LATE PLEISTOCENE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND HUNTER GATHERER BEHAVIOR AT MOCHE BORAGO ROCKSHELTER, SODO-WOLAYTA, ETHIOPIA: FLAKED STONE ARTIFACTS FROM THE EARLY OIS 3 (60 – 43 KA) DEPOSITS By ERICH C. FISHER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Erich C. Fisher 2 To the Wolayta people living at Moche Borago today. Tosimo. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my committee chair, and friend, Dr. Steven Brandt first and foremost for his support, advice, and wisdom these past few years. I also thank my doctoral committee for their advice throughout the entire Ph.D. process. My research was graciously funded by the J. William Fulbright U.S. student program, and I would particularly like to thank my Fulbright program adviser, Jermaine Jones as well as Yohannes Birhanu at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. I also acknowledge the support of Dr. Zinabu Gebremariam, Markos Tekle, and the faculty and staff at Hawassa University who warmly received me, gave me space to work, and accommodation. Similarly, I thank Wezeru Mamitu Yilma and Ato Menker Bitew at the National Museum of Ethiopia for providing space to analyze the collections, and the Sodo Bureau of Culture, SNNPR Bureau of Culture, and, most importantly, the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage for their continued support of SWEAP research. In particular, I thank Ato Jara Hailemariam, Director of ARCCH, and Dr. Yonas Beyene, Head of Archaeology. I would be remiss not to acknowledge my appreciation to Ms. Anna Fernyhough and Dr. Gebre Yntiso for accommodation and friendship while I was living in Ethiopia. I also thank Stephen Burns, Jason Cosford, Hai Cheng, Antje Voelker, Syee Weldeab, Seifu Kebede, Mohammed Umer, and Henry Lamb for providing ideas and/or data about paleolclimates related to my research. Lastly, I extend my most gracious thank you to my parents, my family, and my friends who have supported me tirelessly throughout these past few years. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................9 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................12 CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................16 2 THE PALEOCLIMATIC AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT IN THE HORN OF AFRICA FROM OIS 4 TO OIS 3 ........................................................................22 Glacial and Interglacial Cycling .............................................................................................22 Major Data Sources ................................................................................................................24 Millennial Scale Events During OIS 4 and OIS 3 ..................................................................25 Heinrich Events ...............................................................................................................26 Dansgaard-Oeschger Events ............................................................................................28 West African and SW Asian Monsoonal Systems ..........................................................29 The Paleoclimatic and Paleoenvironmental Context of Europe, Asia, and Africa Between 65 and 43ka ..........................................................................................................31 OIS 4: 73.5 to 65 ka .........................................................................................................31 OIS 4 to OIS 3: 65 to 55 ka .............................................................................................32 Early OIS 3: 55 to 48 ka ..................................................................................................33 Early-Mid OIS 3: 48 to 43 ka ..........................................................................................36 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................37 3 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THEORETICAL IDEAS ABOUT HUNTER-GATHERER BEHAVIORAL VARIABILITYAND ARID CLIMATIC EVENTS DURING THE LATE PLEISTOCENE ...........................................................................................................47 Modern Human Behaviors ......................................................................................................47 Late Pleistocene Behavioral Variability in the Archaeological Record .................................48 Arid-Adaptation Ideas Since the Early 20th century ..............................................................49 1900-1940 ........................................................................................................................50 1940-Present-Day ............................................................................................................51 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................53 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN EASTERN AFRICA DATING TO THE LATE PLEISTOCENE (OIS 4 AND OIS 3) .....................................................................................56 OIS 3 Archaeological Record: Limitations ............................................................................56 Chronological and Sampling Problems ...........................................................................56 Problems Arising from Late Pleistocene Demography and Settlement Patterns ............58 5 OIS 3 Archaeological Record: Available Data .......................................................................59 Mode 4 and Mode 5 Stone Tools ....................................................................................60 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................63 5 MOCHE BORAGO ROCKSHELTER: LOCATION, ORAL HISTORY, AND PRIOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH......................................................................................65 Physiography of the Wolayta Region .....................................................................................65 Ethiopian Rift Valley System ..........................................................................................66 Climate ............................................................................................................................66 Physiography and Vegetation ..........................................................................................67 Language .........................................................................................................................69 Political History ...............................................................................................................70 Local History of Moche Borago Rockshelter .........................................................................71 Prior Archaeological Research at Moche Borago ..................................................................72 GEPCA Excavations: 1998 and January-February 2000 ................................................72 GEPCA Excavation: November 2000 .............................................................................73 GEPCA Excavation: December 2001 .............................................................................74 SWEAP Excavations: 2006-2008 ....................................................................................75 SWEAP Excavations: 2006 .............................................................................................78 SWEAP Excavation: 2007 ..............................................................................................80 SWEAP Excavation: 2008 ..............................................................................................81 Esay Rockshelter ....................................................................................................................83 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................83 6 THE LITHO-STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE AT MOCHE BORAGO ROCKSHELTER DURING EARLY OIS 3 ..........................................................................87 Litho-Stratigraphic Units Versus Culture-Stratigraphic Units ...............................................87 Methods ..................................................................................................................................88 Stratigraphic Descriptions and Profiles ...........................................................................88 Multidimensional GIS (mDGIS) Modeling .....................................................................89 Bulk Sample Analysis .....................................................................................................90 Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry ...........................................................90 X-Ray Florescence ..........................................................................................................91 Magnetic Susceptibility ...................................................................................................93