New excavations at Nasera Rock (Tanzania): the Lemuta industry

Abstract

Nasera is a key site for understanding the Middle and Later Stone Age in northern Tanzania and East Africa, thanks to its nine-metre cultural sequence and 25 archaeological levels. Excavated previously by Louis Leakey (1932) and Michael Mehlman (1975–76), work resumed there in 2018. This paper presents the results of the excavation of Level 5, belonging to the Lemuta industry of the Later Stone Age, which is dated to 47.1 ± 4.5 kya. The faunal assemblage comprises species such as Alcelaphini, Antilopini and Equus quagga, which supports the existence of dry and open grasslands. The lithic assemblage consists of chert knapped using single-platform and prismatic blade/bladelet methods. Retouched blanks are scarce, but microliths (crescents and trapezes) predominate. These techno-typological characteristics and the site’s chronology allow the assemblage to be related to the Naisiusiu industry of Olduvai.