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ANCIENT FISHER-FORAGERS OF LAKE VICTORIA

Location, Importance and Environmental Setting

Lake Victoria in Kenya sits between the Eastern and Western Rift Valley and is an integral piece of the paleontological record. Extensive volcanic activity and drastic climate changes have had a significant impact on water level spikes and declines around Lake Victoria.[1] These geographical changes also have given rise to rich geological deposits near and around the lake. In 1936 renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey, discovered and excavated two shell midden sites affirming Stone Age man lived on and near the shores of Lake Victoria. Leakey’s primary interest was in the arena of physical anthropology, so his interest in the shell midden sites waned upon finding Proconsul africanus on Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, in 1948.[2]A renewed interest in shell midden sites came thirty years later with the excavations undertaken by Peter Robertshaw.[1] Lake Victoria is the third largest lake worldwide in surface area. The depth and volume of the lake largely correlate with precipitation rates. Seismic activity, tectonic shifting and climate fluctuations through deep time have been instrumental in the shaping the biogeography, flora and faunal diversity in addition to human populations.[1]  Paleoenvironmental studies show the lowering of Lake Victoria’s water levels influenced the expansions of grasslands and reduction of thickets and forest habitats. These ecological and faunal changes reveal the adeptness of human foragers at exploiting the terrain and lacustrine environments of Lake Victoria’s shores and nearby rivers for thousands of years.[3]

History of Research

The earliest archaeological work undertaken in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya was by Archdeacon W.E. Owen with the assistance of Louis Leaky and his team in 1935. [2] In 1980 Robertshaw excavated five shell midden sites along the eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The archaeological sites excavated were Luanda, Kanjera West, Kanam East, Kanam Two and White Rock Point. [1] Paul Lane undertook archaeological digs at Wadh Lang’o and Usenge[4], Kenya in early 2000 and returned with M.E. Prendergast to Wadh Lang'o.[5]. Robertshaw's interest in Lake Victoria shell middens, foragers and aqualithic exploitation spurned extensive archaeological digs and research papers on the occupation of the lake shores.[3][4] Subsistence, cultural artifacts, lacustrine and faunal remains have helped to decipher the regions prehistory.

Artifacts and Food Remains

The five sites excavated yielded stone artifacts, bone tools, pottery sherds, shellfish, along with mammal, bird, reptile and fish bones. Animal procurement was secondary to a diet of fish and shell fish. Only two domesticate bones were found among the Kansyore pottery levels in Kanjera West that dated back 8240 ± 245bp.[1] All other sites were void of domesticate animal bones. There were no harpoons found along the shoreline sites possibly demonstrating a reliance on basket nets for fishing strategies. The LSA inhabitants were quite adept in subsistence strategies within their environment and not the 'aquatic civilization' once thought to be.[1] At the Pundo site shellfish and fish bone levels were comparable to the five eastern sites of Lake Victoria, with substantially fewer Lung Fish. In stark opposition to other open air sites in the surrounding areas near the lake.[5] A possible absence of domesticate animals could indicate a presence of tsetse fly infestation at the lakeshores. Farming does not seem to be a form of subsistence practiced during the period the shell middens were formed.[1] Pottery sherds recovered from areas surrounding the lake elucidate the diet of the Holocene inhabitants.[6] The Kansyore pottery tradition has been the longest lasting found in the Lake Victoria region. Lake Victoria inhabitants operated bimodally during seasonal success, leaving their pots at both locations. Pottery could make food production easier in that boiling shellfish was more energy efficient than opening shellfish by hand with a tool. Dried fish could be salted and stored in pots. Decorative pottery that could prepare food and contain sustenance for a later time was innovative and had not been seen before in East Africa. The Luanda site is the farthest from Lake Victoria and recovered the most artifacts. Stone artifacts of quartz and crysto-crystalline silica were excavated. Obsidian pieces were limited, reflecting their scarcity and importance.[1] Lungfish remains were discovered and would easily accessible at the lakeshore sites during the dry season when they estivated.[1] The lake shore inhabitants may have practiced a delayed-reciprocity economic system which allowed them to reap benefits from both locations during opportunistic seasonal shifts.[3]

Dating

Kansyore communities spanned the longest time frame. Kansyore pottery dates 8000-c.2000 BP. The pottery was found in all southern and northern excavated shell midden sites, signifying positive adaptations to the lake, lacustrine and river environments of Lake Victoria.[6] There are clear delineations in the deepest strata that solely reflects Kansyore pottery. In later stratified layers Kansyore pottery style wanes and Elementeitan (Pastoral Neolithic) pottery becomes predominant in the LSA, while Urewe pottery represents the Early Iron Age. Transitions in pottery correlate with changes of subsistence strategies and diet of the Lake Victoria inhabitants that reveal their evolution of culture and technology.[7]

Discussion

Geological, botanical and zoological research has aided in reconstructing the impact of climatic shifts during the Late Stone Age. The stratigraphy of the Lake Victoria basin and exposure of shell middens has shed light on Holocene subsistence and settlement patterns.[4]Opportunistic behaviors such as delayed reciprocity, seasonal fishing patterns and hunting terrestrial game that lived near water, have been revealed through the archaeological record. These early practices helped to establish a more sedentary lifestyle and opened the door for pastoralism and farming in East Africa.

References

1.	^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i Robertshaw, Peter; Collett, David; Gifford, Diane; Mbae, Nubi B. (1983-01-01). "Shell Middens on the Shores of Lake Victoria".Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 18 (1): 1–43. doi:10.1080/00672708309511313. ISSN 0067-270X. 2.	^ Jump up to:a b Faith, Tyler; Tyron, C.; Peppe, D.; Beverly, E.; Blegen, N.; Blumenthal, S.; Chritz, K.; Driese, S.; Patterson, D. (2015). "Paleoenviromental context of the Middle Stone Age record from Karungu, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya, and its implications for human and faunal dispersals in East Africa." Journal of Human Evolution 83: 28–45. 3.	^ Jump up to:a b c Prendergast, .M.E.; Lane, P.J. (2010). "Middle Holocene Fishing Strategies in East Africa: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Pundo, a Kansyore Shell Midden in Northern Nyanza (Kenya)." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 20: 88–112. 4.	^ Jump up to:a b c Lane, P.; Ashley, C.; Sietsonen, O.; Harvey, P.; Mire, S.; Odede, F. (2006). "The transition to farming in eastern Africa: new faunal and dating evidence from Wadh Lang'o and Usenge, Kenya." Antiquity 81: 62–81. 5.	^ Jump up to:a b Prendergast, M.E>; Lane, P. (2010). "Middle Holocene Fishing Strategies in Est Africa: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Pundo, a Kansyore Shell Midden in Northern Nyanza (Kenya)." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 20: 88–112. 6.	^ Jump up to:a b Prendergast, Mary (2010). "Kansyore fisher-foragers and transitions to food production in East Africa: the view from Wadh Lang'o, Nyanza Province, Western Kenya." Archaeological Research in Africa 45: 83–111. 7.	Jump up^ Ashley, Ceri; Grillo, Katherine (2015). "Archaeological ceramics from eastern Africa: past approaches and future directions." Anzia: Archaeological Research in Africa 50:4: 460–480.