PleisTechnoVar · Technological Variability during the Late Pleistocene in Eastern Africa: lithic assemblages as indirect witnesses of past human population dynamics

Technological Variability during the Late Pleistocene in Eastern Africa: lithic assemblages as indirect witnesses of past human population dynamics

The project PleisTechnoVar investigated changes in human technical behaviours during the Late Pleistocene (between 70,000 and 15,000 years ago) in eastern Africa, the Nile Valley and the Levant, and discussed what it may mean in terms of adaptations to a changing environment or contacts between / isolation of populations. This period sees a major behavioural shift from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) to the Late Stone Age (LSA). However, very few sites document this shift and consequently, there is limited information about the nature of change from the MSA to the LSA. In addition, the Late Pleistocene is characterised by rapid climatic fluctuations and a global shift to arid conditions, which is likely to have posed major adaptive challenges to modern human populations. Genetic studies also document during the Late Pleistocene major human dispersals, within, Out-of and Back-into Africa but the number, routes and timing of these dispersals are highly debated and archaeological evidence remains sparse. The evidence thus suggests complex population dynamics at that time, which have contributed to shape the human diversity observed today. Very few archaeological data are available to discuss possible links between technological variability, environmental changes and dispersals of modern humans in Africa during the Late Pleistocene. The PleisTechnoVar project aimed to contribute to this topic by focusing on some of the key areas for the understanding of past human dispersals: eastern Africa, the Nile Valley and the Levant, one of a possible route out of and back into Africa. In particular, it addressed the following questions: How is the technological variability characterised in these regions? What were the environmental constraints? Which methods can we use to best compare lithic assemblages on a multi-regional scale? May we identify technological indicators of contacts between populations? The main overall objectives were (1) to analyse technological variability in Kenya and Ethiopia, (2) to develop methodological tools to study technological variability during the Late Pleistocene on a multi-regional scale (eastern Africa, northeastern Africa and the Levant) and (3) to develop models of interpretation of lithic assemblages to test hypotheses of contacts / migrations between human groups.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз