Anthropologie最新文献

Lithic industries during the Upper Pleistocene in Equatorial Guinea may be broadly included in the Central African Middle Stone Age (MSA) Lupemban tradition. However, these industries present certain particularities related to their raw materials, and stone-knapping sequences. In the case of bifacial tools, bifacial points are commonly found with a cortical reserved proximal portion that keeps the cortex covering the base and part of both faces. Bifacial points made on thin stone slabs that keep the cortex on the center of one or both faces are also commonly found. This knapping technique gives the idea of unfinished preform artifacts. The edges, however, suggest that both points and other bifacial artifacts were used for some tasks. A sample of these tools was taken from the open-air Mabewele I site to decide whether the MSA points from Equatorial Guinea were finished artifacts, in spite of the preservation of their cortex. Petrographic studies and macro and microscopic analyses of the use-wear traces and residues from retouched edges were also performed. The analysis clearly shows that the Mabewele I bifacial artifacts were used for plant processing, among other activities. The results confirmed the fact that cortical reserved-base points with cortex on one or both faces were intentionally manufactured, finished tools, rather than unfinished preforms. The petrographic analysis also shows the schistous nature of raw material and explains the shape and stepped edges of bifacial knives, extending our understanding of the unique technical characteristics of the MSA in Equatorial Guinea. It also provides new insights into some of the hunter-gatherer's subsistence strategies in the Central African tropical rainforest at the end of the Pleistocene.

Capangombe – Santo António is an open-air site located 596 m a.s.l. at the foothill of Morro Santo António, Namibe Province (southwest Angola). The inselberg of Santo António is associated to the Chela escarpment developing from the Marginal Mountain range parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, separating the Angolan inland plateau from the coastal semi-arid to arid plain. A dissected valley formed by the Leba-Capangombe stream exposed a conglomerate with abundant stone tools assigned to the Early Stone Age (ESA). The site was discovered in 1966 by Miguel Ramos, who collected a total of 1776 lithic artifacts, and further published a small report about the assemblage in 1971. In this preliminary analysis, Ramos focused on cleavers using the “French school” typology for the “hachereaux” in Northern Africa and concluded that there are several morphotypes identified in Capangombe-Santo António with specific features, suggesting the occurrence of a local tradition for the Late ESA/Middle Stone Age (MSA). The study presented here is a new analysis of the lithic assemblage curated at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. A sample of 1017 artefacts was analyzed for this project applying an extended descriptive methodology to characterize lithic raw material procurement, reduction sequences and typological classes. The chrono-cultural model initially proposed for the site is revised thanks to recent advances in Stone Age studies.

In the lithic typology of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Central Africa, an emblematic piece is often found within the assemblages. These are tools obtained by shaping and characterized by the presence of two parallel to subparallel edges that have been named by many authors by the term of core-axes, a denomination that refers, by the process of ethnographic parallelism, to the axe and adze types, without having clearly proven that such an interpretation is possible. These core-axes are considered to be hallmarks of the Sangoan and Lupemban, two facies of the Central African MSA, but whose lithic assemblages remain mostly poorly contextualized and/or incomplete. These core-axes are particularly interesting because they have led to several hypotheses on the emergence of hafting, adaptation to rainforest environments, woodworking and digging during the Middle Stone Age, a key period for the emergence and development of Homo sapiens in Africa. Nevertheless, core-axes are still poorly defined in terms of production, techno-function and morphometry. To remedy this, we chose the core-axes of Nzako Ambilo and Nzako Kono, two Central African sites. These collections are kept at the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in Paris. Through a productional and techno-functional study, the revision of these core-axes will allow us to observe a significant variability of the intra-assemblage technical variability. This variability suggests that these tools are much complex than initially suggested by prehistorians. This approach will lead us to new ideas on the use and hafting possibilities of these shaped tools characterized by parallel edges and which are typical of the Stone Age of Central Africa.

In this paper we present the results of archaeological research at the Late Stone Age site of Diallowali, located along the western edge of the Middle Senegal Valley, northern Senegal. As the occupation spans the period between 3100-2400 years BP, it is contemporary with few other West African sites, and therefore represents a unique – and uniquely detailed – archive. Excavations conducted between 2014–2017 revealed deeply stratified and dense deposits, yielding more than 5,000 kg of pottery and 169 kg of faunal material – the largest faunal assemblage of any site in West Africa. Thus, the present study focuses on the zooarchaeological data and their implications for shifting environmental conditions, subsistence practices, and social institutions at the site. The faunal assemblage reflects the exploitation of a remarkable diversity of wild animals, including a range of bovids, suids, carnivores, rodents, hippopotami, birds, and various aquatic resources – representing local conditions at the end of the African Humid Period. Interestingly, the consistent presence of domestic livestock, as well as Bos taurus figurines and ceramic ‘arm-bands’ throughout the occupation support a connection to Saharan agro-pastoral communities possibly escaping the Late Holocene aridification. Therefore, the keeping of low numbers of Bos taurus and Ovis/Capra, while maintaining a high reliance on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants, likely functioned as a risk-buffering strategy to manage against environmentally unpredictable periods.

Anthropogenic shellfish mounds exist in all the Bliss Islands (e.g., Niomoune, Hitou, Kandé), in Senegal. They are now threatened by anthropic activities and by the effects of climate change. In the perspective of rescue archaeology, our study focuses on the Niomoune shell mounds which are the most threatened. Of the eight clusters found at Niomoune, two are sacred (Arch 06 and Arch 08). Despite being reworked, these shell mounds are thought to predate the current settlement of Niomoune. Our prospecting and excavation work has enabled us to establish a material culture history including remains of ceramic, iron, and glass. The five charcoal samples dated by radiocarbon place the beginning of the occupation of Niomoune between 21AD and 204AD. This chronological sequence belongs to the early Iron Age in Senegal, which began in 1100 BC at Dialowali, Senegal River valley. This paper aims to determine the periods of the different human settlement dynamics at Niomoune based on the archaeological data, and to characterize the artefacts collected by placing them in the cultural ensembles of the Lower Casamance.

La province de l’Ogooué-maritime est véritablement connue du domaine de l’archéologie dès les années 1980 par les chercheurs du LANA, sous l’impulsion de Lazare Digombé, Michel Locko et leur (s) équipe (s). Un peu plus de 30 ans après, les premières missions de recherches, des ramassages de surface non loin de la centrale de traitement des hydrocarbures de la société Perenco, Batanga centrale 2 ont livré la documentation archéologique retenue pour ce travail. Cette étude technologique a permis de déterminer une chaîne opératoire adaptée à la production d’éclats à partir de plaquettes de silex roulées et de rares galets ovoïdes. Le débitage est essentiellement représenté avec différents schémas opératoires (unipolaire, bipolaire et centripète). L’analyse des nucléus atteste d’un caractère particulièrement déterminant pour les processus de débitage en raison de la morphologie, de la texture et des modules des blocs. L’étude typologique signale une forte présence d’éclats corticaux ou non, de petites dimensions, assez larges et assez épais, de nucléus et de blocs ayant rarement servi de percuteurs. Les éclats en présence semblent caractériser les objectifs du débitage. Aucun outil typologiquement identifiable n’a été relevé. La céramique est attestée par quelques tessons également récoltés en surface. Des éléments liés à l’alimentation ont également pu être approchés par quelques restes de coquilles probablement des huîtres. Au regard des objets en présence, ce site peut être attribué à la fin du Late Stone Age.

The province of Ogooué-Maritime has been known to the field of archaeology since the 1980s by LANA researchers, under the impetus of Lazare Digombé, Michel Locko and their team(s). A little more than 30 years after the first research missions, surface collections not far from the Perenco company's hydrocarbon processing plant, Batanga Centrale 2, provided the archaeological documentation selected for this work. This technological study made it possible to determine a chain of operations adapted to the production of flakes from rolled flint plates and rare ovoid pebbles. The debitage is essentially represented with different operating schemes (unipolar, bipolar and centripetal). The analysis of the nuclei shows that the morphology, texture and moduli of the blocks are particularly decisive for the debitage processes. The typological study indicates a strong presence of cortical or non-cortical flakes, of small dimensions, fairly wide and fairly thick, of nuclei and of blocks that were rarely used as strikers. The flakes present seem to characterise the objectives of the debitage. No typologically identifiable tools were found. Ceramics are attested by a few shards also collected on the surface. Elements related to food could also be approached by some remains of shells, probably oysters. In view of the objects present, this site can be attributed to the Late Stone Age.

The province of Namibe, in south-western Angola, is rich in rock art, which is distributed throughout the region, from the municipality of Camucuio, with its Cipopilo sites, to the Caraculo area, which has the largest number of shelters with rock art. The distribution extends throughout the region, including the municipality of Virei, where the Citundu-Hulu shelter stands out, and the commune of Iona, with the Monte Negro rock art site. To date, the Caraculo region has the largest number of rock art sites identified in Angola. In this paper, we will discuss the general state of rock art studies in Namibe province and, of the various shelters found in the region. We will focus our study on four new sites firstly published in this paper, as they are a good illustration of the diversity of rock art in the region: Muliolila, Múcua II, Kandombolo and Cikotoue. These four shelters were subjected to a digital documentation protocol that is fundamental to the preservation and understanding of these archaeological sites. The methodology involved the application of a digital documentation protocol that included digital photography of the site, panels, figures and surrounding landscape, digital image processing, enhancement of the visualisation and interpretation of the rock art images using DStretch® software, and digital tracing using Adobe Photoshop© software. This documentation protocol will be used not only to provide accurate and up-to-date information about the site (thus raising awareness of the cultural and historical importance of these sites), but also to identify hazards and threats that may affect the site, to monitor possible damage and to take measures to protect the site. The motifs represented are very diverse, emphasizing zoomorphic figures such as antelopes, cats and serpentine figures, anthropomorphic forms, geometric forms (simple lines, combined lines, and circular forms) and indeterminate figures. The figures are both monochromatic and bichromatic, with white, black and red being the shades that can be observed (although these vary within each colour). The predominant technique is finger painting. Hunting scenes can be seen, either in isolation or in combination. One suggests that there may be indications that figures were made by at least two culturally distinct groups, even if in this paper the authors do not present any scientific proof for this statement but only different characteristics of the rock art. The rock art sites in the Namibe are of great cultural and historical importance, both for Angola and the world. They provide valuable information about the lives and traditions of the peoples who created them and help to promote awareness and conservation of Angola's cultural heritage. It is essential that intensive documentation and awareness of the importance of this Angolan rock art heritage be promoted and practiced on a large scale.

Despite numerous sites attributed to Early Stone Age (ESA), the emergence and diversification of lithic industries in Central African Republic is still challenging for discussion. Among all these sites, those located near Baboungué village have been reported by Roger de Bayle des Hermens in the late 1960s, and provided artifacts from two localities, namely Baboungué 1 and Baboungué 2. Both sites are situated around 800 meters from Baboungué village within the Sangha River alluvial deposits. Nowadays, the lithic assemblages from Baboungué are stored at the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Paris, France. In this paper, we reappraise a selection of 90 pieces from both localities (Baboungué 1 = 26 and Baboungué 2 = 74), which have already been identified and classified by R. de Bayle des Hermens in “Recherches préhistoriques en République centrafricaine” (1975). He used a morphological and typological approach. We decided to apply a new technological approach on these collections. Reduction strategies (flaking and shaping) and techno-functional analysis were applied with a focus on the shaped tools and pebble tools. Even though, the classification made by R. de Bayle des Hermens is taken into consideration in our study. We introduced several new categories such as Large Flake Tools, and Trifacial Shaped Tools. We expose the unexpected diversity of Baboungué shaped tools and pebble tools both in terms of production and techno-function (structural specificities). This paper also describes for the first time the trifacial shaping strategies for Central African ESA, whereas traditional ESA bifacial shaping is absent. Finally, we question the techno-cultural and functional significance of these collections marked by robust to massive stone tools.

The Maadaga rock shelter is located in the Gobnangou massif, in the south-east of Burkina Faso. At the end of the 1980s, a multidisciplinary team from the University of Frankfurt carried out excavations there which made it possible to identify five stratigraphic levels covering the (0/−190 cm) grid. The remains of the transition between the level 4 and level 5 as well as those of the level 5 (−100/−190 cm), studied by the authors of the excavations showed two techno-cultural complexes characteristic of the Middle Stone Age. As part of our doctoral thesis, we conducted a techno-morphological study of the lithic artefacts of the four remaining levels and which cover the (0/−100 cm) stratigraphic framework. We were thus able to identify three others homogeneous techno-cultural complexes. In the context of this reflection, we have chosen to dwell on the layers presenting the best stratigraphic integrity (−50/−100 cm) according to the authors of the excavations. It covers the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene. Put in parallel with the sequence (−100/−190 cm) previously studied, it reveals that with the exception of the behavioural variabilities observed in the use of raw materials as well as in certain debitage purposes, the sequence (−50/−100 cm) presents the same characteristics in the use of techniques and methods.