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©2011 Emmanuel Kimuma Ndiema ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2011 Emmanuel Kimuma Ndiema ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MOBILITY AND SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS AMONG MID HOLOCENE PASTORALISTS AT KOOBI FORA, NORTHERN KENYA: NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND EVIDENCE FROM OBSIDIAN SOURCING AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION by EMMANUEL KIMUMA NDIEMA A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Anthropology written under the direction of J. W. K. Harris and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2011 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION MOBILITY AND SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS AMONG MID HOLOCENE PASTORALISTS AT KOOBI FORA, NORTHERN KENYA: NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND EVIDENCE FROM OBSIDIAN SOURCING AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION By EMMANUEL KIMUMA NDIEMA Dissertation Director: J. W. K. Harris The emergence of managed food production laid the foundation for the emergence of complex economies and social structures in the world today. Land use territorial organization and long distance interaction patterns were important aspects for prehistoric lifeways. The chemical composition of stone artifacts can be used to identify places that ancient people visited and document changes in mobility patterns and scales of their interaction. This study was conducted at Koobi Fora, a UNESCO world heritage site on Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya and addresses the questions of inception of livestock and the mobility patterns of early herders in the region. ii Survey for obsidian sources and excavations at five Pastoral Neolithic sites were conducted to develop a high-resolution database for obsidian artifacts in the Galana Boi Fm., Koobi Fora. The artifacts and geological reference samples from five sites were analyzed using Energy dispersive X-ray Fluorescence and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Artifact distance fall-off curves as well as faunal and ceramic attributes of sample from over 50m2 of excavation were used to document mobility patterns and scales of interaction among early herder population in the Turkana Basin, Sites were dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence yielding dates from ~4.4 ka BP to ~1,0 ka BP. This period occurs during falling lake level and increasing aridity. The results show different sources of obsidian were used irrespective of distance. There were also other undocumented sources were either coming from within or outside the Turkana Basin. Similarities in ceramic decorations indicate that culture contact was more important than migration to social economic change in Turkana Basin. It would seem that high mobility patterns were extensive but did not destroy hunter gatherer habitat but allowed local hunter-gatherer subsistence and social organization to co-exist. Contact between groups would have maximized use of different micro habitant. It would appear that inception of herding in Turkana Basin therefore was variable, complex and should be understood in the context of local ecological conditions during periods of intense climate variability. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply humbled to know that this dissertation is a culmination of many years of support from countless persons and institutions. These pages also reflect the relationships with many generous and inspiring people I have met throughout my graduate work. The list is long, and I cannot mention each and every one individually but I cherish each and everyone’s contribution to my career development. First I would like to acknowledge my advisor Prof. J. W. K. Harris, for his excellent guidance, patience, and providing me with an excellent atmosphere. He not only gave me all his support in the field and practical issues beyond the textbooks, but patiently assisted me get financial support for my research. I am also indebted to my committee members Dr. Susan Cachel, Prof Gail Ashley, Drs. Carolyn Dillian, David Braun and Purity Kiura and Lee Cronk. You all went beyond the call of duty and supported my work in various ways that I cannot name them all. Special thanks go to Drs. Cachel and Cronk, who were willing to participate in my final dissertation committee at short notice. Dr. Dillian, I thank you for guiding me through my first published paper. It is from your seed that I have been able to publish another one. Dr. Braun you have walked with me through many paths that I cannot mention here. Thank you for guiding me right from a naïve field worker to a full‐fledged researcher that I aspire to be. Dr. Kiura, how you manage to be a mentor, boss, friend, and a big sister to look up to are beyond my comprehension‐ I just want to say Asante! Prof. Ashley, I thank you for driving all the way to the lab to assist me in my dissertation even during spring break. I cannot forget iv how you obtained funds to date the samples and tirelessly spent time helping me with the geological sections and making sure I understood what they meant. Dr Cronk, words cannot thank you enough for all your support advice as GPD and stepping in at the last minute to sit in my dissertation committee‐Sere nyo woo Funding for training at Rutgers University was provided by the Wenner‐Grenn Foundation through the Wadsworth International Fellowship. Funding for the various phases of this research and related components was generously provided by the following organizations: Paleontological Scientific Trust, (PAST) The Wenner‐Grenn Foundation, Centre fro Human Evolutionary Studies student Grant (CHES), Bigel Fellowship, Preliminary Dissertation Research grant (Rutgers Graduate School‐New Brunswick) and the British Institute in Eastern Africa (Minor research grant). For all of which I am humbly grateful. I thank the many institutions that facilitated the analysis of my samples, the Geology Dept. at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Archaeology XRF lab at UC – Berkeley, and Dr. Spencer at Kansas University. Of course I cannot forget the National Museums of Kenya for providing the space permission and all the support to undertake my research. I thank all the field research crew John Mwangi, Wole, Paul Watene, Tom Mukhuyu, Ben Sila and all the “super stars” of Northern Kenya. I stand on the shoulders of many giants, and I would like to thank those who taught, guided me, gave advice, and shared ideas. I also thank all the graduate students in the lab and the Anthropology graduate program, Lori Dibble, Steve, Jay, Sarah Melanie, Jane, Pante, Chaunetta, Drew, and Dillon among many other wonderful people v I was fortunate enough to work with. Luca Morino deserves special mention for being my roommate for all those years. Luca, thank you for putting‐up with me despite my short comings. To the McCoy family, I thank all of you for proving me with a family away from home. In your home I have found comfort, friendship and joy. I pray that this friendship continues to posterity. Finally I thank my family for all the support, most of all, my mother Grace Chepkesis who could not be here to see this work to completion. John Wilson deserves special mention for helping me get an education. My Wife Lillian for putting up with my prolonged absence and taking care of our home. Dan and Olivia this is all for you!!! And to all of you that I did not mention I just want to say Thank you! Asante Sana! vi Dedication In memory of my mother Grace Chepkesis Ndiema In God you rest, but in our hearts you live forever vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iv Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. xii CHAPTER ONE: Scientific Frameworks Leading to a Better Understanding for the Earliest Stage of Pastoralism from Lake Turkana ................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Hunter‐gatherer economic strategies and social organization … .................... 3 1.3 Applying models of hunter‐gatherer societies to the past .............................. 7 1.4 Forager‐food producer interactions in the past and present ...................... ….10 1.5 Aspects of obsidian sourcing faunal and ceramics and problems of convergence or equifinality ........................................................................... 16 1.6 Research goal and hypotheses ....................................................................... 21 1.7 Summary; Goals of research and organization for thesis .............................. 24 1.8 Cultural historic framework ............................................................................ 25 1.9 Early/ Later Stone Age occupations ................................................................ 25 1.10 Early pottery cultures ..................................................................................
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