عنوان

Excavations at Site C North, Kalambo Falls, Zambia:

شماره

LA113538

زبان متن نوشتاري يا گفتاري و مانند آن

انگلیسی

عنوان اصلي

Excavations at Site C North, Kalambo Falls, Zambia:

نام عام مواد

[Article]

ساير اطلاعات عنواني

New Insights into the Mode 2/3 Transition in South-Central Africa

نام نخستين پديدآور

Lawrence Barham, Stephen Tooth, Geoff A.T. Duller, et al.

محل نشرو پخش و غیره

Leiden

نام ناشر، پخش کننده و غيره

Brill

متن يادداشت

We report on the results of small-scale excavations at the archaeological site of Kalambo Falls, northern Zambia. The site has long been known for its stratified succession of Stone Age horizons, in particular those representing the late Acheulean (Mode 2) and early Middle Stone Age (Mode 3). Previous efforts to date these horizons have provided, at best, minimum radiometric ages. The absence of a firm chronology for the site has limited its potential contribution to our understanding of the process of technological change in the Middle Pleistocene of south-central Africa. The aim of the excavations was to collect samples for luminescence dating that bracketed archaeological horizons, and to establish the sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental contexts of the deposits. Four sedimentary packages were identified with the oldest containing Mode 2 and Mode 3 horizons. In this paper we consider the implications of the luminescence ages for the archaeological record at Kalambo Falls, and place them in a regional context. The reworking and preservation of the archaeological horizons is interpreted as the result of successive phases of meander migration and aggradation. Limited pollen evidence suggests a persistent floodplain palaeoenvironment with intermittent swamp forest and adjacent valley woodland, while mineral magnetic susceptibility data support an interpretation of river flow variability without any significant change in sediment provenance. The dynamics of the fluvial system cannot as yet be linked directly with regional climate change. The age range of ~500-300 ka for the oldest sedimentary package places the Mode 2/3 succession firmly in the Middle Pleistocene, and contributes to an expanding African record of technological innovation before the evolution of Homo sapiens. We report on the results of small-scale excavations at the archaeological site of Kalambo Falls, northern Zambia. The site has long been known for its stratified succession of Stone Age horizons, in particular those representing the late Acheulean (Mode 2) and early Middle Stone Age (Mode 3). Previous efforts to date these horizons have provided, at best, minimum radiometric ages. The absence of a firm chronology for the site has limited its potential contribution to our understanding of the process of technological change in the Middle Pleistocene of south-central Africa. The aim of the excavations was to collect samples for luminescence dating that bracketed archaeological horizons, and to establish the sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental contexts of the deposits. Four sedimentary packages were identified with the oldest containing Mode 2 and Mode 3 horizons. In this paper we consider the implications of the luminescence ages for the archaeological record at Kalambo Falls, and place them in a regional context. The reworking and preservation of the archaeological horizons is interpreted as the result of successive phases of meander migration and aggradation. Limited pollen evidence suggests a persistent floodplain palaeoenvironment with intermittent swamp forest and adjacent valley woodland, while mineral magnetic susceptibility data support an interpretation of river flow variability without any significant change in sediment provenance. The dynamics of the fluvial system cannot as yet be linked directly with regional climate change. The age range of ~500-300 ka for the oldest sedimentary package places the Mode 2/3 succession firmly in the Middle Pleistocene, and contributes to an expanding African record of technological innovation before the evolution of Homo sapiens.

تاريخ نشر

2015

توصيف ظاهري

187-214

عنوان

Journal of African Archaeology

شماره جلد

13/2

شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها

2191-5784

اصطلاح موضوعی

Acheulean

اصطلاح موضوعی

luminescence dating

اصطلاح موضوعی

Middle Stone Age

اصطلاح موضوعی

palaeoenvironment

اصطلاح موضوعی

sedimentology

اصطلاح موضوعی

South-central Africa

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Andrew J. Plater

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Geoff A.T. Duller

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Lawrence Barham

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Simon Turner

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Stephen Tooth

شماره بازیابی

10.3213/2191-5784-10270

نام الکترونيکي

فرمت انتشار

p

نوع ماده

[Article]

کد کاربرگه

275578

سطح دسترسي

a

تكميل شده

Y