NYAME AKUMA

No.12 May 1978.

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.

This is the first number of Nyane Akuma to be published on a subscription basis and it is disappointing to find that of the original mailing list of 299 only 90 have subscribed and only five of those in countries where dollars are not obtainable have felt inclined to ask for special exemption, and of those only three are in Africa. A further letter has gone out to those on the list who have not subscribed, since some may not have received the original information. I note with some surprise that some people who have not subscribed have sent in contributions. This confirms my suspicion that notice of subscription has still not reached many on my list, or that it has been received but overlooked.

If by the time no.13 is due for publication the subscription list does not reach 150 I shall discuss with the committee of SAAM whether or not it is worth continuing to publish. I very much hope to be able to continue.

I have been receiving an increasing number of articles offered for publication and have done my best to include some. This marks a change of style from the original idea of this news-letter which was that it was for the rapid dissemination of short items, news of activities and so forth. I think it is a healthy sign if some items in article form are offered and where they axe suitable I will try to publish.

I must, though, ask contributors to keep their articles short and if they want illustrations to be included they must be originals - I cannot satisfactorily reproduce photo copies - in black ink on white paper and should be so designed as to fit the page size of Nyame Akuma, Please note the size which is llin. x 8.5in (27.8 cm. x 21.5 cm.) North America has not yet adopted the new international paper sizes, nor is 'foolscap' (~mericanlegal size ), still commonly used in many African countries,easily adapted. For the text it does not matter since it can be re-typed,but for illustrations it is important that they should be designed to fit the page. I can reproduce a few photographs if they are of good quality but they will lose a little in the process. Please do not expect me to do the job of pasting up illustrations.

Even for the text I would always appreciate it, if, in places where our page size of paper is available and good quality typing with carbon film ribbon can be done, the text could be given to me in a form which does not need re-typing. This saves much time.

Please also note that bibliographies, if used at all to reference articles, should be kept to the minimum. A recent article offered listed sixty items in the bibliography which would take up five pages - that is about a sixth of the total pages in an average issue. Certainly some references may be needed and should be published, but articles in Nyame Akuma need not be as fully referenced as those in more formal journals.

It is proposed to hold the next meeting of S.A.A.A.M. at Calgary in April of next year. The steering committee suggests Saturday April 28th and Sunday April 29th - this would follow a few days after the Society for America Archaeology meeting at Vancouver (~~ril23rd - 25th) and might be convenient. Comments would be welcomed and I am open even at this early date to receive the names of those who wish to give papers.

Please note that as at present membership of S.A.A.M. is identical with the mailing list of Nyame Akuma and no separate subscription is levied there has been a sharp drop in the membership of SAAM. There are only fifty-two members resident in North America. Non-subscribers to Nyame Akuma are certainly welcome to come to the conference but it is unlikely that information will be circulated other than through the news-letter.

Finally I am asked by Operation Crossroads Africa Inc. of 150 - Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 to draw attention to their potential in providing support for archaeological projects. Not, I think, financial support, but they might supply people.

P.L. Shinnie. I very much regret to announce - the death on 18th April 1978 of Professor Henry T . Irwin of the Department of Anthropology Washington State University Pullman, Washington. U .S .A.

West African Archaeological Association

The second conference of this association will be held in Bamako 11th - 18th December 1978. The original notice was sent to members on 25th November 1977 but Nyame Akuma was informed by a letter from Dr. Obayemi of 13th April 1978 received in Calgary on 24th May.

The closing date for receipt of abstracts of proposed papers is given as 31st May 1978 - it is hoped (by editor of Nyame ~kuma) that the conference organisers will extend the date to help those of us who were informed rather late.

Those wishing to go to the Conference and/or to join the association should write to Dr. A. Obayemi at Department of.History, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Unfortunately at the same time will be held the International Congress of African Studies Kinshasa 12th - 16th December 1978

those interested should write to:

~ecrgtariatG6n;ral du ClAF B.P. 194.4. Lubumbashi Zalre . NEWS ITEMS.

BOTSWANA

RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN BOTSWANA Robert K, Hitchcock Department of Anthropology University of New Mexico

While a decade ago it could have been said that Botswana was relatively unknown a.rchaeologically, research in the past several years has done much to change that. Sites ranging from Acheulean to historic have been found, and a number of them have been excavated, The purpose of this note is to briefly summarize some of the research that has been conducted in the interior of Southern Africa, primarily in the Kalahari and adjacent areas.

One of the first people to do azchaeological research in Botswana was E.J. Wayland, who was director of the Geological Survey of the then Bechuanaland Protectorate. Nearly all of the sites he located were Stone Age sites, and the artefacts which he recovered have recently been the subject of an exhaustive analysis by C.K. Cooke of the National Museums of Rhodesia, who is in the process of publishing "A Survey of Stone Age Archaeology in Botswana." The work of Wayland and, more recently, John Yellen of the Smithsonian Institution has done much to dispel the notion that the Kalahari was a marginal environment into which groups were pushed by other, more highly organized populations. Yellen and Alison Brooks of George Washington University have been carrying out archaeological excavations at f~i, a pan in the northwestern part of Botswana near the Namibian border. At #~ithere are well-preserved archaeological remains going back to the Middle Stone Age; these remains include extinct species of hartebeest, buffalo, and zebra. In addition, some outlines of what appear to be pits have been located in the Late Stone Age deposits. It is possible that these pits may have been hunting blinds similar in function to those used near the pan by contemporary San (~ushman) populations.

While #~iis the only well-excavated Stone Age site in Botswana, a substantial number of other sites of Early, Middle and Late Stone Age have been located in surveys of a number of different parts of the country. Yellen and Brooks and their students have worked in the :Angwa Valley in northwestern Botswana, while the University of New Mexico Kalaari Project (~amesEbert , Robert Hitchcock) have concentrated on the eastern margins of the Kalahari, particularly around the Makgadikgadi Pans and the east-central Kalahari near Serowe. James Ebert has used Landsat space imagery to define the margins of what was a gigantic ancient lake, Lake Makgadikgadi, and he has surveyed a series of transects on the margins of the lake, John Cooke of the University of Botswana and Swaziland and David Grey, formerly of the Anglo-American Corporation, have done geomorphological work in the same area. The UNM Kalahari Project located over 150 sites from which surface collections were made and detailed studies done of the site settings; these sites ranged from Early Stone Age to recently abandoned Basma (~ushman)camps. Morgan Tamplin of Trent University has also done surface survey in eastern Botswana, mostly of Iron Age sites. An ongoing survey is being done by James Denbow of the University of Indiana. Using aerial photographs and ground survey techniques, he has located well over 100 Iron Age sites in the Serowe-Palapye area of east-central Botswana; two of these sites have been tested by Denbow and well-preserved ceramics, faunal remains, and a burial have been recovered. These test excavations indicated that the Iron Age sites overlie both Middle and Late Stone Age materials. Denbow has been assisted by an able amateur archaeologist, David Schermers, who has found several Iron Age sites in the northern part of Botswana, mostly in the Mosetse and Sebina areas.

The Iron Age is the period that has perhaps received the most attention of late in Botswana. Besides Denbow's work there is that of Tamplin, who sampled a site on Talana Farms in the Tuli Block in 1977. Edwin Hanisch of Pretoria, south Africa, has excavated a Leopard's Kopje site at Commando's Kop, also in the Tuli Block. Work in southeastern Botswana has been carried out by Ron Pahl, who has reported on ceramics and stone-walled villages; Alec Campbell, Director of the National Museum of Botswana, has also located Iron Age sites in southeastern Botswana. Perhaps the most detailed data on a Botswana Iron Age site are those on Tautswemogala, excavated in 1970 by Larry Lepionka. Tautswe is the only site in Botswana which has been dated using Carbon-14; the dates range from A ,D. lO9O +_ 105 to A .D. 1500 .)_ 95 (GX-3772 - GX-3775) . The skeletal remains from this site were analyzed by Hertha de Villiers of the University of Witwatersrand, and the faunal remains were studied by the late Robbie Melbourne, also from Wits University. A short survey of Iron Age remains in the Bobonong area of eastern Botswana was made by Ernst Westphal of the University of Cape Town and John Fletemeyer of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

Rock art is another subject that is receiving increasing attention in Botswana. C.K. Cooke published an overview of Botswana rock art in 1969 which indicated that there were far fewer rock art sites in the country than in neighboring Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. One area where there is an abundance of rock paintings is the Tsodilo Hills region of northwest Botswana. This area, visited by Jalmar and Ione Rudner and reported on by them in several papers, has been the scene of a recent quantitative survey of paintings by Alec Campbell and Mike Bryan of the National Museum along with Robert Hitchcock. 1,650 paintings were recorded at a total of 194 locations, and a number of archaeological and recently occupied Bushman sites were found in the vicinity of the paintings.

Ethnoaxchaeology has been the subject that has generated the most interest in Botswana in the past decade. The study of the behavior of contemporary hunting and gathering groups and the material by-products of their behavior was initiated in the 1960's by the Haxvard Kalahari Research Group which included John Yellen. Yellen accompanied a group of Bushman over a six month period, observing what they brought into camp and what they did there, then he went back and excavated a series of the abandoned camps. His recent work in conjunction with Alison Brooks and a number of students has extended his sample to camps going back to 19443, Edwin Wilmsen of the University of Virginia has also done some ethnoarchaeological research in the /ai/ai region, south of Dobe, in addition to observing hunting and other contemporary behavior patterns. The University of New Mexico Kalahari Project has worked in two regions in eastern Botswana, the Nata River area and the east-central Kalahari. These two regions contrast both ecologically and ethnographically; the Nata area is a riverine gallery forest with settled Bushman groups living in villages and herding livestock and growing crops; while Bushman groups in the Kalahari sandveld region are still mobile and are hunting and gathering. though some of them are beginning to settle on the peripheries of cattle in order to have access to water. Hitchcock has done a comparative study of populations in these two areas and has mapped both occupied and recently-abandoned sites, accompanied groups on hunting expeditions, and observed manufacturing and other types of behavior in both settled and mobile groups in an attempt to understand changes in archaeological patterning in sites that may be correlated with sedentism.

Recent activities in Botswana include the setting up of a system of national monuments, the cataloging of all collec;tions in the national museum and the establishing of a national site file, and the organization of archaeological research in the country. The pace of archaeological research in Botswana is clearly picking up. Already a number of sites have been dug and surveys undertaken. It is hoped that future work can be coordinated through a National Monuments Officer based at the National Museum and that local archaeologists can be trained to continue the work of the past few years. EAST AFRICA

British Institute in Eastern Africa

The major expedition undertaken during the past six months was to the Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal Provinces of the Sudan, led by the Assistant Director, David Phillipson. The logistical problems of working in such a remote area were considerably eased by the co-operation and assistance of the Sudan Antiquities Service (a representative of which accompanied our expedition throughout its stay in the ~udan)and of the southern Sudanese Regional Government in Juba. Although, prior to this research, almost the whole of this extensive region remained virtually unesplored by archaeologists, evidence from neighbouring countries suggested that the southern Sudan had played an important role in the development and transmission of early food-production and metallurgy. The expedition set out to locate sites suitable for excavation which might be expected to illustrate the later prehistory of the region.

As a result of seven weeks' fieldwork, the potential for archaeological research in the southern Sudan has been clearly demonstrated. Rockshelters and caves were discovered in the Kapoeta, hi and Tembura areas which offer excellent opportunities for the establishment of local cultural successions with good preservation of organic materials. Open sites were more difficult to locate and, with exceptions, relatively uninformative because the settlement pattern in most of the region has for long been one of scattered individual homesteads which are moved every four or five years. Ethnographic and ethno-archaeological researches were also shown to have great potential in the region and, indeed, to be essential for a proper understanding of the prehistoric material.

Two prehistoric iron-smelting furnaces which, although probably of relatively recent date, are remarkably similar in form to Meroitic examples, were excavated at Maridi : funds were made available by the Institute to ensure their permanent preservation as a Field Museum.

Until excavations are carried out, it would be premature to offer any detailed hypotheses on the prehistory of the southern Sudan. It appears, however, that settlement of most of Western Equatoria was extremely sparse, except in natural forest clearings, until metal tools were available which permitted clearing of the dense vegetation. There are indications that the Iron Age in this area began at a relatively early date, that the first Iron Age peoples made pottery akin to that already known from early contexts in the Central African Empire, and that the later Iron Age has seen a general southward expansion of population into the forest borderlands. All these conclusions are tentative and provisional. It is planned that David Phillipson shall continue his research in the southern Sudan, with a team of three or four professional assistants, for three months early in 1979.

In Kenya, the Director, Neville Chittick, carried out a brief excavation at an early settlement site at Deloraine Farm, Rongai, west of Nakuru. He was assisted by Stanley Ambrose, from the University of Massachusetts. A test trench was dug here by Mark Cohen, then a research student of the Institute, in 1969, with rather inconclusive results (noted in Azania VII, 1972). The settlement, which appears to extend over some acres, was occupied by people who had a primarily pastoral way of life, but unlike most cattle-keepers ate large amounts of meat, as is attested by the prodigious quantity of cattle bones (with only a few of goat/sheep). Grindstones, however (including one of large size) attest that the inhabitants made flour from food-grains. Among the seeds recovered by flotation is one tentatively identified as finger-millet l leu sine corocana); it is thus probably that some of the grain eaten was cultivated. The people had houses (or possibly only grain stores) of mud-and-wattle. They worked iron, as is attested by many fragments of tuyeres and an iron knife; the absence of iron slag indicates that they did not smelt the metal at the settlement. An iron smelting site examined in the region of Esogeri, 12 km north of Deloraine, may possibly be contemporary; this is the first iron- smelting site to be identified in the Kenyan Rift Valley. The pottery from the Deloraine site is of unique type, and the cultural affinities are uncertain, though a recent find indicates that it may possibly relate to other settlements further north, in the Baringo area. Radiocarbon dates for charcoal samples collected earlier from the lower part of analogous deposits have given 'MASCA' corrected results of A.D. 10 + 80 and A.D. 920 + 110. The gap ketween these two dates is unexplained; further samples have been submitted for testing.

Among students working in eastern Africa under the Institute's auspices, Robert Foley has completed the first stage of his archaeological work at Amboseli, and Vicki Morse is writing up her thesis on the taphonomy of pastoralist settlements. Michael DiBlasi and Thomas Mahlstedt are conducting a field survey of Iron Age sites in the eastern Kenya highlands.

Volume XI1 of Azania (a special issue devoted to the 'L .S ,A. ' in eastern Africa) has now been published. Memoir 7, Laurel Phillipson's The Stone Age Archaeology of the Upper Zambezi Valley will be ready soon. TRAVAUX d ' ARCH~OLOGIEdans le SODDO

Francis Anfray

Les monuments du Soddo sont connus depuis le d6but du si&le. On les croyait peu nombreux. En 1926 Kamnerer 1-es dgcrit ainsi : "Ces monuments se composent principalement de petites pierres dressges, de petits menhirs dggrossis, de forme assez rggulisre mais non g6om&.rique, portant une dgcoration faite de dessins ou traits sculpt&. . . L' aire d'extension de ces petits monolithes , toujours frustes et non gquarris, n'est pas trGs grande. . . Leur nombre, une trentaine.. . Les points o; le P.Azais les a signal& s ' appellent silt;, Maskan, Thya, tous en pays Soddo" .

Petits monolithes ? Une stgle de Tiya atteint cinq mstres de hauteur. Aire d'extension ? Tout le pays Soddo en effet; on peut lui assigner sept cantons administratifs. Une trentaine de monuments ? Plusieurs centaines. En 1974, 1' Institut 6thiopien d ' archzologie a entrepris une enqu&e syst6matique qu'il poursuit annuellement en vue d16tablir l'inventaire de cet ensemble culturel. A ce jour, c'est cent soixante-dix sites dont le nom a 6tg enregistr;. La liste n'est pas close. Leur 6tude occupe aujourd'hui une place centrale dans 1'archgologie de llEthiopie. Tous ces sites ont un caractgre fun6raire. Parfois - c'est le cas le plus rare - on ne voit qu'un simple monolithe dont il &?rive qu'il ne soit pas en place. Le plus souvent c'est un groupement de stgles ou de grosses pierres rondes. Des tombes en quantit6 variable avoisinent les stGles : concentr6es ou dispersges, elles foment en maints endroits des cimetigres diversement gtendus, ainsi 2 Seden, Gatire-Demma, Ambeut, Wado, Moulitcha-Gababa, Gayet- Gareno, d'autres encore. Cette annge, du leT fgvrier au 8 avril, des travaux ont 6t6 faits sur le site de Gatira-Demma. I1 se trouve 2 trente-cinq kilomgtres au sud de 1'Aouache sur une colline embroussaill6e. Une st&e 2 6p6es se dresse au pied d'un vieil olivier, 6t;tGe elle mesure un mgtre vingt-cinq sur le sol; trois autres gisent 2 proximit6; elles aussi marqu6es des signes habituels. Les tombes y sont nombreuses. En 1976, une fouille 6tait ~rati~ugepour savoir (la question se posait car des tentatives antgrieures, sur un autre site, avaient 6t6 vaines) si ces tombes conservaient des 616ments de nature 2 favoriser des Studes, cornme par exemple l'examen anatomique et biologique de restes humains, la dgtermination chronologique au moyen du radiocarbone, des observations sur le mode d'inhamation, 6ventuellement sur la poterie et d ' autres objects , 1' 6tablissement de diapammes polliniques capables de signaler des dgfrichements ou des cultures. Non loin des stGles, une tombe ovale, encadr6e de pierres plates pos6es de chant dans le sol, 6tait choisie pour la fouille. Trois m&es de longueur ; un m&re soixante-quinze de largeur . A une profondeur d'un mstre soixante-quinze, sous une dalle 6quarrie , un squelette recroquevill6 6tait mis au jour, couch6 sur le c&6 droit , t&e vers le nord-est. Aucun objet n'accompagnait ce squelette, mais dgtail digne de remarque, des tessons de poterie 6taient trouvgs dans la terre de la fosse , .; 1'angle sud-est , entre 0 m 90 et 1 m 10 de prof ondeur , c'est-a-dire un niveau inf6rieur celui des pierres pi recouvraient la tombe. On peut donc affirmer que leur age est celui de la s6pulture. (partie du squelette a 6t6 remise au Professeur Cheikh Anta Diop pour analyse du radiocarbone). En f6vrier et mars 1978, 1'6tude particuli&e du site de Gatira- Demma a 6t6 effectu6e : lev6 topographique du champ fun6raire et fouille arch6ologique d'un secteur au nord des stzles, proche de la tombe 6tudi6e en 1976. Ce secteur d6limite un rectangle de six mgtres sur cinq. Dans ces trente m5tres carr6s dix tombes ont 6t6 dgcouvertes. L'examen de surface ne permettait pas d16tablir avec certitude leur nombre; des pierres marquant l'emplacement de ces tombes ont 6t6 &6es du site au cours des temps pour l'usage domestique des hameaux voisins , et quelques-unes des pierres 6taient enf ouies dans le sol accumul6 en certains endroits du cimeti&e par formation progressive d 'humus v6g6tal. Ces tombes prgsentaient les caract&es observ6s lors des recherches de 1976 sur la s6pulture proche. Pierres d'encadrement en surface, cinq ou six; ces pierres - c'est une particularit6 du Soddo ancien - 6tant mitoyennes, comme il en va si 1' on veut pour la structure d'une ruche, f orment un cimetisre 6troitement compartiment6. A des profondeurs diverses, une dalle, et sous cette dalle, un seguelette. (~r6cision: cinq seulement de ces pierres tombales ont 6te lev6es; il n'a pas paru utile, au point actuel des travaux, de multiplier cette investigation de squelettes). Aucun objet de fabrication, part des perles rouges et bleues ainsi que des boucles d'oreille au crane d'une enfant. Les corps 6taient repli6s;,11un d'eux dont la tgte se trouvait entre les jambes avait etre du &re plac6 dans un trou exigu, en position proupie; au terme du dgcharnement, tout naturellement le crane 6tait tomb6 12 o; il se trouvait. Pas d'orientation; les squelettes reposaient selon des directions vari6es. Le fait de placer le corps en chien de fusil n'est mGme pas constant; une tombe examin6e a l'est du site r6v6lait un squelette 6tendu de son long. L1am6nagementde .la tombe ensurface offrait aussi une dissemblance : un cercle de pierres brutes. Marque d'une diffgrence de statut ? De nombreux tessons de poterie ont 6t6 recueillis pr& des pierres d'encadrement . Leur pr6sence trahit-elle une pratique sacrificielle ? Ces dgbris de poterie qui ne permettent pas la reconstitution de vases complets n'auraient 6td que des t6ts pour des offrandes de nature plus symbolique que substantielle.

Estimer lligede ces s6~ulturesest chose malaisse. I1 convient d'attendre les donnges du laboratoire.

Des faits d'observation relev6s sur les stGles notamment, et quelques inf6rences en leur compagnie, suggkent de leur assigner dix siscles, plus ou moins, &ant bien entendu qu'il s'agit 1; d'une conjecture 5 qualifier de hasardeuse. Le nombre des sites dont beaucoup sont de vastes cimeti&es; une certaine densit6 de peuplement qu'on peut en dgduire, suscitent 11id6e de communaut6s villageoises antgrieures (de combien ?) 116tablissement de la pr6sente population en place depuis des si&les, qui ne se connaft pas de lien ancestral avec ces vieux habitants du Soddo.

Le volume dixiGme des Annales dlEthiopie,paru en 1976, contient un article de Fr. Anfray et E. Godet sur les monuments du Soddo (p. 123-144). Adresse de la publication : - Ministry of Culture & Sports Center for Research and Conservation of the Cultural Heritage P.O. Box 1907 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. KENYA

Report on the re-appraisal of the application of the term "Neolithic" to certain past East African cultures.

from Dr.J.C. Onyango-Abuje, Division of Archaeology, The International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory.

For the last four years I have been engaged in re-appraising issues related to early pastoralism and crop production in'eastern Africa. This exercise has included systematic study of the relevant literature, analysis of axchaeological assemblages in museums, and excavation of archaeological sites. As a result of this study I have arrived at a number of conclusions, a summary of which is given in this note. There is a definite Neolithic period, in the classic meaning of the term, in eastern Africa, The chronology of the eastern African Neolithic points to a close contemporaneity with the Neolithic cultures in other parts of the world, including West Asia which has been repeatedly referred to as the source of neolithic cultures in Africa. The Quaternary faunal history of eastern Africa is still too incomplete to allow for a final solution of the important question of animal domestication in this part of the continent. There is, however, a strong possibility that there were wild progenitors of cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs, in eastern Africa as is the case with the donkey. It is therefore quite probable that there was autochthonous domestication of animals in eastern Africa contrary to the popularly held notion that the practice first started in Asia and part of mope from where it diffused to Africa, and especially the so-called sub-Saharan Africa. I also found indirect but convincing evidence for domestication of plants in East Africa. There is an urgent need for linguists to find a different term for the groups of languages they have been referred to as "Cushitic" since it is impossible to remove the implicit connection between the ancient North African Kingdom of Kush, and the beginning of the Neolithic period in East Africa, as long as the term "Cushitic-speaking" is applied to modern populations considered descended from the early pastoralists and sultivators. Radiocarbon dated polished stone axeheads from Crescent Island, Lake Naivasha, Kenya.

The research already referred to also resulted in the discovery of polished stone artefacts in situ at Crescent Island for which radiocarbon dates were obtained. The polished Knobbed- bossed stone adzes/axeheads were recovered from two different excavations associated with pestle/rubbers, pottery of Narosura Ware type, bones of wild animals as well as domestic cattle and goats/sheep, and flaked stone artefacts. Grindstones and stone vessel fragments, in addition to other artefacts, were recovered from a nearby excavation.

Bone samples processed at Krueger Enterprises, Inc. Geochron Laboratories Division, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. have given the following dates:

Gx-4588-A 2405 -t 150 C-14 years B.P. (c-13 corrected) Gx-4587-G 2795 -t 155 (2-14 years B.P. (c-13 corrected)

As far as I am aware the Crescent Island polished artefacts are the only ones in eastern Africa which have been satisfactorily dated using radiocarbon method but I would appreciate further information on the matter.

Future Research Plans

I am commencing a four to five year research programme in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya, in February 1978. The area to be covered includes all districts of Nyanza and Western Provinces. The programme is an inter-disciplinary one involving archaeologists, geologists, palaeontologists, ethnographers, and oral historians. Although the immediate research plans are for four to five years, I envisage that the project will last for a much longer duration and will involve other professionals not mentioned in this note so far. Further inquiries regarding the research programme could be addressed to me at the following address: Division of Archaeology, T.I.L.L.M.I.A.P., P .o . BOX 46727, NAIROBI. Kenya.

Dr. Onyango-Abuje also supplies the following information: Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (Archaeology) University of Nairobi. It is now possible to register for Master of Science (M.SC.) and Doctor of Philosophy (P~.D)degrees (Archaeology) in the Faculty of Science, University of Nairobi. The programme which is an inter- disciplinary one is co-ordinated in the Department of Geology. The Archaeology programme is run in close collaboration with the International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory which provides some aspects of laboratory and field research facilities.

A NOTE ON THE CORD ROULETTED POTTERY IN WESTERN KENYA

Simiyu Wandibba Department of Archaeology Southampton University, England.

In western Kenya the making of pottery is among the few traditional crafts still practised on a wide scale. The main reason for this, I believe, is the fact that pottery is still generally regarded as an important utensil. Many families still use pots to collect and store water, to cook in, to make beer in and to drink it from and to store various types of food. Besides these domestic uses, pots have a commercial value in that they are still sold in large numbers.

Pot-makers are found both among Baluyia and the Luo. Although each group seems, to a greater or lesser degree, to make vessels that are distinctly different, both of them use a plaited grass to decorate their pots. The cord roulette technique therefore stands out as a measure of similarity between the Luyia and Luo pottery.

The aim of this note is to give some preliminary information on some as yet incomplete research. The major aim of this research is to try and establish the origins of the cord rouletted pot$ery in western Kenya.

Pottery decorated with a cord roulette was first re orted in Kenya from the central Rift Valley by Louis Leakey (19317. These potsherds had been recovered from the Nakuru Burial site, some three or five kilometres outside Nakuru on the Nakuru-Nairobi road. It was later reported from the North-east Village on Hyrax Hill, Nakuru (~eake~,M.D. 1945). Both Louis and Mary Leakey ascribed this pottery to the "Gumban B variant of the stone bowl culture".

In 1967 Merrick Posnansky coined a new term for this pottery calling it 'Lanet ware', after a site of the same name near Nakuru. He defined the chief characteristics of this ware as: vertical handles placed near the rim; straight rim forms with a squared lip and rouletted (or knotted grass) decoration around the rim (~osnansk~1967a: 108) . The presence of spouts and lugs was also reported. At first it was thought that Lanet ware was confined to the Kenya Rift Valley. This is no longer true. Posnansky reports that this ware has vague affinities with that of rather earlier wares in Uganda (~i~o)and Rwanda (~an~e)which are associated with pastoral peoples (ibid.). Sutton refers to this ware as Class C and gives its distribution as follows: Hyrax Hill, Nakuru; Mau Narok; Nanyuki; south of Eldoret; Kabyoyon Farm, Suam; Lanet; Namgoi, Kabsabet (~utton1973). More recently, Lanet ware has been reported as far east as Lukenya Hill, near Machakos.

The question to ask then is, can we regard the cord rouletted pottery in western Kenya today as a continuation of the Lanet tradition. With the limited research that has been done, and moreover based not on excavations but on oral traditions, it is very difficult to provide a conclusive answer to the question. We can, however, suggest an answer.

It seems that if there is definitely a continuity in the Lanet tradition in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Modern Okiek cermics are characterised by paired handles, two or more smaller lugs and various rouletted designs la lack burn 1973:68). Okiek pottery has thus two of the three chief characteristics of Lanet ware and one of the two minor characteristics. On the other hand, the pottery in western Kenya has one of the major characteristics, namely, the rouletted decoration, and one of the minor ones, the lugs. If the absence of the other attributes was interpreted in terms of change through time as well as adaptation by different groups of people, we would have little difficulty in accepting the western Kenya pottery as being a continuation in the broad tradition of the Lanet makers. Many caves in Bungoma, the occupation of which could safely be ascribed to the last century, are littered with rouletted sherds (author's personal o-xervations). According to Posnansky (1967b) the makers of the Lanet ware were displaced from the central Kenya Rift Valley to the xea of the Uasin Gishu Plateau, from where they were finally dispersed towards Mt.Elgon, on whose slopes there still exist Sirikwa clans, or over the edge of the Elgeyo escarpment. A question that arises from this assertion is, how did Lanet ware get to Lukenya Hill ? One can say that one of the ways in which this could have been done was through the medium of trade. This would be difficult to verify on the present evidence in view of the fact that whereas at Lanet the ware has been dated to A.D. 1585 + 100 at Lukenya Hill it has been dated to A ,D. 449 t 170 (~raml~1975 :C-5) . So far the oldest date obtained on zanet ware in the Rift Valley is that from Salasun, Mt.Suswa. Here a date of 1185 + 140 B .P. (GX-4420) or A .D. 765 4-- 140 was obtained on animal bone apa%te. Another explanation must therefore be sought. Alan Jacobs has concluded that most evidence suggests that the Sirikwa were a basically Maasai-speaking people who originated east of Mt.Elgon and occupied the Uasin Gishu Plateau at the time that they were dispersed by the Maasai (~acos1970). If this conclusion be taken as true, then the makers of Lanet ware migrated from the Mt.Elgon area to the Rift Valley. The traditions of Sirikwa clans among some Baluyia groups seem to lend weight to this conclusion. Those of Babukusu, for example, state that Basilikwa (~irikwaclans) migrated from north-east of Mt.Elgon south-eastwards towards the Rift Valley when they were halted by the Maasai and the Kalenjin-speaking peoples. They were then forced to move to their present homeland (Wandibba 1977d). Posnansky notes that modern Sebei pottery is in the same tradition as Lanet ware (1967a). As I have stated above, the same can be said of modern pottery in western Kenya. If we take this to be a continuation of the Lanet tradition, then there is a strong argument for the origin of Lanet ware to have been western Kenya rather than the central Rift Valley. The general area to the north-east and east of Mt.Elgon could have been the cradle of this ware.

Who then, among the Baluyia and the Luo were responsible for the introduction of cord rouletted pottery in western Kenya? Although on the present evidence we cannot answer this question conclusively, one thing seems to be certain. If we are right in attributing Lanet ware to the Sirikwa, whoever they were, then neither of these two groups can legitimately claim to have introduced cord rouletting in the area. At most a group can claim to have been first in adopting it. Since the Bantu were the first people to inhabit the area after the original inhabitants, there is every possibility that they were the first ones to adopt this decorative technique. The northern Bantu, Baluyia, have since continued to decorate their pottery in the same manner (Wandibba, op.cit .) .

Acknowledgement

This research was financed by the National Museums of Kenya, to whom I would like to extend my sincere thanks. References Blackburn,q.H. 1973 Okiek ceramics: evidence for central Kenya prehistory. Azania 8:55-70. Gramly,R.M. 1975 'Pastoralists and hunters : recent prehistory in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania'. Ph.D. Thesis,Hkvard University. Jacobs,A.H. 1970 New light on interior peoples- the "Sirikwa" phenomenon. Unpl. Seminar paper, University of Nairobi. Leakey,M.D. 1945 Report on the excavations at Hyrax Hill, Nakuru, Kenya Colony, 1937-1938. Trans. Roy Soc. S. Afr. 30: 27-409 Leakey,L.S.B 1931 'The stone age cultures of Kenya colony'. London: Cambridge University Press. Posnansky ,M. 1967a Excavations at Lanet, Kenya 1957. Azania 2: 89-114. 1967b The Iron Age in East Africa. In 'Background to evolution in Africa', eds. W.V.Bishop and J .D. Clark, Chicago. Sutton,J.E.G. 1973 'History and archaeology of the western highlands of Kenya'. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. Wandibba,S. 1977d The origin of cord rouletted pottery in western Kenya-a preliminasy report. Unpl. seminar paper, University of Nairobi.

Mr. Hamo Sassoon of the Fort Jesus Museum, P.O. Box 82412, Mombasa, Kenya continues to send reports on the Mombasa Wreck Excavation. This project which is examining the sunken Portuguese frigate, Santo Antonio de Tanna, has continued through January to March of this year and a number of further interesting finds have been made. The first two interim reports for 1978 have been issued and can be obtained from Mr.Sassoon. For an earlier note on this see Nyame Akuma no. 10 (1977) , 23. -EGYPT

EXCAVATIONS AT QASR IBRIM, 1978

From January to April, 1978, the Egypt Exploration Society conducted its

ninth season of excavations at Qasr Ibrim, in the far south of Egypt.

This fortified citadel, now an island rising forlornly from the waters of

Lake Nasser, was for millennia one of the most important political, re-

ligious, and commercial centers in Lower Nubia. It was founded at least

as far back as the Egyptian nineteenth dynasty, and thereafter was more or

less continuallv occu~ieduntil the earlv vears of the last centurv.

The midden de~ositsand stratified buildinn remains at Oasr Ibrim

reach a deoth, in ~laces,of seven to eight meters. Our excavations thus

far, which cover about one-fifth of the total surface area, have necessari-

ly been concentrated upon the upper and later occupation levels, dating

from late Classical and medieval times (c. 400-1900 A.D.). In 1978, how-

ever, we began for the first time to penetrate significantly into earlier

deposits. This was a matter less of choice than of urgent necessity, for

wind and wave action have wrought substantial damage to the outer forti-

fications at Qasr Ibrim and have made imperative the prompt investigation

dthe immediately adjacent deposits, of whatever age.

Our excavations in earlier seasons have focused primarily upon habita-

tion remains (cf. Nyame Akuma, No. 3, pp. 42-3 and No. 9, pp. 16-17), for

Qasr Ibrim in addition to its administrative and religious functions was

also a major residential center. However, the remains at the earlier levels

that have so far come to light are exclusively of a monumental character.

They include fragments of temples, magazines, ramparts, towers, gateways,

and perhaps tombs; some in mud brick, some in rough stone, and some in massive, finely dressed stone. We have not yet had the opportunity to in- vestigate any single structure very fully, but the sequence and superposi- tion of monumental construction within the limited area of our excavations is truly extraordinary. It should be added that the fortification and temple remains here, as everywhere at Qasr Ibrim, are deeply buried in ordinary midden deposits, which in this case can only have come from habitation areas elsewhere on the site.

The contents of the midden refuse are themselves something of a surprise, for we have just within the fortifications, a meter or more of what appears to be purely Roman deposit. It includes Ptolemaic and

Roman coins, linagarments (in contrast to the cotton habitually worn by the Nubian natives at this time), Roman lamps and pottery, leather sandals and boots of Roman type, and even fragments of Latin papyri. Coins and inscriptions suggest a dating in the reign of Augustus; i.e., at the very outset of Roman rule on the Nile. It is tempting to associate this material with the historically documented Roman occupation of Qasr Ibrim from 23 to 21 B.C., but in fact the dept of midden indicates a much longer interval. Probably, as Sir Laurence Kirwan has suggested (in an unpublished paper), Qasr Ibrim was for a long time a center of Roman influence with

Meroitic Nubia.

The pottery types encountered in 1978 are completely unlike anything previously known from Nubia. The fact that similar wares have not been found at other sites lends support to the idea, long ago suggested but never wholly accepted, that Qasr Ibrim in the last millennium B.C. was one of the few inhabited outposts in a generally deserted region. The 1978 excavations at Qasr Ibrim, like those of the previous three seasons, were sponsored by the Egypt Exploration Society of Great Britain, with assistance from the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, the

American Research Center in Egypt, the University of Kentucky, and the

Smithsonian Foreign Currency Program. Co-Directors were Robert D. Anderson of the Egypt Exploration Society and William Y. Adams of the University of

Kentucky.

Dr. Vermeersch sends this report:

BELGIAN MIDDLE EGYPT PRMISTORIC PROJECT - 1978

&om the 30th December 1977 unril the 11th February 1978 a group of the Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project of Leuven University excavated a Middle Palaeolithic site at Nazlet ~hgtirto the north west of Tahta. This group was composed of Prof. Dr.1P.M. Vermeersch, project director, Dr. E. Paulissen geomorphologist , Dr. M. Otte (~iz~e university) , G . Gijselings and D . Drappier , prehistorians. It was assisted by Mohamed Mohamed Mahmoud Shaban, inspector of the Egyptian

Department of Antiquities.

The site of Nazlet ~hgtirconsists of a small elevation in the lower desert 100 m east of the alluvial plain. It was built up by different

Nile sediments of which the upper gravel contains a Middle Paleolithic industry of Levalloisian technique. The industry lies in a derived position but is rather well documented by numerous Levallois cores and flakes of Nubian type. Above the Nile gravels, a layer of silty sand with pebbles, probably of wadi origin, contains another very high concentration of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts with intense white patination. This industry produced, besides numerous pieces of Levallois technique, numerous blades. The extreme rarity of tools seems to indicate that the occurrence of the artefacts is related to an important flaking site, at which over 1,000 flake wastes per square metre could be registered,

Another concentration of artefacts is included in a limestone gravel situated above the layer of silty sand and is of wadi origin. The artefacts were only slightly displaced by the wadi activity so that the occupation area was only partially destroyed. The concentra- tion of artefacts remained very dense with more than 2,000 waste products per square metre. This unpatinated industry is also of Levalloisian technique mainly of Nubian type. Tools are extremely rare.

Geomorphological investigations of the surrounding area resulted in the contruction of a local stratigraphy in which the Nile and wadi activity is distinguished.

In the present state of knowledge of the Egyptian Nile valley prehistory, this is the first time that the association of Levalloisian industries with Nile sediments of the early Upper Pleistocene could be specified. The Levalloisian industries can be dated in the period of 100,000 to 40,000 years before present.

This research was made possible by a grant from the Belgian Committee for Excavations in Egypt.

Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project Publications

VERMEERSCH, P.M., PAULISSEN, E., GIJSELINGS, G., 1977 Prospection ~rghistori~ueentre Asyut et Nag'Hammadi (~~ypte), Bull. Soc . Roy. belge Anthrop . ~rghist. , 88 :117-124. VERMEERSCH, P.M,, PAULISSEN, E., OTTE, M., GIJSELINGS,G., DWPIER, D. 1978 Middle Palaeolithic in the Egyptian Nile valley, ~algorient, 4 (in press). 1978 Asheulean in Middle Egypt, Paper presented at the VIII Pan- african congress of prehistory & quaternary studies, Nairobi, Sept . 1977, (in ~ress). 1978 Prehistoric and geomorphological research in Middle Egypt, Palaeoecology of Africa, X, (in press) . 1978 Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project - 1978, Nyame Akuma (calgary) . VERMEERSCH, P.M., PAULISSEN, E., Research results of the Belgian Expedition on the problem of river flood changes in Middle and Upper Egypt, Sumer , (in preparation) .

Mr. Mills of the Royal Ontario Museum sends this:

THE DAKHLM OASIS PROJECT

The Dakhley Oasis Project, under the joint sponsorship of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities and the Royal Ontario Museum, will begin its initial field season in October, 1978. The project is designed to explore the settlement patterns, cultural development, external relationships and environmental changes from the Neolithic down to the Roman period in the Dakhleh Oasis, some 900 km SSW of Cairo. f

The first phase of the project will consist of a survey to locate and identify archaeological sites and environmental features. This phase is expected to last through several campaigns. The area is large - about 3,000 km2- and although part of the oasis will be inaccessible due to heavy surface sand or modern occupation, our intertion is to cover as much of the ground as pbssible. Following completion of the survey, excavation at selected sites will be undertaken to sort out specific problems.

Our hopes for the project are great as this will be the first study of such an area during the historical period. Textual evidence from the Nile Valley indicates the probability of a continuous occupation at the oasis by a non-Pharaonic population and a more or less continuous relationship between the two areas. The nature and quality of the relationship is, however, not understood. We expect to be able to explore the problems concerning the initial settling and subsequent agrarian development of the oasis, a particularly interest- ing study in view of the fact that topographical differences probably make Nile Valley technique unsuitable. It will be important to learn whether any of the Libyan peoples familiar to the ancient Egyptians can be associated with this area - there are references to them from earliest times, yet no indication of the location of their actual habitat until well into the New Kingdom. It will also be most interesting to learn whether there is any connexion between this southern oasis and the Nubian area of the Nile that is so well known. The position of Dakhleh within the communications and trade network of trans- and sub-Saharan African is also a most interesting one. It lies away from the route from Egypt to Darfur and the Sudan, 'but directly on the routes to Kufra and to Ennedi and the Lake Chad basin. In fact, there are many interesting problems connected with the Dakhleh Oasis and we expect that more problems will be created by the survey than will be answered. I expect that future notices here will contain rather more information than speculation.

GABON

Dr. Cahen of Tervuren sends this report which gives the first C 14 date from Gabon : Le Gabon est encore trss ma1 connu du point de vue archgologique, si l'on excepte les travaux effect& il y a longtemps dgjg dans le cadre de la ~ocigt6pr6historique Gabonaise. Lors d'un s6jour 1' ~niversit6Nationale du Gabon (~ibreville)en janvier 1977, nous avons eu l'occasion d'effectuer de brsves prospections .

C'est ainsi que le long de la route menant de Libreville au port d'ovendo, hauteur environ des travaux du chemin de fer Transgabonais, nous avons repgr6 deux horizons arch6010giques distincts s'gtageant dans un talus de sable blanc grossier. L'horizon supgrieur, distant de la surface d'une vingtaine de centimGtres au maximum comportait de la poterie et des coquillages, surtout des huitres. I1 a 6tg possible de reconstituer le profil d'un vase (fig. 1).

Entre 50 et 70 cm sous la surface actuelle, on rencontrait de gros fragments de charbon de bois ainsi que des pierres taillges de petites dimensions. La matisre premisre consiste essentiellement en un gr& tr& calc6donieux et en quartz. Le matzriel comportait surtout du dgbitage mais nous avons pu rgcolter quelques microlithes dont un trapGze et un segment.

Nous devons % l'obligeance de Madame G. Delibrias, du Laboratoire du Radiocarbone de Gif-sur-Yvette d'avoir pu dater un Gchantillon de charbon de bois qui a donn6 le rgsultat suivant : Gif - 4157 : 5040 t- 130 BP. Cette date associge une industrie partiellement ou totalernent microlithique trouv6e dans la gastie occidentale de l'Afrique centrale para?t acceptable. Elle peut etre comparge aux gges calcul6s pour les industries dites du Tshitolien tasdif, au ZaYre, en R6publique populaire du Congo et en Angola par exemple (~aret, P. de, Van Noten, F. and Cahen, D. 1977. Radiocarbon dates from West Central Africa : a synthesis. J.A.H., XVIII-4, pp. 481-505).

GHANA

The Accra Plains Archaeological and Historical Project Report on 1976/77 Fieldwork

James Anquandah Department of Archaeology University of Ghana, Legon,

In July-August 1977 the above-named project was initiated to conduct archaeological, historical, and ethnographic research into the origins and cultural development of the Ga-Dangbe peoples of the Accra Plains and their iron age predecessors. During this first season, a team from the Department of Archaeology led by the writer collected oral traditions in the Dangbe towns of Prampram and Dawhenya and at Ayaso, the traditional capital site of Great Accra founded in the 16th century. This was followed by a test-excavation of the town site of Ladoku near Dawhenya, the nuclear settlement of the La sub-group of the Ga.

Part I Oral Traditions and Ethnographx

Below is a brief outline of the traditions and the ethnographic data as collected at Prampram,Dawhenya and Ayaso.

Origins: The Gbugbla people of Prampram say their ancestors who came from Tetetutu, a place located somewhere in the ~ahome~/~o~oarea were fisherfolk and so their first settlements in the Accra Plains were located along the lagoons like Lalue lagoon near Prampram. It was from here that later they moved to settle along inland streams and valleys like the R. Dechidaw and R. Ohudaw of Dawhenya, where they began cultivating crops. During their early settlement period they lived side by side with the Ga of La who occupied the hilltop near Dawhenya and with other Dangbe people like the Shai. The Ga of Ayaso state that their original home was in Muslim Savanna country whence they moved to Benisaki (? Benin city) before coming down to establish their first settlements in the Accra Plains in the Densu - Nsaki basin around Weija and Botiano. It was from there that they moved to the coast and Ayaso. Their founding ancestors were noted as growers of millet, a crop which is only grown by present-day Ga to be cooked and served as an offering to the Ga deities at their Homowo festival. Today, the Ga grow maize as a substitute for millet, and also cocoyam, and plantain,

Local Calendar: Both the Gbugbla of Prampram and Dawhenya and the Ga of Ayaso preserve traditional agrarian calendars which in the past provided a month-to-month time table for agricultural activities and for the observance of traditional festivals. The calendars are said to be based on a study of the constellations. Urbanization: Traditions refer to urban development in the Accra Plains for instance the Ga towns of La near Dawhenya and Ayaso near Pokoase and the Dangbe town of Shai on the Adwuku hills. The time of this urban development is roughly stated to be in the early period of contact with the European nations along the coast. A civil war between Shai and La still remembered in Dangbe traditional songs led to the evacuation of La at Dauhenya and the foundation of a new town at modern Labadi near the coast. .

State Formation: Gbugbla and Ayaso traditionalists say that their real state rulers were, and are still, the Chief priests (~ulomeiin Ga). In the pre-European period they were the effective rulers of society in every sense. But as it is a taboo for them to travel, and sometimes even go out of doors, and to engage in secular business, when it became necessary for the Ga-Dangbe to do business with the Portuguese, a Manche (father of the state) was appointed to be the secular arm of the priestly ruler and war leader. Later the Mauche was provided with regalia such as a palanquin and stool copied from neighbouring Akan peoples. The people of Ayaso have a king-list beginning with Ayite who founded the Ayaso state in the late 16th century.

Social Organization: The Ga and Dangbe were each divided into 7 distinctive clan groups, each group called Akutso in Ga and Wetso in Dangbe . Industry and Trade: The Gbugbla have been noted since their earliest settlements for their fish and traditional salt industries, which are today still the mainstay of the local economy. Salt and fish were sold to hinterland neighbours in exchange for corn for domestic use and oil palm for sale to the European traders. The Ga of Ayaso practised alluvial gold-mining in the pre-European period. Later they found that their Akan neighbours were producing better-quality gold and so they founded the entrepot town of Abonse where they set up as middlemen to purchase Akan gold for sale to European traders. Local bark cloth and cotton cloth-making was known among the Ga.

Flora and Fauna: Shell-fish was, and is still, an important part of the subsistence economy of the littoral Ga-Dangbe. (~olluscsthought to be ostrea cochlear, strombus Bubonius, Thais Callifera, Pitaria Tumens, Natica Gastropoda, and especially Arca Senilis were later found in the excavations at ~adoku). Tulinum Triangularis, a vegetable and Adansonia Digitata (the baobab) flourish in great quantity amidst the Ladoku ruins, The Tulinum is a common local vegetable for making stews, while the fruit of the Adansonia is traditionally used for making porridge, Part I1 Archaeological Excavations at Ladoku A ground survey was conducted in June and July on the site (5°45'15"N, 0~05'~)located 7.2 krn north of Prampram beach and about 2.5 km from Dawhenya town. This was followed by an excavation directed by the writer with the assistance of W.J.A. Quansah and Mr. B.M. Murey, both of the Department of Archaeology. Three archaeology students participated.in the excavation which was funded by the University of Ghana and conducted under the licence of the National Museum and Monuments Board. The vita support given by Mr. R.B. Nunoo, Director of Museums and Monuments through local contacts which made it possible to initiate the research is very much appreciated. The aims of the dig in this first season nereto ascertain the extent of the site, test the stratigraphy, and establish the chronology of the hilltop part of the vast town-site which extends over an area of 3kmx2km.

(1) The hilltop was surveyed and a site plan made. (2) Three test pits each 2 m x 2 m were excavated. In two of the pits bedrock was reached. One pit gave us a complete cultural sequence of the hilltop.

(3) There were 4 main levels below the top soil. The first two upper levels contained local pottery, some with red clay slip, some with 'smoke glazing' and most of it with mica tempering characteristic of Shai pottery. In form, the flat bases, high pedestals and angular profiles of the pottery from these levels recall the pottery from 16th and 17th century contexts of Dawu mound excavated by C.T. Shaw, Ayaso midden excavated by Owusu and Ozanne, and Asebu excavated by Nonoo. Several imported European smoking pipes, local pipes, European imported potsherds, cowrie shells, and glass beads from these levels date them to the period of European contact (i.e. post A.D. 1471). Below these levels was level 3 clearly distinguishable by its cultural content and its separation from the upper levels by a layer of ash. Level 3 contained dark brown gneiss-tem ered pottery decorated with multi- embossment and human ?animal figurine applique* motifs. This pottrty is well-known not only from surface collections made at Cherekecherete hill in Shai (its probable source of origin), but also (in association with iron) from R.B. Nonoo's excavation at Ormsby Road, near University Drama Studio, Accra Central, some 44 kilometres away from Ladoku. No European imports, local pipes or stone tools were found in this level, which seems therefore to be an iron age pre-European level whose occupants may have been the earliest Ga-Dangbe settlers of the Accra Plains. We have called this "the Cherekecherete Phase". The lowest level comprising quartz conglomerate deposits contained later stone age quartz flakes, not associated with pottery.

(4) ~etal/work: Iron and copper/brass objects were found in the top soil and levels 1 and 2. Architecture: Remains of wattle and daub houses occurred in the top levels. In level 3 of one pit, a layer of well- laid stones without mortar was found, probably representing a house floor. In a number of places elsewhere on the town- site, there are ruins of collapsed stone houses which will be test-excavated next season.

Subsistence Economy: Bones of domestic animals (mainly bovids) as well as molluscs (named in part I of this paper) occurred in levels 1 to 3.

Trade: The European trade with the ~ram~ram/~adokuarea between AD 1550 and 1630 which is well attested in European records is reflected in the large quantity of European imports found both on the surface and in the stratified deposits.

Typology: Ozanne who carried out an earlier test excavation at Ladoku in 1964, distinguished 3 main phases M1, M2, M3 for Iron Age Ladoku on the basis of the pottery from the different levels of occupation. When the pottery excavated in August 1977 has been studied, it will be possible to say whether Ozanne's descriptions are valid, and whether or not our levels 1 to 3 correspond to Ozanne's M3, M2 and M1 (~herekecherete).

Terra Cotta: It is thought by some that terra cotta figurines were a cultural preserve of the Akan. One surface find of a large figurine attached to a pot whose fabric suggests a 1550 - 1630 AD date could be argued to be due to Akan influence which increased in this period and manifested itself in Ga-Dangbe adoption of Akan regalia for the new post of a Manche. But the pottery seems to be of local (~hai) origin. Also Ladoku area had a long applied-figurine tradi- tion dating back to early Cherekecherete times. It seems to me therefore that the Ga-Dangbe clearly developed their own terra-cotta culture.

(10) Dating: Pending the receipt of radiocarbon dates which should date levels 2 and 3 firmly, one can only extrapolate from the upper levels downwards and (in correlation with evidence from European documents which suggest that the La left Ladoku between 1600 and 1628) hazard the following guesses: c. AD 1600

LEVEL 2 c. AD. 1500 CHEREKECHERETE PHASE C. AD 1200-1400 ? LATER STONE AGE The following news has been received from the Ghana National Museum:

The Ghana Museums and Monuments' Board is participating in an exhibition on the Arts of Ghana which is currently taking place in the United States of America under the sponsorship of the Museum of cultural History of the University of California, Los Angeles. The exhibition which opened in October will continue till August - 1978 after a tour of three cities, namely Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Dallas.

The Ghana Museum also participated in exhibition on African arts in Teheran. The exhibition which opened on 1st November, 1977 was being organised by the Shabanu Farah Foundation, and ended on 15th December 1977. Among the exhibits from Ghana are clan staffs, state swords, drums, funerary terracotta, smoking pipes, gold weights and wooden combs. The Director of the Ghana National Museum Pr0f.R.B. Nunoo was in Teheran, and gave a series of lectures on the arts of Ghana.

Field Work

Mr. E.K. Agorsah has recently undertaken an archaeological survey of the Awudome-Kwanta area of the Volta Region of Ghana. A stone sge site with handaxes, and an iron-smelting site on a mountain neas Awudome-Kwanta (about 22 kilometres south-west of HO) have been located. In addition to smoking pipes, iron slag and tuyeres, two pots, partly exposed by erosion, and claimed by local informants to contain cowry shells were found.

Traditions associate the iron-smelting sites with the people of Akpafu - a people well known for their masterly knoulege of iron smelting.

Since the sites are to be commercially farmed, preparations are under way to conduct rescue excavations.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Mr. Paul Duamena and Mr,J.E. Turkson have taken up their posts as Assistant Keepers. Mr. G.B.L. Siilo has also been appointed a Research Officer.

Professor Posnansky of U.C.L.A. sends the following notices:

SANKOFA The Legon Journal of Archaeological and Historical Studies Volume 2 for 1976 is now available from Prof. M. Posnansky, Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles, Cal. 90024 at $4.00 post free for individuals and $5.00 for Institutions. Only a limited number of copies are available. The journal contains articles on the archaeology of Ghana and adjacent areas, for a full contents list see Nyame Akuma May 1977 (no .lo) p. 61.

Plans are now being finalized for a field school in African Archaeology to be held under the auspices of the University of California with the cooperation of the University of Ghana at Begho in Brong Ahafo, Ghana from January 6 - March 20, 1979 (dates approximate only). Graduate Students will by arrangement be able to obtain 8 credit units in African Archaeology - Field Techniques and African Archaeology - data analysis. Students will spend mornings in fieldwork working on the Kramo quarter of Begho, reputed to be the settlement area of the Mande speaking Muslim merchants whilst afternoons will be spent in analysing finds and preparing data for publication. The School will aim to provide students with training in recording and interpreting oral traditions, ethnographic fieldwork and experimental archaeology as well as the practical techniques of the archaeologist. Students will be responsible for their own fares to Ghana (though it is hoped a group fare will reduce costs to around $800 for the round trip) and for the regular University of California fees. Students from African Universities will it is hoped participate in the field school as well as members of the University Research Expeditions Program who will spend shorter periods with the group. There will be an opportunity at the end of the excavation for an extended tour of sites of historical and aschaeological interest in Ghana. For further particulars write to Professor Merrick Posnansky, the School Director, Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles, Cal. 90024. As there are only a limited number of places available for non University of California students applications should be sent as soon as possible so that credit transfer arrangements and fee structure problems can be sorted out.

MOZAMBIQUE

Dr. Morais sends this information:

RESEARCH PROGRAMME OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY SECTION, CENTRE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY EDUARDO MONDLANE, MAPUTO.

OBJECTIVES Research is geared to the educational needs of the country. It is aimed at the formation of a scientific perspective of Mo~ambiquan History in a world context. The involvement of the people in the preservation of their cultural heritage and the wide dissemination of information in the form of narrative accounts and texts are primary considerations. SCOPE

Populations which inhabited Mogambique from the pleistocene until the penetration of european capitalism,

RELATIONS WITH OTHER PROJECTS

The section is part of the Centre for African Studies which is a sub-department of the Institute for Scientific research, University Eduardo Mondlane .

The production of texts on Precolonial History is closely linked with school and adult education programmes. The section also works in conjunction with the National Museums Organization.

PERSONNEL 3 Lectures, 1 Researcher, 1 Research Assistant, 1 General Assistant.

CALENDAR Field work takes place from April to June and August to October.

3 YEAR PLAN OF WORK The Basic cultural and chronological framework of the Precolonial History of Mopnbique is to be characterised by intensive prospection and selective excavation in 4 areas.

These surveys are particularly aimed at the iron age period and cave and terrace sequences of stone age material. The four areas are: 1. South of the Limpopo River . 2. The coastal region from Inhambane to the Buzi River. 3. Zambezi River valley, Dombe and Furancungo. 4. Nampula Region.

METHODOLOGY Relatively uniform prospection methods are to be applied resulting in a comparable series of sites from each of the four areas: 1. Mapping of sites. 2. Statistical sampling of surface material and of sealed archaeological deposits to ensure representative collections. 3. The excavations are selective and are aimed at building up the cultural sequences in the four areas. 4. Retrieval of structural, metallurgical, ceramic, osteological and botanical data. 5 Integration of this data in a catchment analysis of the areas surrounding the more important sites to enable statements on the economy to be made. WORK DONE 1. Partially completed surveys of the areas south of the Limpopo River and the coastal region in Inhambane Province. 2. Excavation at Manykeni, a Zimbabwe culture site. An area of approximately 10.000 sq.m. was sampled at the 1%level. 3. Small scale excavations in other sites. These excavations have clarified the iron age sequence in the regions,

The Mozambique Information Agency put out the following report in January 1978:

When Mozambique became independent two and a half yeas ago, one of the many problems it had to face was a huge gap in knowledge about the country's pre-colonial past. The subject had been ignored by the Portuguese colonial regime, which held that Mozambique had no history worth studying until the arrival of Vasco da Gama. Now that Mozambique is independent the story is naturally very different, and there is a tremendous thirst for information about life before the arrival of the Portuguese explorers at the end of the 15th century. Today Mozambique is gradually filling in the missing pages in its own history, notably through archaeological investigation. The Mozambique Information Agency (AIM) reports on the latest survey....

At a place called Ponta Chibuene, about 230 miles north of Maputo on the Indian Ocean coast, an archaeological team from Mozambique's Eduardo Mondlane University was searching for relics of the country's past. And there, near the bottom of a two-metre excavation which cut through four levels of Iron Age occupation, they found fragments of porcelain which are probably Chinese and pieces of thin-walled glass bottles.

This in itself would not be remarkable, since evidence of foreign trade has been found at several sites up the east African coast. What made it interesting was the other items the team found at the bottom of the trench, Among imported glass beads were samples of early Iron Age local pottery.

This indicates that foreign trade may have been going on here in the easly to middle centuries of the first millenium AD, an intriguing possibility in view of the lack of sites elsewhere in south eastern Africa showing cleax evidence of trade as early at this. The University team, which recently returned from a ten-week survey of the coastal region near Ponta Chibuene and the Save River 80 miles to the north, is cautiously refraining from putting an exact date to the find. But radio-carbon dating tests are being carried out and results axe awaited with interest.

Ponta Chibuene was one of three sites of a previously unknown early Iron Age variant which were mapped and sampled by the team, A few miles northeast on the island of Bazaruto evidence of an extensive occupation of the same period was discovered. This appears to be the first time that early Iron Age material has been found on an island off the east African coast.

At the third site, on a hilltop overlooking the Save River near the settlement of Jofane, the remains of 27 early Iron Age huts were clearly visible. The pottery from these sites is very elaborate and constitutes a new variant of early Iron Age ware, distinct from the Gokomere ware in Rhodesia and other early Iron Age material recently excavated in sourthern Mozambique.

The archaeological team also located numerous sites with early and middle Stone Age material in the terraces of the Save River. Stone implements left by late Stone Age hunter-gatherers were also found . But it is the contrast between the way people lived in the early and late Iron Age periods that is causing particular interest. At the early Iron Age site neas Jofane, for example, there was no clear sign of class divisions in terms of housing - divisions which are very clear in some later Iron Age sites such as Great Zimbabwe in Rhodesia.

Sites linked culturally to Great Zimbabwe have already been famd not far from the Indian Ocean coast. One of these, Manekeni, is about 30 miles inland from Ponta Chibuene and was probably occupied from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Manekeni was excavated between 1975 and 1977 and there, as at Great Zimbabwe, differentiation in housing was evident. In the latest expedition, the University team found material similar to that of the bottom levels of Manekeni at a site on the island of Benguera south of Bazaruto.

The university's work in this archaeologically little-known region forms the first step in the building up of regional sequences in four areas of Mozambique, The object of the studies is to provide the archaeological framework, in particular of the last 2,000 years, to enable a narrative account of the pre-colonial history of Mozambique to be mitten. There is an urgent need for such material to provide information for Mozambique's school, university and adult education programmes. With this in mind, the archaeological team has been making extensive use of oral history, holding long discussions with the local people. By doing this they were able to collect valuable information on the economy, technology and recent history of the region - much of which is certain to find its way into the text- books that will soon be providing those missing pages in the story of Mozambique.

The following report, from Dr. Anozie of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was originally sent to the head of the Department of ~istor~/Archaeolo~~at that University. He has kindly allowed me to publish it:

I wish to let you know that we went to Ugwuele, Uturu in Okigwe Local Government Area on 14th October 1977, to see a site where a student collected some stone flakes which were sent to us on 6th October, 1977 by Professor G.E.K. Ofomata, Dean of Environmental Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

We were very astonished when about 1 km to the site we saw over one hundred heaps of stone artefacts kept by a company prospecting for gravel and "aggregates" used in construction, We spent some hours there and selected a few Handaxes, Cleavers, Picks, Side scrapers, hammerstones, blades and flakes.

When we finally reached the site, we were shocked to see a mound with several layers of cultural material being destroyed with a bull- dozer and the stone artefacts from it being loaded in a vehicle that took them to the depot.

We asked for the site Supervisor but were told that he went to Enugu and should be back on Monday 17:10:77. We were not even allowed to study the stratigraphy because the site supervisor gave an order that no "stranger" should visit the site without his consent. We returned to Nsukka on 15:10:77.

We have no doubt that most of the artefacts are at least 55,000 years old. If this site is properly studied it will definitely fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of the prehistory of Africa. For the site to be well studied, the Company must be stopped from destroying it further and all the art facts it has already collected acquired before they are transformed into gravel by a stone crusher. Any action to be taken must be immediate or it will be too late. The following is a shortened version of a report from Mr. Jemkur of the Federal Department of Antiquities:

The site of Chado lies about five kilometres South-east of Godogodo in the Jemma Federation of Kaduna State. Lime most areas in the region it is a tin mining area. The men (~ributers)working here live in a mining camp (sabon ~ariki)about two kilometres north- east of the site. Mining activities had been going on here for the past two and half decades. The area falls within the present known distribution of the Nok Culture. The area had been frequented in the past by B.E.B. Fagg, and Mrs. A. Rackham and presently by the writer. In the past, surface collections of some cultural remains had been collected mostly from the tin-spoils. However, it was not until towards the last quater of 1974 that greater attention was given to this mining site of Chado. This was a result of the discovery of a fine Nok head and foot by a tributer. Not long after this discovery, another tributer brought up a complete female figurine sitting on a pot.

In the first quarter of 1975, as a result of some further cuttings in search of tin, another fine, well modelled Nok head was unearthed (coded the "Merlin Head N840.1"). The site was immediately visited with the aim of organising rescue excavations. On getting to the site it was discovered that the findspot of the head was in the same locality where the complete female figurine sitting on a pot was previously unearthed. The two findspots were just some 10 metres apart and on the same slope approaching the laterite rocks (hills) which in the most part made up the geology of the area.

The team, unfortunately, was not at the site in time to stop the tributers from further down cutting of the remaining strip which could have been examined scientifically. This further cutting by the tributers resulted to the discovery of some more figurine materials. These include three arm fragments which were unearthed from the spot where Head N84.0.1 was found and a foot fragment which was discovered further off some five metres away from the findspot of Head N840 -1.

After clearing and cleaning of the area by the team, it became definite that actual excavations would not be necessary because from visual observations it was clear that the area that could have been excavated had already been destroyed as a result of the mining activities. Investigations were however carried out on the tin-wash resting on the laterite bed rock, The tin-wash is the last cultural level, There was a thin deposit at the findspot of Head N840.1, whose texture differs from the rest of the surrounding deposits. It gave the impression of a pit initially, but on investigations it was discovered to be a slope,

A strip of 3 by 1.60 metres was laid across feature A. This was then taken down by 3 cm. At this level (3 cm below Head ~84.0,1),a figurine fragment, and several sherds were recovered. The strip was then taken down by another 2 cm (5 cm below head N840.l level) . At this level some bowl fragments and sherds were recovered. Under the bowl fragments charcoal samples were collected. The important observation here was in the presence of the above sherds and bowl fragments in association with figurine materials --in situ. These ~herdsdiffer from the ones collected from this area in the past. These present ones are thin-walled and very fine with intricate decorations. They appear more like the Nok pottery I have been working on from Taruga and probably Samun Dukiya than anything else.

Feature B, (where a figurine foot was unearthed ) was also found to be a slope after clearing and cleaning and apart from the foot there were no further finds from this feature. From Feature C (slope C) about ten figurine fragments were recovered. This slope is very close to feature A and looks like an extension of it. Large quantity of sherds were collected here. The figurine fragments from this feature, with a very few exception, tend to concentrate at a depth of 1.30 metres (about the same level with Head N840.1).

From all that have been recovered from Chado since 1974, it is clear that this area was an important Nok occupation site and probably is still so today. Unfortunately, nearly all of it has been destroyed. Most of the above finds had been chance ones, but with all these discoveries it is now clear that the finds are not isolated ones as was originally thought. All these finds now seem to tie in, being in the same locality and very closed together.

Following the above discoveries, attempts had been made to get some of the above finds dated. A number of samples have recently been submitted to the Research Laboratory in the University of Oxford for thermoluminescent Tests. Already, the following two dates had been made available by the Laboratory.

Smple No Item Years BP Error 187 N 1410 135 187 X figurine fragments). 1425 130

The above two dates in effect put the ages for Head N84.0.1 and the associated sherds plus the figurine fragments at the middle of the fourth century AD. If the above dates are anything to go by, it would appear as if Chado represents a late phase of a Nok Culture occupation. More samples have been submitted to the above Laboratory for further determinations. When these are processed, the results would confirm or otherwise that Chado is a late phase of the Nok Culture. RHODESIA (ZIMBABWE) The National Museum and Monuments of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) . C.K. Cooke - working on the Late Stone Age material from Bumbuzi Cave, excavated by R. Summers during 1949 and on another site Waterfalls I excavated by I4rs.L. Hodges during 1950. Comparison with other sites in Rhodesia and Zambia is being attempted.

Publications:

Cooke,C .K. 1978. Nyazongo Rock Shelter. Arnoldia Rhod. 8(2) : 1-20. In Press: The Cave Deposits at Redcliff Lime Works. Que Que, Rhodesia. and Excavations at Diana's Vow Rock Shelter, Makoni District, Rhodesia.

SOUTH AFRICA

Professor N.J. van der Merwe, head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town provides this report on the activities of his Department:

The majority of archaeological researchers in South Africa are staff members and past or present post-graduate students of UCT. Several thesis students are employed elsewhere. The department supervises the research of two doctoral students from foreign uciversities .

Research in the department follows two directions: field reconnaissance, excavation and analysis of archaeological sites on the one hand; chemical and physical analysis of materials on the other.

Hunting and herding populations of the Western Cape are being investigated at Elands Bay, Citrusdal and in the Tanqua Karoo. Reconstruction of past environments accompany this study. Iron Age populations are under investigation in the transkei and Transvaal Lowveld.

Laboratory analysis provide the means to date organic materials and iron, to reconstruct metal and ceramic technologies of the past, and to detect human diets through stable carbon isotope determination. RESEARCH IN PROGRESS ARCHAEDMAGNETISM AND MGUNGUNDLOW - J.E. Parkington & C.Reid Archaeomagnetic dating has not been applied in southern Africa although furnaces and pottery have been successfully dated in other parts of the world. We recently took fired clay samples from Mgungundlovu, Dingane's military settlement of 1828-1838,and samples from some late Iron Age smelting furnaces at Mabhija in the Tugela valley. These will be processed by laboratories in southern Africa, America and England in the hope of obtaining reliable archaeomagnetic dates for the sites. Should this be successful an attempt will be made to extend the chronology into other areas and back in time to cover earlier Iron Age and Stone Age Materials. Results from labs at Oxford, U. Rhodesia (~alisbury), S . Afr . Geological Survey ret to ria) have been received. Correlations excellent. Project proceeds.

PREHISTORIC SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS IN THE WESTERN CAPE - J.E. Parkington

Excavations at the Elands Bay Cave have revealed 30,000 years of prehistoric occupation represented by food residue and artefactual remains. At Diepkloof nearby the sequence is extended back to perhaps 100,000 years. At present our research is aimed at under- standing how man exploited the resources of his environment as these changed over this long period of time. Excavations are scheduled for the Olifants river valley and the estuary of the Verlore Vlei and will be carried out in collaboration with studies of fossil pollens, sediments and other palaeoenvironmental data by other scientists. AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE OF THE TANQUA KAROO AND ROGGEVELD - A.B. Smith Work has been started on exploring prehistoric sites along the Tanqua River and its headwaters in the Roggeveld. This study is to add information, presently severely limited, of an area east of the Cedarberg. It is being done with the end in mind of expanding the area of knowledge of Later Stone Age and early food production in the Western Cape started by Professor J.E. Parkington along the coast and in the Cape Folded Belt. Excavation has also been carried out at a cave on the Western edge of the Tanqua Karoo and analysis of the cultural material excavated should offer some indication of the resource utilization by prehistoric peoples on the eastern side of the Cape Folded Belt. This project is being carried out in cooperation with students in the Environmental Studies Department and will attempt to demonstrate some of the palaeo-environmental conditions that have subsequently been modified by human behaviour since the introduction of domestic animals into the Western Cape. CARBON-14 DATING OF IRON - N.J. van der Merwe

In cooperation with Dr.J,C. Vogel of the CSIR Radiocarbon Laboratory, the age of iron artifacts are being determined by extraction of carbon from the alloy. The extraction apparatus has been built at UCT; samples are sent to Pretoria as carbon-dioxide for counting in a mini-counter constructed for the purpose. African materials with emphasis on Zimbabwe are being dated.

CARBON- CARBON -12 RATIOS IN HUMAN BONE AS A MEASURE OF PRMISTORIC DIET - N.J. van der MERWE & F.B. SILBERBAUER

Plants metabolize carbon dioxide photosynthetically either through a 3-carbon (~alvin)or &-carbon (~atch-slack)pathway. Most plants are of the C-3 type; C-4 plants are primarily grasses ad ted to hot, arid environments. Since C-4 plants have a higher 13C/@C ratios than C-3 plants, animals and humans with a significant C-4 plant intake have higher 13~/12~ratios as well. Maize is a C-4 plant, hence maize cultivators living in predominantly C-3 plant environments show significant isotopic differences from local hunter- gathering groups in their skeletal remains; the importance of maize in their diet is also measurable. This fact has been established (with J .C. Vogel, CSIR) for prehistoric populations in New York. Further work is being done on archaeological remains in the Ohio- Illinois basin.

Sorghum and millets are also C-4 plants and can be similarly detected in prehistoric diets. Seafoods (as a class) have 13~/12~ ratios similar to C-4 plants; their importance in the diet of Late Stone Age populations are being traced by Silberbauer.

AFRICAN IRON METALLURGY - N J. van der Merwe, D .H. Avery (~rown (university) , J .A. Berger (~ittsbur~h) , D . Killick (UCT). An investigation into the manufacturing techniques used by craftsmen in the African Iron Age, with emphasis on smelting. The direct high-carbon steel process, unique to Africa, is being documented in various parts of the continent. A method of relating known ore soprces to semlting sites is being developed through XRF analysis of slags.

AERIAL MAPPING - N. J . van der Merwe & H .Either and surveying) .

Mapping of archaeological sites at Zimbabwe and in the Phalaborwa district by means of low-altitude aerial photography, using the survey aircraft of the Natal University - CSIR - UCT consortium. Phalaboma mapping completed Sept. 1977. Theses Passed for Higher Degrees

M.A, A Systematic Investigation of Open Station Shell Midden Sites Along The Southwest Cape Coast - G. Avery.

M.A. Aspects of Holocene Prehistory In Central Southwest Africa - L . Wadley . Current Postgraduate Research Projects

Late ~leistocene/~a,rl~Holocene Settlement Patterns in the Southern Cape - J, Deacon - Ph.D. Thesis.

Analysis of Biological Diversity of Holocene Human Populations in South Africa - A.J. Hausman - Ph .D. Thesis (state University of New York at ~in~hamton).

Hunters and Herders : The Last 2000 Years In The Cape - P.T. Robertshaw - Ph .D , Thesis (cambridge) . Late Stone Age Sequence Of Border Cave, Swaziland - P.B. Beaumont - M.A. Thesis.

Early Iron Age In The Transkei - M.3, Cronin - M.A. Thesis.

Iron Age Sites In The Brandberg, Southwest Africa - L.Jacobsen - M.A. Thesis.

Carbon Isotote Determinations Of Prehistoric Human Diet In The Southwest Cape - F.B. Silberbauer - M.A. Thesis.

Iron Age In The Ciskei - L. Mattyela - M.A. Thesis Movement Of Iron Ores In Transvaal Lowveld Traced Through XW analysis of Slags - D. Killick - M.A. Thesis.

Avian Fauna, Paleoenvironrnents and Paleoecology In The ~leistocene/ Holocene Of The Southern and Western Cape - G. Avery - Ph.D. Thesis Holocene Sequence In The Northern Cape - A.J.B. Humphreys - Ph.D. Thesis.

Dr, B. Smith also of the University of Cape Town provides this:

Continuing reconnaissance of the interior regions of the Western Cape with the hope of tracing the route of intoduction of domestic animals into the Cape, new sites have been located in the Sak River and Hartebees River Valleys. These are open-air sites with minimal bone preservation. However, collections of stone and pottery will add to a project at the University of Cap6 Town on the movement of raw materials within the Western Cape region.

Excavation of another open-air site at Drougrond, Bushman- land, south of Kakamas, has yielded large quantities of stone, ostrich-egg shell, pottery and bone. This site was obviously a focal point for the prehistoric inhabitants of the area, since water is easily obtained within a metre of the surface due to the granite basement complex extruding above or immediately below the surface of the sands. Included in the cultural material excavated were some small glass beads indicating that the site was used into the contact period, however, in the basal gravels some heavily patinated flakes and cores of M.S.A. appearance were found suggest- ing that the water reseources have been tapped over a very long time-span.

And Mr. Matiyela the following:

It might please the readers of Nyame Akuma to learn that a break-through is just about to be made in the study of the South African Iron Age. Since 1976, I have surveyed and excavated some sites in the Cape Midlands - an area which has never received any archaeological attention - for a M.A. dissertation to be submitted at Fort Hare University, Alice during the course of the year and a past of which, as it may be enlightening on this virtually unknown area, I hope will be published as soon as is feasible. The study deals with the southern limits of the Later Iron Age in Africa. Presently, I am writing up the dissertation, after which I intend surveying some more sites in the Transkei and other regions.

Although I intend investigating some more sites in the region during the course of the year, I will be based in Cape Town University where I shall be doing more research on dating techniques. I shall therefore finish writing the dissertation on the Cape Later Iron Age in Cape Town. I might register for a second Master's degree at the university; but that will be after I have completed the one I am doing at Fort Hare. Until further notice then, my address will be c/o Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch.

From Mr. G, Avery comes this report:

Frank Schweitzer is working on publication of a preliminary report on the 1974-6 excavations at Byeneskranskop cave (34'35 ' S ; 19O30'~). The site has a Holocene occupation sequence spanning roughly the last 12,500 years. The report is expected to be published in the December edition of The South African Archaeological Bulletin. Final Revision of his M.A, Thesis, dealing- with the excavations of the Holocene deposits at the coastal Cave at Die Kelders is virtually complete for publication in the Annals of the South African Museum.

In March a test excavation was carried out at Gatboskloof, on the seawardside of the Langebergen, between Swellendam and Heidelberg, Cape. The approximately 2-metre deposit encountered consists of about 20 cm of Holocene 'Late Stone Age') material overlying about 1,5 m of Upper Pleistocene I 'Middle Stone Age ' ) artefacts. Preliminary analysis of the MSA material is being carried out by B.D. Malan.

My project on bird remains is continuing. Two lines of approach have been adopted.

1) examination of the archaeological samples 2) collection of primary data on birds washed up along the coasts. Beach surveys are being conducted in a number of sample areas with a view to gathering data on the availability of seabirds under existing conditions.

Scavenging is thought to have played a significant role in the exploitation of oceanic species such as Penguins, albatrosses, petrels and gannets which are most likely to have been washed ashore either dead or dying. The possibility that more accessible species such as cormorants were sometimes actively hunted is being investigated.

The relative proportions of certain seabirds and freshwater birds is providing information on adaptations of subsistence strategy in response to environmental change. The samples I am examining, therefore, provide a very important insight into marine exploitation, in this case birds, from Last Interglacial times (c. 120 000 BP) to th.e contact period (c, 300 BP). The sequence is unfortunately broken during the Last Glacial from c. 70 000 - 20 000 BP when lowered sea levels moved the coast beyond exploitation range of the sites investigated so far. Subsequent inundation of gently shelving offshore areas makes it difficult to locate a suitable site to close the gap. Seabird proportions suggest conditions of lowering sea-level from c. 110 - 120 000 BP to c. 70 000 BP and rising sea-birds from c. 20 000 - 4000 BP. These suggestions correlate well with sea-level data.

The establishment of a wreck recording system in the Archaeolo- gical Data Recording Centre is progressing slowly but surely. An advisory committee drawn from all interested groups has been established and a constitution is being drawn up. The Board of Trustees has made the way clear for the future establishment of a marine archaeological section in the department of archaeology.

The micro mammalian remains from the southern Cape are providing some very useful information concerning climatic fluctuations during approximately the last 100 000 years. It may also prove possible to correlate sites on the basis of changes in the content of their microfauna. Thereby helping to place sites which have not been dated. This work is being written up by Margaret Avery as a D. Phil. Thesis and it is hoped that it will be available in published form later next year.

The Southern African Association of Archaeologists will hold its biennial meetings at the University of Cape Town from 22nd to 25th June 1979. The programme will be: Friday 22nd June : Research Report Day. Saturday 23rd June : Theme day. The themes are a) Sites, b) Environments, c) Artefacts. Sunday 24th June : Excursion to Elansbay. Monday 25th June : Theory Day.

Following this meeting there will be a conference on the theme of "Towards in better understanding of the Upper Pleistocene in Sub-Saharan Africa " This will be held from 26th June to 28th June 1979. Information can be obtained from Mrs.J. Deacon, Deputment of Archaeology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa.

SUDAN

Preliminary results of palaeoethnobotanical studies on plant impressions on potsherds from the Neolithic settlement at Kadero ,

Dr, Lech KrzyZaniak, head of the Kadero project, has submitted to me a sample of pottery from Kadero with plant impressions. It was excavated during the six seasons from the main pit situated in the southern part of the Kadero settlement. The settlement is dated to ca. 4000 B,C, in calendar years. It may be interesting to note that the sample, weighing 2 kilograms, was collected from the total of ca, 900 kilograms of the Neolithic potsherds. The sample consists of typical Central Sudanese Neolithic (~haheinab~eolithic) potsherds, mostly decorated. The whole sample consists of about 150 potsherds. The number of plant impressions found on them is, however, considerably larger. The impressions turned out to be of taxonomically different plants. It was possible, up to now, to distinguish 8 taxons of Gramineae family. Most of the identified impressions are of the domesticated cereals (~erealia)and the rest are the negatives of seeds of wild grasses. Among the domesticated cereals,-the most numerous are the impressions of grains and palea of Sorghum vulgare. Some other impressions of sorghum differ from the above species and were classi- fied as Sorghum sp.

Second in mumber domesticated cereals at Kadero are three millets: Eleusine coracana (~ynosuruscoracana), Pennisetum sp. (1 Panicu-r two species of Setaria sp. but the domestic status of these(~etariasp.) is not so certain. Less numerous are the impressions of other domesticated millets: Digitaria sp. and Eragrostis abissinica (Poa abissinica) . I was also able to distinguish the impressions of grains which strongly resemble those of domesticated barley (~ordeumsp.)

This is only the preliminary information and it is hoped that further studies on the plant impressions found on the Kadero Neolithic pottery will shed more light on the important problem of earliest domesticated plants in the central Sudan. I would like to exchange information and collaborate with other palaeoethnobotanists working on comparable African materials. Dr. Melania Klichowska Assistant Professor Palaeobotanical Laboratory IHKM PAN Stay Rynek 95/97 n. 7. 61-773 Poznafi, Poland.

The joint excavations of the UniversitiesafCalgary and Khartoum at the tounsite of Meroe, Sudan, have been suspended since 1976 to allou analysis and publication of the site to be brought up to date. The publication will be in two volumes, put out by Akademie Verlag, Berlin, as part of the Meroitica series. The first volume is expected to be in press by July 1978, and the second shortly thereafter,

A related but independent project involves a unique corpus of Meroitic - period wall paintings recovered from a series of small temples excavated in the 74/75 and 75/76 seasons. The paintings were on a fragile backing of mud plaster, and had been smashed, scattered over the floors, and partially burned when the temples were destroyed; hence, a great deal of conservation and "jigsaw" work will be required before the final analysis, reconstruction, and re-mounting of the murals can be attempted. A start was made in January to March 1978 by R. Bradley (archaeologist, University of calgary) and K. Spisydowicz (conservator, Parks ~anada)in facilities provided by the Sudan Antiquities Service at the National Museum in Khartoum.

Both projects are funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and are under the direction of P.L. Shinnie, University of Calgary,

Professor Shinnie adds that Miss Bradley, who provided this note, is co-author with him of the forthcoming reports on the 1965 - 1976 excavations at Meroe.

ZAMBIA

Mr. J.H. Robertson sends this report of the activities of the Zambian National Monuments Commission:

Perssonnel - Miss Maluma, now Mrs. Odesola, has left the National Monuments Commission. She will be missed and it is hoped she will continue her interest in archaeology while she is in Nigeria.

Report of field work 1977 - I was able to complete two small projects in 1977 even though I did not arrive in Zambia until July. The first thing to come to attention was the report of a skeleton eroding out of a Kafue River bank- Mr. T. Savory had been trying for 3 years to get the proper authorities interested in this find. For three years, after the annual floodshe would inspect the site and find more of the burial exposed. He also realized that 1977 would be the last year, as the bank was then dangerously under-cut and the skeleton would be washed away in the next flood.

The burial (located on the North bank of the Kafue approximately 12 kilometers upstream from ~aala)turned out to be more complex than anticipated. It was of two individuals, and the skeletons were embedded in a hard calcareous tuffa. Their removal could only be accomplished with a hammer and chisel, and the bones were considerably more fragile than the rock in which they were encased.

The burial obviously took place when the ground was still soft, How long it takes for the tuffa to form depends on a number of local conditions including the temperature, precipitation and amount of carbon dioxide available. A comparison of the adult skeleton with the skeletons from the nearby site of Gwisho (~abel1965; Fagan and Van Noten 1971) leads me to estimate that this burial occurred at approximately the same time as the Gwisho burials (ca 2750 to 2340 B.c.).

The main burial was an adult male between the ages of 20 to 30 years old. The skeleton was on its left side in a flexed position, the head orientated in the same direction as this stretch of the Kafue. Most of the right side of the skeleton was missing, washed away in previous floods. The other skeleton was of a child between the ages of 8 and 13 years old. This individual had been placed on top of the adult so most of it was missing. Only a mandible fragment, which had been picked up the year before by Mr. Savory, and both tibias were recovered. Analysis of the skeletons is being undertaken at the Commission headquarters.

The main research of the Commission in 1977 centered on a field school held by the Commission at St. Paul's Secondary School, Mulungushi. This project combined primary research with education, Nine boys plus their history teacher Mr. Spies, remained at St. Paul's over the school holidays. An early Iron Age Village site was located in Mkushi District, Central Province. The site Muteteshi 1 located in Miombo woodlands near a tributary of the Muteteshi River, proved to be a shallow single component site. Because the site was so shallow we tested it extensively with twenty-two 2 x 2 m units. We recovered one iron blade, some slag, numerous daga fragments and a great deal of pottery.

A total of 7,468 sherds were recovered from the excavations. From this collection all the rims (733) were culled, and a detailed analysis undertaken. The clay used for these vessels was of a very poor quality requiring large quantities of crushed rock (usually quartz) temper. Even so minute cracks on the surface (sometimes visible to the naked eye but always so through a ten powered lense) indicate the vessels almost broke during firing. The potters were able to overcome the oor quality paste as many of the sherds showed elaborate decoration

Although the pottery analysis is far from complete a few preliminary observations are offered. It is hoped these observations give a generalized description of the Muteteshi ceramics.

The standard decoration at . Muteteshi was a band based on a single stamp implement (~hilli~son'stype A1 and ~2).The resultant motif was either a band of single or double stamps, or a band of chevron false relief. Of the 533 decorated rims, only 8% exibited comb-stamp or incision along, and only @ revealed comb-stamp or incision in combination with some single stamp motif.

Externally thickened rims normally were decorated. Of the 440 externally thickened rims only 6% were not decorated. The single stamp motif in every case was placed below the rim, but comb-stamp motifs often occurred on the rim. Of the 43 rims which contained comb-stamping (either along or in combination), only 1% had the decoration below the rim while the other 88% had the decoration on the rim.

The Muteteshi ceramics showed numerous similarities with the ceramics from the Lusaka area (~hilli~son1969, 1970) and the Copperbelt area (~hilli~son1972). It is with the Roan Antelope ceramics from the Copperbelt, however, that the Muteteshi ceramics have the most affinities. Unfortunately the Roan Antelope ceramics came from the surface in the highly disturbed smelter area of the Roan Antelope Copper Mine at Luanshya Phillipson noted that the Roan Antelope ceramics differed considerably from the ceramics of other Copperbelt sites. He attributed the difference to the Roan Antelope site being earlier than the other sites, and postulated that the high frequency of single stamp motifs gave way to motifs of combined comb-stamp and incision.

At Muteteshi, the single stamp motif was the established decoration. Comb-stamp and incision appear to have been recent introductions. Of the 49 rim sherds which had more than a single implement decoration, there was not one comb-stamp with incision. Instead comb-stamp co-occurred with single stamp 37% of the time while incision and single stamp were found together the other 63%. It appears that for comb-stamped or incised motifs to be acceptable to the Muteteshi community, they were combined with the common single stamp technique or they occurred along.

The Copperbelt sites were dated by C-14 to around the sixth to eighth centuries A.D., and as mentioned above, the Roan Antelope site was thought to be a bit earlier. Because of the similarities between Roan Antelope and Muteteshi ceramics, it is estimated that the Muteteshi site should also date somewhere around the sixth century. Charcoal samples have been sent for C-14 dating and firm temporal placement of Muteteshi awaits the results.

After the completion of the field school we investigated some rock shelters which had been reported by Mr. D. Hunt of Des Valley Farms. The sites were visited by the Honorary Commissioners Dr. Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. Matschke in February; by Mr. Musonda, Keeper of Prehistory, Livingstone Museum in April; and by myself in October. The shelters are located in the Chikonkomene Range on the Des Valley Farm, Kabwe Urban District, Central Province, The shelters all face to the south overlooking a horse-shoe shaped valley. The paintings all were executed in two shades of red: a dark maroon and a light pink. Both naturalistic and schematic paintings occur at one site while at the other two sites only schematic drawings were found,

Des Valley Rock Shelter 1 - This is the largest of the three rock shelters, approximately 40 meters long east-west with about a 20 meter wide floor area. However, much of the floor area is taken up by rock falls. Along 30 meters of the back wall within easy reach are a series of painted circles and invented U's. The 10 meters of the extreme east of the shelter is covered with a complex painting, At the top is a large circle with 52 lines projecting inwards from the perimeter for about 3 centimeters. Streaming from the bottom of the circle for a distance of over 2 meters is a series of dashes intermixed with a few small concentric circles with vertical divisions. A possible interpretation of the drawing is that it represents a cloud and rain.

The main floor area immediately in front of the shelter wall contained pot sherds, grinding stones and a large stone with 4 small (1 to 2 cm diameter) cup-shaped depressions. These later possibly were used in preparing pigments although no trace of pitment could be found. The pottery is generally thin, and the two sherds with decoration are later Iron Age. One sherd has herringbone comb-stamping (~hilli~son'stype ld) while the other has a band of upward pointing triangular blocks in combination with a double horizontal band of comb-stamping (~hilli~son'stype le(i)) . Late Stone Age flakes were found at the outer (southern) edge of the shelter. Either the stone flaking was confined to the edge of the occupation area or the Iron Age inhabitants swept away the debris of the previous Stone Age inhabitants.

Des Valley Rock Shelter 2 - This small rock shelter is located near the summit of the Kopje to the immediate west of Rock Shelter 1. The drawing here consisted of only four concentric circles and one ladder-like design. These were executed in a thick, greasy, dark maroon. The shelter floor area is very small, and only a few stone flakes were found. There did not appear to be any midden or occupation remains. This shelter, because it commanded a view of the whole valley, most probably served as a look out.

Des Valley Rock Shelter 3 - This shelter is located on the same kopje, but below Rock Shelter 2. The floor area is quite small because of large rock falls. Although we did not find any artefacts, Mr. Musonda reported there were Late Stone Age flakes on the floor and talus slope, The paintings here are both naturalistic and schematic. The naturalistic ones include drawings of bovids. In one drawing a fleeing animal is about to be struck by 3 arrows. Another drawing situated at the east corner of the shelter shows only the back of the bovid. This is interpreted to mean the animal is in the process of escaping the hunters. The schematic drawings consist of a pattern of dots which appear to have been applied with the fingers.

1978 Field work - For 1978 our field work will concentrate at the Kansanshi Iron Age Village. This site was, due to an unfortunate accident partially destroyed by modern mining activity. Since Kansanshi is the last of the large aboriginal workings (the rest were long ago destroyed by mining activity), it was felt as much of the site that remains needs to be recovered. We are fortunate that Dr. Bisson (~c~illUniversity) is going to join us for our six week field season beginning in middle July.

References Cited

Fagan, B.M. and F.L. Van Noten. 1971 The Hunter Gatherers of Gwisho. Tervuren, Musee Royal de l'bfrique Centrale, serie in 8O sciences humaines No. 74.

Gabel, C. 1965, Stone Age Hunters of the Kafue. Boston Univ. African Research Studies No .6 Boston University Press.

Phillipson , D .W . 1969 The easly Iron Age site at Kapwirimbwe, Azania 3 : 1-19,

1970 Excavations at Twickenham Road, Azania 5 : 77-118.

1972 Early Iron Age sites on the Zambian Copperbelt, Azania 7 : 93-128.

Trace Element Analysis of Prehistoric Copper Samples from Kansanshi and Kipushi Mines

Submitted by: M.S. Bisson McGi 11 F.T. Hedgecock McGill G. G. Kennedy Ecole Polytechnique D.F. Wilford McGill

During 1971-72 archaeological excavations were conducted in prehistoric smelting sites adjacent to Kansanshi Mine, Zambia, and Kipushi Mine, which straddles the Zambia-Zaire border. Copper, slag, and ore samples recovered in these excavations are now being subjected to neutron activation analysis in order to discover the presence and quantities of trace elements. At this preliminary stage in our research we are mainly concerned with establishing that the two ore bodies produced metal with dis- tinctly different trace element patterns. In the future we plan to map the entire range of trace elements in samples of ancient copper from these and as many other mining and smelting sites as can be obtained. Ultimately, this could serve as a useful data base for tracing the trade of copper during the Iron Age of south- central Africa.

Our study began with the study of a sample of ancient Kipushi copper, which showed a relatively high silver and arsenic concen- tration. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 1. The sen- sitivity of the neutron activation technique differs for each element but is usually less than 10 p.p.m., with the important exception of iron which is 1000 p.p.m. The accuracy of the measurement is +lo%. Metallurgical photo-micrographs of the sample showed a large grain size and the sample had a density of 7.10. Both of these observations presumably result from large slag inclusions.

Table 2 gives the neutron activation analysis for silver for samples from both Kansanshi and Kipushi mines. It can be seen that all of the Kipushi samples contain higher levels of silver than the Kansanshi samples. Also apparent from the analysis is that arsenic levels appear to be directly correlated with the silver concentration and this second impurity level may be useful if distinctions are to be made between other African copper sources.

The level of silver content for each Kipushi sample has a deviation from mean concentration for all the samples much in excess of a standard deviation as calculated from three times the experimental precision i.e. 100 p.p.m. From the rough dating in Table 2 it could be conjectured that some temporal variation of silver content exists. This is not surprising, as ore associated with these samples shows that the ancient miners were exploiting an ore body of changing composition. In order to reach a statistically significant conclusion on this point approximately 20 samples would be required.

In conclusion, we would like to stress that these results are preliminary, and further work is now in progress. In order to build up a data bank that may assist archaeologists in tracing trade in copper a much more complete map of trace elements for each of the south-central African copper sources will be necessary. In this respect we would like to request the help of our colleagues. We are anxious to analyze samples of smelted copper, slag, or ore from any Sub-Saharan coppermines. We would also like to analyze small samples taken from copper trade ingots. Other kinds of copper artifacts (i.e. wire, sheet, etc.) are not requested as the remelting often used in making them can alter the original trace element composition. All samples donated for analysis will be returned intact. Anyone wishing to donate samples or obtain further information can contact Prof. M.S. Bisson, Anthropology Dept., McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2T7.

Kipushi Copper Sample

-

Table 1. Neutron activation analysis of Kipushi copper. All concentrations quoted in p.p.m. Blank entries indicate that concentrations are less than the sensitivity of the analysis which is usually 10 p.p.m. but will vary de- pending on the nuclear cross-section for neutron ab- sorption.

ipushi Copper Kansanshi Copper

Silver Content Approximate Age Silver Content Approximate Age Sample # Sample # I 1 2600 9-11th century 4 C 30 5- 6th century 2 3400 date uncertain 5 C 30 842th century (probably 11th 6 < 30 14- 18th century century. ) 7 30 Modern smelt using 3 6000 15th century anciently mined ore.

Table 2. Neutron activation analysis for silver content in Kipushi and Kansanshi copper. All concentrations in p.p.m. Samples 1, 2, 3 contain 600, 1300, and 2800 p.p. m. of arsenic respectively. Acknowledgements - The neutron activation analyses were carried out at the Institut de 1'Energie Nuclgaire, Ecole Poly- technique. G. Edwards assisted in analyzing the data.

SUPPORT FOR STUDIES OF HUMAN ORIGINS The Foundation for Research into the Origin of Man (FROM) was established in 1974, with the purpose to "provide financial support for continuing research into man's origins, to promote broad public understanding of the scientific evidence relating to man's early development and to encourage interdisciplinary cooperation between the sciences and scientists involved." The Foundation has only recently begun to raise money through public lecture programs and other means. Its resources are as yet limited, however at a recent Board Meeting it was decided to initiate a program of awards to further the aims of FROM.

Two kings of grants are envisaged: (1) Research grants and (2) training grants. For each of these classes of award there will be two competitions annually, with application deadlines on June 30 and December 30. Citizens of all nations are welcome to apply for either class of award--Training grants will be made to assist young scholars with interests in human origins to secure training in such fields as human paleontology, archaeology, geology and biology or alternatively for museum and antiquities personnel to secure training in field and laboratory techniques. In the award of training grants, preference will be given to the citizens of developing countries which have hitherto been unable to provide funds for training in the field of human origins. The administration of the competition for training grants will be handled for FROM by The Director of The International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory, P .O . Box 46727, Nairobi, Kenya. Please send requests for application forms and the applications themselves to this address. Research grants will be made to assist in important field or laboratory research directly related to the study of human origins. Limitations of currently available funds necessitate restriction of the scale of awards to $2000-3000 maximum. Inquiries, request for application forms and the applications themselves should be sent to the Chairman, Research and Grants Committee, FROM, Bax 366, Far Hills, New Jersey 07931, USA. Professor E.M.v.Zinderen Bakker Sr. provides this information:

I just wish to inform you that the next two issues No.X and XI of PALAEOECOLOGY OF AFRICA will be published this year. They contain some 40 contributions on a great variety of aspects of Quaternary studies in Africa.

Volume X will mainly be devoted to southern Africa and deals with: climatic changes in the Namib-Kalahari region, the interior and the SW Cape, archaeology, geomorphology, biogeography, former sealevels, palaeogeoid changes in Africa, historical rainfall animalies, etc.

Volume XI will contain many contributions on the Sahara region, Ethiopia, the coastal regions, Egypt, the moraines of Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon, etc.

The volumes will in future be published by A.T. BALKEMA, P. 0. Box 1675, NL 3000 BR ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands and will cost Hf1.45.--