African Archaeological Review最新文献

Archaeological sites in southern Egypt and northern Sudan faced a significant threat of destruction caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The UNESCO Nubian campaign sponsored extensive surveys and excavations to salvage as much as possible, yielding large datasets. Temples and tombs were disassembled and relocated, including to various museums, in preservation efforts. Despite these endeavors, much information was lost. The wall paintings and inscribed features of the tomb of Djehutyhotep were among the monuments reassembled in the courtyard of the Sudan National Museum. However, the preserved tomb features are once again at risk of destruction due to war in Sudan. The first field season of a project to document, study, and disseminate information about the tomb of Djehutyhotep in April 2023 was disrupted by war, compromising the quality of collected data. Inaccessibility to the material and the threat of destruction or permanent damage pose major challenges. This paper addresses the challenges posed by incomplete datasets, inaccessibility, and the risk of destruction, proposing a protocol for documenting and digitally disseminating heritage at risk, which is potentially applicable to other conflict zones to enable remote research and outreach.

The Capsian (9000–5400 cal BC) is an early Holocene Northwest African prehistoric tradition. It is generally divided into two facies: the Typical Capsian (TC) and the Upper Capsian (UC). While the TC was restricted to the eastern Capsian range, the UC existed in both the eastern and western ranges. Initially, these two facies were regarded as two successive phases (1933–1969). But with the arrival of radiocarbon dates, the TC, the eastern UC, and the western UC all came to be viewed as contemporary entities (1970–2002). Later, Rahmani (2003) argued for a return to the original view (1933–1969) and most authors have now come to accept this. Aumassip (2015:31–32), however, has recently argued that Rahmani’s theory may be flawed (“tendentious,” “partisan”). To investigate this possibility, the current paper reviews evidence from lithics, the bone industry, mortuary practices, the fauna, and radiocarbon dates. It concludes that Rahmani’s theory is indeed untenable. In particular, her assumption of western population replacement contradicts most relevant evidence. Due to developments in radiocarbon dating, however, it does not seem possible to return to the 1970–2002 view either, as suggested by Aumassip. A new model (the “H-model”) is therefore presented to reflect available evidence: Before the development of a flint knapping technique (pressure flaking) in the 6000s cal BC, Early Upper Capsians lived in the western Capsian range and Typical Capsians lived in the eastern range. By exchanging ideas, both groups then became Late Upper Capsians together, at the time of the development of pressure flaking. This new model emphasizes population continuity in both east and west.

The Capsian is an early Holocene Northwest African tradition. Since 1933, it is divided into two facies: the Typical Capsian and the Upper Capsian. Recently, Dachy et al. (2023) claimed to have discovered a third facies. Their evidence for this claim comes from two key observations: one distinguishing the new facies from the Upper Capsian and the other from the Typical Capsian. But a passage from Sheppard (1987), who studied much of the same material, seems to directly contradict one of these observations. Meanwhile, the other observation is challenged by doubts previously expressed by the authors themselves (Perrin et al., 2020), doubts that seem to have been set aside in their 2023 paper. It therefore seems currently difficult to recognize their third Capsian facies. The authors further imply that their discovery of a third facies would mean that the “term ‘Capsian’ alone can no longer be used to designate a single, coherent cultural whole.” They suggest, therefore, redefining the word “Capsian” in terms of space and time. But the existence of a third facies would not necessarily render the Capsian incoherent. The Iberomaurusian’s unity is here also provisionally defended in response to a similar idea expressed recently. Despite these issues, the work of Dachy et al. (2023) remains an interesting contribution that highlights the potential value of future excavations in the Oum el Bouaghi region of Algeria. The current paper, in closing, argues that to discuss the value of traditional labels like “Iberomaurusian” and “Capsian,” lithic analysts would need to adopt a standard method for data collection and publication. Such a method is in development.

Current phyto-scapes (plant populations in their geo-spatial context) are not exact replicas of past foraging potential, yet they provide valuable data about the carrying capacity or potential of a foraging-scape. Knowledge about contemporary micro-ecologies and ethno-historical plant use can inform on behavioral aspects, should such plants be found in archaeological deposits. It is in this context that we explore existing information (data and literature) to establish the current vegetation types and micro-ecologies around Holley Shelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, that contains Middle and Later Stone Age occupations. We present the first plant species inventory consisting of > 1500 taxa growing approximately a day’s foraging distance from the site, compiled from records provided by the South African National Biodiversity Institute and other sources. From this list, we generated separate checklists for foodplants (n = 450) and plants that have other uses (n = 337), to gain insight into the site’s current phyto-fitness potential. The resulting database is intended as a modern proxy for future work on the site’s archaeo-botany and palaeo-climatic reconstructions. The data is also applicable to other sites on the Savanna/Grassland Biomes of southern Africa with records of the same species. Here we use the foodplant checklist and what is known about the edible plant parts, their seasonality and the distribution of some species to speculate about land-use patterns. These hypotheses can be tested for the past with future archaeo-botanical work. We demonstrate that, compared to archaeological sites in the Eastern and Western Cape for which comparable data exist, Holley Shelter is rich in foodplants, and especially so in plant foods that are known to buffer against famine during the periodical droughts of inland South Africa.

This article investigates the social landscape of the First Nile Cataract region in the 4th mill. BCE through the application of petrographic and technological approaches to pottery analysis. The study focuses on the ceramic assemblages from the settlement WK15 and the necropolis WK14 at Nag el-Qarmila and identifies for the first time three technical traditions along with their synchronic and diachronic interaction. It provides new data on the more ancient phases of the so-called Naqadan productions and their relationship with the Shale Ware and the Nubian Black-Mouthed Ware. The results allow us to better frame the mixed assemblage that characterizes a site far from the elite centers and where relations between mobile and sedentary groups were, therefore, more fluid. The data obtained also constitute a comparative nucleus for the growth of technological and petrographic studies at other sites and periods, and the numerous insights that emerged will be useful for directing future research.

Glass beads first appear in the archaeological record of southern Africa around the mid-first millennium CE, marking the earliest signatures of extensive connections between the southern African region, the East African coast, and the broader Indian Ocean rim. Key research focused on glass beads, particularly from notable southern African polities, like the renowned Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe sites, has laid the groundwork for a regional taxonomic series of these beads, emphasizing their role as indicators of wealth and social status. This paper introduces new data on 59 glass beads from a recently excavated and lesser-known Zimbabwe culture site in the Mberengwa region of south-central Zimbabwe. The analysis employs non-invasive techniques, including typological classification and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The investigation identifies six glass bead series from Chumnungwa, composed of plant ash-lime (v-Na-Ca), vegetable soda-high alumina (v-Na-Al), and soda-based glasses with high-alumina concentrations (m-Na-Al). These beads, widely distributed in Asia and Africa between the eight and seventeenth centuries, shed new light on the geochemistry, provenance, and circulation patterns of glass beads in southern Africa, particularly within a community situated beyond the well-known Iron Age polities. Notably, Chumnungwa emerges as the first known Zimbabwe culture site in southern Africa to yield m-Na-Al 6 glass beads. However, as recently demonstrated at the Toutswe sites in Botswana, it is probable that other Zimbabwe culture sites in the region also possessed m-Na-Al 6 glass beads. These beads may have been misclassified as m-Na-Al 2 glass since this group was only recently unveiled on the East African coast, after the bulk of the currently available literature had been published. Insights drawn from contextual recovery data and Shona anthropology form the basis for an extended discussion on the consumption and sociality of glass beads in Iron Age southern Africa. Ultimately, the study underscores the challenge of typologically categorizing beads into established series without the application of LA-ICP-MS and other scientific approaches.

Ceramic motifs, forms, and paste attributes of domestic pottery offer insights into regional historical dynamics, especially if the chronostratigraphic contexts of the ceramics can be established through excavations, radiocarbon dates, and historical traditions. This study examines recently excavated ceramic assemblages from the southern Jos Plateau, the first archaeological study of ceramic assemblages from this region. This paper focuses on the ninth/tenth, through twelfth/thirteenth, and nineteenth/twentieth centuries ceramic rim forms, decorative motifs, and clay properties from Fier, Lankan, and Daffo communities. The study sheds light on the similarities and differences in styles and functions regionally and across time. It also explores the roles that the production, distribution, and consumption of domestic pottery played in the process of regional networks and intergroup relations over a thousand and five hundred years in the southern Jos Plateau. Finally, this study provides a valuable framework for future archaeological research in the region by setting a foundation for standardized ceramic classification.