Pyrotechnologies of Middle and Later Stone Age foragers in central Africa: a micro-contextual approach

Description du projet

Un examen attentif de la première utilisation des incendies de l’humanité

Les humains ont devancé l’évolution technologique quand ils ont appris comment produire et contrôler le feu. Toutefois, nous ne savons que relativement peu de choses sur l’essor de la pyrotechnologie. Le projet MicroAsh, financé par l’UE, retracera la variabilité de la pyrotechnologie de l’Âge de pierre moyen et tardif en ciblant trois abris en pierre fermés dans la vallée de Kasitu au Malawi, et caractérisera les cendres, les principaux composants sédimentaires de ces sites. Le projet appliquera des techniques de géoarchéologie afin d’étudier les processus de formation des sites, l’utilisation du feu et la relation paléoenvironnementale, la variabilité dans l’utilisation du feu à des fins de rituel et de subsistance au fil du temps, et l’intensité d’utilisation du site. MicroAsh produira également des ensembles de données expérimentales ouvertes sur les cendres caractérisées.

Objectif

The ability to produce and control fire is a momentous technological development and one that is unique to humans. The ways in which early pyrotechnology evolved and varied amongst prehistoric foragers is, however, poorly resolved. The main objective of the MicroAsh project is to reconstruct Middle and Later Stone Age (MSA and LSA) pyrotechnology variability by focusing on three closed-space rockshelters located in the Kasitu Valley (Malawi), which show exceptional preservation of organic materials. My pilot studies have shown that ashes constitute the main sedimentary components at the selected sites, though individual combustion features are invisible based solely on field observations. Human remains have been retrieved from all three sites, with the apparent use of fire for ritual interment practices during the LSA. MicroAsh will apply high-resolution geoarchaeological techniques (micromorphology, µFTIR, GIS), to study (1) site formation processes, (2) the relationship between fire use and paleoenvironment, (3) variability in the use of fire for ritual and subsistence through time, and (4) site-use intensity. The project will create, and make openly available, experimental datasets on characterization of ashes from varied local botanical resources that are of use to research in similar archaeological contexts in Africa. The largely unexplored potential of using human-made residues will contribute to our understanding of the transition from MSA to LSA foraging strategies. My experience in geoarchaeological studies in Malawi will directly assist me on achieving the goals of this ambitious project. The array of technical and transferable skills I will gather through the completion of MicroAsh and the widening of my collaboration network will be key in achieving my future career goals of becoming a team leader and starting my own research group.