Collaborative Research: Long-term Anthropogenic Influences on the Crater Lake Environmental Landscape of Western Uganda

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With National Science Foundation support, an interdisciplinary team of Drs. Meghan Howey, Peter Schmidt, Michael Palace, Joel Hartter, Lawrence Kiage, and Bunny Lejju will conduct one field season of archaeological and paleoecological research on the Ndali crater lake landscape in western Uganda, a complex series of crater lakes and in-filled crater swamps east of the Rwenzori mountains which forms a particularly distinct setting in the Albertine Rift. Exponential population growth and unchecked land conversion have made the Albertine Rift one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots. This research aims to use deep history to inform present and future trajectories of landscape change in the Albertine Rift. To build towards that goal, it is necessary to test whether linkages can be established between local archaeological and paleoecological records. The Ndali crater lakes and swamps are excellent environments for archiving evidences (biotic and abiotic) of past landscapes and as such, they have been the focus of paleoecological research. These records consistently show possible evidence of human-driven disturbance but there has been a tendency to attribute change to climate change rather than anthropogenic influences. One reason for this is the absence of archaeological evidence around these lakes that might connect historical human occupation to these findings. There is good reason to expect robust cultural activity here, as the Ndali lakes are located less than two hundred kilometers northeast of the epicenter for the development of iron smelting technology in East Africa west of Lake Victoria and are located in the same forest band that would have provided fuelwood and other resources to support people in industrial production. Indeed, preliminary work 17 years ago by Dr. Schmidt confirmed deep-time human occupation around the northern-most crater lakes with strong signatures from the Early and Later Iron Age. To date no work has expanded these preliminary findings. Through a combination of expanded archaeological testing on crater rims and contiguous terraces and new paleoecological cores in filled calderas, swamps, and crater lakes, this pilot research program will establish if archaeology and paleoenvironmental data can be successfully articulated. The close proximities between crater lakes and human settlements opens the potential to make direct inferences about human influence on the landscape, human resource exploitation, and the resilience of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to human disturbance. New approaches and answers are needed to address current demographic and ecological crises facing the Albertine Rift. This pilot work will help build a research program that offers new answers by crossing the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, looking backwards as well as forwards, and prioritizing local historical knowledge as important to address current stresses.