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Review
. 2016:33:13-27.
doi: 10.1007/s10437-016-9211-5. Epub 2016 Mar 4.

The Current Status of the Kenya Capsian

Alex Wilshaw  1
Affiliations
Review

The Current Status of the Kenya Capsian

Alex Wilshaw. Afr Archaeol Rev. 2016.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

East Africa is home to a rich array of stone-tool traditions that span human prehistory. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the region attracted pioneer prehistorians in the early twentieth century, including L. S. B. Leakey, E. J. Wayland and T. P. O'Brien, who created the first cultural framework for East African prehistory during the 1930s. Although aspects of this framework remain relevant today, others have become misunderstood relics of an old classification system that hinders current research. This is particularly evident in the classification of a Later Stone Age (LSA) culture - the Kenya (East African) Aurignacian, later known as Kenya (East African) Capsian. Although this cultural entity was redressed during the 1970s and 1980s and redefined as the Eburran industry, there is still mystique surrounding the current status of the Kenya Capsian, its original scope and definition, the relationship with the Eburran and its position within a modern understanding of the East African LSA. This is largely due to paradigmatic shifts in researcher attitudes, leading to the use of the Eburran as a false proxy. It is necessary now to completely remove the term Kenya Capsian as an indication of similarity among the different LSA technologies. However, there also needs to be less emphasis on the importance of the Eburran and recognition that it is just one example of a multitude of diverse localised LSA industries. This will open the way for future research into the LSA and facilitate our greater understanding of recent prehistory in East Africa.

L’Afrique de l’Est est le berceau d’un riche ensemble de traditions qui couvrent toute la préhistoire humaine. Il est donc peu surprenant que cette région ait attirée au début du vingtième siècle les pionniers de la préhistoire, dont L. S. B. Leakey, E. J. Wayland et T. P. O’Brien, qui établirent les premiers systèmes culturels de l’Est Africain dans les années 1930. Bien qu’un certain nombre d’aspects de ce système reste pertinent aujourd’hui, d’autres constituent aujourd’hui les reliquats mal interprétés d’un vieux système de classification qui entrave la recherche actuelle. Cela est particulièrement clair pour la classification de la culture de l’Age de Pierre Tardif (APT) – l’Aurignacien du Kenya (Est Africain), connu ensuite sous le nom de Capsien du Kenya (Est Africain). Bien que cette entité culturelle ait été révisée pendant les années 70 et 80, et redéfinie comme industrie de l’Eburrien, une certaine confusion entoure toujours le statut actuel du Capsien du Kenya, son ampleur originale et de sa définition, sa relation avec l’Eburrien, et sa position vis-à-vis de notre vision de l’APT de l’Est Africain. Cela s’explique en grande partie par les variations paradigmatiques des chercheurs, conduisant à utiliser abusivement le terme Eburrien. Il est désormais nécessaire de complètement abandonner l’expression Capsien du Kenya pour indiquer une similarité entre technologies de l’APT. Cependant, il est également nécessaire de moins insister sur l’importance de l’Eburrien, et de reconnaître qu’il s’agit juste d’un exemple parmi d’autres d’une multitude d’industries locales de l’APT. Cela devrait ouvrir la voie à de futures recherches sur l’APT et faciliter une meilleure compréhension de la préhistoire récente de l’Afrique de l’Est.

Keywords: Aurignacian; East African archaeology; Eburran; Kenya; Kenya Capsian; Later Stone Age.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Kenya Capsian and Eburran ranges in Eastern Africa. Including a selection of sites: 1 Nderit Drift, 2 Gamble’s Cave II, 3 Prospect Farm, 4 Hyrax Hill, 5 Lion Hill Cave, 6 Cartwright’s Site, 7 Naivasha Railway Rockshelter, 8 Knightwick, 9 Kabete, 10 Thika, 11 St. Austin’s Mission, 12 Alara River and Sore, 13 KUR Line, 14 Ngiya churchyard and Usenge, 15 Ndenga, 16 Nderati, 17 Ele Bor, 18 Apis Rock, 19 Olduvai Gorge, 20 Ulanga Maru, 21 Napak, 22 Moroto. Tendaguru not shown on map
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Selection of obsidian stone tools of the Kenya Capsian, later Eburran, industries. Backed blades and crescents from b Q19, Ngiya churchyard, Nyanza, Kenya (basalt); c Q15, Alara River, Nyanza, Kenya (chert); d Q20, Apis Rock, Tanzania (chert and chalcedony); and e Q14, Ndenga, Nyanza, Kenya (chert). a after Ambrose (, 1984a, 1985). All illustrations are by the author
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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