Pastoralist Settlement and the Anthropogenic Savannah: the archaeo-ecology of Mili Sita, Kenya

Pastoralism has long been regarded difficult subject matter for archaeology, particularly in eastern Africa. Ephemeral settlements are presumed to leave little physical residue, such that reconstructions of pastoralist ethno-histories have relied on often-vague distributions of material culture. Cultural-stratigraphic approaches are limited in their capacity to explore the lifeways and social dynamics behind material expressions. As a consequence, our knowledge of how herding spread into the region and the historical development of the specialised stock-keeping communities seen today is hindered by a methodological incapacity to address what are arguably the fundamental drivers of pastoralist daily experience: mobility and landscape ecology. This dissertation argues that the interaction of these two elements provides the foundation for pastoralist economics, politics and culture. Movement around the savannah, ostensibly in response to the needs of livestock, not only shapes herders’ social interactions and experiences of environment, but also leaves a physical impact on those landscapes. While built structures may not survive archaeologically, this dissertation discusses how settlement, however temporary, affects local ecology in ways that endure and might be ‘read’ as a proxy record of herders’ presence and practices. With respect to the mid-second millennium site of Maili Sita, in central Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, various data are employed to assess how settlement and particular patterns of land-use have impacted soils and vegetation. Using geoarchaeological survey and satellite imagery to assess the legacy effects of human presence, alongside isotope data derived from cattle teeth and relating to mobility and resource use, I argue that Maili Sita was part of a regional phenomenon of ethno-linguistic interaction, exchange and assimilation that precipitated the paradox of the defined-yet-entangled identities which continue to characterise the pastoralist societies of eastern Africa

Historical Ecologies of Pastoralist Overgrazing in Kenya: Long-Term Perspectives on Cause and Effect

The spectre of ‘overgrazing’ looms large in historical and political narratives of ecological degradation in savannah ecosystems. While pastoral exploitation is a conspicuous driver of landscape variability and modification, assumptions that such change is inevitable or necessarily negative deserve to be continuously evaluated and challenged. With reference to three case studies from Kenya – the Laikipia Plateau, the Lake Baringo basin, and the Amboseli ecosystem – we argue that the impacts of pastoralism are contingent on the diachronic interactions of locally specific environmental, political, and cultural conditions. The impacts of the compression of rangelands and restrictions on herd mobility driven by misguided conservation and economic policies are emphasised over outdated notions of pastoralist inefficiency. We review the application of ‘overgrazing’ in interpretations of the archaeological record and assess its relevance for how we interpret past socio-environmental dynamics. Any discussion of overgrazing, or any form of human-environment interaction, must acknowledge spatio-temporal context and account for historical variability in landscape ontogenies

Historical Ecologies of Pastoralist Overgrazing in Kenya: Long-Term Perspectives on Cause and Effect

Abstract: The spectre of ‘overgrazing’ looms large in historical and political narratives of ecological degradation in savannah ecosystems. While pastoral exploitation is a conspicuous driver of landscape variability and modification, assumptions that such change is inevitable or necessarily negative deserve to be continuously evaluated and challenged. With reference to three case studies from Kenya – the Laikipia Plateau, the Lake Baringo basin, and the Amboseli ecosystem – we argue that the impacts of pastoralism are contingent on the diachronic interactions of locally specific environmental, political, and cultural conditions. The impacts of the compression of rangelands and restrictions on herd mobility driven by misguided conservation and economic policies are emphasised over outdated notions of pastoralist inefficiency. We review the application of ‘overgrazing’ in interpretations of the archaeological record and assess its relevance for how we interpret past socio-environmental dynamics. Any discussion of overgrazing, or any form of human-environment interaction, must acknowledge spatio-temporal context and account for historical variability in landscape ontogenies

Historical Ecologies of Pastoralist Overgrazing in Kenya: Long-Term Perspectives on Cause and Effect

Abstract: The spectre of ‘overgrazing’ looms large in historical and political narratives of ecological degradation in savannah ecosystems. While pastoral exploitation is a conspicuous driver of landscape variability and modification, assumptions that such change is inevitable or necessarily negative deserve to be continuously evaluated and challenged. With reference to three case studies from Kenya – the Laikipia Plateau, the Lake Baringo basin, and the Amboseli ecosystem – we argue that the impacts of pastoralism are contingent on the diachronic interactions of locally specific environmental, political, and cultural conditions. The impacts of the compression of rangelands and restrictions on herd mobility driven by misguided conservation and economic policies are emphasised over outdated notions of pastoralist inefficiency. We review the application of ‘overgrazing’ in interpretations of the archaeological record and assess its relevance for how we interpret past socio-environmental dynamics. Any discussion of overgrazing, or any form of human-environment interaction, must acknowledge spatio-temporal context and account for historical variability in landscape ontogenies