Settlement, Economic Change and Continuity c. AD 900-1750 in the Lake Baringo

and Amboseli Basins, Kenya

Nik Petek and Anna ShoemakerNik Petek and Anna Shoemakernpetek1989@gmail.com acshoemaker1@gmail.com

REAL Resilience in East African Landscapes

Cologne January 8-10

Archaeology and REALArchaeology and REALProduce long term historical perspective of Produce long term historical perspective of human-environment interactions to better human-environment interactions to better understand future landscape transformationsunderstand future landscape transformations

As archaeologists we aim to investigate how As archaeologists we aim to investigate how humans have impacted and responded to humans have impacted and responded to ecosystem changes between AD 900-1750; ecosystem changes between AD 900-1750; which includes climate change events such which includes climate change events such as the Medieval Warm Period and the Little as the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice AgeIce Age

Seeking to Seeking to understand understand How have Amboseli and Baringo ecosystem

dynamics been impacted by the presence of and fluidity between pastoralist, hunter-gatherer, and agriculturalist lifeways? How did material culture adaptations influence human-landscape interactions in these regions?At what point, and why, did changes in ecological and social parameters force the restructuring of communities, and what were the consequences of this restructuring?Can we extricate anthropogenic forces from reconstructions of the historical ecology of the region to better understand interpretations of proxy data indicating climate change events?

MethodsMethods

Undiscovered BaringoUndiscovered BaringoNo No proper archaeological research of past 2000 yearsproper archaeological research of past 2000 years

Sites from Laikipia Plateau and Lake Bogoria (Taylor Sites from Laikipia Plateau and Lake Bogoria (Taylor et al.et al. 2005) 2005)

Area of high potentialArea of high potential with hunter with hunter--gatherergatherer, , pastoralist, and agriculturalist interactionpastoralist, and agriculturalist interaction

Extensive anthropological, ethnoarchaeological, Extensive anthropological, ethnoarchaeological, geological and environmental researchgeological and environmental research

Quick environmental responses to climatic changesQuick environmental responses to climatic changes (Kiage & Liu 2009)(Kiage & Liu 2009)

Persistent land degradation and erosionPersistent land degradation and erosion since before since before colonial period (Kiage & Liu 2009)colonial period (Kiage & Liu 2009)

Siiriäinen et al. (2009), p. 165, Fig. 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tsavo_national_park_map_en.png

Amboseli BasinAmboseli BasinKajiado DistrictKajiado District

Challenges facing the Challenges facing the Amboseli todayAmboseli today

o reduction in forest coverreduction in forest covero competition between tourists, conservationists, competition between tourists, conservationists,

herders, and settled farmers over water and herders, and settled farmers over water and arable landarable land

o increases in agricultural activityincreases in agricultural activityo poachingpoachingo fragmentation and privatization of Maasai fragmentation and privatization of Maasai

rangelandsrangelandso rapid influx of people into Kajiado Districtrapid influx of people into Kajiado Districto rising temperaturesrising temperatureso general climatic uncertainty general climatic uncertainty

Photo from Fitzpatrick 2009, Maji Moto: Dispatches from a Drought.

Aerial photo of abandoned habitation site in Amboseli lava field taken by Paul Lane

An Outline of Late An Outline of Late Holocene Dynamics in Holocene Dynamics in

Amboseli Basin Amboseli Basin Pollen cores from Namelok Swamp suggest human settlement as early as 2650 yr BP (Rucina et al. 2010)

Archaeological survey suggest that hunter-gatherers of the Amboseli gradually acquired cattle which came into the rift valley somewhere between1850 and 1100 cal. yr BP (Foley 1980; 1981; Marshall 2000)

Pollen cores from Namelok Swamp suggest growth in cereal production within the last 500 years (Rucina et al. 2010)

Aridity Aridity Moist Interval

Expansion of resource markets

A Study in A Study in Predictability, Predictability, Volatility, and Volatility, and

ResilienceResilienceGlobal climate change concerns render Global climate change concerns render issues of land use practices and issues of land use practices and environmental resource environmental resource management/sustainability hot topicsmanagement/sustainability hot topics

We hope to join the discussion of how We hope to join the discussion of how anthropogenic forces acting over the longue anthropogenic forces acting over the longue durée in East Africa have shaped ecosystems durée in East Africa have shaped ecosystems and how humans have responded to their and how humans have responded to their changing environmentschanging environments

ReferencesReferencesFoley, R. 1980. Spatial component of archaeological data: off-site methods and some preliminary results from the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya. In R.E. Leakey and B.A. Ogat (eds.) Proceedings of the 8th Panafrican Congress of Prehistory and Quaternary Studies Nairobi, 5 to 10 September 1977. Nairobi: The International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory. Pp. 39-40.

Foley, R. 1981. Off-Site Archaeology and Human Adaptation in Eastern Africa: An Analysis of Regional Artefact Density in the Amboseli, Southern Kenya. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 3. BAR International Series 97.

Kiage, L. M. & Liu, K. (2009) Palynological evidence of climate change and land degradation in the Lake Baringo area, Kenya, East Africa, since AD 1650, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 279: 60-72

Marshall, F.B. 2000. The origins and spread of domestic animals in East Africa. In R.M. Blench and K.C. MacDonald (eds.) The Origins and Development of African Livestock: Archaeology, Genetics, Linguistics, and Ethnography. London: UCL Press. Pp. 191-221.

Rucina, S.M., Muiruri, V.M., Downton, L., and R. Marchant. 2010. Late-Holocene savanna dynamics in the Amboseli Basin, Kenya. The Holocene. 20:5, 667-677.

Siiriäinen, A., O. Seitsonen & J. Lauren (2009) Pastoralists in the Northeastern Mara Plains: Archaeological Investigations of the Pastoral Neolithic and Pastoral Iron Age, Azania 44: 163-193

Taylor, D., Lane, P.J., Muiruri V., Ruttledge, A., McKeever, R. Gaj, Nolan, T., Kenny, P., Goodhue, R. (2005) Mid- to Late Holocene vegetation dynamics on the Laikipia Plateau, Kenya, The Holocene 15: 837-846