Hobley,C. W.

Hobley, C. W.

Biodiversity Heritage Library OAI Repository

20 EARLY MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICAbreast), francolin, sand-grouse,snipe, and lesserbustard.Otherbirdsarecomparativelyscarce.Throughoutthe trip, which extendedover twenty-eightdays,I enjoyedthe companionshipof Mr. Lindblom,to whomI am indebtedfor one of thephotographsherereproduced.Attachedalsois a sketchmap,on muchreducedscale,of theroutetakenandthecourseof theriver.EARL Y MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICABy C. W. HOBLEY.Onewouldexpectto findrelicsof prehistoricmanin Africa,perhapsmorethan anywhereon the globe,becauseit is thegeneralopinionof geologiststhat the heartof the Continenthas beencontinuouslyabovethe seafor a very long period,geologicallyspeaking.This hopehas not beenaltogetherdisappointed,for stoneweaponsand implementshave beendiscoveredin differentpartsof the Continent,widelyapart. The two areasin whichmost finds have beenmadeare South Africa and the NileValley.ArtificialstoneimplementsfromAfrica wereprobablyfirstnoticedin Egypt, beingfirst accidentallyfoundin the courseof excavationsfor Egyptian antiquities,and owing to theextraordinarypreservativequalitiesof the desertsandmanybones,andothermoreor lessperishablethings,havecometolight. In South Africa the first recordedimplementswerediscoveredabout 1866,and sincethen manythousandshavebeenpickedupfromCapeColonyto Rhodesia; otherevidencesof culture,suchaspottery,havebeenfound,buttheyarerare.A fewhumanremainshavebeenfound,but not to anygreatextent. Stone implementshave also been recordedfromSomaliland,Darfur,the Congo,and otherplaces. In Europeandotherpartsof theworldweowea greatdealto thewideoccurrenceof limestonedepositsin preservingrelicsof earlyman, for two reasons. Limestonerocks easilyweatherintocavesor largecavities,formedin it by the solventactionofEARLY MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 21rain water chargedwith carbonicacid gas. Early man in-habitedthesecavesand oftendiedthere. In courseof timelayersof stalagmiteweredepositedovel'hisremains,hisimple-ments,andthe bonesof theanimalsheate,andweoftenhavepreservedforusafairlycompleterecordofhislife.Taking Africa as a whole, limestoneis rare and theconvenientlimestonecave doesnot often exist,and there-fore the chancesof the preservationof naturalmuseumsareremote.The centralportionof Africa wasprobablymuchthinnerpopulatedin earlytimesthanSouthAfrica,forwherethousandsof implementshavebeenfoundthere,only dozenshavebeenfound here. Of course,South Africa has beenoccupiedbyEuropeansmuch longerthan East Africa, and much moredevelopmenthas beendone,excavationand suohlike; butfor all that,onewouldthinkthatmoreshouldhavebeenfound.It is,however,too earlyto cometo definiteconclusionsonthispoint.Possiblythe intensevolcanicactionwhich took plaoeinthe heartof British East Africa,andwhichcontinuedup to avery recentgeologicalperiod,so terrifiedearlyman that heratheravoidedthe areaand preferredcountrieslessliabletoviolent eruptionsand their attendantdiscomforts,or againit maybepossiblethatthemoresavagefaunaweretoonumerousfor himto copewith: little, however,is to begainedby meretheorising. The first stoneimplementsin British East Africa.werediscoveredby Professor.J. W. Gregoryin 1892at Gilgil,andweredescribedby him in his delightfulwork ' The GreatRift Valley' (Murray).Thewriterfounda well-workedobsidianarrow-headsomeyearsagoa few milesnorth of Kisumu, many miles fromany obsidianin situ; anotheroneof white chalcedonywasobtainedfromamongthemagicstonesof a Kikuyu medicine-man,andit wassaidto havecomefromthe TanaValley.Dr. F. Oswaldreportshaving found a numberof rudescrapersnear Karungu,closeto the shoreof Lake Victoria.One of those curious perforatedstones,knownin SouthAfrica as Kwe, was found a few yearsagoat MwatatebyMr. Skene.~. EARL Y MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICAA similarone,but brokenin half, wasfound on a FibreEstate at Voi.A rude stonebowl (or mortar)was dug up a few milessouthof NaivashaStation.ThisandtheKwe fromMwatatewerefiguredin thewriter'sbookon the' A-Kamba,'p. 160.Recently,beautifullyworkedarrow-headswerediscoveredin Kyambu district,on Kinangop Plateauand at Njoro, byMessrs.Montagu,Chesnaye,andTunstall.Njoro appearsto be a very promisingplace,for Mr. W.Tunstallhassentin asmallcollectionof workedobsidianstones,all of which he found in the vicinity. Two very perfectlyroundedquartzsphereshavebeenfound,oneon the top of akopjein theTsavoValleyandonein a cuttingon the MagadiRailway. Thesewereprobablyoriginally reduced,roughly,to their presentshapeby wateractionin pot-holes,but werepickedup by earlymanandusedas mulIersfor grindingandcrushingroots,&c.,andthusgraduallyassumedamoreperfectlysphericalshape. The specimenfrom Magadiwasfoundsomedistancebelowthe surfacein a recentvolcanioarea,andthereareno pot-holeswithin manymiles. It is said that similarroundstonesareusedto this dayby the Masaito polishtheirnewspears,andalsoto sharpenor puta grittyedgeon thestoneson whichnativemealis ground.As far asis knownno earlypotteryhasyet cometo light,no bonetools,andno cavedrawings. Moreunfortunatestill,no earlyskullshaveyet beenfound; but as beforeexplainedunlessthereis limeabout,humanbonesverysoondisintegrateand disappear. No ancientmiddensor rubbishheapshaveyet beendiscovered.The materialsusedfor the implementsdiscoveredup todateareusuallyobsidian,but thescrapersfoundbyDr.Oswaldweremadeof basalt. As abovementioned,onearrow-headofchalcedonyor agatehasbeenrecorded. The perforatedstoneKwesand the Naivashamortarwereof basaltand phonoliterespectively.The collectionsfound in British East Africa are not yetlargeenough,and collateralevidenceis tooscanty,to enableanyrealattemptto be madeat systematicclassification,as2 '3IN.FIG.1. STONE IMPLEMENTS (OBSIDIAN) FROM B.E.A.r. From /(iusbop (Clzesllaye).2. From JCya1llhu(Montag1{).3. From Njoro (Tunstall).IN.FIG. II. STONE IMPLEMENTS (OBSIDIAN) FROM B.E.A.A Zl.frolllN:joro(Tullstall)EARL Y MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 23has been done in Europe,and, to someextent,in SouthAfrica.In Europethe worksof StoneAgemanhavebeendividedintosomesevenperiods,commencingwith theChelleanas theoldest and endingwith the Azilian. Anthropologistshave,however,onlybeenabletodothisonthegroundsof differencesin the associatedfaunalremains,whichdifferenceswerepartlydueto changesofclimateandpartlydueto thenaturalprogressof development.In SouthAfrioaup to nowtheexpertshavenot beenablet.ocorrelatetheseEuropeandivisionswith thevariousdepositsfoundin that area,althoughtheyhavefoundthe remainsof Mastodon,extinctform of bubalineantelopeor hartebeest;Bubalusbaini, an extinctbuffalowhosehornsare muchlargerthan anythingnowin existence,e.g.fourteenfeet on the curve; an extinct horsecalledEquuscapensis,andtracesof hymna.In East Africa the only animalremainsfoundin associa-tionwith stoneimplementswerefoundin theMorendatValley,nearNaivasha,and consistedof a fragmentof the jaw of anextinct horsenamed Equus hollisi,by ProfessorRidgeway(' ProceedingsZoologicalSociety,'October1909); it wasfoundin bedsof volcanicashdepositedin lateTertiarytimesunderthewatersof NaivashaLake,whichduringthat periodcovereda muchgreaterextentthanat present.Any attemptto correlatethe periodsof a StoneAge inAfrica with thoseof Europeis undesirable,for to do so onewould haveto work on falsepremises. As one well-knownauthoritysays: 'Therenevercanbeuniversalcontemporaneityof an industry,andany attempttomakesimilar" cultures"of the sameageoverwidelyseparatedareaswill receivebutlittle supportfromfactsin the field.'TakingtheStoneAgeinAfricagenerally,thereis littledoubtthat it continuedon into fairly recenttimesandlivedsidebyside with the use of iron. Many goodauthoritiesmaintainthattheartofworkingin ironhadits birthplacein Africa,andifweacoeptthis beliefwe canlegitimatelyarguethat when itappeared,or whereit earlyobtaineda firm root,it conflictedwiththedevelopmentof thestone-workingindustry,crusheditout of existence,and thus preventedits ever reachingits94 EARL Y MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICAhigherstagessuchasarerepresentedbythebeautifulpolishedcelts,&c., of laterNeolithiotimesin Europe.It mustalsoberememberedthat in Europea BronzeAgeintervenedbetweenthe last stoneimplementperiodand thecomingof iron. Thereis no recordof suchaperiodin Africa,but it is believedthat thenativesof the SouthCongoworkedthe greatcopperdepositsof t.heKatangaregionlongerthanwe are apt to think. Anotherfactorwhichhad a profoundinfluencein Europewasthe occurrenceof the Ice Age,whichcouldnot haveappreciablyaffectedthe humaninhabitantsofCentralAfrica.The SouthAfrican implementshavebeendividedby Dr.Peringueyinto threegroupswhichmaybetermed:Type l.-Palreolithic.Type 2.-South AfricanNeolithic.Type B.-Later Neolithic-which correspondato whathasgenerallybecomeknownas the true Neolithicin Europe.Type 1 will probably be found in East Africa andUganda,and possiblythe basaltscrapersrecentlydiscoveredby Dr. Oswaldnear Karungu will be found to belong tothis period..The majorityof the implementsdiscoveredin EastAfrica,however,appearto belongto Type2,andconsistof arrow-headsandscrapers.It is curiousthat no bouchersor primitivestoneaxeshavebeenfound,astheyarewellknownin SouthAfrica;but theywill doubtlessturn up asmorepeopleturn attentionto thequestfortheserelics.With regard to Type B, it is representedin Europeby beautifullyworkedarrow-heads,withtangsandstoneaxes,or celtsgroundor rubbeddownuntil a smoothlyworkededgewasobtained,andalsosometimesperforatedfor thehandle.The only articlesfoundin British East Africa whichcon-formto this typearethe two perforatedstonescalledKwe inSouthAfrica,andwhichhavebeenpreviouslymentioned,andthe stonebowl (or mortar)found at Naivasha. Certainoldsteatitepipe bowlsstill occasionallyseen,the possessionofohiefsin Kavirondo,maybesurvivalsof this classof industry;EARLY MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 25alsothe stoneweightsstill wornin the earsof the Masai,thestone-headedclubsused by the tribeson the southandeastof Kenya,stoneanvilsand the primitivegrinding-stonestillusedeverywherefor makingmealfrom maizeor millet. Itis quitenaturaltofindthat theuseof theseimplementshassur-viveduptothepresentdayin theremoterpartsof thecountry.In thecavesandmiddensof SouthAfricamanyflatbeadshavebeenfound,madeof fragmentsof the shellof an ostrichegg,boredandrubbeddownto a roughlycircularshape. As far asis knownno suchornamentshavebeenfoundin East Africain associationwith stoneimplements,butamongthe Turkanathesebeadsarefoundin useat thepresentday,andthis maybequotedasratheran interestingexampleof thesurvivalofa prehistoricindustry.The perforatedstones,previouslyreferredto, deservesomenotice;theyareverywellknownin SouthAfrica,andaretherecalledKweor Tikoe.Theirrangeis enormous,fortheyareof commonoccurrencein CapeColony,OrangeRiver Colony,but rarelyfoundin theTransvaal;some800of themhavebeenfoundin SouthAfrica.TheyarerecordedfromtheTanganyikaPlateau,fromKiliman-jaro,andalsofromnearKhartumandfromSouthKordofan.Aspreviouslymentioned,two have beenfound in this countryand,doubtless,morewill be discovered.Similar implementsarefoundin Europe,andtheyhaveevenbeenrecordedfromChili.In Europe they are associatedwith polishedstoneaxes,andareoftrueandratherlateNeolithictype. Theyareusuallyfiveor six inchesin diameterwith a perforationabout oneinohto oneanda quarterinchesin diameter.It has beenprovedin SouthAfrioa from the evidenceofearly travellersand bushmandrawingsthat they wereusedbothasweightsfor digging-sticks,andwerefastenedon sticksandusedfor clubs. It is probablethatthestone-headedclubs,still used by someof the tribes aroundMount Kenya, aresurvivalsof the Kwe.Mostof theobsidianarrow-headsandscraperswhichhavebeendiscoveredareevidentlymadefrom naturalsplintersorflakesof the rock,becausenumerousnatural flakesare foundFIG. III. STONE IMPLEMENTS (OBSIDIAN) FROM B.E.A.A II /:rolll near A·ikllYu Sta.TILestolle marked A is fl core./1'011I'wh;clt.f1alu:slta7JCbeenstruck.I • , • I Io I 21NFIG. IV. STONE ARROWHEAD (OBSIDIAN).Found nearKyambu by Mr.l\Iolltagu.Enlargedview0./ No.2 01Fig. I.96 EARL Y MAN IN BRITISH EASrr AFRICAin the Rift Valleyandotherplacesalongsideworkedpieces;but a corefrom which flakeshavebeenartifioiallyremovedhas beenrecentlydiacovered.The implementsare usuallyworkedononesideonly,andareclassedasmonohedral;occasion-ally onefindsone which is holohedral,or workedonall sides.Thesewerealmostcertainlycontemporaneous,but fashionedby workerswho werespeciallyadroit at the industry. Thebetterspecimensare usuallyfound singly,and are probablytheheadsofarrowslostin thechase. If a quantityof workedstonesarefoundin association,they areprobablyacollectionof thewastersor failures; nostonearrow-headwitha tanghasyetcometo lIght.The Kikuyu peoplehavea legendof a formerracecalledthe Gumba,of pigmystature,and they say that the sitesoftheirold villagescanbetraced; two localitiesarementioned,onenear Kikuyu Stationand the other in Kenya Province,nearthe Tana Valley, and it is said that fragmentsof theirpottery are sometimesfound when cultivationis goingon.Now near Kikuyu Station numerousworked flakes are tobefound; no potteryhasyet cometo hand,but it is possiblethat the Gumbalegendis a traditionalrecordof theexistenceof theStoneAgemen.In Kavirondo,anda fewotherplaces,certainjasperbeadshave been found, and one might jump to the conclusionthatthesewererelicsoftheStoneAge. Sotheyare,in thesensethat all stonebeadsareexamplesof earlyindustries;but thebeadsin questionhave,it is believed,wandereddown fromancientEgypt and weremadeby skilledworkmenof a com-parativelyhigh planeof culture,for it is inconceivablethata StoneAgesavage,whohadonlydiscoveredhowto chiprudeobsidianimplements,could accuratelybore a truly circularhole of small diameterthroughan extremelyhard materialsuchasjasper. Thereis anotherveryinterestingpointaboutthesebeads,and that is that they weremadefrom pebbles,and besidesbeing bored are frequentlyroughly ground orrubbed down into eithersix-sidedprismsor a doublesix-sidedpyramid,and this is believedto be mimeticof a com-mon natural crystalline form, the six-sided quartz prismor pyramid.6 7 eSTONE IMPLEMENTS FOUND BY DR. FELIX OSWALD.EARLY MAN IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 27It is unfortunatethat theevidenceis asyet soscanty,butthis sketchmay perhapsinduceresidentsto look out for,andcollectrelicsof, thehandicraftof earlyman. It is hopedthat someof the manycavesin the countrywill be systema-ticallyexplored. In theeventof a discovery,greatcareshouldbe takento collectthe bonesof anymammalsfoundin cavesin associationwith stoneimplements,asby thismeanswemaybe able to reconstructhe earlyhistory of man in this partof the AfricanContinentandcorrelatehisprogresswith thatof his congenersliving at that time in the NorthernHemi-sphereand in South Africa, to the record of which suchcarefulstudyhasbeendevotedby manybrilliantstudentsinEurope.A greatdealof valuableinformationon theSouthAfric&nStoneAgewillbe foundin a paperby Dr. Peringuey,Director,SouthAfrican Museum,inVol. VIII. of theAnnals of theSouth African M'U8eum,published1911.DESCRIPTION OF PLATEThe stoneimplementsfiguredin the plate (two-thirdsoftheactualsize)werefoundby meonthesurfaceof theLowerMiocenedepositswhichareexposedin the te1T8cedgulliesofNira and Kaohuku,aboutfive milessouth-eastof Karungu,on the eastcoastof the VictoriaNyanza. Theya.rea1T8ngedon the platein the samerelativeposition,the apexpointingdownwardin eaohcase; the photographshowsthe flakedside of the implements,the reversedisplayingthe bulb ofpercussion. In Nos. 5, 9 and 10 the tip is brokenoff, butthe fractureis veryold,for thebrownpatinaextendsequallyacrossit.The greaternumber,viz. Nos. 1 to 9 and 1.2,oonsistof ablackflintwithbrownpatina,Nos.10and11a.reof sandstone,No 18is of quartzitewith veinsof quartz,No. 14is of quartz-porphyry,and.No. 15 is of quartzitewith orimsonstainsofhematite. The flint-implementsmust have been.broughtfrom a considerabledistance,perhapsfrom the southward,for I did not find any similarrook or pebblesduring mymarch eastwardsto Kisii and thenceto Homa Bay andKendu.28 THE GAME OF THE NORTH KA VIRONDO, The quartziteof Nos.13and15doubtlesscomesfromthequartziteof the Kisii Highlands,probably from pebblesbroughtdown by the Kuja river. In No. 15 this is oer-tainly the oase,for the reverseside shows the naturalroundedsurfaoeof the pebblewith only seoondarychippingroundtheedge.No. 14is a quartz-porphyry,rathersimilarto the quartz-porphyryof Najanjaat thesouth-eastangleof HomaBay.Nos.11and12werefoundat Nira; all theremaindercomefromKachuku.FELIX OSWALD,D.Se., F.G.S.THE GAME OF THE NORTH KA VIRONDODISTRICT, NYANZA PROVINCEBy C. W. WOODHOUSEThe North Kavirondodistrictis not notedfor the abun-danceof gameit contains,but many interestingmammalsinhabitit.Theboundariesofthedistrictare,roughly,theYala Rivertothe Lake; the Lake shoreto the mouth of the Sio River;thencefor about twenty milesup the Sio River, and fromthereto the MalabaRiver whichit followsto Elgon; abouthalf of Elgon; and the Nandi Escarpmentdownto the YalaRiver.This large area differsconsiderablyin the characterofthe country,and from a zoologicalpoint of view may beconvenientlydividedinto threedivisions.Division l.-The greaterportion of the district consistsof rolling grass-claddowns,_withscatteredbushesand smalltrees. Here and there are outcropsof rock and occasionalcopses,orwoodsof thornbushandtimbertrees.Nearly every valley is swampyduring the rains. Thegrass,whichmainlyconsistsof spear-grassandredtop,growsto a length of about five feet. This land is fairly thicklypopulatedanddoesnot holdmuchgame,an occasionalduikeror reedbuck(Ward's Bokor) being seen. Game birds are

Early man in British East Africa

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/EANHS/Vol. III (No.5)_20_1912_Hobley.pdf

Early man in British East Africa

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Biodiversity Heritage Library OAI Repository