Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Kansyore Phenomenon of East Africa

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Under the supervision of Dr. Richard H. Meadow, Mary Prendergast will analyze archaeological data gathered during her excavations near Lake Eyasi in Tanzania and during previous excavations by the National Museums of Kenya near Lake Victoria. These lacustrine basins were home to foragers sharing a pottery tradition called Kansyore, found across parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at sites reportedly dating between 8,000-2,000 years old. Prendergast's work will not only refine the chronology of Kansyore sites by dating organic materials from her excavations, but she will also examine in detail the dietary strategies pursued by the sites' occupants.Kansyore sites are remarkable for their deep, pottery-rich deposits and abundant food remains dominated by fish. This contrasts with findings from the past century of ethnographic research on African hunter-gatherers, who were shown to leave relatively lightly-used camps, consume a broad range of wild animals, and avoid using ceramics or other objects which require large investments of labor to produce. The study of Kansyore sites, particularly from a dietary perspective, is therefore essential to understanding the diversity of past foraging lifestyles. Furthermore, the appearance of bones of domestic caprines (sheep and/or goat) in the later levels of one Kansyore site suggests that the occupants were either in contact with local herders or adopted herding over time. Since interactions with herders have become a regular feature of life wherever hunter-gatherers remain today (typically in marginally productive areas, surrounded by herders or farmers), an historical perspective is essential to understanding past and present adoption of food production in East Africa. To understand the nature of Kansyore foraging and the degree of interaction with herders, Prendergast will pursue an in-depth study of the fish and mammal remains from three Kansyore sites, and will also draw on other sources of information, such as micromorphological analysis of sediments, to determine whether domestic animals were kept on-site for long periods of time.In addition to examining foraging variation and hunter-herder interactions, this project addresses broader environmental issues. The paleoecology of Lake Victoria has attracted the attention of the scientific community, since this young lake has managed to produce over 500 species or sub-species within a single fish family (Cichilidae) over just 12,000 years. Recent eutrophication and thermal stratification of the lake has led to declining fish populations, leaving ichthyologists racing to document its biodiversity. Although archaeological food remains are biased by both preservation conditions and human choices, Prendergast's analysis of the fish from Kansyore sites may offer the best available historical data on the past diversity of the lake and its tributaries.Finally, the project will also contribute to the growth East African archaeology, since the Tanzanian excavations will train students from the University of Dar es-Salaam. Some articles will be co-authored with local archaeologists, and the dissertation resulting from this work will be made available at three East African institutions. Papers in refereed journals and the publication of data in a free online databank will make the project results available to the scientific community and the public.