Archaeology
Research reveals longstanding cultural continuity at oldest occupied site in West Africa
Although knowledge of human evolution in West Africa is limited, recent findings suggest that the region exhibits distinct cultural developments when compared to other parts of the continent.
Shedding further light on this topic, a recent article published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution examines the oldest archaeologically-dated site in West Africa. The site shows technological continuity spanning roughly 140,000 years and offers insights into the ecological stability of the region.
Our species arose in Africa around 300,000 years ago, and during the period spanning approximately 30,000 to 60,000 years ago, it commonly utilised Middle Stone Age toolkits and associated techniques for tool-making.
During this period, unique Later Stone Age toolkits began appearing in northern, eastern, and southern Africa. Although recent findings indicate that Middle Stone Age toolkits continued to be used in West Africa until around 10,000 years ago, the antiquity of these technologies is poorly understood.
The new study, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, University of Sheffield, and University of South Florida, extends the timeframe in which Middle Stone Age toolkits are known from West Africa to 150 thousand years ago, based on excavations from the near-coastal site of Bargny 1.
“The stone tool assemblage dating from 150 thousand years ago shows classic features of the Middle Stone Age, with the use of Levallois and discoidal reduction methods and the use of small retouched flake tools rather than larger implements,” says Dr Khady Niang, lead author of the study. “The assemblage from Bargny 1 is closely comparable to those of a similar age from across the continent, and is the first site from West Africa dating to the Middle Pleistocene, prior to the onset of substantial technological regionalization elsewhere in Africa.”
The site itself is located close to the modern coastline, south of Dakar, Senegal. While no artefacts indicating direct human engagement with coastal resources were recovered at the site, study of the associated environments offer a wider perspective.
“We found mangrove and brackish wetland plant microfossils associated with the site’s occupation,” adds Dr Chris Kiahtipes of the University of South Florida, co-author on the study. “This is particularly interesting because it shows that the site was located near an estuary and demonstrates how important these habitats are to humans past and present.”
The study highlights long-term durability of core elements of Middle Stone Age toolkits in West Africa without evidence for the appearance of specialized technological developments observed elsewhere.
“Middle Stone Age populations adapted to a wide range of habitats and engaged with climatic changes across Africa. But in West Africa, we see considerable environmental stability over the past 150 thousand years,” adds Dr Jimbob Blinkhorn. “One explanation for the enduring cultural continuity we observe is that it was a stable behavioural adaptation to stable environmental conditions, whilst potential isolation from other populations across Africa may have led to demographic stability too. Ultimately, our study helps illustrate the persistent utility of Middle Stone Age technologies to inhabit the diverse habitats found across Africa.”
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Header Image Credit : Khady Niang
A restoration project to remove invasive plants from dunes in the Heist Willemspark, Belgium, has led to the discovery of three intact WWII bunkers.
Heist Willemspark is located in the Knokke-Heist municipality, situated on the coastline of Belgium near the border with the Netherlands.
During WWI, the area of the park was used as a German position for heavy artillery batteries known as “Freya” and “Augusta”, and a series of forward observation bunkers for ranging shipping in the English Channel.
A number of these structures were repurposed by the German army in WWII, and further fortified as part of the Atlantic Wall, a system of coastal defences built between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe. The area of the Atlantic Wall at Heist Willemspark was designated by the German army as Stützpunkt Heyst.
Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
According to a press statement by the Municipality of Knokke-Heist, the bunkers were discovered by the Agency for Nature and Forests during a restoration project called LIFE DUNIAS.
Excavations at a depth of only a few feet revealed three Gruppenunterstand Type VF2a bunkers. The VF2a is intended for housing a Gruppe (the smallest German unit consisting of 10 soldiers) who operated forward radar positions. The bunkers at Heist Willemspark measure 6 by 7 metres externally, and are capped by a concrete reinforced roof measuring 1 metre thick.
The project also found traces of brick trenches, a fragment of a concrete track, and large amounts of rubble containing objects such as utensils, ammunition, cabling, and water pipes.
A representative of LIFE DUNIAS said: “These ruins illustrate the previous attempts to completely erase the park’s war history. The lighter structures were demolished and reduced to rubble, while heavier bunkers were covered with a layer of soil and hidden, as if they had never existed.”
Header Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
Sources : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Ongoing excavations by archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have revealed new findings on the historical narrative of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke.
The Roanoke Colony refers to two colonisation attempts in North America by Sir Walter Raleigh during the 16th century.
Raleigh’s aim was to stake England’s claim to the largely unknown (to Europeans) landmass of North America, and from which he could launch raids on the Spanish West Indies and annual treasure fleets.
The first attempt was made in 1585 on Roanoke Island, located in present-day Dare County, North Carolina.
According to accounts by the returning expedition leaders, the colonists had established friendly relations with the indigenous people (the Secotan), describing the land as “pleasant and bountiful.”
In reality, the colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with the Native Americans, resulting in the colony being abandoned in 1586.
A second attempt was made in 1587 in the area of Chesapeake Bay, however, upon returning to the colony in 1590, it was found fortified with a palisade and that the settlers had vanished without a trace.
The search for what happened to the English settlers has recently focused on the Elizabethan Gardens in the town of Manteo, where archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a farmstead belonging to the “Algonquian village of Roanoke” (also spelled Roanoac), an Indigenous community that hosted the settlers in 1584.
Excavations in March 2024 have uncovered shards of Algonquian pottery dating back to the 1500s, along with a ring of copper wire (made of drawn copper) likely worn by an Algonquian warrior.
Archaeologists speculate that the ring was brought to North America by the English settlers and traded with the indigenous people who believed that copper had spiritual significance.
“Finding domestic pottery—the type used for cooking—in close proximity to an apparent piece of Native American jewellery strongly confirms we are digging in the midst of a settlement,” said Dr. Eric Klingelhofer, the First Colony Foundation’s Vice President of Research. “And Roanoac is the only known village at that site. The copper ring indicates contact with the English,” added Klingelhofer.
Previous excavations suggest that the village had a palisade with around nine internal houses for the elite warrior class. Those of a lower status or working class lived outside the palisade on farmsteads where they worked the land raising crops.
“The new findings confirm a theory that matches what we know of the village,” added Klingelhofer. “It was described as a palisaded village because the explorers came here and recorded it. And these findings add to our story.”
Another exploration is scheduled for the summer of 2024 at nearby Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The goal is to find evidence of the colonists’ original settlement.
Header Image Credit : John Parker Davis – Public Domain
Sources : The First Colony Foundation
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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