NYAME AKUMA No.19 November, 1981. Newsletter of the Society Of
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NYAME AKUMA No.19 November, 1981. Newsletter of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in America. - -- Edited by P.L. Shinnie and issued from the Department of Archaeology, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. Typing and editorial assistance by Ama Owusua Shinnie, Administrative assistance by Scott McEachern.................................. This is probably the last number for which I will be responsible. I am going to Cambridge as Visiting Fellow at St. John's College from January-June 1982 (address: c/o St. John's College, Cambridge, CB2 lTP, &-gland) and after that probably to Ghana. My future at the University of Calgary is uncertain, though I shall be back there in September 1982, so it seems wise to make other arrange- ments for the future of Nyame Akuma. A decision can be taken at the meeting at Berkeley next May but those with suggestions might send them to Mr. S. McEachern at this address. Mr. McEachern is now handling all administrative matters. Editorial matters, for the time being, will be dealt with by Dr. N. David also of the University of Calgary and he will be responsible for the issuing of no.20 in May 1982. The editor is grateful to the increasing number of contributors who are typing their articles in such a form that re-typing is not required. However many are ignoring the request as to style given in the notes to contributors. Single space please. Many contributions are now being received on the new international (except North ~merica) paper size - this can be reproduced on our quarto page if text is kept within the frame printed on p.3 of the cover. Please note what is said about illustrations. P .L. Shinnie . ANNOUNCEMENT of the 1982 Occasional Meeting of the SOCIETY for AFRICANIST ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN AMERICA Thursday to Sunday, May 13-16, 1982 at the University of California, Berkeley The Berkeley group invites all colleagues involved in African Archaeology and any others with related interests to attend a 3 or 4 day meeting in May. We envisage that people might assemble in time for a social function on the evening of Thursday May 13, to be followed by papers and discussions on Friday, Saturday and perhaps, if needs be, part of Sunday. If you think you may be able to attend please fill out the accompanying form and send it to Professors J.D. Clark and G. Isaac, Department of Anthropology, U.C. Berkeley, California 94720 (or, if you do not have a form just write and let us know). We will attempt to arrange a program on the basis of the response that we receive before February 1, 1982 and will then send out program announcements. We are also hoping to arrange for a practical workshop in association with the meeting (either just before or just after). This will cover demonstrations and discussions of use-wear studies. This remains tentative and we will advise people if the plan is confirmed. The objective of the meeting is to allow information exchange on current research, with opportunities for discussing approaches, methods and results. We will also try to make this a convivial occasion for personal interaction. Please do put a ring around these dates on your calendar, and do try to come! (We will do our best to arrange reasonably low-cost accomodation and will let people know about this later). 3 ASSOCIATION OUEST-AFRICAINX WEST-AFRI CAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL D ' ARCHEOLOGIE ASSOCIATION 3.2me Colloque A.O.A.A. - W .A .A.A. Dakar: 8-10 dgcembre 1981 Lars de son 2eme colloque, tenu Bamako en dgcembre 1978, le bureau nouvellement glu avait retenu la candidature de la Haute- Volta et de la Mauritanie pour la tenue du prochain colloque. Ces deux pays s'gtant successivement dgsistgs, et le dglai statutaire &ant expirg, une rzbnion du bureau s'est tenue 5 Dakar le 3 mai 1981, sous la prgsidence de M. Alpha KONARE, pour prendre les mesures propres assurer la continuation des activitgs de l'association. I1 a 6t.G dgcid6 que le troisi6me cozloque se tiendrait dans la premi&e quinzaine de decembre en Cote dlIvoire ou au %&gal. Nos coll&ges dlAbidjan viennent de nous faire savoir qu'ils renongaient 2 l'organisation du colloque dans les dglais impartis. Le troisigme colloque se tiendra donc g Dakar, sous 1' ggide de 1'Universi tg . Le programme pr;vu est le suivant : - Lundi 7 dgcembre : accueil des participants. - Mardi 8 dgcembre : sgance d'ouverture; communications. - Mercredi 9 dgcembre : communications; dgbat sur les problgmes de la formation des archgologues africanistes . - Jeudi 10 dgcembre : assemblge g6n6rale de 1'A.O .A. A. 2 Gorge et visite de l'ile. - Vendre 11 et samedi 12 dgcembre : excursion dans le Sine- Saloum; visite des amas coquilliers et des sites mggalithiques . Nous sommes conscients des difficult& entrainges par la pr6paration d'un colloque dans la brigvet6 des dglais impartis. Aussi comptons-sous sur la comprghension de nos coll&es et prions ceux d'entre eux qui desirent participer 5 cette rgunion de se faire connaTtre avant le ler octobre (ce dglai &ant ramen; au 15 juillet pour ceux qui d6sirent que des rgservations hbtelizres soient effectuges) . Nous faisons d'autre part appel 5 chacun pour qu'il veuille diffuser le plus largement possible cette circulaire. Les titres des communications sont 5 joindre g la demande de participation. Celles-ci ne doivent pas excgder quinze minutes. Une seconde circulaire, pr6cisant le programme du colloque et donnant la liste des communications, sera envoyze avant le 31 octobre. Pour le Comitg d' organisation Massamba LAME BOTSWN;ii? by J, Denbow The National Science Foundation has made a small grant for the refurbisning of an historic building in ~Gborone, Botswana, to store archaeological materials collected by United States-based expeditions over the last 15 years, The building will also house the National Flonuments files for the country, collections made by other investigators, and provide much needed analysis and work sgace for re- searchers based both inside and outside Botswana, construction will begin in October or November, Two new radiocarbon dates have been received. for recently excavated sites, At Moritsane near Gaborone a site containing a vitrified kraal deposit has been dated to ROD, 1095~75 (I-8, Ceramics from this site are related to material s from Eiland and other sites in the Transvaal, as well as to sites such as Ntshekane in Natal, At Depression Cave in the Tsodilo Hills in the north-western corner of the country a date of A.D,1645+75 (1-11,824) has been recsived, Late Stone Age lithic deb& and charcoal tempered pottery were recovered, Analysis of the fauaal remains from three Early Iron Age 1oc:ltions at T'sodilo has been completed by Dr, E, Voigt, Transvaal Museum, ltemains of cattle, goats and sheep were found in all levels--cattle outnumbering gc?ats/sheep by a factor of 2:1, At least one cow of a humped or Zebu type was represented in the small sample, In September, a midden in the litwebe Hills south of I&e P.lgmi was excavated, The midden produced both lugged, khoi ceramics and Tswana potterg decorated by nicking along the rim similar to Euisport in the Transvaal, Carbonized sorghum, as well as remains of' cattle and goats/sheep were recovered, along with several patinated blue and red glass cane beads, a cowry shell, copper bangles, and iron tools, A radiocarbon sample has been submitted for dating, hkcavati ons were also carricd out at the Hippo Tooth site near the eastern end of the Botletli itiver. Early Iron Age pottery of Gokomere- Bambata type was recovered, along with Late Stone dge lithic debris, 20 charcoal was preserved, so a sample of bone has been submitted for dating. 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.