t e s a r e concent ra ted around t h e h o t s p r i n g eye (Fig. 1 ) . These inc lude t h e Luano Main S i t e , conta in ing depos i t s ranging from t h e La te r I r o n Age t o t h e Middle Stone Age; The Luano Spring S i t e , an Early I r o n Age v i l l a g e wi th preserved h u t f l o o r s ; The Luano South S i t e , a l a r g e bu t very s p a r s e s c a t t e r of L a t e r I r o n Age m a t e r i a l ; and t h e Luano Rock-shelter, a La te Stone Age s i t e w i th both e a r l y and L a t e r I r o n Age p o t t e r y i n i t s upper l e v e l s . I n a d d i t i o n t o t hese , a t o t a l of 16 o t h e r h a b i t a t i o n s i t e s were found dur ing f o o t surveys i n t h e drainage along wi th 21 smal l concent ra t ions of p o t t e r y o r gr inds tones (Find-spots) t h a t may be t h e remains of s h e l t e r a s s o c i a t e d wi th garden p l o t s . Of a l l t h e s i t e s and f ind-spots i n t h e dra inage , 7 con ta in Ear ly I r o n Age m a t e r i a l s (6 s i t e s and 1 Find-spot) and 37 con ta in La te r I r o n Age specimens (17 s i t e s and 20 Find-spots). Sur face c o l l e c t i o n s were made from a l l s i t e s .

Excavations

Excavations were conducted a t f i v e s i t e s , t h e l a r g e s t of which w a s Luano Main. A t l e a s t s i x d i f f e r e n t components have been i d e n t i f i e d a t t h a t s i t e . I n t h e upper 20 cm of d e p o s i t s , La t e r I r o n Age p o t t e r y occurs t h a t i s cha rac t e r i zed by narrow bands of d iagonal comb stamping, cord o r bangle impressions and cross-hatched i n c i s i o n . Beneath t h i s i n some p a r t s of t h e s i t e is a component conta in ing a very h igh frequency of undecorated ves se l s . Decorated po t s from t h i s l a y e r a r e mainly comb stamped, o f t e n wi th s i m p l i f i e d forms of t h e pendant loop designs t h a t a r e common i n t h e Ear ly I r o n Age l a y e r s . Both t h e s e components have been h e a v i l y d i s t u r b e d and i t is poss ib l e t h a t fou r o r more occupat ions a r e represented by t h e Later I r o n Age l a y e r . Only t h e f u r t h e r s tudy of p i t con ten t s , hu t f l o o r s and o t h e r s ea l ed f e a t u r e s w i l l r e so lve t h i s problem.

The Early I ron Age is represented by one small but q u i t e c l e a r component located near t h e cent re of t h e s i t e and possibly a second component (which has been disturbed) i n the south eas te rn quar te r . Associated pot tery is th ick walled and o f ten poorly f i r e d . Decoration i s primari ly wide bands of pendant loups o r over-lapping arcs. I n t h e b e t t e r preserved component t h e pendant loops a r e made with broad inc i sed l i n e s and a r e f i l l e d with comb stamping, i n the o the r they a r e made with narrow inc i s ions and a r e l e s s o f t en embellished o r f i l l e d . I n both cases f a l s e r e l i e f chevron designs are rare.

The Luano Main S i t e includes t h r e e components of Stone Age occupation. Typical Late Nachikufan a r t i f a c t s occur i n both of the Early I ron Age components and i n the upper p a r t of a white sand layer along t h e dambo margin. A d i f f e r e n t indust ry l i e s deeper i n the white sand l ayer . It is a f l a k e based technology employing a number of Middle Stone techniques, but t h e a r t i f a c t s themselves a r e smaller than normal Middle Stone Age mater ia l . Crescents a r e present but b i f a c i a l l y pressure f laked arrow points a r e a l s o found. The overa l l appearance of t h i s c o l l e c t i o n is of a Second Intermediate industry and the presence of b i f a c i a l retouch seems t o place i t intermediary between the Lupembo-Tshitolian of Zaire and the Early Nachikufan. Tranchets, which a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e Zaire co l l ec t ions , a r e not present here. I n one u n i t a small c o l l e c t i o n of what may be Sangoan chipping debr is was a l s o discovered.

The Luano Spring S i t e i s an Early I ron Age v i l l a g e located t o the west and north of t h e hot spring. It is primari ly a s i n g l e component Early Iron Age occupation, but two small and sparse s c a t t e r s of recent Later Iron Age pot tery a r e present on t h e surface . A l l e a r l y mate r i a l s come from a sandy l ayer less than 40 cm deep. The E.I.A. pot tery from t h i s area is c l e a r l y from t h e same t r a d i t i o n as t h a t a t t h e Main S i t e but appears s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t i n some respects . Designs a r e general ly more complex, with mult iple bands being common, and not standardized. Indeed, there i s an extreme range of va r ia t ion , and individual design sequences a r e ra re ly duplicated. The pendant loop is , however, the most common motif and i t is of ten bordered by hor izonta l l i n e s of l a r g e t r i angu la r impressions. False r e l i e f chevron is absent. An important f ea tu re of t h i s s i te is t h a t hut f loors a r e we l l preserved and t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n i n some p a r t s of the s i t e can be determined by c l u s t e r s of daga brought up by cu l t iva t ion .

Luano S i t e E , which was located during the survey, has two components, recent Later I ron Age and Early I ron Age. It is located i n sandy s o i l on a gent le s lope overlooking the stream. On i ts north border is a small spr ing and dambo. Pottery i s sca t t e red over a su r face area measuring nearly 200 m from nor th t o south and 180 m from e a s t t o west , but debr is is very sparse i n the southern t h i r d of t h e s i te s o the a rea of probable occupation is smaller than both the Main and Spring S i t e s . The Early I ron Age a t S i t e E is l e s s we l l defined and contained a lower densi ty of a r t i f a c t s than the two sites previously discussed. The pot tery is r e l a t e d t o t h e o ther E . I .A . co l l ec t ions but is i n t e r e s t i n g i n t h a t i t is the only group i n which f a l s e r e l i e f chevron designs, although not common,

a r e p re sen t i n s i g n i f i c a n t numbers.

The Luano Rock-shelter has been descr ibed by P h i l l i p s o n . Because i t w a s known t o con ta in both Late Stone Age and Ear ly I r o n Age a r t i f a c t s , a t e s t p i t w a s excavated i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n d a t a on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e two groups. The depos i t i ona l sequence i n t h e s h e l t e r w a s : a n upper l a y e r c. 25 cm t h i c k of f i n e gray ash con ta in ing L a t e r I r o n Age p o t t e r y and numerous bone fragments; a middle l a y e r c . 35 cm t h i c k of f i n e brown s o i l wi th Ear ly I r o n Age and Late Stone Age m a t e r i a l s ; and a da rke r brown l a y e r from 60 cm below s u r f a c e down t o bedrock a t 1.25 m t h a t had a g r e a t e r concent ra t ion of Stone Age f l a k e s bu t no p o t t e r y . The Ear ly I r o n Age p o t t e r y i n t h i s s i t e is unusual. Thickened cord stamped rims, f a l s e r e l i e f chevron, i n c i s e d herr ingbone mot i f s and o t h e r forms of deco ra t ion n o t common i n t h e Luano a r e a a r e p re sen t , b u t o t h e r specimens a r e d e f i n i t e l y of l o c a l o r i g i n . This p o t t e r y is , however, fragmentary and r e l a t i v e l y in f r equen t . It was presumably brought i n t o t h e rock-she l te r by t h e La te Stone Age hun te r s who camped the re .

The Stone Age depos i t s i n t h i s s i te appear t o be a l l La te Nachikufan. A s is usua l wi th Nachikufan s i t e s , t h e g r e a t ma jo r i t y of t he c o l l e c t i o n is chipping deb r i s . Normal t o o l s a s s o c i a t e d wi th t h e Ear ly I r o n Age p o t t e r y a r e pr imar i ly c r e scen t s and o t h e r hunt ing equipment. In t h e lower l a y e r s , s c r a p e r s a r e more f requent . It may be t h a t t h e s h e l t e r f i r s t served a s a base camp and l a t e r as a temporary hunt ing camp. The e x o t i c sherds found t h e r e may be an i n d i c a t i o n of t h e wide range t h a t t h e hun te r s t r a v e l l e d .

F i n a l Observations

The Luano c o l l e c t i o n s a r e p re sen t ly be ing processed and much remains t o b e done. Conclusions, even about some b a s i c a spec t s of t h e a rchaeologica l sequence, a r e thus unwise a t t h i s time. Never the less , some important po in t s about t h e I r o n Age of t h e Luano can now be made. The Early I r o n Age i s d e f i n i t e l y p a r t of P h i l l i p s o n ' s Chondwe group, bu t a s t h e t h r e e l a r g e s t p rev ious ly known c o l l e c t i o n s from t h a t group (Kangonga, Roan Antelope and Chondwe) a r e from s i t e s more than 100 km d i s t a n t , expected d i f f e r ences have been observed. S i t e E a t Luano is most s i m i l a r b u t c e r t a i n l y no t i d e n t i c a l t o Roan Antelope. I f P h i l l i p s o n ' s i n fe rence t h a t t h a t s i t e was t h e e a r l i e s t i n t h e a r e a is c o r r e c t , then S i t e E w i l l r ep re sen t t h e f i r s t I r o n Age occupat ion of t h e Luano dra inage . The o t h e r Early I r o n Age s i t e s i nves t iga t ed appear t o be more s i m i l a r t o Kangonga than any o t h e r prev ious ly discovered Copperbelt c o l l e c t i o n .

One f i n a l po in t on t h e I r o n Age sequence a t Luano i s t h a t t h e r e is a c l e a r t ypo log ica l con t inu i ty between t h e Ear ly and L a t e r I r o n Age assemblages. Ear ly po t s a r e gene ra l ly decorated wi th complex des igns based f i r s t on broad l i n e i n c i s i n s and l a t e r by narrow i n c i s i o n s . These a r e eventua l ly replaced by s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s of t h e . o r i g i n a 1 mot i f s executed by comb stamping and bangle impression. There is no evidence a t t h i s p o i n t f o r populat ion replacement a s t h e mechanism f o r t h e Ear ly I r o n Age-Later I r o n Age t r a n s i t i o n .

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

D r . Alexander of Cambridge Universi ty sends t h i s list of graduate s tudents now worWng on African top ics ;

African Archaeology at Cambridge

Postgraduate research i s being undertaken as followsr

E.K.A.K. Ahmed ... Meroitic set t lement pa t t e rn s i n t he Butana.

M i s s R.T. Bradley . . . Regional va r i a t i on within t he Meroitic Sudan.

Miss M , Braithwaite . . . , Material cu l tu re i n an Ethnographic context i n Eastern Africa.

D.J. Buck ... The e f f e c t s of t he Roman Fron t ie r on t he indogenes on southern lybian and eas te rn f r o n t i e r s of t he Roman Empire.

J.H.C. Cable ... Aspects of the economy, technology and environment i n t he l a t e r Stone Age of Natal.

D.P. Col le t t ... Spa t i a l s t r uc tu r e of the Early I r on Age cu l tu res of Zambia as a c r i t i c a l t e s t between continuous and discontinuous mechanism of d i spersa l .

Mrs. L.W. Donley .., Early Islamic domestic a rch i tec tu re on t he E, African coast .

M.C. Horton ... Archaeological aspects of e a r l y Islamic penetra t ion i n Kenya.

P . J . Lane ... The organised use of space: an ana lys i s of the v i s i b i l i t y of soc i a l s t r uc tu r e i n the archaeological record of West Africa.

... Ethnoarchaeology of t he Dinka of t he S . Sudan.

Miss H.L. Moore ,.. Invest igat ion of assumption t h a t the re i s an underlying soc i a l symbolism behind s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s of s t r uc tu r e s and bound- a r i e s i n East Africa.

I. Musa ... The Later Prehistory ' of Darfur.

Miss S.A. Taha ... Aspects of the Pa laeo l i th ic of Northern Africa.

T. Tshilema ... Early Kingdoms i n Rwanda.

THE AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW

The Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y Press i s e s t a b l i s h i n g The A f r i c a n

Archaeo log ica l Review.

Coverage w i l l i n c l ude a l l aspects o f the archaeology o f

the c o n t i n e n t and ne ighbour ing i s lands , excep t i ng s p e c i a l i z e d

human b i o l o g y on the one hand and, on t h e o t h e r , t o p i c s

r e l a t i n g p r i m a r i l y t o Nor th A f r i c a n c i v i l i z a t i o n s ( i n t h e Engl i s h

sense o f t h a t word) and t h e i r e x t r a - A f r i c a n i n t e r e s t s . New

data from t h e f i e l d w i l l be emphasized as w i l l s t u d i e s o f w ide r

than reg iona l s i g n i f i c a n c e . E d i t o r i a l p o l i c y w i l l be t o favour

any o f t h e j o u r n a l s m a t e r i a l f rom areas t h a t a r e n o t served by

c u r r e n t l y publ ished.

Content Categor ies w i l l i n c l ude : -

1. A r t i c l e s o f 6000-15000 words

a) t reatments o f c u l t u r a l h

on t o p i c s such

i s t o r i c a l quest

on a g rea te r than reg iona l sca le ,

b) developments i n a r chaeo log i ca l theory

and method t h a t a r e o f Pan-Afr ican

s i g n i f i c a n c e , and

as:-

ions

c) advances i n r e l a t e d d i s c i p l i n e s t h a t a r e o f

spec ia l i n t e r e s t t o A f r i c a n i s t s .

2. Reports o f 6000-15000 words on s i t e s t h a t a r e

o f importance i n t h a t t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

fo rces reapp ra i sa l o f c u r r e n t l y h e l d views.

3. S i t e r epo r t s subs id i zed through t he au tho r . These

w i l l c o n s i s t o f a 6000-15000 word genera l t e x t

p l u s m i c r o f i c h e i n s e r t s supp l y i ng documentat ion

and argument a t a l e v e l o f d e t a i l no rma l l y

found o n l y i n monographs.

4. Formal r epo r t s (as opposed t o n e w s l e t t e r i tems)

o f 2000-4000 words on research i n progress.

5. Review a r t i c l e s of 3000-5000 words on groups

o f pub l ica t ions . There w i l l be no reviews o f I

i nd i v idua l books o r monographs.

6. Annotated b ib l i og raph ies e s p e c i a l l y o f pub l i ca t i ons

i n languages o the r than Engl ish.

7. Abstracts o f theses and d i s s e r t a t i o n s on A f r i c a n

Archaeology.

8. B r i e f e d i t o r i a l comment on recent major d iscover ies

and issues o f general i n t e r e s t .

9. Pub l ica t ions received.

The Review wds l l be i n Engl ish; however c o n t r i b u t i o n s i n

French w i l l be welcomed and, i f accepted f o r pub l i ca t i on ,

t rans la ted.

The Review w i l l be an annual p u b l i c a t i o n w i t h the f i r s t

issue scheduled t o appear i n March, 1983. I t w i l l cons is t o f

about 280 pages (80,000 words p lus 1 ine drawings and photographs)

i n a format s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f World Archaeology. The present

(cost est imate - 4g12 s t e r l i n g p.a. C i r c u l a r s w i l l be issued by

the C.U.P. i n due course.

The fo l l ow ing have a l ready agreed t o serve on an Advisory

E d i t o r i a l Board:-

Bassey Wai Andah, Cyr Descamps, A.T. Grove, Fekr i

Hassan, Lech Krzyzaniak, Gadi Mgomezulu, Charles Nelson,

N ico le Pet i t -Maire, Co le t te Roubet, Peter Shinnie,

Nick Van der Merwe, and Francis Van Noten. This i s the

f u l l board less one Ear ly Man spec ia l i s t .

Please consider t h i s as a CALL FOR PAPERS - correspondence

regarding scho la r l y aspects o f the Review should be addressed to :

Nicholas David Ed i to r , The A f r i c a n Archaeological Review, Dept o f Archaeology, Un ive rs i t y o f Calgary 2500 U n i v e r s i t y D r . N.W., Calgary A lber ta , Canada, T2N IN4