The Pastoral Neolithic (5000 BP - 1200 BP) [1] refers to a period in Africa's prehistory, specifically Tanzania and Kenya, marking the beginning of food production, livestock domestication, and pottery use in the region following the Later Stone Age. The exact dates of this time period remain inexact, but early Pastoral Neolithic sites support the beginning of herding by 5000 BP. In contrast to the Neolithic in other parts of the world, which saw the development of farming societies, the first form of African food production was nomadic pastoralism, or ways of life centered on the herding and management of livestock. The shift from hunting to food production relied on livestock that had been domesticated outside of East Africa, especially North Africa. This period marks the emergence of the forms of pastoralism that are still present. [2] The reliance on livestock herding marks the deviation from hunting-gathering but precedes major agricultural development. The exact movement tendencies of Neolithic pastoralists are not completely understood. [1]
The term "Pastoral Neolithic" is used most often by archaeologists to describe early pastoralist periods in eastern Africa (also known as the "East African Neolithic"). [3] In the Sahara, hunter-gatherers first adopted livestock (e.g., cattle, sheep, goats) in the eighth to seventh millennia BP. [4] As the grasslands of the Green Sahara began drying out in the mid-Holocene, herders then spread into the Nile Valley and eastern Africa.
During the Pastoral Neolithic in eastern Africa (5000 BP - 1200 BP), [5] archaeologists have identified two pastoralist groups who spread through southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania; [5] they co-existed alongside Eburran phase 5 hunter-gatherers; these groups are known as the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic and the Elmenteitan. The Pastoral Neolithic in eastern Africa was followed by the Pastoral Iron Age approximately two thousand years ago, during which agriculture, iron technology, and Bantu speakers spread into the region. [6]
The beginning of the Pastoral Neolithic follows the Late Stone Age around 5000 BP. [7] The earliest instances of food production in East Africa are found in Kenya and Tanzania. The earliest Pastoral Neolithic sites are in the Lake Turkana region from around 5000 BP. Predating the introduction of imported livestock, African pastoralists kept domestic livestock but did not keep the lifestyles characteristic of modern pastoralists; this is shown by the lack of bones from domesticated animals and an abundance of bones from undomesticated animals at early Pastoral Neolithic sites. [8] These preliminary herding cultures are characteristic of the Pastoral Neolithic and generally lack stationary agricultural practices and metal use. [9] The exact introductory timeline of pastoralism to eastern Africa is not completely known. [10]
The faunal record shows that the livestock of Neolithic pastoralists were not domesticated in East Africa, but were introduced into East Africa; faunal remains of wild cattle, sheep, or goats are not found. [9] The fossils of common domesticates are not found at excavated sites in East Africa (e.g., Lake Turkana Basin, Lake Nakuru Basin, Serengeti Plains, Lake Eyasi), suggesting they were not present during the transition into the Pastoral Neolithic. [9] Limited cave painting evidence from Mt. Elgon, Kenya is consistent with the presence of northern African breeds of cattle during the Pastoral Neolithic. [8] These domesticated animals can be estimated to have arrived in northern Africa around 8000 BP and to have reached Eastern Africa by 5000 BP. The import of different breeds of cattle occurred on multiple different occasions throughout the Pastoral Neolithic period.
Genetic evidence shows that lactase persistence developed in East African populations between 7000 BP and 3000 BP, which is consistent with existing evidence for the introduction of livestock. [11] According to genomic data from 2019, the herders moved into Eastern African around 5,000 BP, and they carried both ancestry from the Near-East and Sudan. [12]
The exact way in which pastoralism reached East Africa during the Pastoral Neolithic is not completely understood. The pottery and stone tools found near Lake Turkana supports that migrants from Ethiopia and Sudan traveled south in small bursts and introduced pastoralism.
A considerable amount of evidence supports the case of there being two major expansions (associated with the spread of Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages) in eastern Africa which transformed the food systems of the region. [14]
A study by Prendergast et al. (2019) analysed genome-wide DNA data from 31 Pastoral Neolithic individuals from sites in Kenya and Tanzania. The study found that these early pastoralists harboured ancestry from three distinct ancient populations, related to: (1) modern groups from northern Africa and the Levant, (2) contemporary Nilotic speakers such as the Dinka or Nuer, and (3) hunter-gatherers from East Africa. The Pastoral Neolithic individuals were modelled as deriving ~40% of their ancestry from Chalcolithic Levantines (sampled by Harney et al. 2018 [15] ), ~40% from a population related to present-day Dinka, and ~20% from East African hunter-gatherers, represented by an ancient forager from Mota in Ethiopia. [14] There was no evidence for West African or Bantu-related ancestry in the Pastoral Neolithic individuals, this ancestry only appearing in later samples dating from the Iron Age. The study hypothesised that admixture between a Levantine-related population and a Nilotic-related population occurred around 6000-5000 BP in northeastern Africa, associated with the spread of pastoralism. This admixed population then migrated southwards, mixing further with East African foragers, before reaching the Turkana Basin around 5000 BP (3000 BC). Among modern populations, the Pastoral Neolithic samples were found to have greatest similarities to certain modern Cushitic speaking peoples, who harbour a similar mix of East African and West Eurasian ancestry. [14] [16] [17] [18]
A study by Skoglund et al. (2017) similarly found that a Pastoral Neolithic individual from Tanzania, dating from ∼3,100 BP, derived ~38% of her ancestry from Neolithic farmers of the Levant. According to the authors, this result could be explained by "the migration into Africa by descendants of pre-pottery Levantine farmers." [19]
A study by Wang et al. (2022) analyzed a sample from Kadruka in Upper Nubia, dated to roughly 4000 BP (c. 2000 BC), and found it to be genetically indistinguishable from those of the Pastoral Neolithic, harbouring a similar mix of Levantine-related and East African-related ancestry. The Kadruka individual was from an agro-pastoral population linked with the Kerma culture of Upper Nubia. [20] These findings are consistent with the Kadruka individual representing "a possible genetic source population for the earliest eastern African pastoralists who settled in the Rift Valley.” The authors of the study suggest that the Pastoral Neolithic likely arose through a rapid migration from the Nile Valley, without significant admixture with the indigenous foragers of East Africa as was previously thought. [20]
In Southern Africa it is also argued that plant cultivation took place considerably later than the domestication of cattle and other animals. This is also believed to have been true for other areas of the world such as India and Peru. [21] Marshall et al (2002) take the tenth millennium BP as that of African cattle domestication. Plant domestication is placed by these researchers as being sometime after 4000 BP. Their point is that the advantage of yield is not, in the African context, a significant driver compared to the risks of aridity and the need to move so as to ensure feed for cattle. [22] These are conclusions based on remains. [21] In studies based on chemical analysis, on-going benefit from Neolithic herding activities is detected. It is speculated that the richer grasslands persist because they attract wild grazers as well as herded animals, thereby perpetuating the cycle. [23]
Neolithic pastoralists employed various subsistence strategies (e.g., fishing, herding) and are generally associated with stone tools, ceramics, and burial traditions. [24]
The shift from hunting-gathering to herding developed gradually, over thousands of years, during the Pastoral Neolithic. The Pastoral Neolithic of East Africa is one of a few in world history where herding significantly preceded agricultural food production. [11]
The major transition from predominantly hunter-gatherer economies to predominantly herding economies may have occurred around 3000 BP. There are limited remains of domesticated animals at sites that predate 3000 BP. [8] For example, at the Enkapune Ya Muto rock shelter site of central Kenya, among evidence of mostly wild fauna, there are few caprine (goat/sheep) teeth dated to around 4400 BP. [11] The length of time between the initial introduction of domesticates and their full adoption is thought to have occurred between the cultural separation of immigrant populations and indigenous populations in the region. [11] Additionally, paleoclimatic evidence from Lake Naivasha, Kenya suggests that rain patterns may not have been favorable for dairy pastoralism until around 3000 BP. After 3000 BP, the majority of fauna found at Pastoral Neolithic sites are from domesticated animals rather than undomesticated animals. [8] By this time, many communities were exclusively stock-keeping and herding. [11]
Luxmanda | |
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Location of Luxmanda site | |
Location | Tanzania |
Coordinates | 4°15′24″S35°18′38″E / 4.25667°S 35.31056°E |
As compared to stone use associated with agriculture, archeological reports of stone use provide insight into the technological development and use during the Pastoral Neolithic.
The major 20th century archeological study of Stone Bowl cultures conducted by Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey uncovered a considerable amount of evidence about food systems during the Pastoral Neolithic. [25]
The archeological site at Luxmanda, Tanzania is estimated to have been occupied initially around 3000 BP, thereby, establishing it as Africa's southernmost Pastoral Neolithic site to date. [26] The size of stone tools found at Luxmanda establishes that Pastoral Neolithic establishments may not have been mobile. Stones were used for the purpose of grinding show high plant food processing as well as for the purpose of bone marrow pounding and grease extractions. These stone tools found at Luxmanda, Tanzania challenge established ideas about travel patterns and food systems during the Pastoral Neolithic.
Archeological evidence from the Lake Turkana region shows that Nderit and Ileret pottery emerged in the region between 4500 BP and 4200 BP. [11] The introduction of these distinct decorated and shaped forms of pottery are associated with sheep and cattle domestication in the region. [11]
Excavations of cemeteries and burial sites of communities during the Pastoral Neolithic provide insight into the traditions and social structures associated with the Pastoral Neolithic.
The Lothagam North Pillar Site is a communal cemetery in the Lake Turkana region where the earliest Pastoral Neolithic sites are found. [27] The Lothagam North Pillar Site consists of a large cavity constructed with large rocks, estimated to hold at least 580 individuals. The demographics of those buried are diverse in age, sex, and predicted social class. This site is consistent with the narrative of communities in movement throughout the Pastoral Neolithic. [27]
The introduction of metallurgy around 1200 BP marks the end of the Pastoral Neolithic. The iron-using pastoralists of the Early Iron Age consists populations that descend from Pastoral Neolithic populations, immigrating populations from Northern Africa, and populations from elsewhere. [28] The Pastoral Neolithic period is followed by the Pastoral Iron Age which saw an influx of northern Nilotic peoples, and the later Iron Age migration of Bantu agriculturalists.
The Neolithic or New Stone Age is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Europe, Asia, Mesopotamia and Africa. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.
Uan Muhuggiag is an archaeological site in Libya that was occupied by pastoralists between the early Holocene and mid-Holocene; the Tashwinat mummy, which was found at Uan Muhuggiag, was dated to 5600 BP and presently resides in the Assaraya Alhamra Museum in Tripoli.
Nomadic pastoralism is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance, where seasonal pastures are fixed. However, this distinction is often not observed and the term 'nomad' used for both—and in historical cases the regularity of movements is often unknown in any case. The herded livestock include cattle, water buffalo, yaks, llamas, sheep, goats, reindeer, horses, donkeys or camels, or mixtures of species. Nomadic pastoralism is commonly practised in regions with little arable land, typically in the developing world, especially in the steppe lands north of the agricultural zone of Eurasia. Pastoralists often trade with sedentary agrarians, exchanging meat for grains, however have been known to raid.
Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of some regions in Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. Their history of domestication and their origins in relation to taurine cattle, zebu cattle (indicine), and native African varieties of the ancestral aurochs are a matter of debate. "African taurine", "sanga", "zenga", "sheko", "African indicine" are all sub-groups of Sanga cattle.
The Savanna Pastoral Neolithic is a collection of ancient societies that appeared in the Rift Valley of East Africa and surrounding areas during a time period known as the Pastoral Neolithic. They were South Cushitic speaking pastoralists who tended to bury their dead in cairns, whilst their toolkit was characterized by stone bowls, pestles, grindstones and earthenware pots.
Ngamuriak is an archaeological site located in south-western Kenya. It has been interpreted as an Elmenteitan Pastoral Neolithic settlement. The excavation of this site produced pottery sherds, stone tools with obsidian fragments and obsidian blades, along with large amounts of animal bones.
Diane Gifford-Gonzalez is an American archaeologist who specializes in the field of zooarchaeology. Her research has included fieldwork near Lake Turkana, northwestern Kenya, and her research often touches on the question of animal domestication and the origins and development of African pastoralism. In 2024, Gifford-Gonzalez was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Fiona Marshall is an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis. Her methodological specialties are zooarchaeology and ethnoarchaeology. She has excavated Pastoral Neolithic sites in eastern Africa, focusing primarily on the domestication and herding of animals, particularly cattle and donkeys. She has also conducted ethnoarchaeological research on factors that affect body part representation in archaeological sites, and on foraging ways of life amongst Okiek people of the western Mau Escarpment, Kenya. She has also worked to conserve the Laetoli footprints.
Luxmanda is an archaeological site located in the north-central Babati District of Tanzania. It was discovered in 2012. Excavations in the area have identified it as the largest and southernmost settlement site of the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic (SPN), an archaeologically-recognized pastoralist culture centered in eastern Africa during a time period known as the Pastoral Neolithic. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal, human collagen, and organic matter in ceramic artifacts indicate that Luxmanda was occupied between 3,200 to 2,900 years ago. Ceramics, lithics, worked bone, ivory, and ostrich eggshell assemblages in addition to livestock and human bones have been recovered from the Luxmanda site. Large grinding stones have also been found, though their function remains uncertain. The people of Luxmanda were highly specialized pastoralists, relying on cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys for subsistence. Their linguistic affiliation is unknown, but some historical linguists have speculated that the peoples of the SPN spoke Cushitic languages. The Pastoral Neolithic was followed by the Pastoral Iron Age and the Bantu Expansion.
Agness Gidna is a Tanzanian paleontologist and a former Senior Curator of Paleontology at the National Museum of Tanzania. She is currently working with Ngorongoro Conservation Area as a Principal Cultural Heritage Officer. She is the first Tanzanian woman to hold a doctorate in Physical Anthropology and she is the first Tanzanian female research director at Olduvai Gorge, where she has been a co-principal investigator of the Olduvai Palaeoanthropology and Paleoecology Project (TOPPP) since 2017.
Nasera Rockshelter is an archaeological site located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area within Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in northern Tanzania, and it has evidence of Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age occupations in the Late Pleistocene to early Holocene, and ceramic-bearing Holocene occupations attributed to Kansyore, Nderit, and Savanna Pastoral Neolithic traditions. It was first excavated by Louis Leakey in 1932. A second series of excavations by Michael Mehlman in 1975 and 1976 led to the first comprehensive published study of the shelter, its stratigraphy and chronology, and its abundant material culture, including stone tools, faunal remains, and pottery. Recent work has sought to better understand chronology, lithic technology, mobility and demography, and site formation processes at Nasera Rockshelter. Nasera Rockshelter is considered a key site in eastern Africa for understanding the Middle Stone Age to Later Stone Age transition, and also for the study of the spread of livestock herding during the Pastoral Neolithic. Its chronology and archaeological sequence have been compared to those of other key sites in the region such as Mumba Rockshelter, Kisese II Rockshelter, Panga ya Saidi, and Enkapune ya Muto.
Nderit pottery is a type of ceramic vessel found at archaeological sites in Africa, particularly Tanzania and Kenya. Nderit pottery, previously known as ceramic tradition "Gumban A ware," was initially documented by Louis Leakey in the 1930s at sites in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya.Stylistic characteristics of Nderit pottery discovered in the Central Rift Valley include an exterior decoration of basket-like and triangular markings into the clay’s surface. The vessels here also have intensely scored interiors that do not appear to follow a distinct pattern. Nderit Ware exemplifies the transition from Saharan wavy-line early Holocene pottery towards the basket-like designs of the middle Holocene. Lipid residue found on Nderit pottery can be used to analyze the food products stored in them by early pastoralist societies.
Pastoral rock art is the most common form of Central Saharan rock art, created in painted and engraved styles depicting pastoralists and bow-wielding hunters in scenes of animal husbandry, along with various animals, spanning from 6300 BCE to 700 BCE. The Pastoral Period is preceded by the Round Head Period and followed by the Caballine Period. The Early Pastoral Period spanned from 6300 BCE to 5400 BCE. Domesticated cattle were brought to the Central Sahara, and given the opportunity for becoming socially distinguished, to develop food surplus, as well as to acquire and aggregate wealth, led to the adoption of a cattle pastoral economy by some Central Saharan hunter-gatherers of the Late Acacus. In exchange, cultural information regarding utilization of vegetation in the Central Sahara was shared by Late Acacus hunter-gatherers with incoming Early Pastoral peoples.
The history of East Africa has been divided into its prehistory, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and the post-colonial period, in which the current nations were formed. East Africa is the eastern region of Africa, bordered by North Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Sahara Desert. Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary East African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.
The Tichitt Culture, or Tichitt Tradition, was created by proto-Mande peoples, namely the ancestors of the Soninke people. In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara. Saharan pastoral culture was intricate. By 1800 BCE, Saharan pastoral culture expanded throughout the Saharan and Sahelian regions. The initial stages of sophisticated social structure among Saharan herders served as the segue for the development of sophisticated hierarchies found in African settlements, such as Dhar Tichitt. After migrating from the Central Sahara, proto-Mande peoples established their civilization in the Tichitt region of the Western Sahara. The Tichitt Tradition of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BCE to 200 BCE.
Kadero is an African archaeological site located in Central Sudan, northeast of Khartoum, Sudan and east of the Nile River. The site consists of burial grounds and two sand mounds around 1.5 meters in elevation, altogether encompassing around three hectares. Excavations at the site were led by Lech Krzyżaniak at the University of Warsaw. Kadero was occupied during the Neolithic period, dating to the years 5960 through 5030 B.P specifically, by pastoralists. The inhabitants of Kadero left behind evidence of intensive pastoralism, which is the earliest evidence of such phenomena in the area. Analysis of ceramics and stone artifacts have led archaeologists to consider the site as comparable to other early Neolithic sites in central Sudan, such as Ghaba and R12, placing the site in the early Khartoum culture.
The prehistory of East Africa spans from the earliest human presence in the region until the emergence of the Iron Age in East Africa. Between 1,600,000 BP and 1,500,000 BP, the Homo ergaster known as Nariokotome Boy resided near Nariokotome River, Kenya. Modern humans, who left behind remains, resided at Omo Kibish in 233,000 BP. Afro-Asiatic speakers and Nilo-Saharan speakers expanded in East Africa, resulting in transformation of food systems of East Africa. Prehistoric West Africans may have diverged into distinct ancestral groups of modern West Africans and Bantu-speaking peoples in Cameroon, and, subsequently, around 5000 BP, the Bantu-speaking peoples migrated into other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The genetic history of Eastern Africa encompasses the genetic history of the people of Eastern Africa. The Sahara served as a trans-regional passageway and place of dwelling for people in Africa during various humid phases and periods throughout the history of Africa.
The Jarigole pillar site is one of the megalithic communal cemetery sites in Lake Turkana Basin in Northern Kenya associated with the Pastoral Neolithic period. The site is located on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana in the southeastern edge of the Sibiloi National Park. Situated in a recessional beach which is 70 m (230 ft) above the 1973 lake level, the site includes oval platforms >1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) with a circular mound, and 28 basalt pillars each weighing about 200 kg (440 lb) and moved over a distance of 2 km (1.2 mi) from the site. The site is believed to have been constructed by the first wave of ancient herders who migrated to the region down from the Sahara around 5,000 years ago, a period marked by rapid climatic, economic and social change.
Manemanya (GcJh5) is an archaeological site within the Lake Turkana basin in northern Kenya. It is a communal burial site built almost 5,000 years ago and is associated with the advent of pastoralism in eastern Africa during the Pastoral Neolithic period. Manemanya is located 1 km east of Lesodok hill, on the western shores of Lake Turkana. Comprising nine pillar clusters situated across two distinct zones, this site lacks evident platform mounds or cairns. However, its distinctiveness is marked by the presence of cobbles in the central area, a distinguishing feature that sets it apart from the natural surface surrounding the site, presenting a notable contrast with other pillar sites in the Lake Turkana basin.