dimensions in some industries seems to be an adaptive
behavior in the context of peculiar functional or eco-
nomic situations that occurred during different phases of
the Palaeolithic, and is therefore not in itself a techno-cul-
tural criteria distinctive of the LSA (for example: Douze,
2012; Pargeter and Shea, 2019; Gallotti et al., 2020;
Spinapolice, 2020). In addition, the oldest LSA sites
dated to the Terminal Pleistocene, such as B1s1 in the
Ziway-Shala basin (Ménard et al., 2014; Ménard, 2015),
as well as Macho Hill (Humphreys, 1978) and the lower
layer FeJx4 at Lake Besaka (Brandt, 1982), also exhibit
industries with non-miniaturised backed pieces, though
made on more standardised blanks than at ADS2. In other
words, the act of producing blanks of small dimensions
and/or manufacturing backed pieces, must be dissociated
from the emergence of a “microlithic industry” under-
stood as the strict expression of industries with a domi-
nant bladelet component associated with the manufacture
of geometric microliths (such as segments) – criteria to
which the LSA *sensu stricto* was often reduced.

Another major aspect here is the importance of blade
production as a criterion for the distinction between the
MSA and the LSA. It seems that the blade component of
certain Late MSA industries is quite similar to that of the
earliest LSA industries, as seen in those MIS 3 industries
from the Ziway-Shala basin that are characterised by a
predominant blade production. However, the technical
systems that produced these blades are clearly different
with respect to the LSA due to the almost exclusive use
of planimetric conceptions in the form of Levallois blade
core reduction at MIS 3 sites, which contrasts starkly with
blade production on semi-conical, or at least volumetric
cores at LSA sites dating to MIS 1 (Ménard et al., 2014).
However, as the identification of the MIS 3 local “identi-
ties” described above might lead to a biased view of the
evolutionary dynamics at play in the Horn, it should be
qualified that outside the example of Ziway-Shala, stud-
ies have shown an elongation of the products from the
MIS 3 to the Early Holocene (Leplongeon et al., 2017).
Blade production seems well represented within assem-
blages everywhere from MIS 3 onwards and is the result
of planimetric conceptions (among which Levallois) and
occasional volumetric conceptions of core reduction, or
a combination of both, according to the site (Leplongeon
et al., 2017). The blade criterion is therefore not decisive
on its own for distinguishing between the MSA and the
LSA at the end of the Pleistocene. It seems that across
our studies, the assemblages in which blade production
is dominant, independently of the methods used to obtain
the blades, are dated to the end of the MIS 3 and to MIS 2,
peaking during MIS 1, rather than in the Holocene (flake
and bladelet industries) or to periods before MIS 3 (flake,
point, and occasional blade industries).

Finally, the use of Levallois methods and the produc-
tion of points, generally considered to be key indicators
of the MSA, have been recovered from several assem-
blages dating to the Holocene (Goda Buticha level IIc:
Leplongeon et al., 2017; K'aaba upper levels and Bel
K'urk'umu: Fernández et al., 2007), in association with

flake and bladelet industries more typical of the Hol-
ocene. At these sites, the question remains open as to
whether these Levallois methods were reinvented or if
they persisted until the Holocene as these sites exhibit a
stratigraphic hiatus between the MIS 3 and Holocene lev-
els (Goda Buticha), a chronological hiatus between the
MSA and LSA assemblages (K'aaba) or an absence of
MSA layers at the site (Bel K'urk'umu). For now, regard-
ing Levallois core reduction, the use of non-standardized
descriptive vocabulary hampers our understanding of
this technological convergence. It is becoming more and
more critical to reach a better common assessment of the
Levallois concept and the meaning of its diversity based
on MSA and LSA lithic material, particularly in order to
draw a distinction between flake productions from cores
with hierarchized surfaces and true Levallois productions
(according to Boëda, 1994). As for points, their occur-
rence within LSA layers takes varied forms, including
primarily unifacial points of small dimensions (< 4 cm
long) with bilateral retouch at Goda Buticha (level IIc) or
those of K'aaba. Their recurrence over the course of pre-
history no longer needs to be demonstrated, putting into
question their status as latent MSA indicators, especially
in situations where they are not dominant.

Taking into account all of these parameters, the MSA-
LSA transition appears to have been a gradual, multi-fac-
etted process without a stark rupture between the MSA
and the LSA, and whose roots may be found during the
Late MSA or perhaps even as early as MIS 4. In the con-
text of the Horn of Africa, according to the available data,
the production of backed tools could be an indicative fea-
ture of the progressive replacement of MSA technical tra-
ditions by those of the LSA prior to the predominance of
volumetric blade production within assemblages. In turn,
the latter may signal the emergence of the LSA *stricto
sensu*, with or without latent MSA features. However, the
hiatus in the archaeological record between 25-15 kya in
the Horn of Africa counters all attempts to observe the
dynamics of change during this crucial period of full
development of the LSA as described in this volume
(Ménard et al., this volume). This is true for the Ziway-
Shala basin but also for the sites of Goda Buticha and
Mochena Borago, which also exhibit a chronological and
sedimentary hiatus during MIS 2 within their long strati-
graphic sequences (Pleurdeau et al., 2014; Ménard and
Bon, 2015; Brandt et al., 2017; Tribolo et al., 2017). For
these reasons, it is important to consider work carried out
in the Nile Valley where MIS 2 occupations are particu-
larly well-represented.

3. THE END OF THE PLEISTOCENE
IN THE NILE VALLEY

The end of the Pleistocene in north-eastern Africa
is distinguished from other regions of the conti-
nent by an archaeological record attributed to different
chrono-cultural complexes, such as Middle Palaeolithic
(MP), Middle Stone Age (MSA), Upper Palaeolithic (UP) and Late Palaeolithic (LP). This terminological soup has probably contributed at least in part to the artificial isolation of north-eastern Africa with respect to neighbouring regions (see for example Van Peer, 2016). In this section, we will consider this terminological problem before reviewing the archaeological record from the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene (fig. 6).

**3.1. The archaeology of the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene: between European and Africanist research traditions**

Historically, European terminology has held a privileged position, particularly in the use of the terms “Middle Palaeolithic” and “Mousterian”. This is related in part to the colonial history of northern Africa and therefore to the research traditions of the researchers involved. However, these denominations have tended to be replaced by the term “Middle Stone Age” for both north-eastern (Van Peer, 2004; Van Peer and Vermeersch, 2007; Wurz and Van Peer, 2012) and northern Africa (Dibble et al., 2013; Campmas, 2017), in a deliberate bid to reconcile the prehistory of the north of the continent with that of the regions south of the Sahara (see also Garcea, 2004).

While there is consensus around the use of MSA, and despite the increased use of LSA in northern Africa for later periods, the term “Upper Palaeolithic” remains predominant in the Nile Valley due to interpretations of certain characteristics of the material as exhibiting closer links to the Levant than to the rest of the continent (for example Wurz and Van Peer, 2012). It is nonetheless interesting to note that the term “Later Stone Age” is also used for the industries of the western Egyptian desert and in Sudan (Svoboda et al., 2013; Garcea, 2020; Kleindienst et al., 2020). The term “Late Palaeolithic”, whose use is widespread thanks to research undertaken in the wake of the construction of the Aswan dam (the Nubian campaign), is used only in the Nile Valley and refers specifically to industries dated to the period between 25-15 kya. For more recent periods, the terms “Epipalaeolithic” (a term used mainly in the Levant) or “Mesolithic” (a European term) and later “Neolithic” are still used despite being recognised as somewhat problematic (for example Garcea, 2004).

In this article, with regards to the Nile Valley, we will default to those terms that remain the most widely-used, namely MSA for industries up to around 50 kya, UP for industries from the period between 50-25 kya and LP for industries dated to the period between 25-15 kya.

**3.2. The end of the Middle Stone Age and the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic: fragmentary data and specialised contexts**

One of the main problems facing the study of prehistory in this region is the scarcity of stratified sites and the lack of an absolute chronology, with most remains of MSA occupation having been found in surface contexts.

<figure><img src="image_24.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 6** – Map of the Nile Valley with the location of the main sites mentioned in the text. Geographical extension of the Nile Basin (after Williams, 2019, fig. 1) and of Nubia (after Auenmüller, 2019). Produced on QGIS v. 3.15 (QGIS Development Team, 2017) and Natural Earth Data.</figcaption></figure>

<caption>**Fig. 6** – Carte de la vallée du Nil indiquant la localisation des principaux sites mentionnés dans le texte. Extension géographique du bassin du Nil (d'après Williams, 2019, fig. 1) et de la Nubie (d'après Auenmüller, 2019). Document créé avec QGIS v. 3.15 (QGIS Development Team, 2017) et Natural Earth Data.</caption>

Despite these limitations, this section attempts to reconstitute in a chronological manner the processes at play in the Nile Valley between the end of the MSA and the beginning of the UP.

Three phases may be distinguished in the MSA of north-eastern Africa. One pre-MIS 5 phase sometimes associated with Sangoan/Lupembian appears to be solidly anchored in the African MSA (for example Van Peer et al., 2003; Van Peer, 2016). Only a very few sites are dated to this early stage of the MSA. They are located in the Sudanese part of the Nile basin (for example Van Peer et al., 2003 and 2004; Spinapolice et al., 2018; Masojć et al., 2019 and 2021), and in the western Egyptian desert, namely in the Kharga Oasis (Caton-Thompson, 1952;
Kleindienst et al., 2008), and at Bir Sahara and Bir Tar-fawi (Wendorf et al., 1993).

The second phase corresponds to MIS 5 and includes sites attributed to the Nubian complex, bringing together assemblages that have often been characterised by the production of points according to the Nubian Levallois method (for definitions of this variant of the Levallois see Guichard and Guichard, 1965; Usik et al., 2013; here: fig. 7, nos. 1 and 3). Some industries not included in the Nubian Complex are also associated with this second phase of the MSA, such as the Denticulate Mousterian (Marks, 1968c) or the Upper Levalloisian (Caton-Thompson, 1952; Kleindienst et al., 2008).

The Nubian Complex is generally associated with MIS 5 (Van Peer, 1998 and 2016; Vermeersch, 2020), even if only a few absolute dates are associated with sites of this complex whose chronological boundaries remain blurry. Outside north-eastern Africa, other assemblages exhibit the presence of the Nubian Levallois, particularly in the Horn of Africa at the site of K'one locality 5 extension (Kurashina, 1978), at Gademotta ETH-72-6 (Wendorf and Schild, 1974; Douze, 2012), in eastern Africa at Rusinga (Tryon and Faith, 2013), in Arabia (Rose et al., 2011; Crassard and Hilbert, 2013; Usik et al., 2013) or in the Levant (Goder-Goldberger et al., 2016 and 2017). Some of these assemblages have been attributed to the Nubian Complex and interpreted as related to human dispersals that took place during MIS 5 (Van Peer, 1998 and 2016; Usik et al., 2013; Rose and Marks, 2014; Goder-Goldberger et al., 2016), though this subject is strongly debated (Groucutt et al., 2015; Will et al., 2015; Scerri and Spinapolice, 2019; Groucutt, 2020; Hallinan and Shaw, 2020). The late Nubian Complex is characterised in north-eastern Africa by its great lithic variability, grouping together assemblages attributed to diverse chrono-cultural entities such as the Nubian Mousterian, the Khormusan, the N Group, and the Aterian (Van Peer, 1998 and 2016). While the Aterian (a techno-complex dating between ~ 130 kya and 40-30 kya in northern Africa) is well-represented in Egyptian oases (Dakhleh and Kharga: Kleindienst, 2001; Hawkins, 2012), the question of its geographic extension to the Nile Valley is debated (Kleindienst, 2001; Scerri, 2013 and 2017; but see also Carlson, 2015; Garcea, 2020a and 2020b).

The third phase of the MSA – corresponding to MIS 4 and 3 – produced only a few sites. In Egypt, these function as sites for the extraction of raw materials in the Nile Valley (Nazlet Safaha and Taramsa 1: Van Peer et al., 2010; Van Peer, 2016). In Sudan, the sites belonging to the Khormusan were generally considered to date to the period between 60-40 kya (Wendorf, 2001), but have recently been correlated to MIS 5a or MIS 4 on the basis of stratigraphy (Goder-Goldberger, 2013). A re-evaluation of the dates and the correlation of Khormusan sites with the base of the Late Middle Palaeolithic Aggradation led R. Schild and colleagues to propose that the Khormusan be correlated with MIS 4 (Schild et al., 2020). Despite the small number of sites, MIS 4 can be characterised in north-eastern Africa by its great technological variability,

seen in various well-defined industries: the Safahan (Van Peer, 1991b and 1992; here: fig. 7, nos. 4 and 5), the Khormusan (Marks, 1968b) and the Taramsian (Van Peer et al., 2010) – the latter testifying to the beginning of a technological transition away from the MSA towards volumetric blade debitage (fig. 7, nos. 6 and 7). These assemblages may represent local developments (for example the sequence at Taramsa 1, Van Peer et al., 2010), even if similarities with the East African MSA have been noted for the Khormusan (Goder-Goldberger, 2013).

As with MIS 4, only a few MSA sites have been dated to MIS 3 in north-eastern Africa. In Sudan, only the complex of sites in the Affad basin, perhaps representing a series of dry-season hunting camps – particularly the site of Affad 23 – and recently dated to around 55 kya can be attributed to MIS 3 (Osypińska and Osypiński, 2016; Osypiński and Osypińska, 2016; Osypińska et al., 2020; Osypiński, 2020). The only sites in the Egyptian Nile Valley that have produced absolute dates within MIS 3 are the Upper Palaeolithic sites of Nazlet Khater 4 (NK4), ~ 44-38 kya cal BP (Vermeersch et al., 2002a; Lelongeon and Pleurdeau, 2011) and Phase VI at the site of Taramsa 1 ~ 45-40 kya cal BP (Van Peer et al., 2010). The site of Shuwikhat 1 (with a minimum date of 25 kya BP) has produced a blade industry dating to the end of the Upper Palaeolithic (the Shuwikhatian) and can be dated to MIS 3 (Vermeersch et al., 2000b; Vermeersch, 2020; here: fig. 7, nos. 8 and 10). A similar chronological context may be proposed for the assemblages of El Abadiya 1, also attributed to the Shuwikhatian and E71K9, though having been first associated with the non-Levallois Edfouan and only later re-attributed by means of typo-technological similarities with the Shuwikhatian (Schild and Wendorf, 2010, p. 111).

The question of human presence in the western Egyptian desert between MIS 4 and 2, a period during which the Sahara is considered to have been hyper-arid, is widely debated. Deposits of travertine and riparian marlstone containing molluscs and mammal teeth in the Dakhleh and Kharga oases have been subject to ESR dating (Electron Spin Resonance) and suggest the presence of water sources throughout this arid period, in opposition to hypotheses of an “uninhabitable” desert (Kleindienst et al., 2016 and 2020; Blackwell et al., 2017). Numerous surface assemblages are attributed to the Khargan (Caton-Thompson, 1952), whose characteristics (namely small core dimensions and Levallois flakes, as well as flake segmentation) drove those teams working in the oases to attribute them to a late phase of the MSA, and to correlate them with dates indicating the presence of water sources during MIS 3 (McDonald et al., 2016; Kleindienst et al., 2016 and 2020). However, in the absence of directly dated material associated with lithics, the chronological attribution of these industries, as well as their possible association with stone structures (site J, Kharga), remains the subject of some debate (see discussions in Vermeersch, 2009; McDonald et al., 2016; Kleindienst, 2020; Kleindienst et al., 2020).
<figure><img src="image_25.png" /></figure>

**Fig. 7.** Examples of Middle Stone Age and Upper Palaeolithic artifacts from the Nile Valley. 1: Nubian cores (Vermeersch et al., 2002b); 2-3: Nubian points from Nazlet Khater 1 (Vermeersch et al., 2002b); 4-5: Refits of Levallois Safahan artefacts from Nazlet Safaha 1 (Van Peer et al., 2002); 6: Schematic representation of the laminar production system at Taramsa (after Van Peer et al., 2010); 7: Blade core at Taramsa, Taramsa 1 Phase VI (Van Peer et al., 2010); 8-9: Blade cores with opposed knapping platforms (Vermeersch et al., 2000b); 10: Crested blade from Shuwikhat 1 (Vermeersch et al., 2000b).

**Fig. 7.** Exemples d'artefacts du Middle Stone Age et du Paléolithique supérieur de la vallée du Nil. 1 : Nucléus nubien (Vermeersch et al., 2002b) ; 2-3 : pointes nubiennes de Nazlet Khater 1 (Vermeersch et al., 2002b) ; 4-5 : remontages d'artefacts Levallois Safahan de Nazlet Safaha 1 (Van Peer et al., 2002) ; 6 : représentation schématique du système de production laminaire de Taramsa (Van Peer et al., 2010) ; 7 : nucleus laminaire de Taramsa de la phase VI de Taramsa 1 (Van Peer et al., 2010) ; 8-9 : nucléus laminaires à plans de frappe opposés (Vermeersch et al., 2000b) ; 10 : lame à crête de Shuwikhat 1 (Vermeersch et al., 2000b).
The scarcity of sites dated to MIS 4-3 may indicate a low population density in the Nile Valley, perhaps due to the hyper-arid climate of this period. However, sites like Taramsa, Nazlet Safaha and NK4 suggest a particularly intensive exploitation of raw materials and may instead indicate a significant demographic pressure (Van Peer et al., 2010; Van Peer, 2016). In addition, geomorphological factors linked to a research bias may contribute to this state of affairs.

The sites of the Egyptian Nile Valley belonging to MIS 4 and 3 are thus primarily sites for the extraction of raw materials, with the possible exception of those sites attributed to the Shuwikhatian, if one accepts their chronological attribution to MIS 3. Comparisons with adjacent desert sites, as well as with those of the Sudanese Nile Valley, are somewhat difficult and reinforce, perhaps artificially, the impression that the Egyptian Nile Valley was isolated from its neighbouring regions at the end of the Pleistocene.

### 3.3. The Late Palaeolithic: occupation of the Nile Valley during MIS 2

#### 3.3.1. General context

In contrast to the preceding period, numerous sites dated to MIS 2 are known in the Nile Valley, corresponding principally with two occupation phases: 23-20 kya cal. BP and 16-14 kya cal. BP, separated by a period with fewer sites (Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015; Lelongeon, 2021). This important archaeological record from MIS 2 may well be correlated with a rise in population density in the Nile Valley, or at least in certain parts of the Nile Valley during MIS 2, suggesting that it acted as an environmental refuge during this hyper-arid period in the Sahara. The analysis of available dates for this period should nonetheless be treated with care, especially when interpreting them as proof of demographic changes. It is likely that this density reflects at least in part the intensity of research in certain areas and is therefore probably not representative of known archaeological data, with half of the available dates coming for example from the sites of Wadi Kubbaniya (see discussion in Lelongeon, 2021).

Only a few sites correspond to the beginning of MIS 1, between 14 and 11 kya in the Nile Valley. It is only from the beginning of the Holocene that sites become more numerous, with Mesolithic sites around Kerma, Sudan, dating to around 11 kya cal. BP (Honegger, 2019) and the Epipalaeolithic site of El-Kab in Egypt dating to 9 kya cal. BP (Vermeersch, 1978; Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015). One exception may be Site 117 at Jebel Sahaba in Sudan (Wendorf, 1968), where dates were produced with a wide spread between 18 and 11 kya (also see Crevecoeur et al., 2021 and this volume). While it may be acceptable to consider numbers of known sites as a proxy for population density, the fluctuations observed over the course of MIS 2 and the geographic distribution of sites may be partly correlated – tentatively in the absence of

further data – with the documented climatic and environmental fluctuations during this period.

The Nile has three principal tributaries: the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara (fig. 6). While the flow of the Nile depends primarily on waters brought by the Blue Nile and the Atbara during humid seasons, it depends almost exclusively on those of the White Nile during the dry season (Williams, 2019). The drying out of east African lakes at the end of the Pleistocene, in particular Lake Victoria, the primary source of the White Nile, around ~ 17-16 kya (Johnson et al., 1996; Talbot et al., 2000; Williams et al., 2006 and 2015) would have had important consequences for the perennial character of the Nile (Williams, 2019 and 2020). These consequences are however debated. Two main models have been proposed for the behaviour of the Nile during MIS 2 and the LMG in particular, but no consensus has yet been reached by the scientific community. The first model, developed by F. Wendorf and R. Schild (Schild and Wendorf, 1989 and 2010; Wendorf and Schild, 1989) proposes that the Nile would have taken the form of a braided river during the LMG. Nile would have therefore been at this point a seasonal river with a slower flow, similar to the Atbara today.

P. Vermeersch (2006), followed by P. Vermeersch and W. Van Neer (2015), propose instead a model according to which the Nile would have been blocked at multiple points by sand dunes, creating lakes propitious to the survival of animals and also to human occupation. This hypothesis seems to be supported by a reinterpretation of stratigraphic data from the site of Makhadma 4 (Vermeersch et al., 2000a; Vermeersch, 2006; Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015), as well as data from fish otoliths (Dufour et al., 2018). The authors propose that this model is applicable to several areas of the Nile Valley, namely near Aswan and Gebel Silsileh as well as Esna (Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015, p. 160 and 163), despite its rejection by R. Schild and F. Wendorf (2010) on the basis of an absence of typically riparian deposits such as calcareous mars or diatomites. Only new geological work in these areas is likely to shed more light on these two hypotheses.

Whatever the model, paleo-environmental data and the presence of archaeological sites dated to this period seem to indicate that the Egyptian Nile Valley may have served as an environmental refuge during MIS 2 and particularly the LGM. Prevailing hyper-arid conditions in the adjacent desert areas exclude its role as a “corridor” with neighbouring regions (also see Lelongeon, 2021). It should be noted that there are no known sites dated to MIS 2 in the north of Egypt. Although this may reflect in part a research bias, it also seems to be due to the fact that MIS 2 is correlated with a significant drop in the water level of the Mediterranean. This drop induced a hollowing of the Nile river bed from the area of Qena onwards, with human occupations to the north of Qena probably being washed away or buried under metres of sediment deposited by the Nile following the rise in sea level in the Holocene (Sandford and Arkell, 1929; Wendorf and Schild, 1989).
Furthermore, the rise in precipitation in eastern Africa at the beginning of MIS 1 and the subsequent reconnection of Nile tributaries with various East African riparian basins led to significant flooding events (the “wild Nile”; Butzer, 1980), the environmental consequences of which likely deeply disturbed ecosystems and human populations in the Nile Valley. These environmental changes may explain in part the significant level of interpersonal violence documented for this period at the cemetery at Jebel Sahaba (Kuper and Kröpelin, 2006; Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015; Crevecoeur et al., 2021).

In fact, MIS 2 sites in the Egyptian Nile Valley and in Nubia are generally interpreted as evidence for seasonal occupation with subsistence economies based largely on fishing (Tilapia and Catfish) and to a lesser extent on large mammal hunting (primarily Aurochs, Hartebeests, Dorcas Gazelles, and occasionally hippopotamuses or donkeys; see syntheses and discussions in Van Neer and Gautier, 1989; Van Neer et al., 2000; Schild and Wendorf, 2010; Coudert, 2013; Yeshurun, 2018), as well as on the exploitation of wild plants, notably at Wadi Kubbaniya (Hillman et al., 1989). Rock-art panels at Qurta, El Hosh and in Wadi Subeira, located close to sites from the Late Palaeolithic, are also related to this period (Huyge, 2009; Huyge et al., 2011; Kelany, 2012; Kelany et al., 2015). These bear representations of animals (mainly aurochs) and some human figures (“headless women”) in a very homogenous style. OSL dating of sediments covering one rock-art panel at one site, Qurta II, provided a *terminus ante quem* of 15 kya for these occupations (Huyge et al., 2011).

In terms of technical behaviour, MIS 2 sites in the Egyptian Nile Valley testify to a great diversity in lithic assemblages, distributed across numerous industries and taxonomic entities (Schild and Wendorf, 2010, table 1). The industries of the LP are frequently characterised by the production of elongated products of small sizes, produced from cores with opposed striking platforms, with both planimetric and volumetric conceptions (fig. 8, nos. 3 and 5). These blanks were transformed into backed pieces, whose variability is distinct from one industry to the next (see Close, 1989). However, a certain number of industries exhibit flake production instead, or an association between flake and blade production. Flake production in these industries is frequently carried out on a core, often of small dimensions, identified as being Levallois (Kubbaniyan industry) or else recalling the Levallois method (Halfan method, Marks, 1968a; here: fig. 8, nos. 1 and 2).

### 3.3.2. *Variability in the Late Palaeolithic of the Nile Valley*

The great diversity of technical facets documented over a relatively short period and in a limited geographical area (Upper Egypt and Nubia) has been the subject of much debate (for example by Schild and Wendorf, 2010, p. 110). The majority of the available LP data come from excavations carried out in the context of the Nubian Cam-

paign and from those that continued directly afterwards until the end of the 1980s. The majority of these sites have since disappeared, having either been “drowned” by the Aswan Lake following the construction of the dam or destroyed by the continued expansion of irrigation systems. Despite the impressive quantity of accumulated data, in the absence of any recent excavations, only the systematic re-evaluation of contexts and materials with modern tools can reveal new patterns.

In this way, multiple factors of technical variability may be identified. However, it is necessary to point out that many of these factors are associated only with a few absolute dates, which were often obtained using material with a sometimes questionable association with the industry (Leplongeon, 2021). This complicates the interpretation of those lithic characteristics that seem atypical for assemblages attributed to the UP or LP. The discussion in the article by E. Paulissen and P. Vermeersch (1987) demonstrates this difficulty. This is particularly evident for the Halfan, the Sebilian, and the Levallois Edfouan (table 1), although the authors do stress that the stratigraphic positioning of the sites of these industries seems to be related to the aggradation of the Nile at the end of the Pleistocene, and that they do not have any other arguments in favour of proposing an older date for these industries. It appears however that in the absence of a solid chrono-stratigraphical context for some of these characteristics, it is impossible to reject completely the hypothesis according to which the technological variability witnessed during MIS 2 in the Nile Valley can be partly explained through the erroneous chronological attribution of some of these industries. However, even with those industries with unreliable attribution removed, there are still numerous documented industries for this period.

A second factor for this variability may be linked to the geographical distribution of the sites, with some industries being found only in Nubia between the first cataract (at the Aswan Dam) and the second (Wadi Halfa), whereas others are found only in Upper Egypt and in Egyptian Nubia between the first cataract and Dishna (Schild and Wendorf, 2010, here: table 1). The chronological distribution of sites within each of these areas is difficult to establish. Indeed, as we have noted, the available dates (numerous old radiocarbon dates, often not corrected for reservoir effects) prevent the establishment of a detailed chronology for these industries as well as any potential chronological succession, as has been evidenced at the micro-regional scale in the Levant, for example for the chrono-cultural sequences in the Negev Desert, and in the eastern and southern Levant (Goring-Morris, 1995; Maher et al., 2012; Garrard and Byrd, 2013; Enzel and Bar-Yosef, 2017). Because of this, it is only possible to speculate that variability in these industries either echoes complex social interactions as proposed for the Levant, or is linked to a certain fragmentation of populations along the Nile Valley in line with the environmental lake model proposed by P. Vermeersch and W. Van Neer (2015).
<table><thead><tr><th>Industry and<br>chronological range*</th><th>Geograph.<br>distrib.**</th><th>Lithic characteristics***</th><th>Other<br>characteristic finds</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Idfuan/Shuwikhatian</strong><br>Min. age 25 ka</td><td>A</td><td>Technology: blade production using opposed platform cores and crested products; toolkit: denticulates, burins, end scrapers and burins1</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Fakhurian</strong><br>23-25.6 ka cal BP</td><td>A</td><td>Technology: non-Levallois blade and bladelet production, single and opposed platform cores; toolkit: backed bladelets largely dominant, retouched pieces and perforators</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Levallois Idfuan</strong></td><td>A</td><td>Levallois variant of the Idfuan? Technology: blade production using opposed platform cores, use of Levallois and Halfa methods; toolkit: notches and denticulates are dominant</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Gemaian</strong><br>Undated</td><td>B</td><td>Technology: Levallois, Halfan and Nubian-like cores; toolkit: denticulates and notches</td><td>Bone tool (N = 1)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Halfan</strong><br>19-24 ka cal BP</td><td>B</td><td>Use of small Nile pebbles giving a microlithic aspect; technology: Halfan and Levallois cores; toolkit: Ouchtata and backed bladelets</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Kubbaniyan</strong><br>19.3-23.5 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>A</td><td>Technology: flake and bladelet production, use of single and opposed platform cores, occasional use of Levallois and Halfa methods; toolkit: Ouchtata and backed bladelets, burins. Egyptian variant of the Halfan?</td><td>Grinding implements, bone tools and ostrich eggshell beads</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Ballanan-Silsilian</strong><br>16.3-20.8 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>A, B</td><td>Sometimes includes the use of exotic raw materials; Technology: mainly oriented towards the production of short elongated blanks (blade/let) with single and opposed platform cores; toolkit: backed pieces, truncations, proximally retouched blade(lets) and notched tools, occasional use of the microburin technique2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Qadan</strong><br>12-20.2 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>Mostly B, one site in A (Wadi Kubbaniya)</td><td>Small dimensions of the artefacts; technology: mainly oriented towards flake production with single and opposed platform cores, several cores reminiscent of the Levallois methods for Qadan point production, bladelet production documented in some but not all sites; toolkit: Qadan points, burins, small scrapers and backed pieces (the latter only at some sites)3</td><td>Rare bone tools, grinding implements</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Afian</strong><br>14-16.8 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>A</td><td>Technology: mainly oriented towards the production of wide and small elongated products, planimetric conception of debitage with high frequencies of faceted platforms; toolkit: truncations, backed bladelets and geometries4</td><td>Grinding stones (Kom Ombo area) and if Makhadma 4 is included in the Afian, bone tools</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Sebilian</strong><br>12.6-16.9 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>A, B</td><td>'very particular association of lithics'; technology: Discoidal and Levallois cores for the production of flakes; toolkit: truncated and backed flakes, use of the microburin technique</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Isnan</strong><br>13.2-16.6 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>A</td><td>Technology: production of flakes and rare blades from single and opposed platform cores; toolkit: high percentage of end scrapers, followed by notches and denticulates, rare backed pieces</td><td>Grinding implements</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Arkinian</strong> (excluding<br>el Adam variant)<br>11.9-12.8 ka<br>cal BP</td><td>B</td><td>Bladelet and flake production from single and opposed platform cores, presence of bipolar reduction, stone anvils; numerous backed pieces and end scrapers</td><td>Grinding implements, bone spatula</td></tr></tbody></table>

**Table 1** – Characteristics of the Late Palaeolithic cultural entities in the Nile Valley (*: after Leplongeon, 2021; **: after Schild and Wendorf, 2010, A = southern Egypt between Sohag and the first cataract, B = Egyptian and Sudanese Nubia between the first and the second cataract; ***: after Schild and Wendorf, 2010 except when mentioned otherwise – ¹characteristics after Vermeersch, 2020 [these characteristics, associated with minimal ages around 25 ka led to an attribution to the later Upper Palaeolithic, rather than the Late Palaeolithic], ²characteristics after Smith, 1966 and Leplongeon, 2017, ³characteristics after Usai, 2020, ⁴characteristics after Leplongeon, 2017 [note that in this reference the attribution of Makhadma 4 to the Afian is questioned]).

Tabl. 1 – Caractéristiques des entités culturelles du Paléolithique récent de la Vallée du Nil (*: d'après Leplongeon, 2021; **: d'après Schild et Wendorf, 2010, A = sud de l'Égypte entre Sohag et la première cataracte, B = Nubie égyptienne et soudanaise entre la première et la deuxième cataracte; ***: d'après Schild et Wendorf, 2010 sauf mentions contraires – ¹caractéristiques d'après Vermeersch, 2020 [ces caractéristiques, associées à un âge minimal autour de 25 ka, ont mené à une attribution de l'assemblage au Paléolithique supérieur récent plutôt qu'au Paléolithique récent], ²caractéristiques d'après Smith, 1966 et Leplongeon, 2017, ³caractéristiques d'après Usai, 2020, ⁴caractéristiques d'après Leplongeon, 2017 [dans cet article, l'attribution de Makhadma 4 à l'Afian est remise en cause]).
<figure><img src="image_26.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 8** – Examples of Late Palaeolithic artifacts from the Nile valley. 1: Halfian core from Halfian site 1018; 2: Halfian cores from Levallois Edfouen site E71P1A; 3-4: Orthogonal cores from Alfian site E71K18; 5: Cores with opposed knapping platforms from Silsilian site E71K20; 6-8: Proximal truncations from site E71K18C; 9: Proximal truncation from site E71K20; 10: Backed blade from site E71K20 (photos A. Leplongeon, taken courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum; 3-10: Leplongeon, 2017).</figcaption></figure>

<caption>**Fig. 8** – Exemples d'artefacts du Paléolithique récent de la vallée du Nil. 1 : Nucléus halfien du site halfien 1018 ; 2 : nucléus halfien du site Edfouen à Levallois E71P1A ; 3-4 : nucleus orthogonaux du site Afien E71K18 ; 5 : nucleus à plans de frappe opposés du site silsilien E71K20 ; 6-8 : troncatures proximales du site E71K18C ; 9 : troncature proximale du site E71K20 ; 10 : lame à dos abattu du site E71K20 (clichés A. Leplongeon, avec l'aimable autorisation du British Museum ; 3-10 : Leplongeon, 2017).</caption>
Finally, a third factor for this variability may be linked to the functions of the sites or indeed to their season of occupation (for example Lubell, 1976). However, and in contrast with preceding periods, all sites seem to testify to the presence of similar faunal assemblages, while nevertheless indicating different seasons of occupation (see also Coudert, 2013).

**3.4. From the Middle Stone Age to the Late Palaeolithic in the Nile Valley: ruptures and continuity**

From the beginning of MIS 3 until the end of the LGM, archaeological data from the Nile Valley can be divided into multiple phases – corresponding to the final phase of the MSA, the UP and the LP – each separated by chronological intervals without any archaeological data, whether due to research biases, to variable conservation conditions or an actual absence of human occupations in the area. The resolution of the available data does not allow us to distinguish between these different hypotheses, and therefore it remains to evaluate the similarities and differences that can be observed in the lithic record during this period. In order to do this, we will rely on elements generally emphasised in attributing an assemblage to the MP-MSA and UP-LP-LSA: the presence of Levallois methods versus volumetric blade-bladelet technologies and the emergence of backed pieces.

**3.4.1. *The Levallois from MIS 3 to the end of the LGM in the Nile Valley: continuity, reinvention, experimentation?***

*The Levallois and the transition to the Upper Palaeolithic (~ 60-50 kya)*

The end of the MSA in the Nile Valley is marked by great variability in Levallois methods (Van Peer, 1991a and 1992), which are often oriented towards producing elongated blanks through bi-directional methods and which frequently involve the minute facetting of the striking platform (high proportions of convex shaped butts or chapeaux de gendarme).

The site of Taramsa 1 (Van Peer et al., 2010) is particularly interesting regarding the question of Levallois variability. The site is characterised by multiple trenches dug out of an ancient wadi terrace for the extraction of blocks of chert. It was exploited over a long period that produced an extremely complex stratigraphy. Six main “phases of activity” have been identified, each characterised by multiple lithic assemblages within which numerous refittings were carried out, allowing for a precise analysis of the core reduction methods (Van Peer et al., 2010). Phase I (207 kya) was attributed to the Lupembian, Phase II (dated between 117 ± 10.5 et 88.8 ± 9.5 kya) to an early phase of the Nubian Complex, Phase III – to which is attributed a child burial – to the Nubian Complex (mean age 78.5 ± 5.6 kya), Phase IV (mean age 56.2 ± 5.5 kya) to the Taramsan, Phase V (mean age 40.9 ± 4.5 kya) to

the Safahan and finally Phase VI (40.7-45.4 kya cal. BP) to the UP. In particular, the Taramsan is characterised by a specific core reduction method with distinct Levallois characteristics, but deviates from it by the presence of a somewhat peculiar distal striking platform, with more pronounced lateral convexities, and an exploitation plane slightly offset with respect to the intersection plane of the core (fig. 7, nos. 6 and 7). These characteristics, resembling volumetric debitage methods, led to the interpretation that the assemblages of Activity Phase IV and the Taramsan may represent a transition between Levallois production and the volumetric blade production of the Upper Palaeolithic (Van Peer et al., 2010, p. 241). However, it is likely that several “transitional” trajectories existed in parallel, with P. Van Peer et al. (2010, p. 241) suggesting that the production methods in activity Phase V at Taramsa are documenting a distinct transitional trajectory parallel to that seen in Phase IV. A successional relationship is suggested with the Nubian Levallois method for Phase IV and the Safahan Levallois method for Phase V.

Although these data all come from a single site, they seem to indicate that the tendency towards the use of volumetric blade technologies in the Nile Valley was in place from the beginning of MIS 3.

*The Levallois in the Upper Palaeolithic (~ 50-25 kya)*

The UP in Egypt was seen for a long time as characterised strictly by blade assemblages and the absence of Levallois methods. However, the publication of new sites and new analyses of assemblages attributed to the UP have allowed a certain nuancing of this vision. The characteristics of these assemblages are summarised below.

As already mentioned, the UP in the Nile Valley is represented by a very limited number of sites (Taramsa, Activity Phase VI, NK4, Shuwikhat, E71K9 and El-Abadiya Central Sector, the latter three grouped under the term “Idfuan-Shuwikhatian”). Phase VI at Taramsa 1 is characterised by a blade production method similar to that of the Taramsan (Phase IV), although its volumetric blade character is even more pronounced. This production is associated with the production of Nubian Levallois points (Van Peer et al., 2010, p. 181-182). Nazlet Khater 4 has produced an assemblage that is characterised primarily by volumetric blade production, leading to it being considered as an abrupt rupture with previous industries (Vermeersch et al., 2002a). It is nonetheless interesting to note that certain characteristics less frequent in the assemblage at NK4 are reminiscent of the MSA, such as the presence of flake production using the core surface and the presence of bifacial components (Leplongeon and Pleurdeau, 2011; Vermeersch, 2020). Of the sites attributed to the Shuwikhatian, only Shuwikhat 1 and El Abadiya have been subject to detailed analyses (Vermeersch et al., 2000b). They are characterised primarily by volumetric blade production on cores with opposed striking platforms. While Levallois methods are absent,
certain characteristics such as the maintenance of core
convexities, the somewhat planar character of the surfaces
of exploitation of cores as well as the treatment of the
striking platforms (by faceting) is perhaps indicative of a
Levallois lineage (Vermeersch et al., 2000b, p. 156,180;
here: fig. 7, nos. 8 to 10). However, the blade compo-
nents of the assemblage, associated with few retouched
tools but dominated by end-scrapers, burins and backed
pieces have been considered sufficient for attribution of
the assemblage to the UP (Vermeersch et al., 2000b; Ver-
meersch, 2020).

This short synthesis of several assemblages attributed
to the UP in the Nile Valley shows that despite the lack
of data for MIS 3 and their partial contradiction with the
earliest published data on the Egyptian UP, the available
archaeological record speaks for a hypothesis of gradual
local transitions from Levallois core reduction methods
towards volumetric blade core reduction. While their
attribution to the UP seems justified by the predominance
of blade productions frequently exhibiting a volumetric
conception, in our opinion the technological characteris-
tics that appear to be inherited from the Levallois deserve
to be underlined.

The Levallois in the Late Palaeolithic (~ 25-15 kya)

One of the interpretations linked to the LP in the Nile
Valley seeks to explain the presence (persistence?) of
Levallois technologies up until this period (see discussion
in Paulissen and Vermeersch, 1987). Faced with new data
from the end of the MSA and the UP in the Nile Valley
described above, and considering certain elements in con-
tinuity with the MSA, this late flourishing of Levallois
methods in the Nile Valley should no longer be a surprise,
though it nonetheless deserves re-evaluation. Indeed,
while we accept that a certain Levallois heritage can be
identified within the assemblages of the UP, clearly-de-
fined Levallois methods are indeed much rarer or even
absent in certain assemblages. Although many of the
industries of the LP in the Nile Valley incorporate Leval-
lois methods in their definition, a critical review of these
industries will allow us to nuance this view.

Among the Levallois industries of the LP, only the
Kubbaniyan has provided absolute dates and carefuly-
ly-documented contexts – it is also interesting to note that
the Levallois flakes and cores are present in smaller pro-
portions in these assemblages – whereas for the Sebilian
and the Gemaian, the stratigraphic integrity of the assem-
blages has been questioned (for example, Paulissen and
Vermeersch, 1987). Sites with clear stratigraphic contexts
will be essential in order to consider these industries as
definitive parts of the LP.

Other industries exhibiting Levallois core reduction
(the Levallois Idfuan and Halfan, see table 1) are charac-
terised by a specific method: the Halfan. “Classic” Leval-
lois debitage is present only in meagre proportions (see
also Van Peer, 1991a). The Halfan method was defined by
A. Marks (1968a) as a core reduction method for pre-de-
termined flakes, based upon the bi-directional prepara-

tion of the core and involving the meticulous crafting
of a faceted convex striking platform in addition to the
preparation of distal convexities of the core by removing
bladelets or elongated flakes (fig. 8, nos. 1 and 2). These
steps give the core “the appearance of a Levallois core”
(Marks, 1968a, p. 394) and the Halfan method is gener-
ally considered to be one of the Levallois methods used
in the Nile Valley (Van Peer, 1991a and 1992). The abun-
dance of Halfan cores associated with backed bladelets
at certain sites located between the first and second cat-
aracts has led to the definition of the Halfan as a distinct
industry (Marks, 1968a). The Halfan method is also doc-
umented in other industries from the LP (for example in
the Levallois Edfouan). The status of the Halfan method
and its place within other Levallois methods are impor-
tant factors to consider in the debate regarding the per-
sistence of the Levallois into the LP. Indeed, it seems to
be the most common method affiliated with the Levallois
among LP industries. Determining if and by what means
this method derives from other Levallois methods from
the MP is critical to evaluate its role within a scenario of
the continued existence (and therefore continuity) of the
Levallois in the LP.

4. COMPARATIVE LOOK AT THE HORN OF AFRICA AND THE NILE VALLEY

Here, we comparatively evaluate techno-cultural
dynamics at the end of the Pleistocene in both the
Horn of Africa and the Nile Valley, two regions geograph-
ically connected by the Nile basin but whose archaeolo-
gies have yet to be interrogated in relation to one another.
These dynamics take place in the context of the climatic
deterioration of the Last Glacial period, culminating with
the LGM, which profoundly affected the landscapes of
these areas and exacerbated existing contrasts. In this
context, the trajectories that lead to the decline of the
MSA and the advent of LSA/UP-LP technical traditions
are certainly distinct, though several convergences can
also be noted and force us to attempt to interpret the value
of this information. Before beginning with this task how-
ever, it is worth recalling that the archaeological records
of these two regions are chronologically and contextually
very disparate.

4.1. Two distinct regions: research bias or age-old reality?

The Horn of Africa and the Nile Valley can be fairly
strongly distinguished with regards to the available data
for the period between MIS 3 and the end of MIS 2. There
are only a few contemporaneous sites in the two regions.
A relatively large number of sites are attributed to MIS 3
in the Horn of Africa – or at least they are more numerous
than in the Nile Valley – and by contrast very few sites
are dated to MIS 2, whereas many sites are known for this
period in the Nile Valley (table 2).
This differential chronological distribution of occupa-
tions in each of the regions could be seen as reflecting a
true complementarity between them, with human popu-
lations having favoured one or the other according to the
circumstances. However, archaeological data are far from
being able to prove such a scenario, and if it is necessary
to defend a model, it would undoubtedly be that of the
entrenchment of populations within different areas of the
Horn of Africa during MIS 3, with its limited zones of
mobility (for example limited vertical mobility in moun-
tain habitats). Furthermore, the archaeological record of
the Nile Valley speaks for the occupation of sites with
very specialised functions (for example for the extrac-
tion of raw materials), producing data that are difficult to
compare with the Horn of Africa. Finally, the systematic
sedimentary and chronological hiatus which covers the
period of the LGM in the Horn of Africa (for example
at Goda Buticha, Mochena Borago, ADS2 and without a
doubt, at other sites interpreted formerly as transitional)
presents a major research bias for assessing past reality
regarding the differential population of these two regions.
Was the Horn really depopulated while the Nile Valley
was more densely populated during the LGM? The ques-
tion remains open for the moment.

Other exacerbating factors demarcating the two
regions include the types of known sites for the period,
which vary widely from shelters, caves, lake-shore or
at high altitude occupations in the Horn, whereas in the
Nile Valley they are almost exclusively open air and near
water sources.

Furthermore, the available remains for the Horn at the
beginning of MIS 1 are primarily lithic artefacts, as many
sites show very random – and more often no – preserva-
tion of organic remains. In the Nile Valley by contrast, for
example in MIS 2, the preservation of organic remains
(faunal and plant remains; e.g. traces of rhizome crushing
at Wadi Kubbaniya: Hillman et al., 1989) as well as the
spatial organisation of sites with the presence of struc-
tures (post holes interpreted as fish-smoking structures at
Makhadma 4 Kubbaniya: Vermeersch et al., 2000a), ena-
bles the relatively extensive reconstruction of human-en-
vironment relations in this region. These differences in
the nature of the preservation of remains, in addition
to limiting the evaluation of behavioural convergences
between the two areas, has led to research questions that
are necessarily different from one region to the other.

Finally, and perhaps more insidiously, these regions
are distinguished from one another by their research tra-
ditions, with research in the Horn of Africa following the
models of the MSA and LSA developed in and for Africa,
while research in the Nile Valley has oscillated between
research questions that are distinctly Africanist and those
that are turned towards the Near East and Europe, particu-
larly regarding the origins of the UP. The Palaeolithic of
the Nile Valley also benefitted from numerous research
projects from the 1960s to 1980s, often initiated in the
context of the Nubian Campaign and its numerous and
ambitious archaeological and geomorphological projects.
This contrasts with the scarcity of recent studies in the

region, in particular concerning the LP. Inversely, the
Horn of Africa has seen a resurgence of research since
the 1990s, notably on questions related to the end of the
MSA and the beginning of the LSA, a period that is at
present neglected in the Nile Valley.

The different research traditions and questions have
led to the use of terminologies that are hardly compa-
rable, both in the naming of the industries and for the
description of their components. The objective of this
comparative overview is not to question the use of a par-
ticular nomenclature, but rather to surpass the oftentimes
paralyzing obstacles created by divergent terminologies
by instead describing the lithic variability at the end of
the Upper Pleistocene in the two regions as well as their
respective techno-cultural trajectories (table 2).

## 4.2. Confronting the two regions: trajectories towards new production systems?

Our approach here is to summarise the available data
for both regions by chronological phase and by confront-
ing data from both simultaneously, in order to compre-
hend the processes of change, whether they occurred fol-
lowing ruptures or in continuity.

4.2.1. MIS 5 (~ 130-70 kya)

The MSA at the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene
in the Horn of Africa is characterised by the production
of flakes, points, and elongated products, essentially
by Levallois methods. There is a significant variability
of the Levallois methods used, such as the Nubian core
reduction at K'one and at ETH-72-6 (if one accepts the
attribution of these sites to the beginning of the Upper
Pleistocene), the micro-Levallois and micro-Aduma at
Aduma, and more generally an implementation of mul-
tiple modalities and management types in the Levallois
operative schemes within assemblages. Volumetric blade
production is also known but remains sporadic, as is the
case from the beginning of the MSA.

In parallel, the MSA in the Nile Valley at the begin-
ning of the Upper Pleistocene, and more specifically at
the end of MIS 5, corresponds mainly to the Nubian Com-
plex, although the exact chronological extent and techni-
cal variability within the latter remain poorly known. It is
characterised by the use of Nubian Levallois methods for
the production of points, alongside other Levallois meth-
ods, namely of recurrent modality and centripetal core
management types. The Nubian Complex covers a wide
diversity of industries.

4.2.2. MIS 4-beginning of MIS 3 (~ 70-35 kya)

No site in the Horn of Africa has produced absolute
dates clearly relating to MIS 4. The beginning of MIS 3
is in contrast increasingly represented, particularly in
recent excavations (Goda Buticha, Mochena Borago,
Fincha Habera). The MSA here is characterised by signif-
icant variability in debitage methods, which are mainly
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2"></th><th colspan="2">MIS 5</th><th colspan="2">MIS 4</th><th colspan="2">MIS 3</th><th colspan="2">MIS 2</th><th colspan="2">Early MIS 1 (15-12ka)</th></tr><tr><th>NV</th><th>HoA</th><th>NV</th><th>HoA</th><th>NV</th><th>HoA</th><th>NV</th><th>HoA</th><th>NV</th><th>HoA</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>General Classification</td><td>MSA</td><td>MSA</td><td>MSA</td><td>MSA</td><td>UP</td><td>MSA</td><td>LP</td><td>MSA / LSA</td><td>ND</td><td>LSA</td></tr><tr><td>Relative density of known sites</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>-</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>-</td><td>+</td></tr><tr><td>Flake production from platform cores</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td></tr><tr><td>Elongated blank production from platform cores</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>+</td></tr><tr><td>Elongated blank production from volumetric cores</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>+</td></tr><tr><td>Bipolar-on-anvil core reduction</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>-</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Levallois core reduction</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>-</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Technological points</td><td>+</td><td>+</td><td>-</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td></tr><tr><td>Retouched or shaped points</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>-</td><td>Δ</td><td>ND</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Backed pieces (all dimensions)</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td><td>Δ</td><td>+</td><td>Δ</td><td>ND</td><td>Δ</td></tr></tbody></table>

These elements may be absent (-), sporadically present/rare (Δ), present/numerous (+), or no data is available (ND).

<caption>**Table 2** – Table comparing the presence of typo-technological elements discussed in the text between the Nile Valley (NV) and the Horn of Africa (HoA).</caption>

<caption>**Tabl. 2** – Tableau comparant la présence des éléments typo-technologiques discutés dans le texte entre la vallée du Nil (NV) et la Corne de l'Afrique (HoA).</caption>

planimetric, both Levallois and non-Levallois, with some occurrences of volumetric blade production and bipo-lar-on-anvil core reduction. Each site has distinct tech-nological characteristics, in which Levallois is not clearly dominant. The production of elongated blanks is more significant than in preceding periods but is still mainly conditioned by planimetric conceptions of core reduction. Backed pieces seem to be present for the first time in the Horn in two MIS 3 sites, though in very small quantities and quite varied forms, and are not necessarily associated with blade industries (Mochena Borago). Retouched and shaped points remain predominant.

In the Nile Valley, the rare data available for MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3 in Egypt cover sites that demonstrate a very specific function of raw material extraction, and where technological manifestations of Levallois conceptions verging on volumetric blade production seem to have taken place (Taramsan, Safahan). It is in this respect that these industries are no longer considered as fully integrated into the technical world of the MSA but rather as precursors of a transition towards the UP. Indeed, one of the key sites from this period, NK4, is fully assigned to the UP by the presence of a volumetric approach to core reduction, despite some characteristics reminiscent of a planimetric approach more typical of the MSA, notably in the management of convexities. Similarly, Phase VI at Taramsa is attributed to the Upper Palaeolithic, despite certain characteristics that recall the MSA. The attribution of NK4 or Taramsa (Phase VI)

to the UP is based almost exclusively on technological arguments, as the function of these sites (the extraction of raw materials) has led to a very low representation and uncharacteristic toolkits, except for the adzes of NK4. By contrast, in Sudan, the only site dated to the beginning of MIS 3, Affad 23 (~ 55 kya; Osypinska et al., 2020; Osypinski, 2020; Osypinski et al., 2021), is considered as fully MSA, with a very clear use of Levallois methods.

### 4.2.3. End of MIS 3-MIS 2 pre-LGM (~ 35-25 kya)

Sites in the Horn of Africa that can securely be related to the very end of MIS 3 are DW1, DW4, B1s3 and B4 in the Ziway-Shala basin. These sites have provided blade industries produced following a planimetric approach to core reduction, most often through a bi-directional Levallois method, and the products of which show carefully faceted platforms (fig. 4). Since cores are all cores-on-flakes and therefore quite flat, the management of the lateral convexities was achieved by débordant removals, often highly inclined, having laterally taken away the intersection plane between the two surfaces. This type of management cannot be mistaken for a volumetric conception of core reduction, and moreover, no backed pieces have been recovered from these sites. In contrast, the site of Aga Dima S2, also in the Ziway-Shala basin and dated to the very beginning of MIS 2 has provided an assemblage characterised by similar types of productions, although this time with the introduction of strongly
curved geometries on some of the cores. Alongside a vol-
umetric management of the cores, the site has produced a
toolkit composed of points associated with backed pieces
of diverse morpho-dimensional characteristics, as well as
burins.

In the Nile Valley, only a few sites have been dated
to the end of MIS 3 and the beginning of MIS 2. With
minimum ages around 25 kya, the Shuwikhatian-Edfouan
industry, represented principally by three sites, belongs
to this period, namely Shuwikhat 1, El Abadiya 1 and
E71K9. Volumetric blade schemes are dominant here,
though they include additional characteristics that recall
planimetric conceptions and Levallois core reduction
methods (management of convexities and preparation of
striking platforms). These assemblages have produced a
few backed pieces, but in relatively small quantities, and
their manufacture is described as quite irregular.

4.2.4. *The second part of MIS 2 (~ 25-15 kya)*

In the Horn of Africa, only the site of Sodicho, whose
material is currently in the process of being published,
can be attributed to this period (Hensel et al., 2021). It is
therefore necessary to jump forward several millennia to
the beginning of MIS 1 in order to identify occupations
again, at least in the Ziway-Shala basin and perhaps at
Besaka (Habte, 2020). These latter areas have produced
industries that are, this time, fully LSA with volumetric
blade-bladelet productions, backed pieces and burins,
with no Levallois core reduction, but which also occa-
sionally provide a few flake cores (notably at Besaka).
This is followed during the Holocene by highly diversi-
fied LSA technologies accompanied by equally disparate
subsistence modes.

On the contrary, numerous sites attributed to the LP
are documented and divided into multiple industries in
the Nile Valley (table 1). These sites are characterised
by highly diverse productions, generally blade-bladelet
productions, with debitage methods that are both volu-
metric and planimetric. Volumetric blade productions
are occasionally associated with Levallois core reduc-
tion methods (Kubbaniyan) or with methods that seem to
derive from the Levallois (Halfan), whose descent from
former production systems is not evident due to the poor
chronological resolution. Backed pieces are abundant and
tend to dominate the toolkit. They exhibit a significant
variability and are often not highly standardised, even
if the retouch type appears to be more regular than for
MIS 3 sites. It is possible that the micro-burin technique
is represented, though with a very limited or even purely
accidental usage (Leplongeon, 2017; Leplongeon and
Goring-Morris, 2018). The evolution of these industries
is unknown given the poor archaeological data from the
end of MIS 2 and the beginning of MIS 1 in the Nile Val-
ley (with the possible exception of Jebel Sahaba; see dis-
cussions in Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015; Crèvecœur
et al., 2021; Leplongeon, 2021).

In the end, while stark contrasts remain in the archae-
ological records of these two regions, the above synthe-

sis of data allows us to go beyond the incompatibility of
comparisons between them, and instead to propose ave-
nues of convergences between their cultural trajectories
as well as to sketch more precisely the technological and
chronological evidences defining their divergences.

4.3. Similarities between the two regions: parallel but asynchronous processes?

Beyond the marked differences in the archaeological
records of the two regions characterised by gaps during
which few or no sites are known, it is possible to identify
parallel processes, at least regarding the development of
industries with technical principles typical of the LSA or
of the UP-LP.

At the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, the MSA
of the two regions can be characterised by a dominance of
Levallois conceptions, which are resolutely central to the
lithic productions and exhibit a wide range of variability.
This diversity of Levallois productions leads to a mosaic
representation of industries with distinct characteristics,
centering around a common conception of the geometry
of core reduction (opposed hierarchized surfaces, remov-
als parallel to the intersection plane, and the importance
of the preparation of the surfaces).

The conceptions of core reduction in the two regions
become increasingly varied as Levallois methods
decrease in importance at most sites. Industries with elon-
gated blanks become more common, and from the end
of MIS 4 the Nile Valley sees a move towards resolutely
laminar and volumetric industries. The strong contrasts
between industries within each of these regions rein-
forces the image of a mosaic of technical practices. The
practices in some regions demonstrate important changes
from a conceptual point of view regarding the production
modes as well as in the toolkit, with the introduction of
the concept of backing during MIS 3. This change how-
ever does not represent a stark technical rupture since,
in both regions, the first volumetric blade industries also
retain some characteristics that seem to have been inher-
ited from the Levallois (ADS2, Shuwikhat 1).

This common trend of local developments leading to
the replacement of the Levallois which was dominated by
volumetric conceptions in both regions, follows a gradual
though asynchronous pattern in both regions (MIS 4-3
in the Nile Valley, end of MIS 3-beginning of MIS 2 in
the Horn). The fact that these changes were gradual has
contributed to the adoption of different terminologies in
the respective regions, depending on whether the inter-
pretations emphasised the evidence for continuity (main-
taining the assignment of the industries to the MSA in
the Horn) or evidence that marks a break with previous
technical traditions (attribution of the industries to the
UP in the Nile Valley). It is possible that gradual trajec-
tories towards new conceptions of core reduction and of
the toolkit as a whole are rooted in the diversification of
industries marking the end of the MSA, which is itself per-
haps linked to the climatic conditions of the Last Glacial
period. This diversification may indeed be seen as reflect-
ing a strong adaptive dynamic in which technical systems had to rapidly be reinvented while remaining flexible in order to deal with increasingly unstable environmental situations. One can envision that the climate-related pressures that occurred asynchronously and in different ways in each region also led to techno-cultural changes taking place at different moments.

This asynchrony in the trajectories of change, despite some convergence in their processes, is again encountered at the time of the emergence of the LSA and the LP, during or after the LGM in both regions. However, the more pronounced discrepancies, and even the more significant break between the very end of the MSA and the early LSA sites, are exacerbated in the Horn of Africa due to the absence of archaeological data for the LGM period, corresponding to a hiatus of nearly 10,000 years. In the Horn, just after the LGM, Ethiopian sites of the Late Glacial – final Pleistocene – demonstrate the emergence of clearly laminar industries, with backed pieces and burins, and without any Levallois (Ménard et al., this volume). These were once grouped under the term of “Ethiopian Blade Tradition” (Clark and Williams, 1978) and are considered discontinuous with the varied industries of the Holocene LSA that follows (Ménard and Bon, 2015).

The Nile Valley during MIS 2 shows the development of original industries with a significant variability for a restricted chronological period and in a limited area. The question of their continuity with previous industries – the MSA in particular, based on the presence of Levallois conceptions during MIS 2 – remains open and difficult to resolve given the small number of known sites for the end of MIS 3. However, the evidence of profound conceptual changes towards blade and volumetric core reduction processes as early as MIS 4 in the Nile Valley do not allow us to reject the hypothesis of a sporadic reinvention of Levallois methods or at least methods recalling the Levallois during MIS 2 (Halfan). Several authors have suggested exterior influences on the development of the variability observed in MIS 2 in the Nile Valley through contacts with Northwestern Africa (Phillips, 1972 and 1973; Close, 1978 and 2002) or the Levant (Schmidt, 1996). In this respect, a recent genetic study based on ancient DNA from individuals from Taforalt (~ 15 kya), Morocco, indicates the presence of genetic interactions between the populations of northern Africa and those of the Levant at the end of the Pleistocene as well as a Western, Central, and Southern African ancestry for individuals from Taforalt (Van de Loosdrecht et al., 2018). These results suggest interactions along the Mediterranean at the end of the Pleistocene, while the role of the Nile Valley in these interactions remains to be clarified. Systematic comparisons of archaeological data between these regions are still rare (Leplongeon and Goring-Morris, 2018) and in the absence of ancient DNA from human remains in the Nile Valley, the question remains open. It is interesting to note that LSA sites documented at the beginning of the Holocene in the Horn of Africa (Ménard et al., 2014; Khalidi et al., 2020) also show the development of highly varied industries, close in both chronology

and geography, and which present, as in the Nile Valley, highly contrasting modes of subsistence (also see Coudert, 2013).

It is tempting to draw parallels between the processes of change occurring in the two regions, even if they proceed according to significantly different timings. In each case, local developments within the MSA towards volumetric blade production, occasionally associated with a toolkit including backed pieces, are followed by distinctive changes marked by a growing diversification of industries. And it is only once this process was completed at the extreme end of the Pleistocene for the Horn – and perhaps as early as the beginning of MIS 2 in the Nile Valley – that we observe that the technical and behavioural universes of the MSA are definitively over. What comes out of this synthesis, is that despite each region presenting unique technical developments, there are similarities in the processes of change at the conceptual level regarding the lithic productions and through the lens of their evolution in the long-term. From this perspective, it is not so much a question of estimating whether ruptures occurred at exactly the same time, but rather whether they describe a similar dynamic of change. As a result, it appears that, without being able to assert the exact mechanisms of the influence of the “Big Dry” on the behaviour of prehistoric populations, it is nonetheless clear that in its broad chronological acceptance, this climatic phenomenon accompanied and undoubtedly amplified the restructuring of their technical worlds, as early as its beginning at the end of the MSA. And while these two regions have different archaeological records and signatures, it is clear from their comparison that their general trajectories can be brought closer to one another, not in the rhythm of change strictly speaking but in the direction of the processes of technological changes over time.

**Acknowledgements:** This synthesis is the fruit of collaborative work undertaken in the context of the project of the Agence Nationale de la Recherche ‘Big Dry’ (ANR-14-CE31-0023). One part of the results presented here refer to fieldwork financed by the French Center for Ethiopian Studies (CFEE), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and the CNRS Units TRACES and HNHP. Our thanks also go to the Ethiopian Heritage Authority (previously called ARCCH) in Addis Ababa for their authorisation of the excavations and the study of the Ethiopian material, and to the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan of the British Museum for authorisation to study the material from the Nile Valley preserved in the Wendorf collection. This research received funding from the Prehistropic project (https://prehistropic.hypotheses.org/), under the ‘Emergence(s)’ Programme of the City of Paris. AL’s research is financed by the Research Foundation of Flanders in the context of a post-doctoral contract (FWO #12U9220N). K. Douze thanks the Laboratory of Archaeology and Peopling in Africa at the University of Geneva. We thank E. Spinapolice for reviewing this manuscript and her helpful comments. Finally, we thank A. Walmsley for the English version of this manuscript.
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Alice LEPLONGEON

Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO),
Department of Archaeology, KU Leuven, Geo-
Instituut, Leuven, Belgium
UMR 7194-HNHP, PRETROP
alice.leplongeon@kuleuven.be

Katja Douze

Laboratoire d'Archéologie et Peuplement de
l'Afrique, département Génétique et Évolution,
université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
Katja.Douze@unige.ch

Clément MÉNARD

Centre européen de recherches préhistoriques
de Tautavel, Tautavel, France
clement.menard@cerptautavel.com

Behailu HABTE ENDALEW

Ethiopian Heritage Authority, Addis Abeba,
Ethiopia
behailuhabte@gmail.com

Lamya KHALIDI

CNRS, UMR 7264-CEPAM, Nice, France
lamya.khalidi@univ-cotedazur.fr

David PLEURDEAU

UMR 7194-HNHP, PRETROP, Paris, France
Université de Perpignan Via Domitia
david.pleurdeau@mnhn.fr

François BON

Université de Toulouse 2 Jean-Jaurès,
Toulouse, France
UMR 5608-TRACES
francois.bon@univ-tlse2.fr
<figure><img src="image_27.png" /></figure>
Du Big Dry à l'Holocène en Afrique de l'Est et au-delà
From the Big Dry to the Holocene in Eastern Africa and beyond

Actes de la séance de la Société préhistorique française de Toulouse (septembre 2019)
Textes publiés sous la direction de Joséphine Lesur, Jessie Cauliez, Lamya Khalidi, Laurent Bruxelles, Isabelle Crevecoeur, David Pleurdeau, Chantal Tribolo et François Bon

Paris, Société préhistorique française, 2023
(Séances de la Société préhistorique française, 20), p. 75-94

www.prehistoire.org

ISSN : 2263-3847 – ISBN : 2-913745-93-8

# Living the High Life? Prehistoric Occupation of High-Altitude Environments in Ethiopia

## Une vie de haute volée ? L'utilisation des environnements de haute montagne en Éthiopie

Ralf VOGELSANG

**Abstract:** On the one hand, high-altitude mountain habitats are often regarded as unfavourable for sustained human occupation, due to the challenging environmental stress in these landscapes for the human body. On the other hand, tropical highlands in Africa are suggested as potential refugia during times of climate deterioration. However, archaeological surveys in these areas were virtually non-existent. Extensive archaeological research during the last decade in the high-altitude regions of Ethiopia has fundamentally changed our understanding of prehistoric occupations in these areas. It is now known that these ecozones had been part of the human habitat at least since the emergence of *Homo sapiens*. High altitude landscapes were used for short-term, task-specific trips of small groups. However, they have also been used for longer periods as regular settlement places. The advantages of high-altitude biomes are the relative abundance of water and compressed altitudinal ecozones offering a wide spectrum of natural resources. For these reasons, highlands have also been used as retreats during times of environmental stress. However, climatic deterioration was not the main trigger for the occupation of high-altitude regions. They were also used during favourable environmental conditions as part of larger settlement areas that also included lowland regions or were at least part of exchange networks.

**Keywords:** Ethiopia, high altitude environment, Early Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, refugium, landscape archaeology.

**Résumé** : Les habitats de haute montagne sont souvent considérés comme défavorables pour une installation permanente, à cause du stress subi par le corps humain dans ce type d'environnement. Cependant, les hautes terres tropicales africaines sont perçus comme des refuges potentiels pendant les périodes des détériorations climatiques. Par ailleurs, les prospections archéologiques dans ces régions sont quasiment inexistantes. Des recherches archéologiques extensives menées depuis une dizaine d'années dans les régions des hauts plateaux d'Éthiopie ont fondamentalement changé notre compréhension des occupations dans ces zones. On sait maintenant que ces domaines biogéographiques font partie des habitats humains au moins depuis l'apparition d’*Homo sapiens*. De petits groupes y faisaient des excursions de courte durée pour y pratiquer des activités spécifiques, mais, régulièrement, ils y effectuaient aussi des séjours de plus longue durée. Les avantages des biomes de haute altitude sont l'abondance relative d'eau et des étages biogéographiques compressés qui présentent une vaste gamme des ressources naturelles. Pour cette raison, les hautes terres étaient utilisées aussi comme lieux de repli pendant les périodes de stress environnemental. Cependant, elles ont été aussi utilisées pendant des périodes aux conditions environnementales plus favorables, uand elles faisaient partie soit de régions d'occupation plus vastes avec des plaines, soit de réseaux d'échanges..

**Mots-clés** : Éthiopie, environnement de haute altitude, Early Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, refuge, archéologie du paysage.
# INTRODUCTION:
THE AFRICAN HIGHLAND DICHOTOMY

There is an interesting discrepancy regarding the occupation of high-altitude regions. On the one hand, high altitude mountain habitats are challenging for human physiology and therefore regarded as unfavourable for sustained human occupation (fig. 1, B). The most prominent phenomenon is the prevalence of high-altitude hypoxia. Other stresses and strains are increased solar radiation, water loss and metabolic rates (West et al., 2007). On the other hand, orographic rainfall, reaching a maximum at an altitude between 2,000 m and 2,500 m (Camberlin, 2019) and the ability to capture atmospheric water from fog and low-level clouds (Los et al., 2019) are the cause of higher precipitation rates in the tropical highlands of Africa in comparison to the surrounding lowlands. Due to the catchment of runoff water and high storage capacities, mountains act as important water reservoirs (fig. 1, C and fig. 2, C). Therefore, these regions are considered as favourable areas and potential refugia during arid periods such as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; Basell, 2008; Brandt et al., 2012; Steward and Stringer, 2012).

This discrepancy and the general character of pre-historic human occupations of Ethiopian high-altitude regions are the topics of this paper. In doing so, we will look at three major questions:

- What is the earliest evidence for human exploitation of the Ethiopian high-altitude environments?

- Is climate a trigger for sustained occupation and were highlands used as a retreat (refugium) during arid periods?

- Are high altitude regions only used for specific tasks, such as hunting and collecting of raw materials, plants and honey or are they regular settlement areas?

Prior to that, a definition of our understanding of two key-terms is necessary.

High altitude regions (highlands): the term “high altitude regions” can be defined using different parameters. For the purpose of this paper, the impact of high altitude on the human body is the salient factor and therefore, the term is used from A. J. Murray (2016): “The defining feature of the high altitude environments is sustained hypobaric hypoxia.” Native lowlanders experience altitude oxygen starvation from an elevation of 2,500 m above sea level (m a.s.l.) onwards but altitude sickness and mild tissue hypoxia are already common at around 2,000 m a.s.l. (Dietz and Hackett, 2013). This is also in round terms the lower limit for our classification of archaeological sites as a high-altitude site(1).

Refugia: we use the term in its initial conception for “regions where elements of the modern flora and fauna might have survived glacial periods with greatly reduced numbers and distribution” (Bennet and Provan, 2008, p. 2450). Broadly synchronous to glacial periods at high latitudes and comparable in their effects on species dis-

tribution and abundance are arid to hyper-arid environmental conditions in tropical regions. Classical refugia are areas around the margins of an ecological region. One particular response to climatic change, which is of special importance for this paper, is altitudinal shifts in mountainous regions (Bennet and Provan, 2008, p. 2451).

The hypothesis of a Late Pleistocene human refugium in the south-west Ethiopian highlands was first formulated by S. Brandt and colleagues (2007) and discussed for the Greater East African Region by L. S. Basell (2008). Other related research examines the role of refugia in the human expansion out-of-Africa from an evolutionary biogeographical perspective (Stewart and Stringer, 2012).

## 1. WHEN DID HOMININS FIRST OCCUPY TROPICAL HIGHLANDS?

Due to the challenges of highlands for the human physiology, it is parsimonious to assume that humans would only be pushed into such conditions by decreasing terrestrial resources in the lowlands following rapid population increase or climate crisis. In general, the colonization of highlands is regarded as a recent phenomenon (e.g. Aldenderfer, 2014) and high-altitude ecosystems are perceived as natural environments, unaffected by human influence. Even recent global change synopses (Ellis et al., 2010) state low level and late human transformation for tropical highlands. This general assumption had first been contradicted by evidence from the site Gadeb (De La Torre, 2011) that is now supported by recent discoveries from Mount Dendi.

### 1.1 Stone Age occupation of Mount Dendi

Approximately 100 km west of Addis Ababa on the west central Ethiopian plateau rises Mount Dendi, a silicic volcanic complex with a maximum altitude of 3,270 m a.s.l (fig. 1, A1 and fig. 3, C). A notable feature of the almost elliptical caldera is the presence of two lakes formed within the central depression (fig. 3, A and B). A large number of springs in the steep slopes of the caldera drain into the lakes. The current aquatic abundance is recharged by the smaller “Belg” rains from February to April and the heavier “Keremt” rainy season from June to September with an annual mean precipitation of about 1,400 mm (Degefu et al., 2014).

An archaeological survey associated with coring activities in the crater lakes by the University of Cologne’s CRC 806 research group in April 2012 (Wagner et al., 2018), led to the first discovery of Stone Age artefacts in the Dendi caldera and initiated further surveys in 2012 and 2015. The survey routes covered the western half of the caldera and the surrounding slopes, resulting in 82 archaeological sites ranging typologically from Early to Later Stone Age (fig. 3, B). In addition, three obsidian outcrops have been located, which have been exploited for the production of the prehistoric stone
<figure><img src="image_28.png" /></figure>

**Fig. 1** – Regional map with sites listed in text: Mount Dendi (A1), Mount Sodicho (A2), Mount Damota (A3), Bale Mountains (A4); the harsh environment of the Sanetti Plateau/Bale Mountains (B; ~ 4,000 m a.s.l.); flowering meadows at the shores of the Dendi lakes (C; ~ 3,000 m a.s.l.).

**Fig. 1** – Carte de la région avec les sites mentionnés dans le texte : mont Dendi (A1), mont Sodicho (A2), mont Damota (A3), montagnes du Bale (A4) ; l'environnement rude du plateau Sanetti, montagnes du Bale (B ; ~ 4 000 m d'altitude) ; prairies fleuries sur les rives des lacs de Dendi (C ; ~ 3 000 m d'altitude).
<figure><img src="image_29.png" /></figure>

**Fig. 2** – Mount Sodicho: The rock shelter Sodicho (A; white rectangle); interior of the rock-shelter with excavation trench (B); one of the many springs of Mount Sodicho (C); bladelett cores from the Late Pleistocene layers (D); profile G35 east with a sequence of cultural layers, volcanic tephra and clayish sediments (E).

**Fig. 2** – Mont Sodicho : l'abri Sodicho (A ; rectangle blanc) ; intérieur de l'abri avec la coupe du secteur fouillé (B) ; une des nombreuses sources du mont Sodicho (C) ; nucléus à lamelles provenant des couches du Pléistocène supérieur (D) ; coupe G35 est avec une séquence de couches anthropiques, de tephra volcanique et de sédiments argileux (E).
A

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B

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C

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**Fig. 3** – Mount Dendi: View of the two crater lakes within the caldera (A); map showing the survey routes and the location of archaeological sites (B); view of Mount Dendi, looking west (C).

**Fig. 3** – Mont Dendi : vue des deux lacs de cratère à l'intérieur de la caldeira (A) ; carte montrant les itinéraires de prospection et l'emplacement des sites archéologiques (B) ; vue du mont Dendi, vers l'ouest (C).
artefacts (pers. comm. B. Nash). Obsidian is nearly the exclusively used raw material to produce stone artefacts during all Prehistoric periods.

### 1.1.1 The Later Stone Age occupation of Mount Dendi

The Later Stone Age (LSA) is the period of the most recent prehistoric occupation but is only represented by three surface sites. Although diagnostic LSA single finds have been hard to detect because they are generally small in size, the absence of larger scatters of artefacts from this period suggests only ephemeral human presence on the mountain. However, a test excavation in the small rock-shelter DEN12-A01 (fig. 4, A) proves repeated habitation in a high-altitude region from the Early Holocene until historical times in the uppermost layer A1 (fig. 4, B and D; Schepers et al., 2020). The basal, and up to now undated, horizon D has a probable *terminus post quem* of 10200 cal. BP. This is the age of a 2 m-thick tephra layer revealed in a sediment record from the Dendi lakes (Wagner et al., 2018). Evidence of this massive eruption is missing in the rock shelter sediments, suggesting a later deposition of the preserved layers. The oldest date comes from horizon C (7360 years cal. BP) and is of special interest, because there is no published contemporaneous archaeological assemblage from the Ethiopian Rift-Valley or the southwest Ethiopian highlands (Foerster et al., 2015). The date verifies the settlement of the shelter in between two drier spells of the AHP. Starting around 6000 years ago increasing aridification leads to the end of the African Humid Period (AHP). Two dates of 4720 and 5390 cal. BP classify horizon B in this phase. LSA horizon A2 has an age of about 900 years cal. BP, that also dates the earliest appearance of pottery at the site and is separated by a hiatus of 3000 years from the underlying occupations. Charcoal dates around 1800 years cal. BP from a fluvial channel indicate erosional activities around that time that might have destroyed archaeological evidence from the intermediate period.

The surface and the basal archaeological assemblages (A1 and D) are characterized by the virtual absence of formal tools but a high number of flakes and bladelets with edge damage that might be the result of use-wear. Typical for the other three archaeological horizons is a restricted spectrum of tool types with an emphasis on micro-points and segments (fig. 4, C), which were used as projectile insets and are indicative of hunting equipment (e.g. Clark, 1977; Lombard and Pargeter, 2008; Lombard, 2015). The restricted tool-spectrum points to short-term stays of small groups of hunters, as also suggested by the presence of only wild species among faunal remains. Hunting trips might have been combined with other activities, such as collecting honey and plants or the sourcing of obsidian from the raw material outcrops on top of the mountain. In this way, foragers may have exploited a wider spectrum of resources than the archaeological record suggests.

The correlation of the settlement phases with the general climatic model for south-western Ethiopia verifies the human presence at Mount Dendi during the phase of aridification at the end of the AHP (fig. 4, D). Climatic evidence from two cores from the Dendi crater lakes shows that the effect of this climatic deterioration seems to be less distinct on the local scale (Wagner et al., 2018). This is an interesting advantage of location and might explain the occupation of highlands if it is a general effect that could be confirmed from other high-altitude regions.

### 1.1.2 The Middle Stone Age occupation of Mount Dendi

A total of 34 sites were classified as Middle Stone Age (MSA) based on stone tool typology especially different kinds of points (fig. 5, C1 to C3 and C5), and based on technological features, such as Levallois reduction strategy and blade production. Remarkable is the distribution of MSA sites in a row like pearls on a string along the 3,000 m contour line. If this connection reflects an old shoreline of the lake(s) has still to be clarified (fig. 5, A).

The characteristic tool category “points” can be sub-grouped into bifacially retouched points (n = 10), uni-facially retouched points (n = 9), edge-retouched points (n = 3) and unretouched Levallois-points (n = 5). Except for the edge-retouched points, the functionality of all other points as projectile armatures is suggested by a simple ballistics measure, the Tip Cross-Sectional Area (TCSA; see Shea, 2006, p. 224, fig. 1). The values for the facially retouched points and the Levallois-points are within the range of spearheads (Thomas, 1978; Sisk and Shea, 2011). A use as hunting equipment may be supported by the numerous single finds of points that might be evidence of unsuccessful throws. Comparable to the LSA period, the area seems to have been predominantly used for hunting expeditions. However, some larger clusters of MSA finds with a heterogenous spectrum of tool types, indicating diverse activities, might be the result of longer settlement events.

### 1.1.3. The Early Stone Age occupation of Mount Dendi

The occurrence of large bifacially retouched tools, such as different forms of handaxes (fig. 5, E), but also cleavers, scrapers and bifacial knifes resulted in the classification of 21 sites to the Early Stone Age (ESA) period. ESA sites are especially abundant in areas affected by gully erosion (fig. 5, B and D). Of special importance is the site DEN12-A02 with large bifaces partly in stratigraphical context that is located at an altitude of 3,000 m a.s.l. (Vogelsang et al., 2018). Road construction created three artificial terraces that cut the artefact bearing deposits (fig. 6, A). The provenience of the ESA stone tools from the wall of the middle terrace could be verified by the excavation of a test-trench that yielded several flakes and one handaxe (fig. 6, B and D). The spectrum of the standardised tool-types is heterogenous, with different forms
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**Fig. 4** – Mount Dendi: A) the rock shelter DEN12-A01 (white rectangle); B) section drawing with cultural layers A1 to D; C) backed microliths horizon A and B: micro-segments (A1, A2 and A4), micro-segment with crossed backing (A3), very small segment (A5), large segment (A6), long micro-double-points, unilaterally retouched (A7, A8, B5, B12 and B14), isosceles triangles (A9, B6 and B13), elongated trapeze, isosceles with straight truncation (B1, B11 and B8), segment with curved end (B2), alternately, bilaterally retouched micro-point (B3), long micro-points, unilaterally retouched (B4, B7 and B9), (broken) backed blade (B10); D) distribution of AMS-dates and their correlation with climatic phases (graph with CalPal 2016.2: Weninger and Jöris, 2008; climatic data: Foerster et al., 2015).

**Fig. 4** – Mont Dendi : A) l'abri DEN12-A01 (rectangle blanc) ; B) coupe avec les couches anthropiques A1 à D ; C) pièces microlithiques à dos couches A et B : micro-segments de cercles (A1, A2 et A4), micro-segment de cercle à dos croisé (A3), très petit segment de cercle (A5), grand segment de cercle (A6), micro double pointes longues, retouchées unilatéralement (A7, A8, B5, B12 et B14), triangles isocèles (A9, B6 et B13), trapèzes allongés, isocèles avec troncature droite (B1, B11 et B8), micro-segment de cercle avec extrémité recourbée (B2), micro-pointe retouchée de façon alterne (B3), micro-pointes longues, retouchées unilatéralement (B4, B7 et B9), lamelle à bord abattu [brisée] (B10) ; D) distribution des dates AMS et leur corrélation avec les phases climatiques (graphique réalisé avec CalPal 2016.2 : Weninger et Jöris, 2008 ; données climatiques : Foerster et al., 2015).
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**Fig. 5** – Mont Dendi: Distribution of MSA sites (A); distribution of ESA sites (B); MSA stone tools (C): bifacially retouched points (1 to 3 and 5), Levallois core (4), double side-scrapers with steep end-retouch (6); area affected by gully erosion (D); handaxes from surface sites in different states of preservation (E).

**Fig. 5** – Mont Dendi : distribution des sites MSA (A) ; distribution des sites ESA (B) ; industrie lithique du MSA (C) : pointes à retouche bifaciale (1 à 3 et 5), nucléus Levallois (4), racloir double à troncature abrupte (6) ; zone affectée d'une érosion par ravinement (D) ; bifaces provenant de la surface, en différents états de conservation (E).
of handaxes, a cleaver, two leaf-shaped scrapers and one backed knife (fig. 6, C). However, the similar operational sequence (*chaînes opératoires*) of all modified tools indicates a closed association of the finds. Facial shaping was first finished on one face and then on the other. In a last step, lateral thinning and edge retouch were performed for the preparation of the working edges (Vogelsang et al., 2018, fig. 4). The technological similarity of the production process suggests a close temporal connection of the assemblage. The diversity of tools speaks against an interpretation as a task specific site, but is more in favour of a settlement site. In addition, the heterogeneous tool-type spectrum gives a first indication for the chronological classification of the assemblage to the Late Acheulean. This is supported by the high level of knapping skills and the comparatively small size of the artefacts (Vogelsang et al., 2018, p. 306-309). The most approximating assemblage in Ethiopia is the site Mieso 31 (De La Torre et al., 2014) that is dated around 212 ka ago and marks the latest evidence of the ESA in Eastern Africa. The earliest securely dated site is Hugub Bed with an age of 600 and 500 ka (Gilbert et al., 2016). DEN12-A02 can roughly be dated in the range between these two limits, which makes it the highest located Acheulean site worldwide and marks the beginning of the settlement of high-altitude regions. Consequently, hominins might have settled in high altitude regions already before the advance of *Homo sapiens sapiens*. This would question the concept of modern humans' superiority in a wide range of domains, such as subsistence strategies and hunting equipment in comparison to extinct hominins.

## 2. WERE HIGHLANDS USED AS A RETREAT (REFUGIUM) DURING ARID PERIODS?

Today, the south-west Ethiopian highlands are a region classified as humid with an annual precipitation of 1,189-1,711 mm, that is in some parts even higher (Berhanu et al., 2013, table 3, fig. 6). The south-west Ethiopian highlands refugium hypothesis is based on the assumption that the annual precipitation, which is the highest average amount in the Horn of Africa today and are significantly higher in this region than in the surrounding areas, had also been relatively higher during arid phases in the past. This supposition is supported by climate modelling (Willmes et al., 2017) and that would have made the highlands an ecologically favoured region into which humans could retreat. However, archaeological evidence for this hypothesis is only scarce and was up to now confined to the Holocene (Foerster et al., 2015). Contrarily, important Pleistocene archaeological sequences, such as the stratigraphies from Mochena Borago rock shelter (Brandt et al., 2012 and 2017) and Goda Buticha (Pleurdeau et al., 2014; Tripolo et al., 2017) document an occupational gap of about 20000 years roughly between 30000 and 9000 BP, which encompasses the hyper-arid phase of the LGM.

### 2.1. Sodicho rock shelter

First evidence of archaeological settlement layers closing this gap comes from Sodicho rock shelter. The site is located about 225 km southwest from the capital Addis Ababa at the margins of the southern Ethiopian plateau to the western central and southern main Ethiopian Rift (fig. 1, A2).

#### 2.1.1 Topography and research history

Sodicho rock shelter is situated on the southern flanks of Mount Sodicho (max. altitude 2,025 m a.s.l.), a volcano belonging to the Wagebeta Caldera Complex, which is one of the major trachytic volcanic complexes formed along the Rift's margins during the Plio-Pleistocene (Corti et al., 2013; Abbate et al., 2015). The steep cliff at this side of the volcano was most probably formed by a lateral blast of the crater wall (pers. comm. O. Bödeker). At an elevation of 1,910 m a.s.l., the shelter is located only a few meters below the edge of the plateau (fig. 2, A) and offers an excellent view over the surrounding landscape (Hensel et al., 2019, p. 208). Mount Damota and the Omo River Valley can be seen from the opening of the shelter under good visibility conditions. The mountain is flanked by two streams that drain into the Omo River about 11 km to the southwest. The site is located only about 40 km north-west from Mount Damota with the important archaeological key-site Mochena Borago.

In 2015, two one square-metre test-trenches were excavated in the north-western part of the shelter. Trench E41 was situated in one of the chamber-like caves in the rear-wall of the shelter, but excavations where soon constricted by rocks, which are most probably part of the bedrock. Therefore, in the subsequent three years excavations focused on trench F35 that was expanded by three square-metres (F34, G34, G35) and reached a maximum depth of 2.1 metres below surface in quarter-square G35/SE without reaching bedrock (fig. 2, B).

#### 2.1.2 Settlement phases

The stratigraphy can be divided in two large sediment packages containing archaeological layers, which are divided by a 60 cm thick sterile deposit of red clayish sediment (fig. 2, E). Despite few potsherds and bones from historical times, the main two settlement layers of the upper part date around 4500 and 2000 years cal. BP respectively and contain LSA lithic assemblages, characterized by microlithic backed tools. The main difference between the two assemblages is the emergence of pottery in the younger assemblage. The sterile layer of red clay is bracketed by radiocarbon ages of around 10900 cal. BP and 4700 cal. BP, which roughly corresponds to the AHP However, the nature and duration of deposition are still unclear, but it might indicate a period when parts of the highlands had been too moist for human occupation.

Repeated occupation of the shelter is testified between 27000 and 13500 cal. BP. Preliminary analysis of the
lithic assemblages shows a surprising uniformity of the stone artefacts. All assemblages are dominated by the production of bladelets and the analysed sample completely lacks any retouched tools (fig. 6, D). Settlement phases dating around 13500, 16900 and 21500 cal. BP coincide with the arid or rather hyper-arid climatic phases of the Older Dryas, Heinrich-1-event and LGM This is the first evidence for the use of highlands as a refugium during times of severe environmental stress in the lowlands.

## 3. PREHISTORIC LAND USE PATTERNS AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS

The example of Sodicho rock shelter testifies to the occupation during arid periods, but humans would not only be pushed into high altitude environmental conditions by decreasing land resources in the lowlands following ecological changes. Highlands seem to have been part of larger settlement systems also during periods of climatic favourable conditions. The Prehistoric occupation of Mount Damota is a good case-study to answer the question about the general advantages of including mountainous regions into a hunter-gatherer habitat.

### 3.1 Mount Damota and the Mochena Borago rock shelter

Mount Damota is located 320 km south of the capital Addis Ababa at the intersection of the southwest Ethiopian highlands with the main Ethiopian Rift Valley (fig. 1, A3). The dormant trachytic volcano rises steeply from its surrounding flanks and offers from its peak (2,908 m a.s.l.) striking views of the central and southern Ethiopian Rift Valley, the Gibe and Omo River valleys, Lake Abaya and the Wolaita/Hadiya highlands. The topography of Mount Damota is dominated by steep slopes and rocky gorges in the mountain ranges (Abbate et al., 2015) and by lower relief topography in the transitional zone descending to the Rift Valley floor. The orographic effect of increased mean annual rainfall also applies to Mount Damota and amounts to 2,000 mm p.a. (Viste and Sorteberg, 2013).

Mochena Borago rock shelter is situated on the southwestern flanks of Mount Damota at ~ 2,200 m a.s.l. The large shelter (almost 70 m wide, 12 m high and 20 m deep) is at the head of a steep ravine, into which a seasonally active waterfall flows over the shelter's mouth (fig. 7, A).

#### 3.1.1 *The archaeology of Mochena Borago rock shelter*

Archaeological research by the Groupe pour l'Étude de la Protohistoire de la Corne de l'Afrique (Gepca) in the Wolaita region since 1995 involved extensive excavations of Mochena Borago rock shelter, directed by X. Gutherz, that focused on the Holocene occupation of

the site, but also revealed Later Pleistocene deposits in a 1.5 m² test unit (Gutherz, 2000; Gutherz et al., 2002). Since 2006, the Southwest Ethiopian Archaeological Project (SWEAP) directed by S. Brandt and L. Hildebrand, and between 2009 and 2014, in co-operation with the University of Cologne's Collaborative Research Centre 806 (CRC 806), investigates the Pleistocene deposits of the site (Brandt et al., 2012).

Geomorphological analyses indicate a multiphase, polygenetic accumulation and erosion of sediments deposited through natural and anthropogenic processes (fig. 7, B). The sedimentological evidence points to multiple occupations of the shelter mainly during humid conditions. More than 60 radiocarbon dates on charcoal make Mochena Borago one of the best-dated archaeological sites in Africa (Brandt et al., 2017) and classify the Pleistocene layers to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3). Layers older than the radiocarbon "dating barrier" (> 50000 years) most probably reach back to MIS 4. Only one of the two main excavation trenches is partly analysed up to now (Brandt et al., 2012). Remarkable is the continuity of technological and typological attributes of the lithic assemblages of the four occupational episodes, dating between ~ 49400 and 36600 cal. BP (Upper T-Group, S-Group and R-Group). Like all other assemblages presented in this paper, obsidian is the dominant raw-material for the production of stone artefacts. Less frequently used rocks, mainly rhyolite, are 7.5% more prominent only in the Lower T-Group assemblage that is older than 50000 years. The dominance of obsidian is not surprising, because it is an excellent material to produce stone tools (Rapp, 2009) and is available in the vicinity. The main source for the inhabitants of Mochena Borago rock shelter had been the rich obsidian sources at Baantu approx. 20 km south east of the shelter (Brandt et al., 2012), albeit it is an open question whether the intensity of the erosion processes, leading to the exposure of the raw-material had the same intensity during the Late Pleistocene compared with the Late Holocene (Hensel et al., 2019). Nevertheless, it seems highly unlikely that raw material availability was a limiting factor and the reason for the generally small size of the lithics in all assemblages. A further characteristic for the technological attributes of the lithic assemblages is the coexistence of different core reduction strategies, such as centripetal cores (Levallois- and radial cores; fig. 7, C5 and C6) and a heterogeneous spectrum of other flake- and blade cores (single-, double- and multiple platform cores, bipolar cores, irregular cores; fig. 7, C1 to C4). Blade and bladelet production is part of all assemblages and there is a proportional increase and improved technological capabilities over time, although the total blade proportions remain small (Parow-Souchon, 2013). Characteristic modes of secondary preparation are facial retouch and backing that are present in all assemblages. However, there is a clear change in proportion from a predominance of facial retouch in the older assemblages (Upper and Lower T-Group) to a predominance of backed pieces in the two younger stratigraphic units. Unifacial and bifacial points are representative tool types (fig. 7,
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**Fig. 6** – Mount Dendi: The Acheulean site DEN12-A02. View of the three artificial terraces and location of profile B (A; white rectangle, humans as scale); profile DEN12-A02 with four different soil horizons (B). The in situ handaxe (D) was found in the Bt horizon. The surface horizon A is a silty clay loam containing roots and showing a high total organic content (TOC; 4%). TOC and grain size decrease with depth. The lower horizons Bwt, Btg and Bt all classify as clays and have TOC values < 1%. These horizons show blocky soil structure and firm soil consistence. Furthermore, strong accumulation of siliceous clay with voids of manganese-oxides and iron hydroxides in the matrix are evident, also in characteristic micromorphological features such as intact coatings and nodules; DEN12-A02 bifacial tools (C): Flat cordate handaxe (1), bifacial scraper (2), ovate handaxe (3), cleaver-like biface (4), elongated handaxe (5), bifacial knife ("Keilmesser"; 6).

**Fig. 6** – Mont Dendi : le site acheuléen DEN12-A02. Vue des trois terrasses artificielles et de l'emplacement de la coupe B (A ; rectangle blanc, humains servant d'échelle) ; coupe DEN12-A02 avec quatre horizons de sol différents (B). Le biface in situ (D) a été trouvé dans l'horizon Bt. L'horizon de surface A est un loam argileux limoneux contenant des racines et montrant un contenu organique total élevé (TOC ; 4 %). Le TOC et la taille des grains diminuent avec la profondeur. Les horizons inférieurs Bwt, Btg et Bt sont tous classés comme des argiles et ont des valeurs de TOC < 1 %. Ces horizons montrent une structure de sol en blocs et une consistance de sol ferme. De plus, une forte accumulation d'argile siliceuse avec des vides d'oxydes de manganèse et d'hydroxydes de fer dans la matrice sont visibles, ainsi que des traits micromorphologiques caractéristiques, tels que des revêtements intacts et des nodules ; outils bifaciaux DEN12-A02 (C) : biface cordiforme (1), racloir à retouche bifaciale (2), biface ovalaire (3), biface en forme de hachereau (4), biface allongé (5), couteau bifacial (« Keilmesser » ; 6).
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**Fig. 7** – Mochena Borago: View of the rockshelter, with the “Block Excavation Area” (BXA) in the foreground (A); profile H9 West with a sequence of cultural layers and volcanic deposits (B); C) small flake and blade cores (1 to 4), Levallois cores (5 and 6), backed pieces (7 to 9), bifacially retouched tools (10 to 13).

**Fig. 7** – Mochena Borago : vue de l'abri, avec la « Block Excavation Area » (BXA) au premier plan (A) ; coupe H9 ouest avec une séquence de couches anthropiques et de dépôts volcaniques (B) ; C) petits nucléus à lamelles et à lames (1 à 4), nucléus Levallois (5 et 6), pièces à dos (7 à 9), outils à retouche bifaciale (10 à 13).
C10 and C13), but not all facially retouched pieces can be classified as points. Especially in the T-Group assemblages, there is a broad spectrum of facially retouched tool types that needs further investigation (fig. 7, C11 and C12). The typological variety of backed pieces is also heterogeneous and unstandardized (fig. 7, C7 to C10). There are pieces with tips formed by backing that might have been used as perforators, small backed sidescrapers, flake fragments with basal or terminal truncation and backed flakes and blades with use-wear on the opposite edge, which suggest that hafting was practiced in SW Ethiopia since the early MIS 3.

### 3.1.2 Mount Damota settlement patterns

Accompanying the excavations in Mochena Borago, extensive pedestrian surveys covering a total distance of 130 km were conducted in the surrounding of the rock shelter. While Mochena Borago provides a stratified sequence with preservation of charcoal, bones and macrobotanical remains, open-air sites offer a complementary record of human behaviour. In general, open-air sites are more numerous than rock shelters and they represent distinct specific activities, such as settlement, hunting/butchering and raw material procurement. Whereas Mochena Borago's sequence provides crucial benchmarks for the chronological classification of the open-air sites, these, in turn, are the base for a landscape archaeological approach and permit the reconstruction of settlement- and land-use patterns.

The archaeological surveys on Mount Damota attempted to include all different landforms of the area, such as slopes, steep valleys and plateaus, in different altitudes from the foot of the mountain (~ 1,900 m a.s.l.) to the summit (2,900 m a.s.l). For this reason, survey routes followed not only currently used pathways that are often along ridges. Some routes also crossed the flanks of the mountain horizontally, thus covering steep slopes and gorges. Sixty-three archaeological sites were located and classified on the basis of characteristic tool-types to three rough chronological classes, namely MSA (fig. 8, A), LSA and historical period. Data on topographic features and archaeological site attributes aimed to assist reconstruction of settlement systems for different time periods. A detailed description of the methods and results, especially regarding the creation of settlement areas, is presented in Vogelsang and Wendt (2018). The quintessence of the analysis was an intensification of settlement activities from the MSA to the LSA and a different organization of the settlement clusters along the mountain slopes. The LSA sites form one large cluster with interconnected smaller sub-groups. In contrast, the reconstructed MSA settlement areas show a linear, vertical orientation, including different altitudinal belts in a close distance (fig. 8, B). This is interpreted as a land use model that offered short access to numerous elevations-bound ecozones. Small hunter-gatherer groups could exploit a wide spectrum of resources by taking advantage of the different altitudinal biotopes or move in annual cycles to

exploit specific resources over a longer period (fig. 8, C). A historical example for the latter case were the Okiek (Huntingford, 1929), who lived in the forested highlands of the Mau escarpment in west central Kenya until deforestation and the change of the land tenure system by government intervention changed the demographics of the area (Blackburn, 1982; Kratz, 1999). The settlement area of an Okiek group consisted of one mountain ridge, on which they move to different forest zones according to three main honey seasons (Dale et al., 2004). The compression of numerous vertical ecozones within a small distance renders long distance annual migration unnecessary. In this respect, tropical highland zones in Africa, such as Mount Damota are an attractive environment even during periods of climatic favourable conditions.

## 4. THE BALE MOUNTAINS AS AN EXAMPLE OF EARLY OCCUPATION OF ALPINE HIGHLANDS

The last section offers a short outlook on further approaches by ongoing fieldwork in the alpine environment of the Bale Mountains. The Ethio-German interdisciplinary Research Unit FOR2358, granted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, was established in 2016 to investigate the hypothesis of an early afro-alpine occupation. The afro-alpine region, also referred to as the African Mountain Archipelago, encompasses the high mountains of Ethiopia and tropical East Africa and is defined by its flora to the altitudinal zone above 3,500 meters (Hedberg, 1951). The Bale Mountains in south-eastern Ethiopia form the largest area of afro-alpine ecosystems in this region (fig. 1, B; fig. 9, A and B). The area was widely perceived as minimally disturbed with only minor and quite recent human impact (Umer et al., 2007; Yohannes et al., 2012) and is characterized by a large number of endemic species.

### 4.1 The Stone Age occupation of the Bale Mountains. First results

A first survey on the Bale Mountain plateau resulted in the location of 331 rock shelters (fig. 9, C), of which 56 were classified as potential archaeological sites (Reber et al., 2018). Up to now, 21 of these sites have been tested by small scale excavations of which three were extended to larger excavation trenches.

More than 37 radiocarbon dates from nine sites, located between altitudes of 3,430 and 4,123 m a.s.l., verify intensive settlement activities during the Holocene with a short gap between 7000 to 5000 years cal. BP. Up to now, there is again the hiatus between 30000 to 10000 cal. BP, which encompasses the period of the Big Dry. However, the sites Weyib and Simbero have an age of about 14000 years cal. BP and are two exceptions to this rule and may indicate that the missing evidence is based on the still preliminary research status. An early
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**Fig. 8** – Mount Damota: A) facially retouched points from MSA surface sites; B) MSA settlement cluster (G1-G4); C) ecological zones on and around Mount Damota: a = highland zone (dega; ~ 2,900-2,600 m a.s.l.), cool and moist with Afromontane vegetation (shrubs and grassland), b = mid-altitude zone (woyna dega, < 2,600-1,500 m a.s.l.), warmer and slightly drier, bamboo thickets and woodlands, c = lowland zone (kolla, below 1,500 m a.s.l.), hot and arid, open woodland and grassy savanna, d = Lake Abaya (1,169 m a.s.l.) hot, savanna forest and swamps.

**Fig. 8** – Mont Damota : A) pointes foliacées des sites de surface du MSA ; B) groupement de règlement du MSA (G1-G4) ; C) zones écologiques sur et autour du mont Damota : a = zone de hautes terres (dega ; ~ 2 900-2 600 m a.s.l.), fraîche et humide avec une végétation afro-montagnarde (arbustes et prairies), b = zone de moyenne altitude (woyna dega ; < 2 600-1 500 m a.s.l.), plus chaude et légèrement plus sèche, bosquets de bambous et forêts, c = zone de basse altitude (kolla ; en dessous de 1 500 m d'altitude), chaude et aride, forêts ouvertes et savane herbeuse, d = lac Abaya (1 169 m d'altitude), chaud, savane forestière et marécages.
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A

B

D

C

E

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<figure><img src="image_41.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_42.png" /></figure>

**Fig. 9** – Bale Mountains: The Web Valley with the rock shelter Fincha Habera on the left and the waterfall on the right (A); the Sanetti Plateau (~ 4,000 m a.s.l.; A); seasonally inhabited rock shelter (C); selected finds from the MSA deposits (D, scale bars = 1 cm); unifacial points (1 and 3), laterally retouched blade with alternate retouch (2), scraper (4), point with basal thinning (5), photograph of a tested cortical nodule (6), spotted Hyena (*Crocuta crocuta*) coprolite with included rodent bone fragment (7), ostrich eggshell fragment (8), digested bovid phalanges (9), left mandible from a giant mole-rat (*Tachyoryctes macrocephalus*) that presents extremity burning marks (10); Holocene stratigraphy with typical thick accumulation of ash and charcoal (E).

**Fig. 9** – Montagnes du Bale : vallée de Web avec l'abri Fincha Habera à gauche et la cascade à droite (A) ; plateau de Sanetti (~ 4 000 m d'altitude ; B) ; abri habité de façon saisonnière (C) ; échantillon de mobilier provenant des dépôts MSA (D ; barres d'échelle = 1 cm) ; pointes unifaciales (1 et 3), lame retouchée latéralement avec retouche alternante (2), grattoir (4), pointe avec aménagement basal (5), photographie d'un nodule cortical testé (6), coprolithe d'hyène tachetée (*Crocuta crocuta*) avec fragment d'os de rongeur inclus (7), fragment de coquille d'œuf d'autruche (8), phalanges de bovidés digérés (9), mandibule gauche d'un rat-taupe géant (*Tachyoryctes macrocephalus*) présentant des marques de brûlure aux extrémités (10) ; D) ; stratigraphie holocène avec une épaisse accumulation typique de cendres et de charbon de bois (E).
occupation of the Bale Mountains is verified at the site Fincha Habera between 47000 to 31000 years cal. BP (Ossendorf et al., 2019).

The stone tool spectrum of the Holocene sites is characterized by backed microliths, such as segments and micro-points. A special feature of the region is the high number of borers that might indicate specific tasks, perhaps hide working. It seems plausible that the harsh and cold conditions of this high-altitude environment required warm clothing and perhaps dwelling structures made of hide (Chu, 2009). Another way of protecting against the cold was fire and exceptional massive accumulations of ash and charcoal are evidence of large fires in the inhabited rock shelters (fig. 9, E).

A remarkable site is the rock shelter Fincha Habera (fig. 9, A) that proves the Pleistocene occupation of the Bale Mountains (Ossendorf et al., 2019). All stages of the stone artefact reduction sequence, from acquisition, production of cores, blanks and tools to utilization and discard are present, which points to the use of the shelter as a settlement site. Characteristic tool types are small facially retouched points (fig. 9, D1, D3 and D5). The almost exclusive raw material for the production of stone artefacts is local obsidian. The main raw material source is the Wasama Ridge outcrop at an altitude of more than 4,200 meters a.s.l. and the passage to this source most probably passed along glaciers.

Surprising is the faunal spectrum of Fincha Habera with 93.5% of the identified bones belonging to the giant mole rat (*Tachyoryctes macrocephalus*). The high number of burnt bones and specific burn marks at the extremities indicate roasting of the animals and their consumption by humans (fig. 9, D10).

Despite the extreme environment and hunting specialization, the tool types from Fincha Habera are comparable to contemporaneous sites in the lowlands. Direct evidence of contact to these regions is an ostrich eggshell fragment (fig. 9, D8), because these birds never lived in such high altitudes (Stewart et al., 2020). It seems that the inhabitants of Fincha Habera used the Bale Mountains as one specific part of a larger settlement system.

Constant access to fresh water sources, such as melt-water from the Harcha and Wasama glaciers, might have been the initial impetus to occupy the alpine environment of the Bale Mountains. The focus on the endemic giant mole rat as a food source, which is available year-round, easy to catch and occurs in large numbers, comply with the higher metabolism and reduced physical ability in high altitudes. The availability of high-quality obsidian outcrops was an additional motivation to exploit these demanding ecozones.

## CONCLUSION

Extensive archaeological research during the last decade in the high-altitude regions of Ethiopia has fundamentally changed our understanding of Prehistoric

occupations in high altitude regions. We now know that despite the challenging environmental stress in high altitudes for the human body, these regions had been part of the human habitat at least since the emergence of modern *Homo sapiens*<sup>(2)</sup>.

High altitude regions were used for specific tasks, such as hunting, collecting of raw-materials, plants and honey that might have been finished by expeditions of small groups during few days. However, they have also been used for longer periods as regular settlement areas. A major benefit of moving into high altitude regions is the relative abundance of water, which is one of the most limiting factors for human survival. The surroundings of all sites are characterized by numerous springs. Additional sources of water are in case of Mount Dendi the two crater lakes and in the Bale Mountains glacial melting water. A further advantage of mountainous regions are the altitudinal ecozones that permit the exploitation of a wide spectrum of natural resources in a small distance. The seasonal altitudinal shifting of ecozones extends the temporary availability of specific plants and the movement at a small scale in annual cycles renders long distance annual migration unnecessary.

Because of these advantages, highlands have also been used as retreats during times of environmental stress in the lowlands of Ethiopia. Although the species richness in plants and animals decreases under present climatic conditions between 1,000 m to 4,000 m altitude (Peters et al., 2019), the compressed altitudinal ecozones in combination are offering a broader spectrum in relation to the distances of logistical mobility (senso Binford, 1980) of foragers.

Thus, the occupation of high-altitude regions helped to overcome short periods of drought, but long-term climate changes might overstrain this settlement strategy. Climatic deterioration was not the main trigger for the occupation of high-altitude regions. Obviously, climate is an important limiting component, but human agency seems to be the more decisive factor. This also means that the occupants of high-altitude regions have not been marginalized people pushed into remote areas and living there in isolation. High altitude areas were most probably in all cases part of larger settlement areas that also included lowland regions or were at least part of larger exchange networks.

**Acknowledgements:** This review of Stone Age occupations in the highlands of Ethiopia is mainly based on the results of two projects: first, subproject A1, affiliated to the CRC 806 "Our way to Europe" (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG, German Research Foundation] - Project-ID: 5744011 - SFB 806) and second, subproject P1 of the DFG Research Unit 2358 "The Mountain Exile Hypothesis: How humans benefited from and re-shaped African high altitude ecosystems during Quaternary climatic changes".

The Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) and regional and zonal cultural bureaus facilitated fieldwork and museum studies.

Special thanks to all the colleagues who contributed to the archaeological and geo-archaeological results of the projects,
mentioned here in alphabetical order: A. Beldados, O. Bödeker, S.A. Brandt, O. Bubenzer, E.C. Fisher, E. Hensel, E. Hildebrand, T.H. Kahsay, M. Kehl, J. Lesur, S. Meyer, B.P. Nash, A. Negash, G. Ossendorf, H. Parow-Souchon, C. Schepers, M.G. Tekelemariam, K.P. Wendt, B. Zinaye.

I thank the local residents of the research areas for their support and participation in field research. I also thank the many Ethiopian, German and American students and colleagues who participated in the fieldwork or provided assistance in laboratory work. I am grateful to I. Koch for the lithic drawings, W. Chu for proofreading and many helpful comments and the University of Cologne for administrative support, especially Dr. W. Schuck. I thank the two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments and suggestions that significantly improved the manuscript. Finally, I want to thank the organizing committee of the conference in Toulouse for an absolutely amazing event and for their effort to publish the proceedings of this meeting.

## NOTES

(1) In earlier publications, we spoke of tropical highlands. The term tropical was used according to the Köppen-Geiger cli-

mate classification that is based on five vegetation groups, precipitation and air temperature. Published over a hundred years ago (Köppen, 1900), it is still the most frequently used climate classification and has been updated in recent years (e.g. Kottek et al., 2006; Peel et al., 2007). Regarding M. C. Peel and colleagues (2007, p. 1638), the research area in the southwestern highlands belongs today to the Tropical Savanna climate. However, climate changed and in the paleoclimate simulation by C. Willmes and colleagues (2017), the region is part of the Warm Temperate Savanna zone during the Last Glacial Maximum. Therefore, the use of the term “tropical” is avoided in this text, because it may imply a diachronic analogy.

(2) The large bifacial tools from the site Dendi12-A02 might also have been made by *Homo heidelbergensis*, a possible antecedent of *Homo sapiens* (Rightmire, 1998; Stringer, 2016). In Ethiopia, the skull from Bodo, classified as *Homo heidelbergensis*, has an age of 600000 years (Clark et al., 1994). However, the correlation of cultural evolution, represented by archaeological groups defined by stone tool types and technology, with anatomical hominin evolution, namely distinct species, is problematic and the production of the DEN12-A02 assemblage by *Homo sapiens* is not completely out of question (e.g. Sahle et al., 2019).

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Dr. Ralf VOGELSANG
Palaeolithic Research Unit (FAST), Institute
of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of
Cologne, Köln, Germany
r.vogelsang@uni-koeln.de
<figure><img src="image_43.png" /></figure>
Du Big Dry à l'Holocène en Afrique de l'Est et au-delà
From the Big Dry to the Holocene in Eastern Africa and beyond

Actes de la séance de la Société préhistorique française de Toulouse (septembre 2019)
Textes publiés sous la direction de Joséphine Lesur, Jessie Cauliez, Lamya Khalidi,
Laurent Bruxelles, Isabelle Crevecoeur, David Pleurdeau, Chantal Tribolo et François Bon

Paris, Société préhistorique française, 2023
(Séances de la Société préhistorique française, 20), p. 95-130

www.prehistoire.org

ISSN : 2263-3847 – ISBN : 2-913745-93-8

# Interpersonal Violence in the Late Pleistocene
A Comprehensive Reanalysis of the Nile Valley Cemetery
of Jebel Sahaba

## *Violences interpersonnelles
durant le Pléistocène supérieur
Réévaluation du cimetière de Jebel Sahaba*

Isabelle CREVECOEUR, Marie-Hélène DIAS-MEIRINHO,
Antoine ZAZZO, Daniel ANTOINE, François BON

**Abstract:** The Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene period are punctuated by major climatic changes whose effects on human populations remain poorly understood. In the Nile Valley, possible refuge areas during the periods of high climatic constraints, hyper-arid environmental conditions are documented until the onset of the Holocene.

Dated to the terminal phase of the Late Pleistocene, the Jebel Sahaba archaeological site 117 is the earliest cemetery in the Nile Valley. Excavated during the 1960s by the team of Pr. F. Wendorf, the 61 buried individuals of this funerary complex are well-known for exhibiting, in more than half of the cases, traces of interpersonal violence. The presence of cutmarks, traumatic lesions and embedded lithic artefacts in the human remains have been described since their first publication, and since then, this assemblage as served as possible evidence of organized warfare.

Here, we present an integrative approach to the reassessment of the Jebel Sahaba collections to discuss the cultural behavior of human
groups in the Nile Valley during this period of fluctuating climatic and environmental conditions.

Between 2013 and 2019, we have conducted a thorough reassessment of the anthropological and archaeological evidence from the site in order to characterize the nature of the osseous lesions at a microscopic level, and to describe the archaeological assemblage. This analysis led to the identification of undocumented healed and unhealed lesions on new individual and/or previously identified victims, to the discovery of new lithic artefact embedded in the bones and the reappraisal of the nature of these lesions. In addition, the biological identities of all the individuals have been re-evaluated allowing for discussion of the demographic profile and burial selection of the Jebel Sahaba funerary assemblage.

We underline the projectile origin of most of the bone lesions and highlight the repetition of interpersonal violence acts at a lifetime scale given the number of individuals exhibiting healed and unhealed trauma. We reject the hypothesis that the Jebel Sahaba cemetery reflects a single warfare event; rather finding that the evidence supports the presence of sporadic and recurrent episodes of interpersonal violence in the Nile Valley, at the end of the Late Pleistocene.

**Keywords:** Warfare, projectile impact marks, indiscriminate violence, Sudan, Palaeolithic, funerary complex.

**Résumé** : La transition entre la fin du Pléistocène supérieur et le début de l'Holocène est rythmée par des changements climatiques importants dont l'impact sur les populations humaines reste mal connu. Dans la vallée du Nil, zones de refuge potentielle durant les périodes de fortes contraintes climatiques, des conditions environnementales hyper-arides sont documentées jusqu'au début de l'Holocène.

Daté de la fin du Pléistocène supérieur, le site archéologique de Jebel Sahaba 117 est le plus ancien cimetière de la vallée du Nil. Ce complexe funéraire a été fouillé au cours des années 1960 par l'équipe du Pr F. Wendorf. Les 61 individus enterrés recensés alors sont
connus pour présenter des traces de violences interpersonnelles. La présence de stries sur les ossements, de lésions traumatiques et d'artefacts lithiques incrustés dans les restes humains a été mise en évidence dès leur première publication, ce qui a servi de support à l'hypothèse que cet assemblage témoigne de guerres préhistoriques organisées.

Nous présentons ici une approche intégrative à la réévaluation des collections de Jebel Sahaba pour discuter du comportement culturel des groupes humains dans la vallée du Nil pendant cette période de fluctuations climatiques et environnementales.

Entre 2013 et 2019, nous avons mené une réévaluation exhaustive des données anthropologiques et archéologiques du site afin de caractériser la nature des lésions osseuses à un niveau microscopique, et de décrire l'assemblage lithique associé à ce cimetière. Cette analyse a conduit à l'identification de lésions cicatrisées et non cicatrisées non documentées sur de nouveaux individus et/ou sur des victimes préalablement identifiées, à la découverte de nouveaux fragments lithiques incrustés dans des ossements et à la réévaluation de la nature de ces lésions. En outre, l'identité biologique de chaque individu a été révisée, ce qui a permis de discuter de la nature même du cimetière.

Nos résultats soulignent l'origine par voie de projectiles de la plupart des lésions osseuses et mettent en évidence la répétition de ces actes de violence interpersonnelle à l'échelle de la vie des individus, étant donné que plusieurs d'entre eux présentent des traumatismes guéris et cicatrisés. Nous rejetons l'hypothèse d'un cimetière lié à un événement unique de guerre, favorisant plutôt l'hypothèse de conflits sporadiques de faible ampleur dans la vallée du Nil, à la fin du Pléistocène supérieur.

**Mots-clés** : guerre, marque d'impact de projectile, violence interpersonnelle, Soudan, Paléolithique, complexe funéraire.

## INTRODUCTION

The end of the Late Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene were marked by major climatic changes (Battarbee et al., 2004). Their impact on the inhabitants of the Nile Valley is still poorly understood and the analysis of sites from this period can provide unique insights into human responses to such environmental change. In Africa, geological evidence reveals that the generally dry conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~ 23-18 kya; Gasse, 2000) were followed by the African Humid Period (~ 15-5.5 kya), which ended abruptly in the second half of the Holocene with the onset of more arid conditions (DeMenocal et al., 2000). In the Nile Valley, climatic conditions are depicted as hyper-arid during the second half of the Late Pleistocene (Paulissen and Vermeersch, 1987). Around 15-14 kya, the sudden overflow of lake Victoria into the White Nile establishes the present Nile-flow regime, causing regular and severe flooding of the Nile Valley all the way down to Egypt (Williams et al., 2006). Only after the Younger Dryas (~ 12.9-11.7 kya), do the monsoon conditions of the African Humid Period become more stable, creating more favorable conditions for the human occupation of the Nile Valley. There is little evidence for human occupations from the end of the Late Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene (~ 15-10.5 kya), with sites restricted to the floodplain of Upper Egypt and Nubia (Nicoll, 2004; Kuper and Kröpelin, 2006; Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015). Of these, few have yielded complete human remains including the sites of Jebel Sahaba (site 117), Tushka (site 8905), Wadi Kubbaniya, and the site 6-B-36 from Wadi Halfa (Hewes et al., 1964; Wendorf 1968a; Wendorf and Schild, 1986).

Culturally, different lithic industries have been identified with sites associated with the end of the Late Pleistocene, among which the Fakhurian, the Kubbaniyan, the Idfuan, the Ballanan-Silsilian, the Afian, the Isnan and the Qadan (Wendorf, 1968a and 1968b; Lubell, 1974; Wendorf et al., 1989; Schild and Wendorf, 2010;

Vermeersch, 2010; Leplongeon, 2021). Each of these occurs in restricted geographical areas along the Nile, mainly in Upper Egypt. They do not seem to be related to specific activities and are characterized by distinctive sets of lithic tools and/or technology that appear to be associated with distinct small hunting-fishing-gathering groups (Vermeersch, 2010). Each of these lithic groups is believed to represent a cultural tradition that reflects group identity within this restricted habitable area (Schild and Wendorf, 2010). The occurrence of large graveyards at the end of the Late Pleistocene reinforces the idea of strong social units within residential groups (Wendorf and Schild, 2004). In this context of supposed environmental pressure and geographical constrain, the identification of traces of interpersonal violence on the skeletal remains of at least half of the individuals buried in Jebel Sahaba have attracted much attention and generated debates regarding the emergence of violence and warfare during the Late Pleistocene (see Anderson, 1968; Keeley, 1996; Thorpe, 2003; Wendorf and Schild, 2004; Guilaine and Zammit, 2005).

Evidence of conflict is not uncommon in the Nile Valley. The oldest documented case appears to be from Wadi Kubbaniya, where the remains of a partial skeleton encased in cemented sediment provide early evidence of interpersonal violence (Wendorf and Schild, 1986). Two bladelets were found within the physical space of the skeleton, between the 11th and 12th ribs and the 2nd and 3rd lumbar vertebral bodies. A chip of flint was also found logged inside an area of partially healed trauma on the epicondylar ridge of the left humerus. A healed fracture of the right ulna also provides further evidence of earlier trauma (Angel and Kelley, 1986; Wendorf and Schild, 1986). Based on bone robustness and maturational, this individual was determined to be a young adult male (Angel and Kelley, 1986). Sediments and lithics suggest a date as early as 20 kya (Wendorf and Schild, 1986). Embedded lithic and healed fractures have also been documented on several individuals buried in the Wadi Halfa cemetery, associated with Qadan lithic indus-