Isimila

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Map of the area between Iringa and Isimila

Isimila is an archaeological site in central Tanzania , 22.5 kilometers southwest of Iringa , not far from the road between Iringa and Makambako . In 1957/58 the American paleontologist Francis Clark Howell exposed numerous stone implements from the Acheuléen , including some unusually large hand axes . These hand axes are so large and heavy that they hardly seem suitable for routine work; According to Ian Tattersall , this has sparked speculation that they were used for ceremonies or made as a gimmick ("in a playful spirit"). An age of 260,000 years was reconstructed for the finds in 1972 with the help of uranium-thorium dating .

Isimila and the very large numbers of hand axes and other cleavers found there in great numbers on the surface and in the ground were first scientifically described in detail in 1951. Howell then visited the site in 1954 as part of a postdoctoral fellowship from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and also reported in 1955 on the occurrence of numerous stone tools, comparable to the finds from Olorgesailie in Kenya . As a result of these publications, the site was declared a cultural monument and protected by the government in February 1957. At the same time, Howell received permission from the Tanganyika government to carry out excavations for the first time in Isimila, which took place from July to November 1957 and July and August 1958 and were largely financed by the National Science Foundation .

Today, the layers of Isimila, around 18 meters thick, are considered to be one of the richest deposits of stone tools in Africa. Its importance for paleoanthropology is based on the fact that it comes from the era of early anatomically modern humans ( Homo sapiens ). Due to soil erosion , however, it has not yet been possible to reconstruct why thousands of tools were manufactured there and left behind; Geological studies that were carried out - for the first time since Howell - in the summer of 1969 and the early 1970s did nothing to change that.

More recently, the coordinated University of Brighton , the Isimila stone age project , among other things, with the aim of the stratigraphy to explore the site more accurately; Isimila also developed into a tourist destination.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ F. Clark Howell : Isimila: A Paleolithic Site in Africa. In: Scientific American . Volume 205, No. 4, 1961, pp. 118-129, doi: 10.1038 / scientificamerican1061-118
  2. ^ Ian Tattersall : Masters of the Planet. The Search for Our Human Origins. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2012, p. 128, ISBN 978-0-230-10875-2 .
  3. ^ F. Clark Howell et al .: Uranium-series Dating of Bone from the Isimila Prehistoric Site, Tanzania. In: Nature . Volume 237, 1972, pp. 51-52, doi: 10.1038 / 237051a0
  4. ^ Clarence van Riet Lowe: A New African Acheul Stage IV Site in Tanganyika. In: South African Archaeolocial Bulletin. Volume 6, No. 24, 1951, pp. 94-98, doi: 10.2307 / 3886803
  5. ^ F. Clark Howell: A Preliminary Note on a Prehistoric Donga (Maclennan's Donga) in Central Tanganyika. In: South African Archaeolocial Bulletin. Volume 10, No. 38, 1955, pp. 43-52, doi: 10.2307 / 3887057
  6. ^ F. Clark Howell, Glen H. Cole and Maxine R. Kleindienst: Isimila: an Acheulian occupation site in the Iringa Highlands, Southern Highlands Province, Tanganyika. In: G. Mortelmans and J. Nenquin (eds.): Actes du IV. Congrès Panafricain de Préhistoire et de L'Etude du Quaternaire. 1962, pp. 43–82, full text (PDF)
  7. ↑ Drone Mapping of Isimila, Tanzania: The Implications for Future Research into Mid-Pleistocene Homo Behavior- On: paleoanthro.org , accessed October 12, 2018
  8. ^ Carl L. Hansen and Charles M. Keller: Environment and Activity Patterning at Isimila Korongo, Iringa District, Tanzania: A Preliminary Report. In: American Anthropologist. Volume 73, 1971, pp. 1201–1211, doi: 10.1525 / aa.1971.73.5.02a00190 , full text (PDF)
  9. ↑ Glen H. Cole and Maxine R. Kleindienst: Futher Reflections on the Isimila Acheulian. In: Quaternary Research. Volume 4, No. 3, 1974, pp. 346-355, doi: 10.1016 / 0033-5894 (74) 90021-0
  10. ^ The Isimila stone age project. On: brighton.ac.uk , accessed October 12, 2018
  11. ^ Isimila Stone Age Site: Historic Site in Iringa. On: lonelyplanet.com , accessed October 12, 2018