Stratigraphy, archaeology, and age of the Ndutu and Naisiusiu Beds, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Genetic and archaeological perspectives on the initial modern human colonization of southern Asia

“…5). This is reflected in both South and East Africa by industries belonging broadly to the so-called "Howiesons Poort" variant, which, although inevitably regionally variable over an area the size and with the environmental diversity of sub-Saharan Africa, collectively exhibit all of the most distinctive features that characterize the earlier stages of the Indian microlithic technologies (3,(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53) (Figs. 3 and 4 and Archaeology).…”

“…These include sophisticated blade and bladelet production, circular, rotary-perforated bead forms (and associated "preforms") manufactured from ostrich eggshell (39,40), highly shaped bone tools, and incised bounded crisscross and analogous cross-hatched design motifs engraved in the African sites (Diepkloof, Klein Kliphuis, Apollo 11, Mumba, and the earlier site of Blombos) on fragments of either red ochre or ostrich eggshell (closely analogous to the Indian specimen from Patne) (22). Arguably most significantly, both the African and the Indian industries are dominated by a range of carefully shaped microlithic or larger "backed-segment" forms of precisely the same range of shapes as those documented in the South Asian industries (i.e., crescentic or lunate forms, triangles, trapezoids, and simpler obliquely blunted forms), which in both Africa and South Asia are frequently shaped by distinctively bipolar techniques of retouch (37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46) (Figs. 3 and 4).…”

Variability in the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa

“…The Central Rift Valley of Kenya is an important exception, where multiple MSA sites have been the focus of long-term study by Leakey (1931Leakey ( , 1936 and Isaac and his students (Isaac, Merrick, and Nelson 1972;Merrick 1975), including Ambrose (1986Ambrose ( , 2001Ambrose ( , 2010 and others (e.g., Anthony 1972;Waweru 2007). Surprisingly, despite investigation since the 1930s and the presence of relevant archaeological material (Leakey et al 1972;Mabulla 1990), Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania has played little role in our understanding of MSA sites in eastern Africa largely because of apathy on the part of Mary Leakey (1984:213), the principal excavator: "In Africa, the hand axe culture did eventually give place to a surprisingly uninspiring group of industries lumped together under the term Middle Stone Age; a stage in prehistoric archaeology for which I have never been able to feel any enthusiasm." We hope that our paper, together with the others reported in this volume, will serve to inspire new ideas and stimulate discussion concerning a time period that we believe is both interesting and important to understanding our evolutionary past.…”

Characterizing Archaeological Assemblages from Eastern Lake Natron, Tanzania: Results of Fieldwork Conducted in the Area

“…An age of 49±4.3 ka has been obtained for the latest Mumba Industry containing ostrich eggshell beads (Gliganic et al 2012). The only other Tanzanian well-documented MSA/ LSA industries reported in the literature come from the Serengeti open-air site of Loyangalani, the Ndutu and Nasiusiu Beds at Olduvai, and Kisese rock shelter in central Tanzania (Bower and Mabulla 2008, p. 54;Bower et al 1985;Leakey et al 1972;Mabulla 1996;Masao 2008;Skinner et al 2003). The Loyangalani site has produced both MSA and LSA, where the MSA includes many scrapers, borers, few points or bifaces, and disc and Levallois cores (Bower and Mabulla 2008, p. 54).…”