Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2018, 6, 160-180 http://www.scirp.org/journal/gep ISSN Online: 2327-4344 ISSN Print: 2327-4336 Rock Engravings and Paintings: Rethinking of the Cupules, Gongs, and Grinding Hollows of Siuyu and Ughaugha in Singida East (Tanzania) Makarius Peter Itambu1*, Alfred Mulinda2, Allan Bukenya3, Charles Bernard Saanane1, Emmael Sassi Gibinagwe4, Mariam Bundala1, Pastory Magayane Bushozi1 1Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 3Pallottine Missionary Siuyu Parish (S.C.A), Singida, Tanzania 4Dar es Salaam University College of Education, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania How to cite this paper: Itambu, M.P., Abstract Mulinda, A., Bukenya, A., Saanane, C.B., Gibinagwe, E.S., Bundala, M. and Bushozi, Our recent archaeological expeditions in the Siuyu and Ughaugha wards of P.M. (2018) Rock Engravings and Paint- Singida eastern province have recuperated the very compelling rock engrav- ings: Rethinking of the Cupules, Gongs, ings (petroglyphs) that weren’t reported in Tanzania before. Archaeologically, and Grinding Hollows of Siuyu and Ug- haugha in Singida East (Tanzania). Journal Singida’s fame emanated from her endowments of rock paintings. However; of Geoscience and Environment Protection, during this research, we did discover rock cupules, gongs, and grinding hol- 6, 160-180. lows art together with rock paintings (pictographs) that have opened up a new https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2018.66012 avenue for rock art studies in Tanzania. We carried out intensive site surveys Received: January 29, 2018 around four sites namely Siuyu, Ngaghe, Misimbwa and Ughaugha B with the Accepted: June 26, 2018 aims of solely examining, recording, and documenting archaeological artifacts Published: June 29, 2018 on the surface in order to research the cultural and behavioural patterns of early humans in the Singida region. Surveys also enabled us to locate suitable Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. areas where future excavations would be established. In some cases, ethno- This work is licensed under the Creative graphic enquiries were employed to get supplementary information on the Commons Attribution International present-day use of rock art sites. Besides, we interviewed local people to assess License (CC BY 4.0). their general understanding of the presence of more sites or helping in locat- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ing, and discovering new sites. Through ethnographic inquiries, we discov- Open Access ered several sites with substantial number of rock engravings that were never document by any researcher. On top of that, this study reports other archaeo- logical potentials of the region by describing in detail their significances for future research undertakings. Additionally, this paper article reports on the occurrence of Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeological assemblages from the open-air site and the presence of grinding hollows and rock cupules (Siuyu complexes) in central Tanzania for the first time. DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.66012 Jun. 29, 2018 160 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection M. P. Itambu et al. Keywords Rock Engravings, Rock Paintings, Archaeological Expeditions 1. Introduction and Background Information The Singida region’s antiquities and and its patrimonies have been of paramount importance in archaeological studies since colonial period, however; most of its prehistory was in obscurity and not so much unravelled by the pioneers of arc- haeological research in Tanzania. The archaeological research in central part of Tanzania has witnessed a gradual proliferation over the last three decades. The- matic wise, various research endeavours have been broad and varied, there ap- peared to be a hiatus towards certain research themes and segments of the coun- try [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Geographical zonation has over the years tended to favour certain segments of the country especially the northern and rift valley region, and the coast and littoral [6]. Research in the central regions of Dodoma and Singida has been rather sparing by comparison to other regions of the country, often times with a perpetual thematic bias towards its “vanishing” rock art of Kondoa and the transition from Later Stone Age to Iron Age cultures [7] [8]. No particular research project in this archaeologically impressive region that had so far tried to document and record the petroglyphic art of the Singida region. The archaeological findings we have unearthed will probably come to astonish many scientists in the near future, due to the fact that this region was ignored for many decades by the fore-runners of archaeological research in Tanzania. Recent ef- forts by Itambu et al., 2013-17 have recovered Middle Stone Age (MSA), Later Stone Age (LSA), Iron Age (IA), and the Historical Period (HP) cultural mate- rials that are crucially significant in reconstruction of early human’s technologi- cal transition and complexity of stone tool use cultures that were never reported previously from this part of the country. Available literature on the archaeology of central Tanzania reveals that very little attempts have been made to unravel the archaeological potentials of Singida region since the efforts of Masao (1979). Masao’s (13) research encompassed surveys and excavations at various rock-shelters and also incorporating a study of the indigenous rock art, informed his conclusions on the later prehistory of central Tanzania mostly basing on data from Singida northern axis. Most parts of Singida east were remained unexplored until Itambu et al. (2014) decided to wage several archaeological expeditions to the eastern axis, the works that pro- duced these significant archaeological data. Interestingly, though Masao’s research did examine the Later Stone Age (LSA) of central Tanzania to the fore, the bulk of the rock-shelters (rock art sites) men- tioned in his survey of Singida district were only studied with respect to the rock paintings they contained and no further studies have since been carried out the- DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.66012 161 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection M. P. Itambu et al. reinafter [9] akin, excavation under the rock shelters wasn’t carried out. The paucity on archaeological investigations on stratified subsurface cultural and archaeological materials in Singida is unquestionable. However, our current re- search initiatives are trying to fill the gap by examining various aspects of Singi- da east prehistory, particularly its MSA, LSA, and IA to Historical cultures. This paper therefore highlights the new developments on our archaeological investi- gations in central Tanzania (Singida region), and subsequently reporting the new discoveries on rock art traditions. 2. Regional Area Profile Singida is a landlocked region located in the middle of the country. It borders the regions of Simiyu and Shinyanga to the northwest, Manyara and Arusha to the northeast, and Dodoma to the east. To the southwest, bordered by Iringa, Mbeya to the southwest and the Tabora region is to the west (Figure 1). The re- gion is one of the most compelling areas of geological and archaeological re- search in Tanzania as indicated by her impressive and massive, isolated hills, in- selbergs and granite outcrops, the land of small and large plateaus, and escarpments Figure 1. Map of Tanzania showing location of Singida region (modified from Ekeke 2010). DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.66012 162 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection M. P. Itambu et al. Figure 2. Map of Singida showing the study area (modified from Ekeke 2010). that form a unique and beautiful natural landscape [9]. It lies in the semi-arid zone of Tanzania’s central plateau between longitude 33˚24'E and 35˚1'2E and latitude 3˚42'S and 7˚06'S (ibid). Our research focused on the Singida eastern axis in the Ikungi district, specif- ically in areas surrounding and adjoining Siuyu ward. The Ikungi district is one among the five (5) districts forming the Singida region. This is a newly estab- lished district formed in March 8th, 2013 through government gazette no. 87. The Ikungi district is within 4˚ to 6˚ latitudes south of the equator and between 34˚45' to 35˚45' East of Greenwich meridian (tambu and Hongoa 2016). The district borders Uyui district of Tabora region in the south, Singida municipal and Singida rural from the north, Iramba from the northwest, Chemba and Kondoa from the northeast and Manyoni from the south. The southwestern zone that borders Uyui and Manyoni districts has fertile soils while the rest has less fertile (sandy soils) which is mainly suitable for production of semi-arid adapted crops (Itambu and Hongoa 2016) Three of the four sites where this re- search conducted found in the eastern part of Ikungi district. Of the four sites, DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.66012 163 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection M. P. Itambu et al. three sites namely Siuyu, Nghaghe and Misimbwa are located in the north-central portion of the district, while the fourth one, Ughaugha B lies on the weastern corner of the Singida municipal district (Figure 2). The Ikungi district is made up of four divisions namely Sepuka, Ikungi, Ihanja, and Mungaa. The three sites are situated in Siuyu ward of Mungaa division [6]. 2.1. Vegetation & Wildlife The vegetation cover and topography of Singida region covers part of a high plateau overlooking the Wembere depression on the west and the rift valley on the east. This plateau of an average elevation of 1000 meters extends from the centre toward the south and south west of Singida municipality, while in the northwest of the region the Iramba plateau rises to an elevation of about 1500 meters above sea level. The undulating landscape is punctuated by isolated hill- tops that are capped by small boulder outcrops and rocky hills of granite with a relief of up to 30 metres high.