Stone Cairns and Material Culture of the Middle to Late Holocene, Lake Turkana

David K Wright,Robert Soper,Katherine M Grillo

doi:10.3213/2191-5784-10287

Abstract

A recent archival research project in the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) identified artifacts and human remains associated with the 1980 excavation of stone cairns and habitation areas on the west side of Lake Turkana. The presence of stone grave cairns across eastern Africa is common, but their cultural origins and construction times are enigmatic. This article presents the results of the archival project and contextualizes both the artifacts found and the unpublished research notes within the framework of evolving settlement patterns in eastern Africa during the middle to late Holocene. Despite the presence of numerous decorative features on ceramics and the recovery of many complete lithic tools, the material culture is generally non-diagnostic within existing typo-technological categories. The research indicates that there was tremendous diversity in the material culture of the Turkana Basin during the late Holocene.

Highlights

In December 1980 Robert Soper surveyed part of the western margins of the Lake Turkana strand plain for evidence of early pastoral cultures in the region and recorded 58 archaeological sites in the Standardised African Sites Enumeration System (SASES)
Lithic assemblages in places like the Lake Turkana region are dominated by microlithic scrapers and points, but do not demonstrate patterned diachronic changes until metal became a consistent component of artifact manufacture in recent times
Based on archaeological survey data from Mount Porr and western Turkana, the distribution of cairns in the Turkana region appears to be preferentially located on the shoulders of upland ridges (Fig. 1), four cairns in the western Turkana region and two in the Mount Porr region are located on the strand plain

Summary

Introduction

In December 1980 Robert Soper surveyed part of the western margins of the Lake Turkana strand plain for evidence of early pastoral cultures in the region and recorded 58 archaeological sites in the Standardised African Sites Enumeration System (SASES). Lithic assemblages in places like the Lake Turkana region are dominated by microlithic scrapers and points, but do not demonstrate patterned diachronic changes until metal became a consistent component of artifact manufacture in recent times. For this manuscript, field notes have been combed and artifacts reanalyzed in an attempt to contextualize these archaeological data. Two radiocarbon ages were assayed from cultural fill stored at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). These results demonstrate the apparent heterogeneous distribution of material culture traditions in the Turkana Basin.

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion