The Archaeology of Aduma Middle Stone Age Sites in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia
Journal:
PaleoAnthropology
Number:
Volume:
10
Year:
2005
Pages:
25-100
Keywords:
ISBN:
ISSN:
URL:
Abstract:
The Aduma region of the Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia, contains multiple surface and in situ Middle Stone Age (MSA) occurrences that include lithics and spatially associated faunal and hominid remains. While one Aduma site may, on the basis of lithic comparison, be assigned to an early phase of the MSA, both absolute dates and lithic typology indicate that the remainder represent a significantly later stage of this industrial tradition, likely dating to ca. 80,000 to 100,000 years ago. Assemblages were deposited on an aggrading alluvially dominated landscape which included riverine and floodplain environments. Chronological changes in landform and raw material availability within the geographically limited Aduma region provided a dynamic context that required behavioral flexibility to adapt successfully. Analysis of ten assemblages from eight sites provides the basis for characterizing the Aduma sequence, setting it into broader sub-Saharan context and reconstructing aspects of hominid subsistence strategy and lithic economy. The Aduma lithic assemblages constitute a regional variant within the MSA characterized by a distinctive range of point, scraper and core types. Most striking are the small "microlithic" size of multiple types all produced by MSA technologies and the increasing emphasis on smaller tools over time, which suggests a process similar to yet independent from that which culminated in the appearance of the Late Stone Age. [...]
