An Outline of the Later Holocene Archaeology and Precolonial History of the Ewaso Basin, Kenya

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Drawing on a range of archaeological, paleoenvironmental, linguistic, ethnographic, and historical data, this chapter outlines what is currently known about the trajectories of pastoralism in the Ewaso Basin from its initial appearance some 4000 years ago until the early twentieth century, by which time new systems of land use and tenure had been established within the context of British colonial rule. Overall, the evidence indicates that many different groups have occupied parts of this area at different times in the past, and that these have encompassed both hunter-gatherer and pastoralist communities and speakers of various Nilotic, Cushitic, and Bantu languages, among others. There is also good evidence to suggest that the boundaries between different "ethnic," "subsistence," and even linguistic groups have been fairly fluid and that cultural intermixing as well as interaction through exchange and other social mechanisms was common. Additionally, at least four broad phases of pastoralist practices can be identified for the period prior to the twentieth century. These phases entailed different forms and levels of mobility, including population migration and seasonal movements, and had diverse environmental consequences, some of which appear to have enhanced biodiversity and ecological resilience whereas others initiated significant changes to the structure of the vegetation mosaic and may have even resulted in localized rangeland degradation.

Pollen, People and Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Ecosystem Change at Amboseli, Kenya

“…As documented elsewhere (Lane, 2011a;Crowther et al, in press), a dynamic mosaic of livelihoods including foraging, hunting, specialized herding, farming, and combinations thereof would have existed in the wider Amboseli area. Specialized relationships between farmers and herders may have even facilitated new, more intensive management and production systems by pastoralists and agriculturalists (Robertshaw, 1990;Davies, 2015).…”

“…BP in south-central Kenya and northern Tanzania, marking the beginning of the Pastoral Neolithic (PN) in these areas (Lane, 2011a;Crowther et al, in press). Pottery wares such as Nderit and Ileret are found in association with wild fauna and the rare caprine dating to this time, indicating the nominal incorporation of domesticates into hunter-fisher-gatherer livelihoods (GiffordGonzalez, 2000).…”

Pastoralist Foodways Recorded in Organic Residues from Pottery Vessels of Modern Communities in Samburu, Kenya

“…However, it should be noted that the part of the calibration curve where the data are plotted presents as a plateau, and thus, the age of the potsherds likely falls within the range of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries (probabilities as follows: 1670-1697 AD (15.2%), 1725-1780 AD (36.8%), 1796-1814 AD (11.8%), 1835-1878AD (11.5%) and 1916-1944). The Lorroki Plateau had indeed been occupied throughout this span by ethnically and economically fluid groups of both hunter/gatherer communities and Maa-language-speaking pastoralists (Larick 1986;Lane 2011).…”

Pastoralists in the northeastern Mara Plains, Kenya: archaeological investigations of the Pastoral Neolithic and the Pastoral Iron Age

“…Firm dates for the introduction of roulette decoration are currently lacking, but the earliest occurrences probably date to around AD 1000 (Bower 1973;Oliver and Atmore 1981, 124;Ambrose 1982;Reid 1996;Ashley and Reid 2008;Lane, forthcoming). However, the scarcity of detailed studies of the roulette pottery hampers further discussion or comparison of the GuJf70 ceramic assemblage, other than attributing to it a general LIA date.…”

“…AD 600 (Robertshaw 1990a). However, the archaeological sequence after the Elmenteitan period remained poorly understood, something that is also true of many other parts of East Africa Lane forthcoming).…”