The Early Later Stone Age in East Africa: Excavations and Lithic Assemblages from Lukenya Hill

The site of Lukenya Hill, Kenya, is one of the richest Later Stone Age (LSA) sites in East Africa. Its sequence documents the increasing manufacture of microlithic tools, one of the hallmarks of hunter-gatherer behavioural ‘modernity’. This paper presents results of excavations at one of the six Pleistocene LSA archaeological sites of Lukenya Hill, and analysis of site formation processes on this inselberg rock shelter. It examines lithic assemblages from this site and four other Pleistocene-dated LSA sites at Lukenya Hill. Differences in raw material use, typology and chronology indicate that there are three different kinds of LSA industries in the sampled sites at Lukenya Hill. Changes in technology, activities and land use patterns can explain the differences among these three industries. The Lukenya Hill sequence is compared with other East African LSA industries. App., bibliogr., sum. in English and French.