https://usm.maine.edu/sites/default...Range Site, Buur Hakaba, southern Somalia.pdf
Published 2017:
'''3.3. Toward a dated cultural sequence These new OES dates, combined with recent, albeit preliminary analyses of the lithics from the 1989 excavations (Woldu, 2005; S. Brandt and C. Menard, pers. comm.) provide a new perspective on the age and significance of the Rifle Range cultural sequence. They also contribute to a more securely dated understanding of huntergatherer responses to late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental changes in southern Somalia. The 1989 test units at the Rifle Range Site were taken down to varying depths, with S1W51 the deepest at 1.85 m below surface. Although the 1989 excavations never reached Clark's “Somaliland Magosian” deposits, nor the overlying sterile sand, the four recognized litho-stratigraphic units (Fig. 3) correspond closely with Clark's 1954 stratigraphy. LSU 4: The basal unit is composed of ~20 cm of compacted, greybrown, calcareous sediments indicative of a more arid environment than the present. Preliminary analysis of the lithics from the three test units that reached this stratum (S12W51, S1W41, and S1W51) suggest affinities with the distinctive Eibian industry. Although undated, Brandt (1986, 1988) considered the Eibian to be late/terminal Pleistocene in age, based on radiocarbon dates from overlying deposits at Gogoshiis Qabe. The OES age of 19,981e20,402 calBP from near the bottom of LSU 4 at the Rifle Range Site is the first radiocarbon date directly attributed to the Eibian. If accurate, it firmly places the Eibian in the LGM. This may lend some credence to two radiocarbon dates on OES fragments from “Doian”-like assemblages at Mirsaale Wells in east-central Somalia (Clark, 1954), which yielded ages of ~15,000e16,000 calBP (Brandt and Gresham, 1989). LSU 3: Comprising ~65 cm of grayish brown, fine, ashy, sandy silt, the single OES age of 11,502e11,974 calBP from the middle of this stratigraphic unit suggests LSU 3 dates to the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. The lithic assemblages from this unit closely resemble the earliest, pre-pottery phase of the early Holocene “Bardaale” Industry at Gogoshiis Qabe. The lower levels of a similar stratum at Gogoshiis Qabe are dated by a single radiocarbon age of 10,185e10,646 calBP, derived from a geologically-formed calcium carbonate. Five apatite ages from the bones of human burials in the middle to upper levels at Gogoshiis Qabe range between ~6,000e11,000 calBP (Brandt, 1986, 1988; Brandt and Gresham, 1989). LSU 2: The compact brown, fine, sandy silt of this unit is only 20 cm in thickness, and may reflect slower rates of deposition in comparison to LSU 3 sediments, or perhaps an unconformity. Dated by a single OES age of 9,303e9,461 calBP from the upper levels, the lithics from this unit show little change from the LSU 3 assemblages. LSU 1: The uppermost unit is 26 cm thick and composed of a brown, silty sand with gravel inclusions. It remains undated, but includes some pottery sherds. The second phase of the Bardaale industry at Gogoshii Qabe also includes pottery, but remains Fig. 3. Profile of unit S12W51 showing stratigraphic location of LSUs and dated ostrich eggshell samples (cmbd ¼ centimeters below datum). General soil types: A ¼ 10YR5/3 e Brown, medium-compacted with pebbles; B ¼ 10YR5/3 e Brown, compacted, and fine; C ¼ 10YR5/3 e Grayish brown, loose, fine, ashy; D ¼ 10YR6/3 e Pale brown, calcareous, hard earth (descriptions taken directly from original profile drawing). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) M.B. Jones et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2017) 1e11 5 Please cite this article in press as: Jones, M.B., et al., Hunter-gatherer reliance on inselbergs, big game, and dwarf antelope at the Rifle Range Site, Buur Hakaba, southern Somalia ~20,0005,000 BP, Quaternary International (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.09.030 insecurely dated with radiocarbon ages ranging from ~2,000e7,000 calBP."
Published 2017:
'''3.3. Toward a dated cultural sequence These new OES dates, combined with recent, albeit preliminary analyses of the lithics from the 1989 excavations (Woldu, 2005; S. Brandt and C. Menard, pers. comm.) provide a new perspective on the age and significance of the Rifle Range cultural sequence. They also contribute to a more securely dated understanding of huntergatherer responses to late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental changes in southern Somalia. The 1989 test units at the Rifle Range Site were taken down to varying depths, with S1W51 the deepest at 1.85 m below surface. Although the 1989 excavations never reached Clark's “Somaliland Magosian” deposits, nor the overlying sterile sand, the four recognized litho-stratigraphic units (Fig. 3) correspond closely with Clark's 1954 stratigraphy. LSU 4: The basal unit is composed of ~20 cm of compacted, greybrown, calcareous sediments indicative of a more arid environment than the present. Preliminary analysis of the lithics from the three test units that reached this stratum (S12W51, S1W41, and S1W51) suggest affinities with the distinctive Eibian industry. Although undated, Brandt (1986, 1988) considered the Eibian to be late/terminal Pleistocene in age, based on radiocarbon dates from overlying deposits at Gogoshiis Qabe. The OES age of 19,981e20,402 calBP from near the bottom of LSU 4 at the Rifle Range Site is the first radiocarbon date directly attributed to the Eibian. If accurate, it firmly places the Eibian in the LGM. This may lend some credence to two radiocarbon dates on OES fragments from “Doian”-like assemblages at Mirsaale Wells in east-central Somalia (Clark, 1954), which yielded ages of ~15,000e16,000 calBP (Brandt and Gresham, 1989). LSU 3: Comprising ~65 cm of grayish brown, fine, ashy, sandy silt, the single OES age of 11,502e11,974 calBP from the middle of this stratigraphic unit suggests LSU 3 dates to the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. The lithic assemblages from this unit closely resemble the earliest, pre-pottery phase of the early Holocene “Bardaale” Industry at Gogoshiis Qabe. The lower levels of a similar stratum at Gogoshiis Qabe are dated by a single radiocarbon age of 10,185e10,646 calBP, derived from a geologically-formed calcium carbonate. Five apatite ages from the bones of human burials in the middle to upper levels at Gogoshiis Qabe range between ~6,000e11,000 calBP (Brandt, 1986, 1988; Brandt and Gresham, 1989). LSU 2: The compact brown, fine, sandy silt of this unit is only 20 cm in thickness, and may reflect slower rates of deposition in comparison to LSU 3 sediments, or perhaps an unconformity. Dated by a single OES age of 9,303e9,461 calBP from the upper levels, the lithics from this unit show little change from the LSU 3 assemblages. LSU 1: The uppermost unit is 26 cm thick and composed of a brown, silty sand with gravel inclusions. It remains undated, but includes some pottery sherds. The second phase of the Bardaale industry at Gogoshii Qabe also includes pottery, but remains Fig. 3. Profile of unit S12W51 showing stratigraphic location of LSUs and dated ostrich eggshell samples (cmbd ¼ centimeters below datum). General soil types: A ¼ 10YR5/3 e Brown, medium-compacted with pebbles; B ¼ 10YR5/3 e Brown, compacted, and fine; C ¼ 10YR5/3 e Grayish brown, loose, fine, ashy; D ¼ 10YR6/3 e Pale brown, calcareous, hard earth (descriptions taken directly from original profile drawing). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) M.B. Jones et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2017) 1e11 5 Please cite this article in press as: Jones, M.B., et al., Hunter-gatherer reliance on inselbergs, big game, and dwarf antelope at the Rifle Range Site, Buur Hakaba, southern Somalia ~20,0005,000 BP, Quaternary International (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.09.030 insecurely dated with radiocarbon ages ranging from ~2,000e7,000 calBP."
