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The Eburran industry is the name of an East African tool assemblage that dates from 13,000 BCE and thereafter, found around
Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley lakes at an elevation of above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park.
The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast qu ...
in the
Ol Doinyo Eburru
Ol Doinyo Eburru is an active complex of volcanoes in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya to the northwest of Lake Naivasha.
It is being exploited for geothermal energy.
Soysambu Conservancy is located to the north of the massif, between Lake Elmentei ...
volcano complex in the
Rift Valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...
,
Kenya
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.
The culture was at one time known as the "Kenyan Capsian" because findings resemble those of the North African
Capsian
The Capsian culture was a Mesolithic and Neolithic culture centered in the Maghreb that lasted from about 8,000 to 2,700 BC. It was named after the town of Gafsa in Tunisia, which was known as Capsa in Roman times.
Capsian industry was concentra ...
trans-Saharan culture.
Eburran assemblages, as recovered from Gamble's Cave and Nderit Drift, comprise large backed blades, crescent
microlith
A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia an ...
s,
burins, and
endscrapers. Some tools at Gamble's Cave were made from
obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock.
Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
.
Phases
*Phase 1, from 13,000 BCE to around 10,000 BCE, associated with a short, humid climatic period, superseded by a drier climatic period
*Phase 2, from around 7-8,000 BCE, the climate became very humid
*Phase 3, from around 6,000 BCE
*Phase 4, from around 4-5,000 BCE, with an unevenly drier climate
*Phase 5, from around 3,000 BCE, the climate was much drier than now. During this last period, Eburran tools are also found with ceramics and livestock. It is part of the
Pastoral Neolithic
The Pastoral Neolithic (5000 BP - 1200 BP) refers to a period in Africa's prehistory, specifically Tanzania and Kenya, marking the beginning of food production, livestock domestication, and pottery use in the region following the Later Stone Age. ...
in Africa. Before phase 5, Eburran peoples lived by
hunting, and gathering.
*Around 700 AD, a transformation from the Pastoral Neolithic to the Pastoral
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
took place.
[Ambrose, Stanley H. (1998): ''Chronology of the Later Stone Age and food production in East Africa''. Journal of Archaeological Science, 25 (4): 377-392, DOI: 10.1006/jasc.1997.0277]
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References
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* Sinclair, Paul J. J. (1991): ''Archaeology in Eastern Africa: An Overview of Current Chronological Issues'', The Journal of African History 32 (2)
See also
*
Enkapune Ya Muto
Enkapune Ya Muto, also known as Twilight Cave, is a Late Stone Age site on the Mau Escarpment of Kenya. Beads made of perforated ostrich egg shells found at the site have been dated to 40,000 years ago. The beads found at the site represent the ...
Paleolithic cultures of Africa
Industries (archaeology)
Archaeology of Eastern Africa