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A Newly Discovered Acheulean Assemblage in the Mbulu Plateau, Northern Tanzania

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Abstract

This article reports a newly discovered Acheulean assemblage in Tanzania’s Northern Mbulu Plateau. Recent investigations in the region have documented surface scatters of artifacts spanning the Acheulean-Later Stone Age continuum. Most of these artifacts have been recovered from disturbed surface contexts, on foothills, plains, and river terraces. However, there were few areas where the Acheulean assemblages were in situ. Like at Oldupai Beds II–IV, the Acheulean of Mbulu Plateau consists of various bifacial large and small cutting tools, flaked and detached types, and nondescript forms. While at Oldupai the raw material includes quartzite and different types of lava, the Mbulu Plateau assemblage is almost exclusively quartzite. Though the focus of this report is on the Acheulean, the artifacts are found co-occurring on the surface with MSA and LSA forms and are in a surprisingly good state of preservation.

Résumé

Cet article rapporte un assemblage acheuléen nouvellement découvert dans le plateau nord de Mbulu en Tanzanie. Des enquêtes récentes ont documenté une dispersion en surface d'artefacts couvrant le continuum Acheuléen-LSA. La plupart des artefacts ont été récupérés dans des contextes de surface sur des contreforts, des plaines et des terrasses fluviales. Cependant, il y a eu quelques occasions où l'Acheuléen était in situ, mais pas à plus de 20 cm de la surface. Comme à Oldupai Beds II-IV, l'Acheuléen se compose ici de divers outils de coupe bifaciaux grands et petits, de pièces écaillés et détachés et de formes indescriptibles. Alors qu'à Oldupai la matière première comprend du quartzite et différents types de lave, l'assemblage du plateau de Mbulu est presque exclusivement du quartzite. Bien que ce rapport se concentre sur l'Acheuléen, les artefacts se trouvent en surface avec les formes MSA et LSA et sont dans un état de conservation étonnamment bon.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to record our gratitude to Prof. Blumenschine and Dr. E. Kessy for reading an early draft of this paper and sharing their comments. Mr. Alexander Kabelinde, a graduate student from the University College of London, visited the team in the field and offered very useful suggestions on improving the data recovery strategies. We are also grateful to the UDSM students who did most of the fieldwork. Any shortcomings should not be attributed to any of them. Rather, the authors bear full responsibility. Aside from these colleagues, we must record our gratitude to the inhabitants of the Mbulu Plateau, who showed great cooperation despite our team walking through their property. The regional authorities of Karatu District issued all the permits with enthusiasm so that no time was wasted. To them, we give our thanks. Finally, we thank the College of Humanities of the University of Dar es Salaam for allowing students to participate in the Mbulu Field School. Without the students’ labor, we would not have achieved so much within a short time. Mention must be made of the Paleontological Scientific Trust (PAST) grant, which funded the initial fieldwork that opened the area of research to the authors.

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  1. Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Fidelis T. Masao

  2. Dar Es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), University of Dar Es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Penina E. Kadalida

  3. Insituto Politecnico de Tomar (IPT), Tomar, Portugal

    Felix D. Kisena

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  1. Fidelis T. Masao
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Masao, F.T., Kadalida, P.E. & Kisena, F.D. A Newly Discovered Acheulean Assemblage in the Mbulu Plateau, Northern Tanzania. Afr Archaeol Rev 39, 347–360 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-022-09477-7

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