Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne

West Africa is currently entirely absent from discussions on the Middle Stone Age. While sites from this period have been known in this region for a long time, their stratigraphic context is often unclear or nonexistent. As in Southern Africa and Western Europe, progress in our knowledge of Middle S...

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Autores principales: Sylvain Soriano, Michel Rasse, Chantal Tribolo, Éric Huysecom
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:e74595b64f084aad9813b69254731ae12021-12-02T10:48:24ZOunjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne2431-204510.4000/aaa.672https://doaj.org/article/e74595b64f084aad9813b69254731ae12010-09-01T00:00:00Zhttp://journals.openedition.org/aaa/672https://doaj.org/toc/2431-2045West Africa is currently entirely absent from discussions on the Middle Stone Age. While sites from this period have been known in this region for a long time, their stratigraphic context is often unclear or nonexistent. As in Southern Africa and Western Europe, progress in our knowledge of Middle Stone Age will depend mainly on the construction of a broad chronological framework, preferably correlated with worldwide climatic changes and supported by absolute dates. This is the reason why the study of a complex of open air sites at Ounjougou (Mali) has opened up a new perspective on the MSA in West Africa. Almost 30 archaeological levels belonging to that period have been identified within thick Pleistocene deposits, mostly of aeolian origin. Systematic recovery of OSL dates helped in establishing a chronology for the whole sequence of deposits, which allowed for the indirect dating of many palaeolithic occupations. Oldest MSA occupations are dated from the end of the Middle Pleistocene, about 150 kyrs ago. They are more numerous between 80 and 25 kyrs ago, with a particular concentration in isotopic stage 3. As usual in open-air sites, the density of material within archaeological levels is highly variable, and only lithic industries have been preserved. Apart from the frequency of occupation, the originality of this archaeological sequence lies in the diversity of the industries, which succeed each other without apparent logic. Manufacturing techniques (such as Levallois, discoid, blade, unipolar, or bipolar on anvil) alternate throughout the sequence, and industries characterized by bifacial foliate artefacts occur more than once. If most of these industries fit easily within the West African MSA as a whole, the diversity of technical traditions and their rapid shift bring several questions. Are there regional equivalents for such a rate of change ? Does it have any significance as regards the peopling of West Africa at this time ? And what could have led to such rapid changes ?Sylvain SorianoMichel RasseChantal TriboloÉric HuysecomOpenEditionarticleMiddle Stone AgechronologysettlementArchaeologyCC1-960History of the artsNX440-632ENFRAfrique Archéologie Arts, Vol 6, Pp 49-66 (2010)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
FR
topic Middle Stone Age
chronology
settlement
Archaeology
CC1-960
History of the arts
NX440-632
spellingShingle Middle Stone Age
chronology
settlement
Archaeology
CC1-960
History of the arts
NX440-632
Sylvain Soriano
Michel Rasse
Chantal Tribolo
Éric Huysecom
Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
description West Africa is currently entirely absent from discussions on the Middle Stone Age. While sites from this period have been known in this region for a long time, their stratigraphic context is often unclear or nonexistent. As in Southern Africa and Western Europe, progress in our knowledge of Middle Stone Age will depend mainly on the construction of a broad chronological framework, preferably correlated with worldwide climatic changes and supported by absolute dates. This is the reason why the study of a complex of open air sites at Ounjougou (Mali) has opened up a new perspective on the MSA in West Africa. Almost 30 archaeological levels belonging to that period have been identified within thick Pleistocene deposits, mostly of aeolian origin. Systematic recovery of OSL dates helped in establishing a chronology for the whole sequence of deposits, which allowed for the indirect dating of many palaeolithic occupations. Oldest MSA occupations are dated from the end of the Middle Pleistocene, about 150 kyrs ago. They are more numerous between 80 and 25 kyrs ago, with a particular concentration in isotopic stage 3. As usual in open-air sites, the density of material within archaeological levels is highly variable, and only lithic industries have been preserved. Apart from the frequency of occupation, the originality of this archaeological sequence lies in the diversity of the industries, which succeed each other without apparent logic. Manufacturing techniques (such as Levallois, discoid, blade, unipolar, or bipolar on anvil) alternate throughout the sequence, and industries characterized by bifacial foliate artefacts occur more than once. If most of these industries fit easily within the West African MSA as a whole, the diversity of technical traditions and their rapid shift bring several questions. Are there regional equivalents for such a rate of change ? Does it have any significance as regards the peopling of West Africa at this time ? And what could have led to such rapid changes ?
format article
author Sylvain Soriano
Michel Rasse
Chantal Tribolo
Éric Huysecom
author_facet Sylvain Soriano
Michel Rasse
Chantal Tribolo
Éric Huysecom
author_sort Sylvain Soriano
title Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
title_short Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
title_full Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
title_fullStr Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
title_full_unstemmed Ounjougou (Pays dogon, Mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique sahélienne
title_sort ounjougou (pays dogon, mali) : une séquence à haute résolution pour le paléolithique moyen d’afrique sahélienne
publisher OpenEdition
publishDate 2010
url https://doaj.org/article/e74595b64f084aad9813b69254731ae1
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