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Characterisation of Stone Age LithicArtefacts From Two Rockshelter Sitesin Iringa Region, Southern TanzaniaKatie M. Biittner aa Department of Anthropology , University of Alberta , Edmonton ,CanadaPublished online: 27 Feb 2012.

To cite this article: Katie M. Biittner (2012) Characterisation of Stone Age Lithic Artefacts FromTwo Rockshelter Sites in Iringa Region, Southern Tanzania, Azania: Archaeological Research inAfrica, 47:1, 128-128, DOI: 10.1080/0067270X.2011.647951

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2011.647951

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PhD ABSTRACTS

Characterisation of Stone Age Lithic Artefacts From Two Rockshelter Sites in IringaRegion, Southern Tanzania. University of Alberta, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/

0067270X.2011.647951

Stone tools have a critical role to play in our understanding of the behavior of early

humans. In particular, the types of raw materials that are present in stone tool

assemblages, and the sources from which they are acquired, provide information

relating to decision-making processes, planning, the organisation of technology and

group mobility. The characterisation of Stone Age lithic artefact assemblages from

two rockshelter sites in southern Tanzania, Magubike and Mlambalasi, allowed for

the evaluation of inter- and intra-assemblage variability. Raw material characterisa-

tion was conducted using macroscopic and microscopic analyses.

Numerous raw material sourcing studies have been undertaken on Stone Age lithic

assemblages recovered from sites in Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. Generally,

these studies have concentrated on identifying the sources of a particular type of

stone raw material, such as chert, obsidian and basalt; however, the attributes of the

whole assemblage have only rarely been examined. Furthermore, few archaeologists

describe stone materials in terms of their basic petrographic characteristics. Both of

these weaknesses are the direct result of the lack of a standardised methodology for

describing lithic raw materials. This thesis therefore outlines a strategy for raw

material sourcing, with a focus on description and grounded in geoarchaeological

theory. When combined with typological and technological analyses, the results of the

raw material analyses suggest the exclusive use of locally acquired stone.

Katie M. Biittner

Department of Anthropology

University of Alberta

Edmonton Canada

katie.biitner@ualberta.ca

# 2012, Katie M. Biittner

Lithic Technology and Hunting Behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in Tanzania.

University of Alberta, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2011.647952

This dissertation examined the representation of projectile points in the Middle

Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) of Tanzania and the way in which

such tools were used over time and space. It reviews the different strategies used to

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

Vol. 47, No. 1, March 2012, 128�135

ISSN 0067-270X print/ISSN 1945-5534 online

http://www.tandfonline.com

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