Origins of Specialized Pastoral Production in East Africa

Marshall, Fiona

doi:10.1525/aa.1990.92.4.02a00020

Cited by 105 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…Ehret (33) proposed that elements of the Khwe language, specifically words associated with pastoralism, had been borrowed from an East Sahelian language. Intriguingly, the Bambata-ware pottery found at early pastoralist sites in northern Namibia, northern Botswana and Zambia has stylistic similarities to spouted pottery found at Ngamuriak on the border of Kenya/Tanzania (29,34). Ngamuriak is a pastoralist site considered part of the Elmenteitan culture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Y-chromosomal evidence of a pastoralist migration through Tanzania to southern Africa

Henn¹,

Gignoux²,

Lin

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

120

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Although geneticists have extensively debated the mode by which agriculture diffused from the Near East to Europe, they have not directly examined similar agropastoral diffusions in Africa. It is unclear, for example, whether early instances of sheep, cows, pottery, and other traits of the pastoralist package were transmitted to southern Africa by demic or cultural diffusion. Here, we report a newly discovered Y-chromosome-specific polymorphism that defines haplogroup E3b1f-M293. This polymorphism reveals the monophyletic relationship of the majority of haplotypes of a previously paraphyletic clade, E3b1-M35*, that is widespread in Africa and southern Europe. To elucidate the history of the E3b1f haplogroup, we analyzed this haplogroup in 13 populations from southern and eastern Africa. The geographic distribution of the E3b1f haplogroup, in association with the microsatellite diversity estimates for populations, is consistent with an expansion through Tanzania to southern-central Africa. The data suggest this dispersal was independent of the migration of Bantu-speaking peoples along a similar route. Instead, the phylogeography and microsatellite diversity of the E3b1f lineage correlate with the arrival of the pastoralist economy in southern Africa. Our Y-chromosomal evidence supports a demic diffusion model of pastoralism from eastern to southern Africa Ϸ2,000 years ago.pastoralism ͉ phylogeography ͉ population genetics ͉ Y-chromosome ͉ Khoisan

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Y-chromosomal evidence of a pastoralist migration through Tanzania to southern Africa

Henn¹,

Gignoux²,

Lin

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…MtDNA genetic analysis of 287 individuals from across Kenya, including Turkana, shows extensive admixture between East African communities sufficient to mask Bgenetic founders^of distinct populations (Castrì et al 2008; see also Batai et al 2013). Population movements and interregional exchange networks evolve in the context of the development of highly itinerant pastoralism in eastern Africa (Marshall 1990(Marshall , 2000.…”

Section: Late Holocene 2500-200 Years Bpmentioning

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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“…Like other grazing systems, pastoral herding and the decisions that affect it occur across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales (see Bailey et al, 1996, Coughenour, 1991, and Senft et al, 1987, for general reviews of grazing systems). These range from continental-scale expansion and migration (Collett, 1989;Johnson, 1989;Marshall, 1990;Waller, 1985), to nomadic movements (DysonHudson & Dyson-Hudson, 1980;McCabe, 1985McCabe, , 1994, more regular seasonal transhumance (Evans-Pritchard, 1940;Western, 1975;Nyerges, 1982;Å rhem, 1985;Homewood and Rodgers, 1991), daily herding (Coppock et al, 1986a(Coppock et al, , 1986bHomewood and Rodgers, 1991;Nyerges, 1982) down to sub-daily, landscape-or patch-scale movements (de Boer and Prins, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%