Quantitatively and Qualitatively Evaluating the Impact that Palaeoanthropology Makes on the Lives of the Maasai People of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Tanzania’s Oldupai Gorge is a flagship human origins research site, yet less recognised is that the lands surrounding Oldupai are home to the pastoralist Maasai society. Even though scientists have, for over a century, sought to illuminate the shared past of our species in what many regard to be a cradle of humankind, there has seldom been meaningful and lasting collaboration between palaeoanthropologists and the Maasai. We conducted three seasons of ethnographic research within Maasai and palaeoanthropological communities to gain a thorough understanding of the social dynamics of the Oldupai area and thereafter develop a standardised survey that could substantially capture the experiences of all Maasai who sought to share their thoughts. Our results, which qualitatively and quantitatively delineate daily life within a renowned research site before and after the formation of the Stone Tools, Diet, and Sociality partnership, foreground the impacts that scientific projects have made – and can make – on Maasai communities. This paper emphasises that instead of lending strength to the myth that scientific work is absolutely disengaged from societal matters, palaeoanthropologists can explore the contexts surrounding their field projects to create new policies and practices that cultivate the myriad benefits of engaged archaeological fieldwork.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24282