Archeology in the Turkana District, Kenya

Robbins, Lawrence H.

doi:10.1126/science.176.4033.359

Cited by 58 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Little is known about LSA hunter-gatherer plant use in east Africa, but ethnographic analogies suggest people would have been consuming, tending, and transplanting wild plants to varying degrees (Marshall, 2001;Marlowe and Berbesque, 2009). On the shores of Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria, hunter-fisher-gatherer peoples also intensively exploited lacustrine resources including fish and shellfish (Robbins, 1972;Lane et al, 2006Lane et al, , 2007Dale and Ashley, 2010;Prendergast and Lane, 2010;Prendergast and Beyin, in press). …”

Section: Livelihood Strategies In Amboseli From the Mid Holocenementioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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This study presents a multidisciplinary perspective for understanding environmental change and emerging socio-ecological interactions across the Amboseli region of southwestern Kenya. We focus on late Holocene (<5,000 cal yr. BP) changes and continuities reconstructed from sedimentary, archeological, historical records and socio-ecological models. We utilize multi-disciplinary approaches to understand environmental-ecosystem-social interactions over the longue durée and use this to simulate different land use scenarios supporting conservation and sustainable livelihoods using a socio-ecological model. Today the semi-arid Amboseli landscape supports a large livestock and wildlife population, sustained by a wide variety of plants and extensive rangelands regulated by seasonal rainfall and human activity. Our data provide insight into how large-scale and long-term interactions of climate, people, livestock, wildlife and external connections have shaped the ecosystems across the Amboseli landscape. Environmental conditions were dry between ∼5,000 and 2,000 cal yr. BP, followed by two wet periods at ∼2,100-1,500 and 1,400-800 cal yr. BP with short dry periods; the most recent centuries were characterized by variable climate with alternative dry and wet phases with high spatial heterogeneity. Most evident in paleo and historical records is the changing woody to grass cover ratio, driven by changes in climate and fire regimes entwined with fluctuating elephant, cattle and wild ungulate populations moderated by human activity, including elephant ivory trade intensification. Archeological perspectives on the occupation of different groups (hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and farmers) in Amboseli region and the relationships between them are discussed. An overview of the known history of humans and elephants, expanding networks of trade, and the arrival and integration of metallurgy, livestock and domesticated crops in the wider region is provided. In recent decades, increased runoff and flooding have resulted in the expansion of wetlands and a reduction of woody vegetation, compounding problems created by increased enclosure and privatization of these landscapes. However, most Githumbi et al.Long-Term Multidisciplinary Perspectives at Amboseli, Kenya of the wetlands outside of the protected area are drying up because of the intensified water extraction by the communities surrounding the National Park and on the adjacent mountains areas, who have increased in numbers, become sedentary and diversified land use around the wetlands.

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Section: Livelihood Strategies In Amboseli From the Mid Holocenementioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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“…years BP, N-813), and burned clay from Bb-14 located in the Lorungelup area with pottery and LSA microliths dating to 5,020±220 (5,310-6,285 cal. years BP, N-814;Robbins 1972;Yamasaki et al 1972, p. 237-238). Lawrence Robbins indicates in the research notes in the Radiocarbon article (Yamasaki et al 1972) that N-813 stratigraphically agrees with a previously generated shell age of 7,560±1,000 (6,300-11,070 cal.…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to other locations throughout northern Africa (Hoelzmann et al 2001;Kuper and Kröpelin 2006;Sutton 1977;Yellen 1998), settlement of the Lake Turkana region probably included low residential mobility and was focused on exploiting abundant aquatic resources (Barthelme 1985;Butzer 1980;Phillipson 1977;Robbins 1974). Archaeological surveys of the Lake Turkana region suggest that there were at least seven major loci of EH settlement: (1) the Koobi Fora region in the northeast (Barthelme 1985), (2) Lowasera in the southeast (Phillipson 1977), (3) the Lothagam-Napadet Range (Robbins 1972(Robbins , 1974, (5) the Kerio-Natome basin (personal communication [AB] with Robert Foley and Marta Lahr), (6) the Kalodir-Kapua Basin (Beyin 2011), and (7) the Omo River Delta/Kibish region in the northwest (Brown 1975;Butzer 1980). Riparian foragers with a more generalized subsistence and higher residential mobility patterns have also been identified from surrounding regions (Barthelme 1985, p. 277-278).…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence Within the Context Of Regional Climamentioning

confidence: 99%

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

et al. 2015

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Throughout the Holocene, Lake Turkana has been subject to drastic changes in lake levels and the subsistence strategies people employ to survive in this hot and arid region. In this paper, we reconstruct the position of the lake during the Holocene within a paleoclimatic context. Atmospheric forcing mechanisms are discussed in order to contextualize the broader landscape changes occurring in eastern Africa over the last 12,000 years. The Holocene is divided into five primary phases according to changes in the strand-plain evolution, paleoclimate, and human subsistence strategies practiced within the basin. Early Holocene fishing settlements occurred adjacent to high and relatively stable lake levels. A period of high-magnitude oscillations in lake levels Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) ensued after 9,000 years BP and human settlements appear to have been located close to the margins of the lake. Aridification and a final regression in lake levels ensued after 5,000 years BP and human communities were generalized pastoralists-fishers-foragers. During the Late Holocene, lake levels may have dropped below their present position and subsistence strategies appear to have been flexible and occasionally specialized on animal pastoralism. Modern missionary and government outposts have encouraged the construction of permanent settlements in the region, which are heavily dependent on outside resources for their survival. Changes in the physical and cultural environments of the Lake Turkana region have been closely correlated, and understanding the relationship between the two variables remains a vital component of archaeological research.Résumé Tout l'Holocène, le lac Turkana a été soumis à des changements drastiques dans l'altitude des lacs et les stratégies de subsistance des gens utilisent pour survivre dans cette région chaude et aride. Dans cet article, nous reconstruisons la position du lac au cours de l'Holocène dans un contexte paléoclimatique. Mécanismes de forçage atmosphériques sont discutées afin de contextualiser les changements de paysage plus larges qui se produisent en Afrique orientale au cours des 12.000 dernières années. L'Holocène est divisé en cinq phases principales en fonction des changements dans l'évolution altitude du lac, paléoclimats et les stratégies de subsistance humains pratiqués dans le bassin. Premiers établissements de pêche de l'Holocène ont eu lieu à proximité d'altitude d'eau élevés et relativement stables. Une période d'oscillations de grande amplitude dans l'altitude du lac s'ensuit après 9000 années BP et les établissements humains semblent avoir été situé à proximité des marges sur le lac. Aridification et une régression finale du altitude des lacs s'ensuit après 5000 années BP et les communautés humaines sont généralisées éleveurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs. Au cours de l'Holocène tardif, les altitudes des lacs pourraient avoir chuté en dessous de leur position actuelle et les stratégies de subsistance semblent avoir fait preuve de souplesse et de temps en temps spécialisé sur le pas...

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“…Putative centers of origin and estimated time of initial expansion based on linguistic studies for three of the four language families are also listed: AA, Afroasiatic (14 kya) (Ehret 1995); NS, Nilo-Saharan (Blench 1993;Ehret 1993;Blench 2006); NK, Niger-Kordofanian (5 kya) (Nurse 1997;Ehret 2001a). Afroasiatic-speaking pastoralists were the first food-producing populations to migrate into East Africa circa 5 kya (X) (Leakey 1931;Butzer 1969;Robbins 1972;Barthelme 1977); followed by Nilo-Saharan-speaking pastoralists circa 3 kya (Y) (Leakey 1931;Bower 1973;Ambrose 1982;Distefano 1990), and later Bantu-speaking agriculturalists after circa 2.5 kya (Z) (Posnansky 1961a,b). P and q represent initial expansion of pastoralists (2.5 kya) and later Bantuspeaking agriculturalists (after 2 kya) to southern Africa from East Africa, respectively.…”

Section: Patterns Of Genetic Diversity and Demographic History In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Variation and Adaptation in Africa: Implications for Human Evolution and Disease

Gomez

Hirbo

Tishkoff

2014

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

104

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Because modern humans originated in Africa and have adapted to diverse environments, African populations have high levels of genetic and phenotypic diversity. Thus, genomic studies of diverse African ethnic groups are essential for understanding human evolutionary history and how this leads to differential disease risk in all humans. Comparative studies of genetic diversity within and between African ethnic groups creates an opportunity to reconstruct some of the earliest events in human population history and are useful for identifying patterns of genetic variation that have been influenced by recent natural selection. Here we describe what is currently known about genetic variation and evolutionary history of diverse African ethnic groups. We also describe examples of recent natural selection in African genomes and how these data are informative for understanding the frequency of many genetic traits, including those that cause disease susceptibility in African populations and populations of recent African descent.

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Archeology in the Turkana District, Kenya

Cited by 58 publications

References 22 publications

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

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

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Genetic Variation and Adaptation in Africa: Implications for Human Evolution and Disease

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