Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Spring 5-15-2020 Variability Among Later Stone Age Hunter-gatherers Mica Jones Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Jones, Mica, "Variability Among Later Stone Age Hunter-gatherers" (2020). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2206. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2206 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Anthropology Dissertation Examination Committee: Fiona Brigid Marshall, Chair Stan Braude Michael Frachetti T.R. Kidder Xinyi Liu Helina Woldekiros Variability Among Later Stone Age Hunter-gatherers in Eastern Africa by Mica Bryant Jones A dissertation presented to The Graduate School of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2020 St. Louis, Missouri © 2020, Mica Bryant Jones Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Hunter-gatherer Variability ............................................................................................. 4 1.1.1 Mobility, Subsistence, and Social Variability in NE Africa ~26-5 kya................................... 7 1.2 Project Orientation and Objectives ................................................................................. 8 1.2.1 Research in Inter-riverine Southern Somalia ........................................................................... 9 1.2.2 Research in the Lake Victoria Basin, Eastern Uganda .......................................................... 11 1.3 Dissertation Organization ............................................................................................. 14 1.4 Works Cited .................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 2: A New Radiocarbon Sequence from the Guli Waabayo Rock Shelter Indicates Forager Occupation During MIS 2 in the Semi-arid Lowlands of the Horn of Africa ................. 28 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 29 2.2 Research in Inter-riverine Southern Somalia ................................................................ 31 2.2.1 The Guli Waabayo Sequence ................................................................................................. 32 2.3 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 35 2.3.1 Ostrich Eggshell ..................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.2 Mammalian Enamel Apatite .................................................................................................. 37 2.3.3 Calibration and Modeling ........................................................................................................... 38 2.4 Results ........................................................................................................................... 39 2.4.1 Bayesian Models .................................................................................................................... 40 2.5 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 45 2.5.1 Terminal Pleistocene Human Occupation in the Horn of Africa ........................................... 46 2.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 47 2.7 Works Cited .................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 3: Small Game Hunting in the Semi-arid Lowlands of Eastern Africa ~26-6 kya ........ 57 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 58 3.2 Archaeological Research in Southern Somalia ............................................................. 61 3.3 The Buur Region of Southern Somalia ......................................................................... 62 ii 3.3.1 Climate and Site Chronology ................................................................................................. 63 3.4 Faunal Methods ............................................................................................................. 64 3.5 Results ........................................................................................................................... 67 3.5.1 Taxonomic Frequencies ......................................................................................................... 67 3.5.2 Bone Weathering and Body Part Representation................................................................... 72 3.5.3 Change Through Time ........................................................................................................... 74 3.6 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 76 3.6.1 Small Animals in Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene Eastern Africa ................................. 77 3.6.2 Hunting Small Animals in Arid and Semi-arid African Environments ................................. 79 3.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 82 3.8 Works Cited .................................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 4: All Dik-dik, All the Time: Small Mammal Hunting Methods at the Guli Waabayo Rock Shelter, Southern Somalia ~26-6 kya .................................................................................. 93 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 94 4.2 Background ................................................................................................................... 97 4.2.1 Background to Dik-Dik (Madoqua) Ecology, Behavior, and Hunting ................................ 100 4.2.2 Small Mammal Hunting Methods and the Archaeological Record ..................................... 101 4.3 Faunal methods ........................................................................................................... 104 4.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 106 4.4.1 Continuity and Change at Guli Waabayo ............................................................................ 109 4.4.2 Dik-dik (Madoqua) .............................................................................................................. 111 4.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 113 4.5.1 Hunting Methods at Buur Heybe ......................................................................................... 114 4.5.2 Hunting Decisions at Buur Heybe ....................................................................................... 116 4.6 Works Cited ................................................................................................................ 120 Chapter 5: New Radiometric and Faunal Evidence from Namundiri A, Eastern Uganda Suggests Kansyore Foragers Abandoned the Shores of Lake Victoria ~5.6-4.4 kya ............................... 130 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 131 5.2 Kansyore Occupation and Climatic Shifts in the Northeastern Lake Victoria Basin . 134 5.2.1 Holocene Rainfall and Environment .................................................................................... 136 5.3 Results ......................................................................................................................... 138 5.3.1 Excavations at Namundiri A ................................................................................................ 139 5.4 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................ 141 5.4.1 Dating