African Archaeological Review最新文献

Excavations at the site of Tombos at the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near the end of Egypt’s imperial control of Nubia (c. 1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE). Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and furniture, and the individuals buried within. The combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations and mortuary practices provide an opportunity to consider the processes of cultural expression in terms of “Nubian revival” within the context of Egyptian colonial “withdrawal.” Through a theoretically informed approach, the complexity of intercultural interactions during these dynamic sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of practices were used that transcend these categories. Practices are entangled with multidimensional influences that question what is considered local and foreign. With variations showing similarities and differences of structures and practices found in the region during earlier, contemporary, and later periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed.

The study of the Palaeolithic in Senegal has made considerable progress in the last decade and has provided a renewed vision of the behavioral evolution of prehistoric populations in West Africa. The cultural trajectories within the region seem to be highly variable and bear witness to strong behavioral dynamics, the mechanisms of which still need to be better understood. However, the number of reliable, dated, and stratified sites, as well as the palaeoenvironmental data providing a context for populations in their palaeolandscapes, is still scarce. In order to provide new and solid data, we conducted new archaeological survey in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in south-central Senegal, aiming at a preliminary identification of Pleistocene and early Holocene sedimentary deposits. Here, we report an overview of the newly discovered industries found in different contexts. Most of the 27 identified sites show surface and out-of-context assemblages, but other sites are stratified and have all the criteria to justify the development of a long-term archaeological, geochronological, geomorphological, and palaeobotanical project. The Niokolo-Koba National Park, through which the Gambia River flows, is characterized by an abundance of sources of knappable material and by well-preserved sedimentary sequences. Therefore, archaeological research in the Niokolo-Koba National Park has the potential to provide major milestones in our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics at work in West Africa during the early periods of occupation of the region.

The Capsian, comprising the Typical Capsian and Upper Capsian facies, is a prominent North African prehistoric entity dating to the Early Holocene. Hundreds of rammadiyat (snail-shell mound) sites in eastern Algeria and Tunisia were occupied by Capsian hunter-gatherer communities. A significant technological change occurred at these sites during the mid-seventh millennium BCE. Pressure knapping, for producing a blade and trapeze lithic industry, emerged. This technique developed during the Mesolithic throughout the Mediterranean region. Understanding the earlier typological and technological variabilities and the exact timing of the emergence of pressure knapping is crucial in determining the local or foreign origin of this innovation in North Africa. Recent examination of legacy collections excavated in the Oum el Bouaghi area of Algeria during the interwar period fosters new perspectives on Capsian lithic industry variability. Our analyses document a complex lithic landscape for the Early Holocene, including a proposed “Central Early Capsian” facies for the early phases, as well as the persistence of strong regional variabilities in Upper Capsian lithic industries.

This account is intentionally selective. After a brief background note, it covers eight years as an employee in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) during the final months of British rule and the early years of independence. This was followed by six years with a UK-sponsored but Kenya-based research organization. The next two years were spent in Scotland at a large municipal museum and finally a full quarter-century at the University of Cambridge in a sequence of positions concerned with museum curatorship and with teaching and research on African archaeology. At that stage in my career, I initiated large-scale excavations at Aksum in Ethiopia and was involved with UNESCO affairs such as the designation of World Heritage sites.