Mfangano Island
Basic information
Sample name: Mfangano Island
Reference: C. A. Tryon, D. J. Peppe, J. T. Faith, A. Van Plantinga, S. Nightingale, J. Ogondo, and D. L. Fox. 2012. Late Pleistocene artefacts and fauna from Rusinga and Mfangano islands, Lake Victoria, Kenya. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 47(1):14-38 [ER 3731]
Geography
Country: Kenya
Coordinate: 0° 28' S, 34° 1' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Max Ma: 0.037
Min Ma: 0.03053
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "Mfangano Island is located near the eastern shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya. It lies west of Rusinga Island at the mouth of the Winam Gulf".
"Two AMS radiocarbon dates on the carbonate fraction of terrestrial gastropods from the Kakrigu area of Mfangano Island yielded age estimates of 30,530 ± 390 BP and 37,000 ± 840 BP (or 34,788 ± 423 and 41,846 ± 458 cal. BP).
"Two AMS radiocarbon dates on the carbonate fraction of terrestrial gastropods from the Kakrigu area of Mfangano Island yielded age estimates of 30,530 ± 390 BP and 37,000 ± 840 BP (or 34,788 ± 423 and 41,846 ± 458 cal. BP).
Environment
Lithology: siliciclastic (mixed)
Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit,paleosol
Archaeology: stone tools
Habitat comments: "The Late Pleistocene Waware Beds on Mfangano Island include a succession of fluvial channel deposits and poorly developed palaeosols".
"The Waware Beds are poorly exposed and are found only on the eastern side of the island. They comprise very fine-grained sandstone, siltstones, and mudstone beds, reworked tuffaceous deposits, and poorly sorted coarse grained sandstones and conglomerates. The sandstones and conglomerates likely represent shortlived, high-energy channel deposits".
"Stone artefacts on Mfangano are sparse and often show edge rounding, consistent with their transport within sediments suggesting higher energy fluvial regimes".
"Nearly all artefacts were recovered from the Kakrigu locality. Artefacts from these sediments include specimens made of chert, including small discoidal cores, and a split flake fragment demonstrating the use of the bipolar method of core reduction".
"The Waware Beds are poorly exposed and are found only on the eastern side of the island. They comprise very fine-grained sandstone, siltstones, and mudstone beds, reworked tuffaceous deposits, and poorly sorted coarse grained sandstones and conglomerates. The sandstones and conglomerates likely represent shortlived, high-energy channel deposits".
"Stone artefacts on Mfangano are sparse and often show edge rounding, consistent with their transport within sediments suggesting higher energy fluvial regimes".
"Nearly all artefacts were recovered from the Kakrigu locality. Artefacts from these sediments include specimens made of chert, including small discoidal cores, and a split flake fragment demonstrating the use of the bipolar method of core reduction".
Methods
Life forms: ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals
Sampling methods: surface
Sample size: 41 specimens
Years: 2010 - 2011
Sampling comments: "The first archaeological fieldwork in the Pleistocene Waware Beds on Mfangano began in 2010 and was completed in 2011. Artefact collection was generally limited to typologically or technologically distinct specimens".
"For fossil fauna, we followed the protocol of Bobe and Eck (2001) and collected all mammalian crania and mandibles (or major fragments thereof), isolated teeth, bovid horn cores, astragali and ruminant metapodials, as well as all specimens belonging to the order Carnivora" (although no carnivore specimens were present in the Mfangano deposits).
"For fossil fauna, we followed the protocol of Bobe and Eck (2001) and collected all mammalian crania and mandibles (or major fragments thereof), isolated teeth, bovid horn cores, astragali and ruminant metapodials, as well as all specimens belonging to the order Carnivora" (although no carnivore specimens were present in the Mfangano deposits).
Metadata
Sample number: 3960
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-08-09 12:58:58
Modified: 2022-08-09 03:55:56
Abundance distribution
17 species
8 singletons
total count 41
geometric series index: 51.7
Fisher's α: 10.887
geometric series k: 0.8519
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8604
Shannon's H: 2.4435
Good's u: 0.8096
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Procavia sp. | 1 | |
| Lepus capensis | 1 | |
| Rhinocerotidae indet. | 1 | |
| Equus quagga | 1 | 279 kg grazer |
| "Equus burchelli"; also 3 Equus sp. | ||
| Hippopotamus cf. amphibius | 1 | 1107 kg grazer |
| Phacochoerus sp. | 1 | |
| Potamochoerus larvatus | 1 | 38 kg grazer-browser |
| Redunca sp. | 2 | |
| bohor or mountain reedbuck; also 1 Reduncinae indet. | ||
| Connochaetes taurinus | 3 | 202 kg grazer-browser |
| Alcelaphus buselaphus | 3 | 143 kg grazer-browser |
| Damaliscus sp. | 2 | |
| Rusingoryx atopocranion | 13 | |
| also 10 Alcelaphini indet. | ||
| Eudorcas thomsonii | 2 | 20 kg |
| "Gazella thomsonii" | ||
| Ourebia ourebi | 3 | 14 kg grazer-browser |
| also 1 Aegodontia indet. "Oreotragus/Raphicerus" | ||
| Madoqua sp. | 1 | |
| Syncerus caffer | 2 | 548 kg grazer-browser |
| Syncerus antiquus | 3 | |
| also 1 Bovini indet. | ||