Doctoral dissertation improvement grant: Archaeology and tephrostratigraphy of the southern Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya

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Under the direction of Dr. Sally McBrearty, Mr. Christian Tryon will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His goal is to use closely dated archaeological and paleontological occurrences in the Kapthurin stratigraphic sequence in the Baringo region of Kenya to examine the emergence of anatomically and behaviorally modern humans. The Kapthurin formation is crucial for understanding this transformation because materials spanning the last ca. 2 million years are interbedded with volcanic ash which is amenable to potassium argon dating. Different ashes - the result of individual eruptions - have distinct trace element compositions and through their analysis, individual ashfalls can be "fingerprinted" and their distribution mapped across the formation. Thus they provide a relatively secure framework to track behavioral and biological change. Careful crafted hafted stone tools from both the Kapthurin as well as elsewhere in Africa are termed "Middle Stone Age (MSA)" and they provide the first evidence for humans with cognitive abilities similar to our own. The earliest date, ca. 285,000 years ago comes from the Kapthurin and Mr. Tryon wishes to gain insight into this early phase of the process. Research to date in the northern Kapthurin exposures has significantly changed archaeological views of this process because it has demonstrated that three separate stone working traditions, the MSA and two supposedly preceding ones are in fact interbedded and do not form a chronologically coherent developmental sequence. Researchers do not know whether this variability results from a single culture which manufactured different types of tools in different situations, or whether three separate and distinct cultures existed. In the Near East at a slightly younger date, such replacement occurred with different groups ebbing and flowing in response to changing environmental conditions.While much work has taken place in the northern Kapthurin deposits, their southern counterparts are more poorly known. Mr. Tryon is conducting a geological and archaeological survey of this area both to locate sites and to establish a detailed chronological sequence. With NSF support he will characterize the volcanic ashes collected and will conduct archaeological excavation to provide additional information on cultural variation. This research is important because it will shed light on the emergence of behavioral modern humans. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.