Variability in the Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: a technical tradition of southeastern Ethiopia

Summary

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) is traditionally defined by flake, point and elongated blank production associated with retouched tools (e.g. scrapers and retouched points). However, a great cultural variability is observed, whether it is linked with spatial (e.g. Brandt 1986, Clark 1988), or temporal (Early vs Late MSA, e.g. Douze 2011) variability. Here we present results from a comparative analysis of the lithic assemblages from Porc-Epic Cave (e.g. Clark and Williamson 1984, Pleurdeau, 2005) and Goda Buticha (Assefa et al. 2014, Leplongeon 2014, Pleurdeau et al. 2014, Tribolo et al. In prep.), both located in southeastern Ethiopia. They have yielded long stratigraphic sequences including Late Pleistocene levels. The results highlight variability at the assemblage level, counterbalanced by similarities between the assemblages, which were interpreted as reflecting the same technical tradition, atributed to the MSA. It is however distinct from other MSA industries and represents another example of the lithic variability in the region. Moreover, a mid-Holocene level at Goda Buticha has yielded an assemblage with unexpected MSA-like features, questioning the relevance of the use of this terminology (MSA/LSA) in the region. This high lithic variability during the Late Pleistocene has implications when comparing the Horn of Africa with adjacent regions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Parting the Red Sea: Late Pleistocene Lithic Variability and Human Dispersals in the Horn of Africa and Arabia

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