Lithic technological organization of the “Elmenteitan” early herders in southern Kenya: Implications for mobility, exchange, and climatic resilience

Abstract

Mobile pastoralism is the earliest form of food production to develop in Africa, and for the past 5000 years has remained one of the most important subsistence strategies for people across the continent. Despite its importance, the technological infrastructures that facilitated the successful spread of stone-tool–using pastoralists through environmentally heterogenous and climatically unpredictable regions remain poorly understood. This study provides comprehensive analyses of the lithic technological organization of early herders in southern Kenya responsible for the distinct “Elmenteitan” material traditions. Quantitative data on blade production strategies from thirteen Elmenteitan sites demonstrate that this group represents the emergence of new technological strategies based on participation in long-distance obsidian exchange networks, and flexible and versatile blade blank production. Elmenteitan lithic technological patterns are interpreted in terms of preparation for different configurations of local and regional mobility, which helped early herders manage environmental unpredictability in eastern Africa. These data provide a foundation for future study of the role of lithic technologies in pastoralist economies and contribute a case study from mobile food-producer contexts to global debates on the organization of stone tool economies.