Renewed Geoarchaeological Investigations of Mwanganda's Village (Elephant Butchery Site), Karonga,Malawi

The site of Mwanganda's Village, located along a paleochannel in northern Malawi, is one of only a few sites that have characterized the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Malawi for decades (Clark & Haynes, 1970 ; Clark et al., 1970 ; Kaufulu, 1990 ). The Malawi Earlier‐Middle Stone Age Project has re‐examined the site using new mapping and chronometric tools in order to reinterpret the site's significance within the context of current debates surrounding human origins and the potential role the environment played in shaping human behavior. The new data do not support the previous hypothesis that the site was an elephant butchery location (contra Clark & Haynes, 1970 ; Clark et al., 1970 ; Kaufulu, 1990 ). Instead, the evidence shows successive colonization of riparian corridors by MSA hunter‐gatherers focused on exploiting localized resources during periods of generally humid climates while other lakes desiccated across Africa. We challenge the hypothesis that stable and intermediately high lake levels within the African Rift Valley System (sensu Trauth et al., 2010 ) catalyzed the evolution of regional interaction networks between 42 and 22 ka. Instead, we interpret the evidence to suggest that regional variants of technology persist into the late MSA as foragers focused on exploiting resources from local catchments.     

Holocene changes in climate and land use drove shifts in the diversity of testate amoebae in a subalpine pond

Testate amoebae that inhabit peat are sensitive indicators of water table position. In this study, we used testate amoebae in sediments from a mire in the western Alps (Lac du Thyl) to: (1) reconstruct the hydrology of the site over the last 7,000 years, (2) determine how hydrological changes affected testate amoebae diversity and (3) infer past trophic state shifts. The study site is located in one of the driest valleys of the Alps and is thus very sensitive to hydrological changes. Our study revealed that the water table depth increased (dry conditions) between 5,800 and 4,000 cal year BP. This triggered establishment of a Sphagnum-type peat and acidic conditions from 5,700 to 4,000 cal year BP. These processes were independent of ongoing transformations of the terrestrial vegetation and soil in the catchment area. After 1,690 cal year BP, the depth to the water table decreased (wetter conditions) and a minerotrophic fen developed. At the same time, the diversity of testate amoebae increased, probably as a result of deforestation that supported the expansion of grassland. Climate and land use were apparently more important factors controlling the lake hydrology than were changes in vegetation and soil in the catchment. Testate amoebae diversity was linked to land cover. Changes in pH were controlled indirectly by external forcing (climate), but more directly by fluctuations in the level of the water table (internal forcing) and autogenous expansion of Sphagnum.