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The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya

The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya Early herders in eastern Africa built elaborate megalithic cemeteries ~ 5000 BP overlooking what is now Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. At least six ‘pillar sites’ were constructed during a time of rapid change: cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced to the basin as the lake was shrinking at the end of the African Humid Period. Cultural changes at this time include new lithic and ceramic technologies and the earliest monumentality in eastern Africa. Isolated human remains previously excavated from pillar sites east of Lake Turkana seemed to indicate that pillar site platforms were ossuaries for secondary burials. Recent bioarchaeological excavations at four pillar sites west of the lake have now yielded ≥49 individuals, most from primary and some from secondary interments, challenging earlier interpretations. Here we describe the mortuary cavities, and burial contexts, and included items such as adornments from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol pillar sites. In doing so, we reassess previous hypotheses regarding pillar site construction, use, and inter-site variability. We also present the first osteological analyses of skeletons buried at these sites. Although the human remains are fragmentary, they are nevertheless informative about the sex, age, and body size of the deceased and give evidence for health and disease processes. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts (n = 34 elements) suggest patterns of terrestrial mobility. Pillar site deposits provide important new insights into early herder lifeways in eastern Africa and the impact of the transition to pastoralism on past human populations. . . . . . Keywords Pillar sites Mortuary archaeology Turkana Basin Herding Stone beads Food production Introduction Africa (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012; Hildebrand et al. 2018). At least six megalithic ‘pillar The spread of food production into eastern Africa ~ 5000 years sites’ were constructed around paleo-Lake Turkana during a ago coincided with the creation of elaborate megalithic cem- period of major transition. Termination of the African Humid eteries, the first of their kind in eastern Africa and some of the Period (AHP) ~ 5300 years before present (BP) caused lake earliest monumental architecture known from sub-Saharan levels to drop by approximately 55 m, altering deep water * Elizabeth A. Sawchuk Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of elizabeth.sawchuk@stonybrook.edu Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado-Boulder, Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA Boulder, CO 80309, USA Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of 7 Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany Hanover, NH 03755, USA Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada Gainesville, FL 32611, USA Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya 6222 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 fishing habitats and exposing plains that offered new pasture are nevertheless informative about age-at-death, probable sex, opportunities for herbivores (Garcin et al. 2012; Chritzetal. and community health. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts 2019). Cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced into this were used to generate cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties emerging niche, ostensibly by herder populations moving to reconstruct habitual movement patterns. Together, diverse out of the drying Sahara (Gifford-Gonzalez 2017;Marshall bioarchaeological datasets from the western pillar sites allow us et al. 1984), marking the first food production in the region. to reconsider previous hypotheses about pillar site construction Livestock and herding spread rapidly around Lake Turkana, and use, and, for the first time, explore the lived experiences of bringing pastoralist groups into contact with fisher-foragers the people buried within them. and changing the cultural landscape. In addition to monumen- tality, the spread of herding is linked to the emergence of new stone tool and ceramic technologies (Goldstein In Press; Background Grillo and Hildebrand 2013;Hildebrand etal. 2018), long- distance obsidian trade networks (Ndiema et al. 2011), and Pillar sites are named for their linear or semi-circular arrange- evidence for population admixture (Sawchuk 2017). ments of naturally occurring basalt and sandstone ‘pillars’, Providing records of both human morphology and cultural which people dragged from sources up to 2 km away and behaviour, pillar sites are crucial to understanding how these placed in circular or elliptical platforms of mounded stony fill. complex biological and social processes unfolded during this Stone circles and cairns were constructed on the margins of dynamic period. some pillar sites (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand These mortuary sites have no known analogue within or et al. 2011, 2018; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012). Six pillar sites beyond Africa (Sawchuk et al. 2018). They represent an un- are known around Lake Turkana: four on the western side, and usual example of monumentality among mobile herders fac- two on the eastern, all located on imposing points overlooking ing unpredictable circumstances and reflect unique local pro- the paleo-lakeshore (Fig. 1). Today, people living on the west cesses bound up in the spread of food production (Hildebrand et al. 2018). Communal cemeteries may have provided endur- ing landmarks on a shifting landscape, bringing herders to- gether to form alliances, reify social networks, and exchange resources and information vital for the success of early pasto- ralism (Hildebrand et al. 2018; Sawchuk et al. 2018). Skeletons excavated from the pillar sites now constitute one of the largest archaeologically derived collections of human remains from eastern Africa, providing evidence relevant to population structure, behaviour, health, diet, and disease among early herders. Analysis of human remains and their mortuary contexts generates novel insights into peoples’ re- sponses to changes in their environment, economy, and society. Our bioarchaeological analysis focuses on human remains from three pillar sites on the west side of Lake Turkana: Lothagam North (GeJi9), Lothagam West (GeJi10), and Manemanya (GcJh5). The Later Prehistory of West Turkana (LPWT) team investigated these sites between 2009 and 2014, with more limited research at a fourth pillar site, Kalokol (GcJh3). Excavations yielded the remains of at least 49 people, as well as hundreds of isolated human bone and tooth fragments. We present the mortuary contexts for these individuals, including body position, orientation, and burial goods, and we reconstruct sequences that resulted in dense interments within the central platforms of some of the pillar sites. We describe forms of per- sonal adornment found with the burials—primarily stone and ostrich eggshell (OES) beads—as well as rarer examples of ivo- ry, carnivore-tooth, and rodent-tooth items. Although skeletal Fig. 1 Map of pillar sites around Lake Turkana. Previously excavated remains are highly fragmentary as a result of environmental con- sites are in blue; sites described in this paper are in red. Main map © ditions in Turkana and burial within cobble-filled mounds, they Earthstar Geographics SIO and Microsoft Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6223 side of Lake Turkana call the sites namoratunga or ‘people of was thought to represent two stages of mortuary activity: a stone’ based on a legend that the pillars were human dancers hypothetical primary-burial or other treatment that entailed turned to stone by a vengeful deity (Robbins 1972). defleshing, disarticulating, and breaking of human remains, Megalithic sites in the basin were first explored archaeo- followed by secondary burial of fragmentary bones and grave logically during the 1968–1970 Royal Geographic Society goods in a communal ossuary. Pillar sites were seen to repre- South Turkana Excavation (Gwynne 1969). The British sent the second stage of activity. Koch and Nelson’s Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) undertook initial excava- hypotheses—that pillar sites were created by early herders tions at Namoratunga I (also known as Lokori) between 1970 and served as ossuaries for commingled, secondary burial and 1976, documenting individual interments within ‘stone remains—were not resolved by fieldwork at Jarigole and Il circle graves’ (Soper and Lynch 1977; see also Lynch 1978). Lokeridede. However, their descriptions of the material cul- These finds led scholars to presume that megalithic sites ture found at these pillar sites, particularly Nderit ceramics, across the basin would likely contain burials, despite the fact obsidian-based lithic assemblages, and OES/stone beads, that Lokori differs from most ‘pillar sites’ in having numerous established a connection with habitation sites such as stone circles and no pillars. Namoratunga II, also known as Dongodien (Barthelme 1977, 1985) and formed important Kalokol (GcJh3) was the first site with pillars to be document- baselines for the evaluation of other pillar sites. ed, via surface surveys by Lynch and Robbins (1978, 1979). Between 2009 and 2014, LPWT initiated research at four Subsequent examples of ‘pillar sites’ were reported on the pillar sites on the west side of the lake: Lothagam North, west side of the lake at Lothagam North (GeJi9), Lothagam Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol (Grillo and West (GeJi10), and Manemanya (GcJh5) (Hildebrand et al. Hildebrand 2013;Hildebrandetal. 2011;Hildebrandand 2011; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012), and on the east side of Grillo 2012)(Fig. 2). Test excavations at these sites provided the lake at Jarigole (GbJj1) and Il Lokeridede (GaJi23) radiocarbon dating samples that—combined with dates from (Githinji 1999;Koch 1993, 1994;Nelson 1995). Other poten- Jarigole collections and published age determinations for Il tial sites include GbJj4 (Kamau 1991) and an unconfirmed site Lokeridede (Koch et al. 2002)—provided the first absolute in the Suguta Valley (Hildebrand et al. 2011). chronology for pillar sites around the lake. Their chronologi- Jarigole was the first pillar site (sensu stricto—having a plat- cal overlap with early pastoral habitation sites near Lake form and upright pillars) to be excavated, by the Koobi Fora Turkana’s paleoshore (4964–4000 cal BP) (Barthelme 1985; Field School 1986–1996. Nelson (1995:52) reported numerous Marshall et al. 1984) suggests pillar site construction was co- overlapping burial pits in Jarigole’s central mound, with bones eval with the introduction of herding (Hildebrand and Grillo and artefacts ‘mixed into the fill as new burials intruded into and 2012). scattered the contents of the old’. Lower down, excavators Chronological relations within and between pillar sites found a primary inhumation of a tighly flexed elderly individual raise intriguing points. Three extremely precise dates indicate 60–65 cm below the surface of the mound, overlain by large that Lothagam North, Lothagam West, and Manemanya all rocks. Other rock clusters were noted but not excavated, raising saw use within a 43-year period (4868–4825 cal BP), and the possibility that the site might contain deeper primary burials. use of Jarigole during this interval is also likely (Hildebrand Excavators did not reach bedrock or sterile deposits before and Grillo 2012). Such tight contemporaneity of use lends worked at the site ceased in 1996. support for Nelson and Koch’s hypothesis of a basin-wide Il Lokeridede, ~ 30 km north of Jarigole and ~ 2 km from monumental tradition. Construction and use of pillar sites cov- the habitation site Dongodien (GaJi4), is a smaller pillar site ered a minimum temporal range of 4853–4541 BP (312 years). marked by large sandstone slabs (Githinji 1999;Koch 1994; The maximum range of use runs from 5270 to 4102 cal BP Koch et al. 2002). Limited excavations there also revealed (1168 years) but includes one late ‘outlier’ date from each of platform mortuary deposits, interpreted as containing second- Manemanya, Kalokol, and Lothagam North sites, which ary burials (see Githinji 1999). might represent subsequent additions or renewal of activities Based on these preliminary findings, Koch (1993, 1994) (Hildebrand and Grillo 2012;Hildebrand etal. 2018). Without and Nelson (1995) proposed a Jarigole Mortuary Tradition/ these outliers, pillar sites’ maximum temporal range runs from Ossuary Complex encompassing all pillar sites within the 5270 to ~ 4500 cal BP (~ 770 years). Thus, the main expres- Turkana Basin. The complex, attributed to early herders, sion of this monumental tradition appears to have spanned somewhere between three and seven centuries. Excavations also revealed inter-site variability in architec- Note: Several versions of Nelson 1995 are in circulation: (a) the original print ture and mortuary and material cultural practices. Although all version of the Kenya Past & Present article, (b) a PDF version, (c) HTML versions of which one is currently available at http://www.chaz.org/Arch/ six sites possess pillars, the number, orientation, and position- Turkana/Jarigole/Jarigole.htm, and (d) a Word version. Not all versions of ing of the stone columns differ (Hildebrand et al. 2011). (b), (c), and (d) downloaded or exchanged between colleagues over the years Associated cairns are found at Lothagam North (n =6), have the entirety of information presented in (a). We are using (a), the original print version. Lothagam West (n = 9), and Kalokol (n = 2) but not at 6224 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 2 Orthophotographs of a Lothagam North, b Lothagam West, c Manemanya, and d Kalokol. All orthophotographs are derived from aerial images recorded via drone and Ground Control Points (GCPs) recorded via total station, processed in Photoscan Pro. Image by A.C. Hill Manemanya. Lothagam North possesses nine stone-ringed Drawing on new bioarchaeological findings, we can now circles in addition. Material culture—notably the presence/ re-evaluate earlier hypotheses about how pillar sites were con- absence of Nderit pottery and stone tool raw material structed and used. For Lothagam North, Lothagam West, and preferences—and mortuary patterns vary from site to site. Manemanya, we report funerary practices and associated ar- Caprine remains and a zoomorphic bovine palette from tefacts. We also explore the biocultural impact of environmen- Lothagam North (Hildebrand et al. 2018: Fig. 3), together tal, economic, and social transitions on early herder popula- with earlier discoveries of ceramic cattle and sheep figurines tions around Turkana as reflected in aspects of human biology. from Jarigole (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013: Fig. 3; Nelson Because excavations at Lothagam North were most extensive, 1995), provide additional support for the sites’ architects be- we present results for this site separately from Lothagam West ing herders. However, we do not know the extent to which and Manemanya. However, overarching patterns in the mor- people engaged in pastoral production (Grillo and Hildebrand tuary and osteological data provide important information on 2013;Hildebrand etal. 2018). the people who built these three sites and are pertinent to Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6225 Fig. 3 Excavation plan map of Lothagam North indicating areas with human remains (adapted from map by B. Kimeu) questions about pillar site function and the degree of cultural Among architectural features away from the platform to the homogeneity (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013). We consider east, a 2 × 1m unit in the centre of one of the stone circles whether pillar sites represent a cohesive mortuary tradition, yielded human remains, but 1 × 4m trench into the side of a and whether they reflect broadly consistent cultural and burial large cairn to the east stopped short of the likely location of practices. As little comparative information exists regarding mortuary deposits. Figure 4 illustrates excavations at other archaeologically known herding populations within and Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol. We targeted three beyond eastern Africa, this new skeletal collection will be areas at Lothagam West: one 1 × 3m trench into a cairn on the important for future research on the impacts of the transition edge of the platform, one 1 × 2m unit in the centre platform, to pastoralism. and another unit on the north edge of the platform by a cluster of pillars; the first two units yielded human remains. Excavations at Manemanya focused on a 2 × 2m trench Methods (stepping down to a 1 × 2m unit) in the centre of the platform that exposed two burials near the base of the platform de- Burials were first encountered at Lothagam North and posits. A previously excavated unit on the southeast margin Manemanya in 2009 but were not excavated because a of the site did not yield human remains (Hildebrand et al. bioarchaeologist was not present at the time (Hildebrand 2011). At Kalokol, a cairn feature on the northern extent of et al. 2011). Bioarchaeological excavations proceeded be- the site yielded probable human remains that were not exca- tween 2012 and 2014 and targeted mortuary deposits at vated. Two previous 1 × 1m units on the southeast margin of Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and the platform did not yield burial deposits. General excavation Kalokol. At Lothagam North (Fig. 3), a 2 × 2m unit in the and spatial documentation methods for all these sites are de- central platform and a 1 × 5m trench toward its western edge scribed by Hildebrand et al. (2011, 2018). both yielded burial deposits; three other 1 × 1m units near the Bioarchaeological recovery methods combined standard eastern edge of the platform did not yield human remains. field practices of exposure, mapping, and documentation 6226 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 4 Excavation plan maps of Lothagam West (upper left), Manemanya 2011. The Manemanya map is an updated version of the map presented (lower left), and Kalokol Pillar Site (right) indicating areas with human in Hildebrand et al. 2011:195. The Kalokol Pillar Site map integrates remains. The Lothagam West map is based on 2012 total station field information from maps by Soper (1982:148), Hildebrand et al. mapping by B. Kimeu, during which we noticed more and larger cairns (2011:193), and 2012 total station field mapping by B. Kimeu. All maps than during our brief 2009 observations reported in Hildebrand et al. are to the same scale through images and notes with adjustments developed in re- Consolidant was not applied to small fragments, teeth (mainly sponse to the intense sunlight and strong winds, complex stra- crowns, the roots having deteriorated), nor associated artefacts tigraphy, and poorly preserved remains. Conditions after in- (e.g., adornments). terment at all three sites—including poor water drainage, or- We recorded the perimeter of each body (where distinct) as ganic sediment, consistently warm-to-hot temperatures, and well as the margins of discernable burial pits using either a pressure from the overlying boulder and cobble fill—led to Leica or Nikon total station. We also piece-plotted selected de-mineralisation of bones and tooth roots. Once exposed to artefacts within the burial fill. In 2013 and 2014, sets of im- dry air and sunlight during excavation, bone would crack and ages were recorded for 3D photogrammetric processing at delaminate within minutes. To compensate, excavators regular intervals as well as at the end of the excavation. worked quickly after initial exposure, kept remains shaded, Ground Control Points (GCPs) were recorded for photogram- and stabilized bone as needed with consolidant (Butvar-98, metry processing using the total station and all image sets thinned with acetone). were processed using Photoscan Pro. Upon discovery, burials were shaded with UV umbrellas Secondary bundle burials—disarticulated arrangements of and cleaned with fine brushes to define the limits of the feature predominantly long bones often representing multiple and determine completeness, body position and orientation, individuals—were documented and removed following a pro- and associated features. If preservation was fair to moderate, cedure in which each bone was numbered, and photographi- samples for ancient DNA were collected directly from field cally documented from a single point a short distance from the contexts using gloves, mask, and alcohol-swabbed imple- unit before removal (Williamson et al. 2003). This permitted ments to minimize contamination. We applied consolidant subsequent determination of minimum number of individuals selectively to in situ skeletal fragments in order to preserve (MNI) and osteobiographic analysis after the feature was fully their morphology, allowing them to dry while shaded. excavated. Given the dense, overlapping nature of burials in Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6227 the central platform’s mortuary cavity, recovery focused on diameter, and maximum metacarpal lengths (per McHenry remains lying entirely within the excavation units. Skeletal 1992; Meadows and Jantz 1992;Ruffetal. 1991;Trotter elements visible in the walls were documented but not 1970; Trotter and Gleser 1952). removed. Where preservation permitted, individuals were assessed Artefacts associated with the burials were piece-plotted by for pathological changes such as cribra orbitalia, porotic hy- total station, then catalogued at the Turkana Basin Institute perostosis, DJD, dental caries, enamel hypoplastic defects, (TBI) Turkwel facility. Point provenience data were then plot- antemortem tooth loss, periodontitis, and abscessing. ted in ArcGIS. Stone and bone beads associated with specific Observations were compromised by poor preservation, partic- individuals were photographed in situ, then cross-checked ularly of cranial material. Limitations arising from poor pres- against total station data. Stone and mineral raw materials of ervation also affected our capacity to systematically assess the beads and pendants were identified using a combination of skeletal indicators of trauma, disease, and behavioural indica- visual characteristics, measurement of the specific gravity of a tors like presence of squatting facets. Skeletal and dental mea- representative sample of the bead artefacts, and archaeometric surements and non-metric data were collected following stan- methods including Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM- dard protocols (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994;Hillson 2005; EDX (described in Hildebrand et al. 2018 Supplementary Turner et al. 1991). The skeletal collections from Lothagam Information). This identification includes major classifica- North, Lothagam West, and Manemanya pillar sites are curat- tions (e.g. chalcedony) and sub-categories (e.g. carnelian, or ed at the TBI-Turkwel facility in Turkana County, Kenya. deep-red-to-red chalcedony) as well as reconstructions of the Thirty-three adult long bones were sufficiently well pre- bead manufacture. Ostrich eggshell (OES) beads at Lothagam served to make periosteal casts of estimated mid-shafts for North number in the thousands and could not always be clear- biomechanical analyses. A mould was also made of a femur ly attributed to individuals but were qualitatively noted within from the primary burial excavated from Jarigole, curated at the burials. At Lothagam North, OES beads were so numerous National Museums of Kenya (NMK) in Nairobi. We used that representative samples from certain units/levels were Exaflex Heavy Body silicone impression material to create counted to estimate the total number of beads excavated. At midshaft diaphyseal ring moulds of femora, tibiae, humeri, Manemanya and Lothagam West, beads were counted fully ulnae, radii, and clavicles. Upper limbs were moulded bilater- from all excavation contexts. Although most of the highly ally and lower limbs unilaterally, assuming symmetry of lower fragmentary faunal remains may have been deposited inadver- limb loading (Auerbach and Ruff 2006). Anatomical planes of tently as part of the burial fill, several burials included either orientation were marked to preserve correct orientation for animal-tooth adornments or near-complete faunal elements digitisation on an Epson flatbed scanner. We estimated the that we interpret as mortuary goods. These faunal remains limits of the periosteal boundary by manually tracing along the edge of the digitised moulds using a drawing tablet. were identified to element and taxon. After cleaning, reconstruction, and further consolidation Endosteal boundaries were not analysed; however, CSG prop- (as appropriate, and with tissue set aside for biomolecular erties obtained solely from periosteal contours are accurate analyses), skeletal analysis methods included assessment of (Stock and Shaw 2007; Macintosh et al. 2013). Images were age at death, sex, and other osteobiographical details using analysed using ImageJ platform (Rasband 1997–2012) with established methods (AlQahtani et al. 2010; Buikstra and the Moment Macrov1.3 plug-in (Ruff 2006) to estimate max- Ubelaker 1994; White et al. 2011). Juvenile ages at death imum (I ) and minimum (I ) bending strength. max min were determined from dental development (AlQahtani et al. The ratio of maximum to minimum bending strengths 2010) and epiphyseal fusion (White et al. 2011). Adulthood (I /I ) reflects diaphyseal shape by comparing two non- max min was determined by presence of third molars, epiphyseal fixed axes, indicating a bone’s capacity to resist bending fusion, and features like overall bone size, texture, and cor- forces (Ruff 2008). Because different activities incur various tical thickness. Adult age at death was estimated from age- degrees of long bone shaft bending, comparisons of I /I max min related osteological changes (e.g. at the pubic symphyses, may suggest differences in the types of physical behaviours auricular surfaces, and sternal rib-ends, as available) in con- undertaken in life. The incomplete nature of the skeletal ele- junction with indicators such as degree of dental wear, cra- ments precludes analyses that rely on anatomically fixed axes, nial suture obliteration, and presence of degenerative joint as well as CSG properties that must be standardized to body disease (DJD). Wherever possible, adults were grouped in- size or bone length before conducting comparisons. to younger (18–30 years), middle aged (30–50 years), and Given the dearth of Holocene eastern African comparative older (50+ years) age categories. Adult sex was determined data, pillar site individuals were compared to CSG properties by pelvic and cranial morphology following standard prac- from multiple southern African Later Stone Age (LSA) tice (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). Where possible, stature groups: hunter-gatherers inhabiting Mediterranean environ- and body mass estimates were based on a combination of in ments along the Cape Coast, hunter-gatherers involved in situ long bone measurements, maximum femur head some herding in semi-arid areas of the Central Interior, and 6228 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 hunter-gatherers more heavily engaged in herding in arid areas completely full, and 30–50 cm of rocky sediment was added, of the Namib Desert. Cape Coast I /I values were obtain- creating a mounded surface capped with rounded, uniformly max min ed using the methodology described above. Data for the sized basalt pebbles. Pillars were emplaced within the upper- Central Interior and Namib Desert southern African groups most cap deposits. were obtained using 3D surface scans (Cameron and Stock Bodies placed in the central platform did not follow a single 2018), results from which are comparable to those obtained funerary convention (Table 1). Two-thirds of the burials were with periosteal moulds (Davies et al. 2012; Cameron and primary; the others were secondary ‘bundle burials’ or fea- Pfeiffer 2014). Humerus, femur, and tibia data were available tures that were too poorly preserved to categorize by burial for all three southern African groups, whereas clavicle, radius, type. Among primary burials, the bodies were oriented in and ulna data were only available for Cape Coast individuals. multiple directions, apparently placed as space permitted: Comparisons among groups were performed using Kruskal- east-west with the head at the east (n = 11), north-south (n = Wallis ANOVAs, with Mann-Whitney U tests for subsequent 6), northeast-southwest (n = 5), south-north (n = 4), southeast- pairwise comparisons (α =0.05). northwest (n = 2), southwest-northeast (n =1), and west-east (n = 1). Skeletons with preserved cranial remains were ob- served to be facing north (n = 8), west (n = 6), east (n = 4), Results south (n = 2), northwest (n = 1), northeast (n = 1), and south- east (n = 1). Individuals tended to be flexed on one side, with Mortuary sequence arms and legs tightly contracted toward the torso and hands in front of the face. Many individuals were highly flexed to a Pillar sites appear to have functioned as mortuary repositories: degree that would have been unnatural in life, suggesting bod- all have some combination of primary and/or secondary ies may have been bound, wrapped, or shrouded in this posi- burials in platforms, stone circles, and/or cairns, and none tion prior to the onset of rigour mortis. Bundle burials were have evidence for habitation or other activity centres. commonly found to be linear arrangements of predominantly However, preliminary excavations suggest the scope, density, long bones representing parts of one or more individuals. We and architecture of the burial deposits vary among the sites. did not observe spatial or funerary patterning with respect to age, sex, or placement of the bundles—men, women, and Lothagam North children who decomposed elsewhere were placed near prima- ry interments. Red ochre staining was occasionally observed Extensive excavations at Lothagam North allowed for recon- on bones within both primary and secondary burials. None of struction of the burial sequence for deposits concentrated in the remains showed evidence of burning or cremation. the central platform (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand Once placed, primary and secondary burials were cov- et al. 2018; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012). The site’s construc- ered with rocky sediment that often included a heavy tion began with the removal of ~ 120m of Holocene beach piece of basalt (large cobble or small boulder) or sand- sands to create a deep cavity ringed with boulders and rein- stone (typically a tabular slab) on/around the head, torso, forced by sandstone slabs. The first burials were placed in pits and/or pelvis. Several of the crania are warped in a man- dug into the soft sandstone bedrock. After the floor space of ner that suggests that the resulting pressure was imposed the cavity was exhausted, subsequent bodies were added while the bodies were fresh. Over time, bodies were above the pits in various positions and orientations. Based compacted by the overburden of additional interments, on remote sensing of the mortuary cavity and the number of and their stone markers as the central platform grew into individuals recovered from a 2 ×2m unit, the platform con- a mound; some skeletons were compressed to < 5 cm in tains an estimated minimum of 580 burials (Hildebrand et al. vertical space. The overburden may also have caused re- 2018). Positions of the burials documented within this unit positioning of some bodies. Among the densely clustered illustrate the density of interments within the central platform burials of Lothagam North, there are no patterns of differ- (Fig. 5). entiationbyage,sex,ormaterialwealthasreflected by Platform fill between the burials contained high densities of the presence of personal adornment. One possible example artifacts, including lithics, ceramic sherds and a ceramic figu- of a dedicated area within the mortuary cavity was the rine fragment, stone and OES beads, and other adornments. close proximity of three infants and one young child While some artefacts (e.g. many of the stone beads) seem to (GeJi9 Burials 5, 7, 8, and 10) found at different depths have been deliberately included as part of a specific burial, but all within the southern extent of the 2 × 2m trench. others (e.g. highly fragmented pottery sherds that do not refit One stone circle was excavated at Lothagam North. It into whole vessels) appeared to be incorporated into the fill in held a bundle burial representing at least two adults and a more general way (Hildebrand et al. 2018 Supplementary one older juvenile. Bone preservation of these elements Information). Burial activities stopped before the cavity was was significantly better than was seen in the central Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6229 Fig. 5 Plan (top) and southern profile (bottom) orthophotographs of unit n04e42 with burial extents (coloured and numbered polygons) and stone beads (red marks). Burial extents are drawn around all point prove- nience data associated with each skeleton. Stone bead locations were recorded in the field via total station. Note the profile view ex- cludes burials 18 and 19 as these burials are located in a pit along the north wall that is not visible in the southern profile platform, perhaps because of the shallower depth and lack within this feature falls within the range of dates from of rocky overburden. A radiocarbon date on charcoal the central platform (Hildebrand et al. 2018), suggesting 6230 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 either contemporaneity of use or later recycling of plat- groups include (in descending order of frequency) zeolite form fill to a new context. (analcime), amazonite, talc schist (soapstone), chalcedony, volcanic rock (typically andesite, phonolite, or basalt host Other pillar sites rock), fluorite, and limestone. Individual beads made from calcite, gypsum, chlorite (schist), haematite, and an iron pre- Excavations at Lothagam West and Manemanya were less cipitate were also noted. Analcime (45%) and amazonite extensive, but it is clear that these platforms also contain mul- (32%) dominate the assemblage, making for a primarily tiple burials. Two partial individuals were recovered from pits pink-and-blue colouring. Colours range from orange/red within the central platform at Lothagam West, with additional (chalcedonies), deep to light purple (fluorites), dark green pit features visible in profile. At Manemanya, the lower 1 × (talc), off-white (limestone), and shades of black (volcanics); 2m step of excavations into the platform encountered the feet a brilliant white scolecite (zeolite) bead and a haematite- of an arthritic adult jutting perpendicularly over a burial of a cemented sandstone pendent add lustre to the collection. young adult woman. Their positioning suggests the presence Many of these stones and minerals are also represented in of diversely oriented burials, similar to Lothagam North. the collections from Jarigole, including amazonite (Nelson Platform deposits at both sites were shallower than at 1995). Lothagam North, and we encountered sterile substrates be- Most were shaped into round beads of varying sizes; other neath the lowest burials. At Kalokol, no human remains were forms included pendants, and incomplete circles that may encountered during 2009 excavations into the platform, al- have been designed as earrings. Jewellery observed in situ though our units were placed along the southeast periphery includes single ornaments (e.g. an amazonite ‘earring’ with which may have been outside the extent of burial deposits (see GeJi9 B-29), groupings manufactured from a single type of Fig. 4). mineral (e.g. a necklace made of amazonite beads and pen- Cairns at Lothagam West and Kalokol contained burials, dants with GeJi9 B-19), and groupings that included various but these interments may post-date creation of the central plat- combinations of raw materials, colours, and forms (e.g. ama- forms at their respective sites. At Lothagam West, a ~ 5-year- zonite, basalt, analcime and stromatolite stone beads and or- old child was recovered from the centre of a cairn just east of ganic beads with GeJi9 B-12) (Fig. 6). Mineralogical surveys the central platform on the opposite side of the line of pillars. of the region suggest that many of the raw materials, such as Excavation of the cairn’s margins revealed it to have been dug the zeolite and chalcedony, could have been sourced close to into platform deposits. At Kalokol, excavations of one cairn in Lothagam North. Other materials such as the fluorite and am- 2012 revealed a central pit containing probable human re- azonite could have come from the Rift Valley, but from more mains which were not excavated; this feature also intruded distant and more distinct (i.e. unitary) sources. Bone beads into pre-existing platform deposits. In 2017, local collabora- made from fragile, small faunal diaphyses were also found tors reported looting of a different cairn located just west of the (GeJi9 B-12, see Fig. 6). OES beads were ubiquitous through- site, approximately 20 m away from the platform outside the out the central platform deposits. Bead counts from a repre- curb. Fragmentary human remains were salvaged, but the de- sentative subset of four units (of the excavated ten) yielded gree of sun-bleaching and weathering indicated they had been 522 whole and 37 partial OES beads, suggesting a total of exposed for some time. The poorly preserved bones belong to 1250–1500 OES beads for the Lothagam North excavated at least one adult; age and sex could not be determined. The units. antiquity of the cairns at Kalokol and their association with the Other grave goods from Lothagam North include faunal ele- platform and pillars remain unclear. ments; some apparently incorporated into garments. Around the occipital portion of the skull of GeJi9 B-3, 405 gerbil Cultural materials from the burials (Gerbiliscus sp.) incisors representing at least 113 animals were configured in a bricklike lattice pattern, suggesting they had been Lothagam North fixed to a headpiece or wrap whose supporting material did not preserve. GeJi9 B-4’s torso was found with 49 hyrax (cf. Ornaments, primarily stone and OES beads, were the most Heterohyrax sp.) upper incisors from at least 25 animals. Ivory common artefacts found in direct association with burials. ornaments and bangles were found with several of the burials. We recovered 302 stone beads/pendants from deposits at GeJi9 B-26A wasburied nextto12perforatedhippo Lothagam North, of which 173 were directly associated with (Hippopotamus amphibious) tusks that may have been strung 20 of the 31 excavated burial features (Table 2, Fig. 5). Other together and worn. This feature overlaid a bundle burial contain- burials likely also contained beads, but the proximity of bod- ing three skulls facing into the ground as well as commingled ies and rocky matrix made it difficult to associate items with post-cranial bones (GeJi9 B-26B/C/D). East of the platform, an specific skeletons. Stone beads span a range of raw materials, unmodified Nile softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) vertebra was found within the stone circle bundle burial (GeJi9 B-6). These colours, and forms (Hildebrand et al. 2018). Mineral and rock Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6231 Table 1 Mortuary context for burials excavated from GeJi9, GeJi10, and GcJh5 (Ad, adult, Juv, juvenile, M, male, F, female, M?, probable male, F?, probable female,?, sex undetermined) Burial MNI Burial Age/Sex Position Side Orientation Facing Burial context Type (head) LOTHAGAM NORTH (GeJi9) 1 1 Primary Ad/M Prone, flexed N-S E Boulder on torso, arms and legs flexed beneath body, one hand by face 2 1 Primary Ad/M Prone, flexed R N-S/SW W Directly below B-1, left arm/leg partly extended (slumped) 3 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed L E-W N-NE Tightly flexed/crouched, slumped onto left side 4 1 Primary Ad/? Flexed ? N-SE 5 1 Primary Infant Poorly preserved neonate 63 Secondary Ad/M, Bundle N-S Bundle with parts of 3 disarticulated individuals, in pit in Ad/?, centre of stone circle Juv 7 1 Primary Infant Flexed R NE-SW SE 8 1 Primary Infant Supine N-S Up Neonate, right arm beneath torso 9 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R E-W N/NW Left arm flexed around head, face in elbow. Ring of rocks around head, slab on torso 10 1 Primary Juv Flexed L N-S E Slab on torso 11 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R NE-SW N/NW Slab on head and body, left arm flexed but shoulder high 12 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed R E-W N Slab over pelvis, left arm by chest, right arm semi-flexed under knees 13 1 Secondary Ad/M? Bundle SE-NW 14 1 Primary Ad/F? Prone E-W W/NW Slab over torso, right arm and lower body absent 15 3 Primary 2 Ad/F? Flexed R/R/? N-S/N-S/E-W? W/W/S? Double burial with two flexed adults, third poorly preserved Ad/? individual near feet 16 2 Primary, 2 Ad/? SE-NW Commingled remains of several poorly preserved Secon- (bundle) individuals, at least 1 flexed primary and 1 bundle burial dary 17 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R NE-SW NW? Poorly preserved burial on top of pit 18 2 Primary 2 Ad/M Flexed R/R E-W/NE-SW N/N Double burial inside bedrock pit, one on top of the other 19 1 Primary Juv/F? L E-W S Poorly preserved burial of ~16 year old in bedrock pit 20 1 Primary Ad/F? Flexed R E-W W Boulder on head, tightly flexed 21 2 Primary Ad/M? Prone/Flexed R E-W Flexed, slumped onto stomach. Found with additional Ad/F? isolated right os coxa 22 2 Primary? Ad/M?Ad/? N-S/NW-SE Poorly preserved and commingled remains of at least two individuals 23 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R E-W NW Lying on bedrock, slabs on head and torso 24 3 Primary Ad/F, Ad/?, Flexed R NE-SW W Primary burial in bedrock pit with parts of second adult and Infant child. Head resting on edge of pit, body curled around possible grindstone 25 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed L N-S E In bedrock pit, slabs on head, shoulders, forearms, and knees 26 4 Primary, Ad/M, Flexed, R/− E-W/E-W N/down Primary burial with slab on torso, head between two Secon- 2Ad/M? Bundle boulders, overlying bundle burial with three dary Ad/? disarticulated skulls under boulders and commingled postcrania 27 1 Primary Ad/? Flexed L NE-SW S/down In bedrock pit 28 1 Secondary Ad/F Supine S-N Secondary burial of an isolated pelvis 29 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R E-W N/down In bedrock pit, slab on head and torso 30 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R NW-SE NE In bedrock pit A0 1 Primary Infant Head beneath two slabs LOTHAGAM WEST (GeJi1)0 1 1 ? Juv? Ribs displaced from an unexcavated pit 2 1 Primary Juv R N-S W Child in centre of cairn, skull beneath two large boulders 6232 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Table 1 (continued) Burial MNI Burial Age/Sex Position Side Orientation Facing Burial context Type (head) 3 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed L N-S E In bedrock pit, body on steep incline with head low and feet high, covered in cobbles MANEMANYA GcJh5 1 1 Primary Ad/F Partly flexed R N-S NW Upper body supine, arms extended, legs tightly flexed. Large boulder on skull, body covered with smaller cobbles. Charcoal/ash beneath the body 2 1 Primary? Ad/? Articulated feet extending over the torso of Manemanya Burial 1, rest of burial unexcavated examples stand apart from other faunal remains recovered from Asnoted,weencounteredapairoffeetfromasecondindividual burial fill, which were highly fragmentary and generally could above GcJh5 B-1’s torso and observed human bone in the walls of only be identified to mammal, bird, or fish categories. the 1 × 2m lower trench, indicating other burials are present in deeper reaches of the platform.Further excavation would be need- edtodetermineifthedegreeofornamentationseenwiththeyoung Other sites womanwastypical,orifthisindividualrepresentsanunusualcase. The stone beads at Manemanya are similar to one another Only one complete burial was excavated from Manemanya, in size and shape (as seen in Fig. 7). They were fashioned from but the feature included extensive cultural material (Fig. 7). raw materials different from those used at Lothagam North. The torso of a probable woman in her late 20s to early 30s They are almost exclusively calcite, with one bead made from (GcJh5 B-1) was covered by 329 stone beads of somewhat sandstone. With colour variations only slight (off-white to soft diverse shapes and sizes, further accompanied by at least 9559 pink), the Manemanya beads lack the dramatic hues of the whole and 978 broken OES beads. Beads were densely con- Lothagam North assemblage, but their larger dimensions centrated on and immediately around her body, suggesting would still have strong visual impact. Their materials would they were contained with the body within a wrap or shroud. have been readily available and are easier to work than some She was buried on her back with her arms at her sides and legs of the harder materials (e.g. chalcedonies) found at Lothagam tightly flexed to the right. The body appeared to have been lain North. The seemingly simpler material technology of the on a relatively flat, undisturbed surface. There was charcoal GcJh5 B-1 assemblage, however, is contrasted by the number beneath the body. She wore a necklace that included five of accompanying beads. This one burial yielded a stone bead gourd-shaped stone beads. Hundreds of larger, round stone count equivalent to 30 burials at Lothagam North, and more beads encircled her torso and pelvis in linear arrangements, than five times the estimated number of ostrich eggshell beads suggesting they were part of a garment. Twenty-six exception- from Lothagam North’s larger mortuary excavation area. ally small OES beads clustered bilaterally near her ears, prob- The other two excavated pillar sites, Kalokol and ably worn as elaborate earrings, while staggered dyads of Lothagam West, yielded fewer burials and, unsurprisingly, slightly larger OES beads likely decorated a garment or plack- almost no burial goods. Only ~ 10 OES beads total were re- et extending down her legs. Numerous strands of OES beads covered from Lothagam West, most of which were in associ- were draped over her rib cage, spine, and pelvis but did not ation with the most complete burial GeJi10 B-3. No beads extend beneath her torso, nor did they go around her neck. In were recovered from Kalokol. addition to beads, she wore perforated carnivore teeth as ornaments—pendants on her upper torso made from lion The human remains (Panthera leo) and hyena (Hyaena hyaena) teeth, and a brace- let of 42 canid (Canis sp.) teeth around her left wrist (Fig. 7). Skeletons excavated from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, An ivory bangle encircled her right wrist. An unidentified, and Manemanya represent both males and females, and range badly degraded composite object made of worked bone and in age from neonates to the elderly (Table 3, n =49).Of the 39 ivory was found near her right shoulder. The perforation of the adults and one older adolescent in this sample, 18 are probable bone component suggests it was worn or hung, and the size of males and 12 are probable females. Ten individuals are too its bone and ivory components are consistent with a very large poorly preserved or incomplete to estimate sex. Of the indi- animal, possibly hippo. viduals whose ages at death could be estimated, eight are Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6233 Table 2 Ornamentation and other inclusions for burials excavated from GeJi9, GeJi10, and GcJh5 Burial Stone bead Stone bead materials Ornament description Other inclusions (n) Lothagam North GeJi9 1 1 Volcanic (basalt) Stone bead at neck 2 5 Amazonite Stone earring at left temporal, stone beads at neck 3 5 Talc, chalcedony (carnelian), scolecite Gerbil-tooth headpiece, stone earring, stone beads near knees, ivory bangles on left arm 4 24 Amazonite, analcime, limestone (stromatolite) Stone beads and earring, hyrax teeth lying on chest 5 OES beads at wrist 6 Turtle vertebra 7 2 Amazonite Stone beads at neck, OES at pelvis 8 1 Amazonite Stone bead at right arm 9 5 Amazonite, talc Stone bead necklace 10 1 Stone and OES beads at neck, OES at pelvis 11 8 Amazonite, volcanic (basalt), fluorite Stone and OES beads at neck 12 12 Amazonite, volcanic (basalt), analcime, limestone Stone beads at neck, stone earring near Ochre staining on (stromatolite) forearm, ivory at chest, bone beads skull at hip and left ankle 13 Ochre-stained rock 14 1 Limestone (stromatolite) Beads and earring at neck, ivory squares at chest 15 19 Analcime Stone beads around two individuals’ necks, Ochre staining on ivory bangle around one wrist skull 16 Bone and OES beads, ivory squares, and possible tusk 17 None recovered 18 None recovered 19 33 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Stone bead necklace 20 1 Amazonite Stone and OES beads within burial fill 21 OES beads within burial fill Ochre staining on arms, torso, cranium 22 Four ivory rings on one left hand, beads by right hand 23 1 Analcime Stone bead necklace 24 2 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Stone bead necklace, OES beads near pelvis, Possible grindstone stone and OES beads within burial fill 25 1 Talc Stone bead near mandible 26 29 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Twelve perforated hippo tusks, stone and bone Zoomorphic stone bead necklace with primary burial; stone bead palette necklace, earring, loose stone beads, and ivory (between 26 and ring within bundle burial 29) 27 2 Fluorite, volcanic (basalt) Stone beads and ivory within burial fill, OES beads near left shoulder 28 None recovered 29 1 Amazonite Stone bead within burial fill Zoomorphic stone palette (between 26 and 29) 30 None recovered A0 OES beads within burial fill Lothagam West GeJi10 3 3 OES beads within burial fill Manemanya GcJh5 1 329 Rhyolite, calcite, sandstone Abundant stone and OES beads covering body, Ivory and modified perforated carnivore teeth pendants and bracelet, bone ivory bangles object found near body 2 6234 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 young adults (~ 18–30 years), 10 are middle-aged (~ 30– skeletons prevents systematic scoring of all joint surfaces. 50 years), and five appear to be elderly (50+). Sixteen could OA is found more commonly among the middle-aged adults only be assessed as adult. Five infants (newborn to 2 years) (5 of 8 observed, 63%) and older adults (3 of 4 observed, and five juveniles (2 to 18 years) were also recovered. The 75%) compared to the young adults. Distribution is relatively scarcity of complete long bones limited estimations of stature, equal between the sexes. mass, and proportionality. Based on a small sample of adults, Among the dentitions, two of the 25 individuals possess males’ stature averaged around 169 cm (n = 9) and females caries (n = 3 of 331 teeth that could be assessed), and all cases were around 163 cm (n = 3) (methods per Meadows and are slight. Tooth wear is moderate: the average mandibular Jantz 1992; Trotter 1970; Trotter and Gleser 1952). Average third molar wear score is 2.4 (n = 14), where cusps are mod- body mass estimated from femur head size is approximately erately blunted with only pinpoint dentine exposure, if any 62 kg (n = 3, all probable males) (McHenry 1992;Ruffetal. (Smith 1984). Dental calculus is pervasive, particularly in 1991). Coefficients of variation (CV) for metric variables with older adults. Calculus is present on most teeth that could be asample size of ≥ 10 are relatively low (mean = 13.28%, n = scored (66%, n = 426 teeth assessed). The only case of 20 variables) suggesting that the people buried at these sites abscessing was observed in GeJi9 B-25 on the left maxilla may constitute a deme—a subgroup of closely related individ- around the left second premolar, with a fistula leading into uals (Table 4). the maxillary sinus. The partial dentition of this elderly man also has large calculus deposits. Periodontal disease and ante- Indicators of health mortem tooth loss are rare, although poor preservation of jaws and alveolar tissue made these processes difficult to study. By We noted no indications of endemic disease or violent causes contrast, enamel hypoplasias are seen in 68% of individuals (n = 13/19 dentitions that could be scored). Defects include of death. The most commonly observed pathological features transverse lines (linear enamel hypoplasia, or LEH), grooves, are osteoarthritis, dental hypoplasias, and healed fractures. Osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative joint disease (DJD), and pits. The crania of only five of 49 individuals could be assessed characterized by articular cartilage destruction and associated bony porosity and lipping at joints, are relatively common for cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. An adult woman (GeJi9 B-24A) presents the sole case, with cribriform lesions among the adults. Twenty of the 39 adults have preserved joint surfaces that could be scored for OA, of which 14 skeletons visible on the orbital roof paired with minor periosteal activity on the right supraorbital area. Another individual, an elderly (70%) show some combination of osteophytes, lipping, and/or eburnation. These were typically observed in the spine, shoul- male over 50 years old (GeJi10 B-3), has indications of low bone mass suggestive of osteoporosis. ders, knees, and feet, although differential preservation of Fig. 6 Examples of stone beads accompanying the burials within Lothagam North’scentral platform, including a GeJi9 B-12’s assemblage of analcime, stromatolite, amazonite, carnelian, and talc (soapstone) beads, found in conjunction with a bone point; b GeJi9 B-19’sas- semblage of primarily amazonite beads and pendants as well as a broken analcime bead and a frag- ment of rodent tooth/ivory; and c a large amazonite ‘earring’ found with GeJi9 B-29. Image by Carla Klehm Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6235 Fig. 7 Examples of stone, shell, and bone adornments found with GcJh5 B-1 at Manemanya. These include (A) ivory fragments, Hyaena hyaena pendant, and Canis sp. tooth bracelet beads; (B) an unidentified bone and ivo- ry object; (C) large and small os- trich eggshell beads; (D) an ivory bracelet, pendant, and other frag- ments; and (E) numerous large calcite stone beads strung into necklaces, many of which were found still in situ and strung in order (as pictured here). Image by Carla Klehm Cases of possible infectious disease include GeJi9 B-7, an the well-preserved right side, may be related to the pattern of infant aged 6 to 12 months whose frontal bone shows disor- greater wear on the right side of the dentition, greater dental ganized new bone endocranially, on the squamous portion. calculus on the left side, and asymmetry in the mandibular The endocranial bone is highly thickened and vascularized rami. The right mandibular ramus is more prominently but the outer table appears normal, consistent with a non- inverted at gonion, with asymmetries extending through the specific indicator of haemorrhage or infection (Lewis 2004). submandibular fossa region (inferior to the mylohyoid line). GeJi9 B-21A (male, 20–30 years) and GeJi9 B-28 (female, Other distinguishing features of her skull include four large 30–40 years) both show non-taphonomic erosion around the wormian bones and a notably thin occipital squamous portion pubic symphysis from either infection or pelvic stress injury. which, taken in concert, may suggest a congenital or develop- We also documented healed fractures on various fingers, toes, mental origin for the asymmetry. Facial asymmetry can arise and ribs on three individuals (GeJi9 B-1, B-2, B-25). Healed from congenital, developmental, and acquired factors fractures may also account for mild OA on two rib heads of (Thiesen et al. 2015). One possibility in this case is congenital GcJh5 B-1 and a discrepancy in femur lengths in GeJi9 B-6A. muscular torticollis (wry-neck). Limited ranges of motion and The young woman from Manemanya buried with thou- repose can lead to asymmetries of the face and head (Nilesh sands of beads (GcJh5 B-1) shows several skeletal anomalies and Mukherji 2013). Given that she was also relatively tall (~ that suggest asymmetries to her face and jaw. Her left zygo- 170-180 cm, based on estimated maximum femur length, matic bears a bony spur along the temporal margin where the measured in situ), perhaps her appearance and bearing were temporal fascia attach. This feature, which is not present on in some ways linked to her burial treatment. Table 3 Estimated age/sex of excavated individuals (n =49) Site Probable M Probable F Juvenile/ Birth-2 years Juvenile Young adult Middle adult Older adult Adult undetermined 2–18 (18–30) (30–50) (50+) (18– 50+) GeJi9 17 11 16 5 3 7 10 4 15 GeJi10 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 GcJh5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 6236 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Table 4 Statistical summary of measurements (all in mm) for which Table 5 Cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties for pillar site ≥10 adults could be assessed individuals Bone Variable Adults (n) Mean S.D. C.V. Skeleton Est.SexSideI / max min Mandible Condyle (ant-pos) 12 9.27 1.16 12.56 HUMERUS Condyle (med-lat) 12 19.86 2.47 12.46 GcJh5 B-1 F L 1.16 Clavicle Midshaft (ant-pos) 14 11.30 1.47 13.03 GcJh5 B-1 F R 1.49 Midshaft (sup-inf) 14 9.91 1.58 15.89 GeJi9 B-6A M R 1.55 Circumference 11 38.32 3.14 8.20 GeJi9 B-6B ? – 1.53 Humerus Midshaft (max) 11 19.87 1.94 9.76 GeJi9 B-3 M? L 2.23 Midshaft (min) 11 17.38 2.49 14.33 GeJi9 B-3 M? R 1.77 Capitate Length 11 20.87 2.96 14.18 GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.78 Width 10 19.20 2.81 14.61 GeJi9 B-11 F L 1.45 Depth 10 13.41 3.28 24.47 GeJi9 B-18B M R 2.02 Hamate Length 10 20.86 2.06 9.89 GeJi9 B-20 F? R 1.39 Width 11 18.08 2.91 16.08 FEMUR Depth 11 16.60 5.49 33.06 GcJh5 B-1 F R 1.44 Lunate Length 10 16.29 1.82 11.19 GeJi9 B-6A" M L 2.21 Width 10 14.89 1.83 12.28 GeJi9 B-6A" M R 1.75 3rd metacarpal Midshaft (med-lat) 10 8.60 0.70 8.20 GeJi9 B-9 F R 1.39 Midshaft (dors-palm) 10 7.91 0.66 8.37 GeJi9 B-11 F R 1.72 Base (dors-palm) 10 14.58 1.53 10.48 GeJI9 B-12 M R 1.03 Patella Length 10 37.74 3.04 8.05 GeJi10 B-3 M R 2.47 Depth 12 19.22 1.64 8.51 GbJj1 B-1 M R 1.81 Average 13.28 TIBIA GeJi9 B-6A M R 2.61 Biomechanical indicators of mobility CLAVICLE GeJi9 B-3 M? L 1.49 Biomechanical measures obtained from the 34 eligible GeJi9 B-3 M? R 1.39 midshaft elements are presented in Table 5. Table 6 contains GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.54 mean values for elements analysed as well as summary data GeJi9 B15A F? R 2.11 for the southern African comparative groups. For all skeletal GeJi9 B-18B M L 2.04 elements, I /I values fall within the range of variation of max min GeJi9 B-20 F? L 1.60 the southern African herding and foraging groups (examples GeJi9 B-26A M L 2.13 in Fig. 8). There are no significant differences in I /I for max min GeJi9 B-26A ? R 1.45 any of the upper limb elements. The I /I values for the max min ULNA pillar site tibia and femora recovered are comparatively high GeJi9 B-3 M? L 1.58 relative to the southern African groups; however, tibia CSG GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.68 property data are very limited. For the femora, there are sig- GeJi9 B-18B M R 1.15 nificant differences between the four groups considered (p = GeJi9 B-30 M L 1.27 0.00). However, there are no pairwise significant differences, RADIUS likely due to the small sample sizes. GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.48 GeJi9 B-9 F R 1.41 GeJi9 B-18B M R 1.46 Discussion Bioarchaeological insights from the western pillar sites offer buried there. These results advance our knowledge on three fresh perspectives on the construction and use of pillar sites, as distinct fronts: mortuary behaviours at these sites, patterns of well as novel insights into the lived experienced of those Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6237 Table 6 Results of Kruskal-Willis ANOVAs comparing I /I CSG max min work has now confirmed the presence of burials in the central properties platform at Lothagam West, and in potentially younger cairn features at Lothagam West and Kalokol. The presence of a Element Sample n Mean S.D. p value mortuary cavity in Kalokol’s platform, beneath a centrally Left humerus Cape coast 75 1.56 0.20 positioned acacia tree, seems possible and may be tested with Central interior 36 1.52 0.26 additional excavations. Namib Desert 10 1.59 0.20 The ‘Jarigole Mortuary Tradition’ can now be revised. Pillar Sites 5 1.63 0.40 Although secondary bundle burials were present within plat- 0.489 form deposits at Lothagam North, most interments were pri- Right humerus Cape coast 67 1.65 0.21 mary, as were the few burials excavated at Lothagam West and Central interior 32 1.51 0.23 Manemanya. ‘Clothed’ bodies, at least with adornments, had Namib Desert 12 1.64 0.20 been prepared for individual placement. At Lothagam North, Pillar Sites 6 1.57 0.30 both primary and secondary burials were present as discrete 0.764 features and are likely to have been the source of the isolated Femora Cape coast 66 1.65 0.27 fragments found between the bodies within the cobble-filled Central interior 47 1.41 0.24 matrix. None of the western site platforms resemble ossuaries Namib Desert 17 1.40 0.27 strictly intended for secondary remains, and we did not ob- Pillar Sites 8 1.73 0.46 serve the degree of commingling reported at Jarigole (Nelson 1995). Most human remains recovered from Jarigole are frag- 0.000 Tibia Cape coast 44 2.46 0.44 ments and/or small, mobile elements such as teeth (personal observation, National Museums of Kenya), similar to those Central interior 43 2.26 0.40 observed in the ~ 50 cm upper cap deposits at Lothagam Namib Desert 16 2.15 0.39 North. Future excavations at Jarigole targeting deeper deposits Pillar Sites 1 2.61 would test the hypothesis that primary burials exist in deeper 0.084 strata. We do not know whether the architecture of the mortu- Left clavicle Cape coast 36 1.95 0.33 ary cavity and density of burials at Lothagam North are typi- Pillar Sites 5 1.76 0.30 cal. Although multiple burials were encountered at Lothagam 0.162 West and Manemanya, neither site presented the deeply strat- Right clavicle Cape coast 41 1.85 0.40 ified mortuary deposits observed at Lothagam North (Fig. 5). Pillar Sites 3 1.65 0.40 Based on available evidence, pillar sites are cemeteries, 0.321 although the extent to which this was their primary function Left ulna Cape coast 34 1.39 0.25 remains unclear. Most of the burials are primary, indicating Pillar Sites 3 1.51 0.22 that people were brought to the site shortly after death, con- 0.293 tradicting previous notions. This fact raises additional ques- Right ulna Cape coast 32 1.36 0.22 tions about mobility, social organization, and funerary prac- Pillar Sites 1 2.04 tices among groups who used these sites. Was each pillar site Left radius Cape coast 36 1.41 0.19 used by a specific group and/or extended family who either Pillar Sites 1 1.48 lived nearby or travelled great distances immediately after a 0.757 death? Or were individuals interred based on when and where Right radius Cape coast 33 1.51 0.22 they died or some combination of other factors? Why were Pillar Sites 2 1.43 0.04 some people included as secondary burials? And did funerals 0.659 trigger large community gatherings or were they smaller af- fairs carried out by a subset of relatives? To answer these questions, we need more information about who was buried inter-site variability, and skeletal indicators of health, disease, at specific pillar sites and in what contexts. As research to date and mobility among eastern Africa’s first herders. has focused largely on Lothagam North, future excavations should target other sites, particularly Kalokol and Mortuary patterns at the pillar sites Manemanya, to probe patterns of mortuary variation. Excavations at the four pillar sites west of Lake Turkana lend Intra-site variability: personal adornment additional support for the hypothesis that the pillar sites func- tioned as cemeteries. Building on previous identifications of Although material culture varies among the western pillar human remains at Lothagam North and Manemanya, our sites (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand et al. 2011), 6238 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 8 CSG I /I ratios for humerus and femur midshafts for the pillar site sample compared to southern African Later Stone Age Cape Coastal, max min Central Interior, and Namib Desert foragers and herders bioarchaeological excavations add another layer of complex- Manemanya may reveal whether this burial’s degree and types ity: items directly associated with buried people. With a few of ornamentation were exceptional or the norm. potential exceptions, such as the bone and ivory object at Bead and other burial inclusion differences between Manemanya and the zoomorphic palette at Lothagam North, Lothagam North and Manemanya, and between these sites all examples appear to be adornments rather than burial gifts. and Lothagam West and Kalokol (where few to no beads were At Lothagam North, stone beads were associated with most recovered) are topics that merit further investigation. Grillo primary burials in the central platform in diverse combinations and Hildebrand (2013) note that differences between pillar of number, raw material, and colour (Figs. 5 and 6, Table 2). sites do not easily track with geography or time; Lothagam Although some of the stones may have originated nearby, North and Jarigole are the most artifactually similar despite others would have come from more distant and distinct their positions on opposite sides of the lake (~ 300 km apart by sources. Beads were found with men, women, and children, land and ~ 100 km by water), while Lothagam North and West and they varied in pattern from person to person. Burials that are quite different despite close proximity and evidence of use could not be associated with any ornamentation were also the within the same 60-year period. Because it can be assumed most incomplete and poorly preserved, so may have been that the people using the two contemporaneous pillar sites on associated with other beads found in the platform fill. The Lothagam were aware of each other, differences in material ubiquity of beads with the burials suggests that interment with culture must reflect some other aspect of function, identity, or adornment was the norm. Patterns of bead distribution, com- preference. That said, some aspects of this tradition could well bined with the presence of men, women, and children within have shifted over the centuries-long span of pillar site activity, the central platform, suggests minimal social stratification and later burial events may reflect very different dynamics and among people buried there (Hildebrand et al. 2018). social organisation those from earlier times. The elaborate burial encountered at Manemanya (GcJh5 B-1) may reflect unique circumstances. The unidentified items Skeletal indicators for health, disease, and activity lain to her right and the strands of beads strewn on her body after interment distinguish this burial from those at Lothagam This new skeletal sample represents one of the largest collec- North, where almost all adornments could have been worn by tions from across eastern Africa, and the only one known to the deceased. The hundreds of stone beads and thousands of represent the region’s earliest food producers. OES beads covering her body may signify special status or Bioarchaeological datasets provide a first glimpse into who identity within the group. Stone bead raw materials are quite was buried at the pillar sites and their lived experiences. different from those observed at Lothagam North and Jarigole. Burials at Lothagam North seemingly represent a cross- Calcite and sandstone that would have been readily available section of a community in terms of age and sex, suggesting from local sources are dominant at Manemanya. Other orna- most members of the group may have been buried there. ments, such as the perforated lion tooth pendant, were likely While excavations at the other sites have been more minimal, difficult to procure, suggesting her bead choices may have the cairn burial of a child at Lothagam West and heavily been stylistic rather than economic. Future excavations at ornamented young woman at Manemanya raise other Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6239 questions about early herder social organization. Coast foragers can be interpreted in two ways: either early Circumstances leading to burial within a pillar site remain an herders around Lake Turkana moved across comparably com- ongoing topic of investigation. plex (but not necessarily similar) terrain or their terrestrial Skeletal analyses provide several insights into the lives of mobility patterns were sufficiently intense to produce an these individuals. Prevalent conditions like OA suggest that equivalently high signal. These possibilities provide a starting people were living many years into adulthood, and evidence point for further study of mid-Holocene Turkana landscapes for more serious diseases and/or traumatic injuries is rare. and how people were moving across them. However, interpre- However, systematic assessments were limited by the frag- tation is limited by the small number of skeletons that were mentary nature of the remains, particularly the crania which complete enough to assess for CSG properties, as well as the were often crushed by a heavy boulder or slab. Dental health lack of eastern African comparative samples. was relatively good with slight wear and low rates of caries, It is difficult to contextualize those buried at the pillar sites but a high prevalence of dental calculus. A non-cariogenic diet among other human populations because we know little about low in carbohydrates seems to have been more influential in the health of ancient herders or forager societies transitioning deterring carious lesions than rapid tooth wear or cleaning (for to mobile pastoralism. Research on contemporary African which there is no evidence). Most individuals exhibit enamel pastoralists facing sedentarisation suggests that nomadic hypoplasias suggesting some health stressors during develop- groups maintain lower levels of malnutrition and morbidity ment. LEH rates are likely underestimates as the teeth were than settled groups, although this is complicated by other fac- too fragile to cast for microscopic study; future work will tors such as access to medical care (Fratkin and Abella Roth require a novel approach. 2005). Some attributes of the western pillar site sample, such Limb CSG properties fall within the range of southern as their low rates of dental caries and infectious disease, may African foragers whose subsistence patterns required them to indicate similar diet and health patterns between ancient and move frequently across the landscape. Upper limb I /I contemporary mobile pastoralists in eastern Africa. Skeletal max min values suggest that early herder lifeways around Lake evidence consistent with high mobility and/or mobility across Turkana required similar types of limb activities as those used complex terrain suggests other potential parallels. Ongoing by prehistoric southern African populations, although this bioarchaeological work at the pillar sites, as well as fisher- cannot be associated with a specific activity or movement forager sites in Turkana such as Lothagam Lokam type. Southern African forager upper limb CSG properties (Goldstein et al. 2017), may provide additional insights into differ from those of contemporary swimmers (Shaw and the biocultural impacts of the transition to herding as well as Stock 2013), as well as from archaeological groups who en- permit comparisons of health and behaviour between past vs. gaged in watercraft use (Stock and Pfeiffer 2001). present-day pastoralists. Comparable upper limb morphologies suggest that the people at the pillar sites around Lake Turkana likely did not engage in heavy use of watercraft (i.e. paddling) or frequent bouts of Conclusions vigorous swimming to obtain freshwater resources. There are significant differences between the femur I / Bioarchaeological investigations at four megalithic pillar sites max I values among the four groups, although no pairwise dif- west of Lake Turkana have revealed important information on min ferences reach significance. Pillar site femur I /I values the behaviour and biology of the first herders in eastern Africa. max min are higher than Central Interior and Namib Desert values, and Our findings confirm some previous assumptions about this most similar to those of Cape Coast foragers (Fig. 8). Greater mortuary tradition and challenge others. All pillar sites do lower limb I /I values have been associated with mobility appear to have mortuary components, and at least one max min across complex (but not necessarily high relief) terrain (Lothagam North) likely accommodated hundreds of people. (Higgins 2014), as well as unidirectional lower limb move- However, most burials on the west side of Lake Turkana are ment, such as those undertaken by marathon runners (Shaw primary. This indicates that people were usually buried shortly and Stock 2009). Although both factors are known to produce after death rather than receiving prior treatment and subse- high I /I ratios, it is not possible to determine which quent inclusion as secondary burials (although both types of max min factor was the primary driver in archaeological samples. burial are present at Lothagam North). Further work is needed Among the Cape Coast foragers, high values are attributed to discern whether primary burials predominate in deeper de- to an intensive mobile foraging lifestyle in a region with com- posits at pillar sites on the east side of the lake, and the extent plex terrain, including rocky shorelines (Stock and Pfeiffer of mortuary deposits at Lothagam West, Manemanya, and 2004;Cameron andStock 2018). Slightly lower values among Kalokol. Coastal Interior and Namib Desert groups likely reflect high Stone and OES beads recovered from Lothagam North are mobility but on less-complex landscapes (Cameron and Stock similar to those previously excavated from Jarigole, but at 2018). Similarities between the pillar site sample and Cape Lothagam North, their function as adornments within primary 6240 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 interments is clear. The presence of beads with most burials, References without apparent patterning regarding age and sex, suggests AlQahtani SJ, Hector MP, Liversidge HM (2010) Brief communication: the absence of strong social hierarchies (Hildebrand et al. the London atlas of human tooth development and eruption. Am J 2018). However, an elaborate burial excavated from Phys Anthropol 142:481–490 Manemanya with thousands of beads, many of types distinct Auerbach BM, Ruff CB (2006) Limb bone bilateral asymmetry: variabil- from those at Lothagam North, raises additional questions ity and commonality among modern humans. J Hum Evol 50(2): 203–218 about material cultural variability among pillar sites and the Barthelme JW (1977) Holocene sites north of Lake Turkana. Azania 12: complexity of social roles within these communities. As pillar 33–42 sites represent a globally rare example of monumentality Barthelme JW (1985) Fisher-hunters and Neolithic pastoralists in East among mobile herders in unpredictable circumstances, beads Turkana, Kenya, British Archaeological Reports International and other artefacts provide important clues about the social Series 254. Archaeopress, Oxford Buikstra JE, Ubelaker DH (1994) Standards for data collection from processes and institutions that helped people manage risk. human skeletal remains. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Beyond mortuary and material culture insights, this work Research Series, Fayetteville has yielded a unique collection of archaeological human re- Cameron ME, Pfeiffer S (2014) Long bone cross-sectional geometric mains from an early food-producing society in Africa. Little is properties of Later Stone Age foragers and herder–foragers. 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Davies TG, Shaw CN, Stock JT (2012) A test of a new method and Human remains from the pillar sites provide a record of people software for the rapid estimation of cross-sectional geometric prop- who lived through major environmental and economic shifts, erties of long bone diaphyses from 3D laser surface scans. Archaeol permitting us to explore their dynamic social responses. Not Anthropol Sci 4:277–290 only do monumental cemeteries around Lake Turkana capture Fratkin E, Abella Roth E (2005) As pastoralists settle: social, health, and economic consequences of pastoral sedentarization in Marsabit a key time period in eastern Africa, they offer important per- District, Kenya. Kluwer, New York spectives on how humans react and adapt to significant chang- Garcin Y, Melnick D, Strecker MR, Olago D, Tiercelin J-J (2012) East es in the world around them. African mid-Holocene wet-dry transition recorded in palaeo- shorelines of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya rift. Earth Planet Sc Acknowledgements We thank the people of Turkana County, the Lett 331-332:322–334 National Museums of Kenya, and Kenya’s National Council of Science Gifford-Gonzalez D (2017) “Animal disease challenges” fifteen year lat- and Technology for the permission to conduct research. LPWT crew er: the hypothesis in light of new data. Quat Int 436:283–293 members who assisted with excavations include P. Adupu, S. Githinji CK (1999) Il Lokeridede: a Pastoral Neolithic mortuary site east Derbyshire, A. DeRenzis, L.E. Doyle, H. Duke, M. Ekaale, M. Eyane, of Lake Turkana, Kenya. Unpublished MA thesis, University of F. Ekai, J. Ekusi, A. Ekutaan, J. Etabo, L. Hu, B. Kimeu, L. Lowasa, Z. Nairobi McKeeby, C. Ngugi, S. Pilliard, M. Rizzo, H. Sale, A. Shoemaker, B. Goldstein ST (In Press) Technological strategies of the earliest herders in Smith, and C. Swoger. We also thank project collaborators Emmanuel northern Kenya. Antiquity Ndiema, Purity Kiura, and Cecelia Ngugi. Figures 3 and 4 were adapted Goldstein ST, Hildebrand EA, Storozum MJ, Sawchuk EA, Lewis JE, from maps produced by Benson Kimeu. Justus Erus Edung (of the Ngugi C, Robbins LH (2017) New archaeological investigations at National Museums of Kenya-Lodwar Office) helped ensure maximal the Lothagam harpoon site at Lake Turkana. Antiquity 91 360:e5:1– recovery of looted remains from the Kalokol Pillar Site. The Turkana e5:5. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2017.215 Basin Institute provided crucial logistical support throughout this Grillo KM, Hildebrand EA (2013) The context of early megalithic archi- research. tecture in eastern Africa: the Turkana Basin c. 5000-4000 BP. Azania 48:193–217 Funding information Open access funding provided by Max Planck Gwynne MD (1969) The South Turkana expedition: scientific papers. Society. Funding was provided by the National Geographic Society Preliminary report on the 1968 season. Geogr J 135:331–342 (CRE9473-14 to EAH in 2014), the National Science Foundation (Grant Higgins RW (2014) The effects of terrain on long bone robusticity and BCS1124419 to EAH in 2012–2016), the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant cross- sectional shape in lower limb bones of bovids, Neandertals, 58962 to CEK in 2015), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Upper Paleolithic modern humans. In: Carlson KJ, Marchi D Council of Canada (767-2012-1903 to EAS in 2012). (eds) Reconstructing mobility: environmental, behavioural, and morphological determinants. Springer, New York, pp 227–252 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Hildebrand EA, Grillo KM (2012) Early herders and monumental sites in Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http:// eastern Africa: dating and interpretation. Antiquity 86:338–352 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, Hildebrand EA, Shea J, Grillo KM (2011) Four middle Holocene pillar distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appro- sites in West Turkana, Kenya. J Field Archaeol 36:181–200 priate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Hildebrand EA, Grillo KM, Sawchuk EA, Pfeiffer SK, Conyers LB, Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Goldstein ST, Hill AC, Janzen A, Klehm CE, Helper M, Kiura P, Ndiema E, Ngugi C, Shea JJ, Wang H (2018) A monumental Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6241 cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Sawchuk EA (2017) Social change and human population movements – Kenya. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(36):8942–8947 dental morphology in Holocene eastern Africa. Unpublished PhD Hillson S (2005) Teeth, 2nd edn. 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The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya

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Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by The Author(s)
Subject
Earth Sciences; Earth Sciences, general; Archaeology; Chemistry/Food Science, general; Geography, general; Life Sciences, general; Anthropology
ISSN
1866-9557
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1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-019-00914-4
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Abstract

Early herders in eastern Africa built elaborate megalithic cemeteries ~ 5000 BP overlooking what is now Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. At least six ‘pillar sites’ were constructed during a time of rapid change: cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced to the basin as the lake was shrinking at the end of the African Humid Period. Cultural changes at this time include new lithic and ceramic technologies and the earliest monumentality in eastern Africa. Isolated human remains previously excavated from pillar sites east of Lake Turkana seemed to indicate that pillar site platforms were ossuaries for secondary burials. Recent bioarchaeological excavations at four pillar sites west of the lake have now yielded ≥49 individuals, most from primary and some from secondary interments, challenging earlier interpretations. Here we describe the mortuary cavities, and burial contexts, and included items such as adornments from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol pillar sites. In doing so, we reassess previous hypotheses regarding pillar site construction, use, and inter-site variability. We also present the first osteological analyses of skeletons buried at these sites. Although the human remains are fragmentary, they are nevertheless informative about the sex, age, and body size of the deceased and give evidence for health and disease processes. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts (n = 34 elements) suggest patterns of terrestrial mobility. Pillar site deposits provide important new insights into early herder lifeways in eastern Africa and the impact of the transition to pastoralism on past human populations. . . . . . Keywords Pillar sites Mortuary archaeology Turkana Basin Herding Stone beads Food production Introduction Africa (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012; Hildebrand et al. 2018). At least six megalithic ‘pillar The spread of food production into eastern Africa ~ 5000 years sites’ were constructed around paleo-Lake Turkana during a ago coincided with the creation of elaborate megalithic cem- period of major transition. Termination of the African Humid eteries, the first of their kind in eastern Africa and some of the Period (AHP) ~ 5300 years before present (BP) caused lake earliest monumental architecture known from sub-Saharan levels to drop by approximately 55 m, altering deep water * Elizabeth A. Sawchuk Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of elizabeth.sawchuk@stonybrook.edu Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado-Boulder, Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA Boulder, CO 80309, USA Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of 7 Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany Hanover, NH 03755, USA Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada Gainesville, FL 32611, USA Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya 6222 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 fishing habitats and exposing plains that offered new pasture are nevertheless informative about age-at-death, probable sex, opportunities for herbivores (Garcin et al. 2012; Chritzetal. and community health. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts 2019). Cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced into this were used to generate cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties emerging niche, ostensibly by herder populations moving to reconstruct habitual movement patterns. Together, diverse out of the drying Sahara (Gifford-Gonzalez 2017;Marshall bioarchaeological datasets from the western pillar sites allow us et al. 1984), marking the first food production in the region. to reconsider previous hypotheses about pillar site construction Livestock and herding spread rapidly around Lake Turkana, and use, and, for the first time, explore the lived experiences of bringing pastoralist groups into contact with fisher-foragers the people buried within them. and changing the cultural landscape. In addition to monumen- tality, the spread of herding is linked to the emergence of new stone tool and ceramic technologies (Goldstein In Press; Background Grillo and Hildebrand 2013;Hildebrand etal. 2018), long- distance obsidian trade networks (Ndiema et al. 2011), and Pillar sites are named for their linear or semi-circular arrange- evidence for population admixture (Sawchuk 2017). ments of naturally occurring basalt and sandstone ‘pillars’, Providing records of both human morphology and cultural which people dragged from sources up to 2 km away and behaviour, pillar sites are crucial to understanding how these placed in circular or elliptical platforms of mounded stony fill. complex biological and social processes unfolded during this Stone circles and cairns were constructed on the margins of dynamic period. some pillar sites (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand These mortuary sites have no known analogue within or et al. 2011, 2018; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012). Six pillar sites beyond Africa (Sawchuk et al. 2018). They represent an un- are known around Lake Turkana: four on the western side, and usual example of monumentality among mobile herders fac- two on the eastern, all located on imposing points overlooking ing unpredictable circumstances and reflect unique local pro- the paleo-lakeshore (Fig. 1). Today, people living on the west cesses bound up in the spread of food production (Hildebrand et al. 2018). Communal cemeteries may have provided endur- ing landmarks on a shifting landscape, bringing herders to- gether to form alliances, reify social networks, and exchange resources and information vital for the success of early pasto- ralism (Hildebrand et al. 2018; Sawchuk et al. 2018). Skeletons excavated from the pillar sites now constitute one of the largest archaeologically derived collections of human remains from eastern Africa, providing evidence relevant to population structure, behaviour, health, diet, and disease among early herders. Analysis of human remains and their mortuary contexts generates novel insights into peoples’ re- sponses to changes in their environment, economy, and society. Our bioarchaeological analysis focuses on human remains from three pillar sites on the west side of Lake Turkana: Lothagam North (GeJi9), Lothagam West (GeJi10), and Manemanya (GcJh5). The Later Prehistory of West Turkana (LPWT) team investigated these sites between 2009 and 2014, with more limited research at a fourth pillar site, Kalokol (GcJh3). Excavations yielded the remains of at least 49 people, as well as hundreds of isolated human bone and tooth fragments. We present the mortuary contexts for these individuals, including body position, orientation, and burial goods, and we reconstruct sequences that resulted in dense interments within the central platforms of some of the pillar sites. We describe forms of per- sonal adornment found with the burials—primarily stone and ostrich eggshell (OES) beads—as well as rarer examples of ivo- ry, carnivore-tooth, and rodent-tooth items. Although skeletal Fig. 1 Map of pillar sites around Lake Turkana. Previously excavated remains are highly fragmentary as a result of environmental con- sites are in blue; sites described in this paper are in red. Main map © ditions in Turkana and burial within cobble-filled mounds, they Earthstar Geographics SIO and Microsoft Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6223 side of Lake Turkana call the sites namoratunga or ‘people of was thought to represent two stages of mortuary activity: a stone’ based on a legend that the pillars were human dancers hypothetical primary-burial or other treatment that entailed turned to stone by a vengeful deity (Robbins 1972). defleshing, disarticulating, and breaking of human remains, Megalithic sites in the basin were first explored archaeo- followed by secondary burial of fragmentary bones and grave logically during the 1968–1970 Royal Geographic Society goods in a communal ossuary. Pillar sites were seen to repre- South Turkana Excavation (Gwynne 1969). The British sent the second stage of activity. Koch and Nelson’s Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) undertook initial excava- hypotheses—that pillar sites were created by early herders tions at Namoratunga I (also known as Lokori) between 1970 and served as ossuaries for commingled, secondary burial and 1976, documenting individual interments within ‘stone remains—were not resolved by fieldwork at Jarigole and Il circle graves’ (Soper and Lynch 1977; see also Lynch 1978). Lokeridede. However, their descriptions of the material cul- These finds led scholars to presume that megalithic sites ture found at these pillar sites, particularly Nderit ceramics, across the basin would likely contain burials, despite the fact obsidian-based lithic assemblages, and OES/stone beads, that Lokori differs from most ‘pillar sites’ in having numerous established a connection with habitation sites such as stone circles and no pillars. Namoratunga II, also known as Dongodien (Barthelme 1977, 1985) and formed important Kalokol (GcJh3) was the first site with pillars to be document- baselines for the evaluation of other pillar sites. ed, via surface surveys by Lynch and Robbins (1978, 1979). Between 2009 and 2014, LPWT initiated research at four Subsequent examples of ‘pillar sites’ were reported on the pillar sites on the west side of the lake: Lothagam North, west side of the lake at Lothagam North (GeJi9), Lothagam Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol (Grillo and West (GeJi10), and Manemanya (GcJh5) (Hildebrand et al. Hildebrand 2013;Hildebrandetal. 2011;Hildebrandand 2011; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012), and on the east side of Grillo 2012)(Fig. 2). Test excavations at these sites provided the lake at Jarigole (GbJj1) and Il Lokeridede (GaJi23) radiocarbon dating samples that—combined with dates from (Githinji 1999;Koch 1993, 1994;Nelson 1995). Other poten- Jarigole collections and published age determinations for Il tial sites include GbJj4 (Kamau 1991) and an unconfirmed site Lokeridede (Koch et al. 2002)—provided the first absolute in the Suguta Valley (Hildebrand et al. 2011). chronology for pillar sites around the lake. Their chronologi- Jarigole was the first pillar site (sensu stricto—having a plat- cal overlap with early pastoral habitation sites near Lake form and upright pillars) to be excavated, by the Koobi Fora Turkana’s paleoshore (4964–4000 cal BP) (Barthelme 1985; Field School 1986–1996. Nelson (1995:52) reported numerous Marshall et al. 1984) suggests pillar site construction was co- overlapping burial pits in Jarigole’s central mound, with bones eval with the introduction of herding (Hildebrand and Grillo and artefacts ‘mixed into the fill as new burials intruded into and 2012). scattered the contents of the old’. Lower down, excavators Chronological relations within and between pillar sites found a primary inhumation of a tighly flexed elderly individual raise intriguing points. Three extremely precise dates indicate 60–65 cm below the surface of the mound, overlain by large that Lothagam North, Lothagam West, and Manemanya all rocks. Other rock clusters were noted but not excavated, raising saw use within a 43-year period (4868–4825 cal BP), and the possibility that the site might contain deeper primary burials. use of Jarigole during this interval is also likely (Hildebrand Excavators did not reach bedrock or sterile deposits before and Grillo 2012). Such tight contemporaneity of use lends worked at the site ceased in 1996. support for Nelson and Koch’s hypothesis of a basin-wide Il Lokeridede, ~ 30 km north of Jarigole and ~ 2 km from monumental tradition. Construction and use of pillar sites cov- the habitation site Dongodien (GaJi4), is a smaller pillar site ered a minimum temporal range of 4853–4541 BP (312 years). marked by large sandstone slabs (Githinji 1999;Koch 1994; The maximum range of use runs from 5270 to 4102 cal BP Koch et al. 2002). Limited excavations there also revealed (1168 years) but includes one late ‘outlier’ date from each of platform mortuary deposits, interpreted as containing second- Manemanya, Kalokol, and Lothagam North sites, which ary burials (see Githinji 1999). might represent subsequent additions or renewal of activities Based on these preliminary findings, Koch (1993, 1994) (Hildebrand and Grillo 2012;Hildebrand etal. 2018). Without and Nelson (1995) proposed a Jarigole Mortuary Tradition/ these outliers, pillar sites’ maximum temporal range runs from Ossuary Complex encompassing all pillar sites within the 5270 to ~ 4500 cal BP (~ 770 years). Thus, the main expres- Turkana Basin. The complex, attributed to early herders, sion of this monumental tradition appears to have spanned somewhere between three and seven centuries. Excavations also revealed inter-site variability in architec- Note: Several versions of Nelson 1995 are in circulation: (a) the original print ture and mortuary and material cultural practices. Although all version of the Kenya Past & Present article, (b) a PDF version, (c) HTML versions of which one is currently available at http://www.chaz.org/Arch/ six sites possess pillars, the number, orientation, and position- Turkana/Jarigole/Jarigole.htm, and (d) a Word version. Not all versions of ing of the stone columns differ (Hildebrand et al. 2011). (b), (c), and (d) downloaded or exchanged between colleagues over the years Associated cairns are found at Lothagam North (n =6), have the entirety of information presented in (a). We are using (a), the original print version. Lothagam West (n = 9), and Kalokol (n = 2) but not at 6224 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 2 Orthophotographs of a Lothagam North, b Lothagam West, c Manemanya, and d Kalokol. All orthophotographs are derived from aerial images recorded via drone and Ground Control Points (GCPs) recorded via total station, processed in Photoscan Pro. Image by A.C. Hill Manemanya. Lothagam North possesses nine stone-ringed Drawing on new bioarchaeological findings, we can now circles in addition. Material culture—notably the presence/ re-evaluate earlier hypotheses about how pillar sites were con- absence of Nderit pottery and stone tool raw material structed and used. For Lothagam North, Lothagam West, and preferences—and mortuary patterns vary from site to site. Manemanya, we report funerary practices and associated ar- Caprine remains and a zoomorphic bovine palette from tefacts. We also explore the biocultural impact of environmen- Lothagam North (Hildebrand et al. 2018: Fig. 3), together tal, economic, and social transitions on early herder popula- with earlier discoveries of ceramic cattle and sheep figurines tions around Turkana as reflected in aspects of human biology. from Jarigole (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013: Fig. 3; Nelson Because excavations at Lothagam North were most extensive, 1995), provide additional support for the sites’ architects be- we present results for this site separately from Lothagam West ing herders. However, we do not know the extent to which and Manemanya. However, overarching patterns in the mor- people engaged in pastoral production (Grillo and Hildebrand tuary and osteological data provide important information on 2013;Hildebrand etal. 2018). the people who built these three sites and are pertinent to Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6225 Fig. 3 Excavation plan map of Lothagam North indicating areas with human remains (adapted from map by B. Kimeu) questions about pillar site function and the degree of cultural Among architectural features away from the platform to the homogeneity (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013). We consider east, a 2 × 1m unit in the centre of one of the stone circles whether pillar sites represent a cohesive mortuary tradition, yielded human remains, but 1 × 4m trench into the side of a and whether they reflect broadly consistent cultural and burial large cairn to the east stopped short of the likely location of practices. As little comparative information exists regarding mortuary deposits. Figure 4 illustrates excavations at other archaeologically known herding populations within and Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol. We targeted three beyond eastern Africa, this new skeletal collection will be areas at Lothagam West: one 1 × 3m trench into a cairn on the important for future research on the impacts of the transition edge of the platform, one 1 × 2m unit in the centre platform, to pastoralism. and another unit on the north edge of the platform by a cluster of pillars; the first two units yielded human remains. Excavations at Manemanya focused on a 2 × 2m trench Methods (stepping down to a 1 × 2m unit) in the centre of the platform that exposed two burials near the base of the platform de- Burials were first encountered at Lothagam North and posits. A previously excavated unit on the southeast margin Manemanya in 2009 but were not excavated because a of the site did not yield human remains (Hildebrand et al. bioarchaeologist was not present at the time (Hildebrand 2011). At Kalokol, a cairn feature on the northern extent of et al. 2011). Bioarchaeological excavations proceeded be- the site yielded probable human remains that were not exca- tween 2012 and 2014 and targeted mortuary deposits at vated. Two previous 1 × 1m units on the southeast margin of Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and the platform did not yield burial deposits. General excavation Kalokol. At Lothagam North (Fig. 3), a 2 × 2m unit in the and spatial documentation methods for all these sites are de- central platform and a 1 × 5m trench toward its western edge scribed by Hildebrand et al. (2011, 2018). both yielded burial deposits; three other 1 × 1m units near the Bioarchaeological recovery methods combined standard eastern edge of the platform did not yield human remains. field practices of exposure, mapping, and documentation 6226 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 4 Excavation plan maps of Lothagam West (upper left), Manemanya 2011. The Manemanya map is an updated version of the map presented (lower left), and Kalokol Pillar Site (right) indicating areas with human in Hildebrand et al. 2011:195. The Kalokol Pillar Site map integrates remains. The Lothagam West map is based on 2012 total station field information from maps by Soper (1982:148), Hildebrand et al. mapping by B. Kimeu, during which we noticed more and larger cairns (2011:193), and 2012 total station field mapping by B. Kimeu. All maps than during our brief 2009 observations reported in Hildebrand et al. are to the same scale through images and notes with adjustments developed in re- Consolidant was not applied to small fragments, teeth (mainly sponse to the intense sunlight and strong winds, complex stra- crowns, the roots having deteriorated), nor associated artefacts tigraphy, and poorly preserved remains. Conditions after in- (e.g., adornments). terment at all three sites—including poor water drainage, or- We recorded the perimeter of each body (where distinct) as ganic sediment, consistently warm-to-hot temperatures, and well as the margins of discernable burial pits using either a pressure from the overlying boulder and cobble fill—led to Leica or Nikon total station. We also piece-plotted selected de-mineralisation of bones and tooth roots. Once exposed to artefacts within the burial fill. In 2013 and 2014, sets of im- dry air and sunlight during excavation, bone would crack and ages were recorded for 3D photogrammetric processing at delaminate within minutes. To compensate, excavators regular intervals as well as at the end of the excavation. worked quickly after initial exposure, kept remains shaded, Ground Control Points (GCPs) were recorded for photogram- and stabilized bone as needed with consolidant (Butvar-98, metry processing using the total station and all image sets thinned with acetone). were processed using Photoscan Pro. Upon discovery, burials were shaded with UV umbrellas Secondary bundle burials—disarticulated arrangements of and cleaned with fine brushes to define the limits of the feature predominantly long bones often representing multiple and determine completeness, body position and orientation, individuals—were documented and removed following a pro- and associated features. If preservation was fair to moderate, cedure in which each bone was numbered, and photographi- samples for ancient DNA were collected directly from field cally documented from a single point a short distance from the contexts using gloves, mask, and alcohol-swabbed imple- unit before removal (Williamson et al. 2003). This permitted ments to minimize contamination. We applied consolidant subsequent determination of minimum number of individuals selectively to in situ skeletal fragments in order to preserve (MNI) and osteobiographic analysis after the feature was fully their morphology, allowing them to dry while shaded. excavated. Given the dense, overlapping nature of burials in Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6227 the central platform’s mortuary cavity, recovery focused on diameter, and maximum metacarpal lengths (per McHenry remains lying entirely within the excavation units. Skeletal 1992; Meadows and Jantz 1992;Ruffetal. 1991;Trotter elements visible in the walls were documented but not 1970; Trotter and Gleser 1952). removed. Where preservation permitted, individuals were assessed Artefacts associated with the burials were piece-plotted by for pathological changes such as cribra orbitalia, porotic hy- total station, then catalogued at the Turkana Basin Institute perostosis, DJD, dental caries, enamel hypoplastic defects, (TBI) Turkwel facility. Point provenience data were then plot- antemortem tooth loss, periodontitis, and abscessing. ted in ArcGIS. Stone and bone beads associated with specific Observations were compromised by poor preservation, partic- individuals were photographed in situ, then cross-checked ularly of cranial material. Limitations arising from poor pres- against total station data. Stone and mineral raw materials of ervation also affected our capacity to systematically assess the beads and pendants were identified using a combination of skeletal indicators of trauma, disease, and behavioural indica- visual characteristics, measurement of the specific gravity of a tors like presence of squatting facets. Skeletal and dental mea- representative sample of the bead artefacts, and archaeometric surements and non-metric data were collected following stan- methods including Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM- dard protocols (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994;Hillson 2005; EDX (described in Hildebrand et al. 2018 Supplementary Turner et al. 1991). The skeletal collections from Lothagam Information). This identification includes major classifica- North, Lothagam West, and Manemanya pillar sites are curat- tions (e.g. chalcedony) and sub-categories (e.g. carnelian, or ed at the TBI-Turkwel facility in Turkana County, Kenya. deep-red-to-red chalcedony) as well as reconstructions of the Thirty-three adult long bones were sufficiently well pre- bead manufacture. Ostrich eggshell (OES) beads at Lothagam served to make periosteal casts of estimated mid-shafts for North number in the thousands and could not always be clear- biomechanical analyses. A mould was also made of a femur ly attributed to individuals but were qualitatively noted within from the primary burial excavated from Jarigole, curated at the burials. At Lothagam North, OES beads were so numerous National Museums of Kenya (NMK) in Nairobi. We used that representative samples from certain units/levels were Exaflex Heavy Body silicone impression material to create counted to estimate the total number of beads excavated. At midshaft diaphyseal ring moulds of femora, tibiae, humeri, Manemanya and Lothagam West, beads were counted fully ulnae, radii, and clavicles. Upper limbs were moulded bilater- from all excavation contexts. Although most of the highly ally and lower limbs unilaterally, assuming symmetry of lower fragmentary faunal remains may have been deposited inadver- limb loading (Auerbach and Ruff 2006). Anatomical planes of tently as part of the burial fill, several burials included either orientation were marked to preserve correct orientation for animal-tooth adornments or near-complete faunal elements digitisation on an Epson flatbed scanner. We estimated the that we interpret as mortuary goods. These faunal remains limits of the periosteal boundary by manually tracing along the edge of the digitised moulds using a drawing tablet. were identified to element and taxon. After cleaning, reconstruction, and further consolidation Endosteal boundaries were not analysed; however, CSG prop- (as appropriate, and with tissue set aside for biomolecular erties obtained solely from periosteal contours are accurate analyses), skeletal analysis methods included assessment of (Stock and Shaw 2007; Macintosh et al. 2013). Images were age at death, sex, and other osteobiographical details using analysed using ImageJ platform (Rasband 1997–2012) with established methods (AlQahtani et al. 2010; Buikstra and the Moment Macrov1.3 plug-in (Ruff 2006) to estimate max- Ubelaker 1994; White et al. 2011). Juvenile ages at death imum (I ) and minimum (I ) bending strength. max min were determined from dental development (AlQahtani et al. The ratio of maximum to minimum bending strengths 2010) and epiphyseal fusion (White et al. 2011). Adulthood (I /I ) reflects diaphyseal shape by comparing two non- max min was determined by presence of third molars, epiphyseal fixed axes, indicating a bone’s capacity to resist bending fusion, and features like overall bone size, texture, and cor- forces (Ruff 2008). Because different activities incur various tical thickness. Adult age at death was estimated from age- degrees of long bone shaft bending, comparisons of I /I max min related osteological changes (e.g. at the pubic symphyses, may suggest differences in the types of physical behaviours auricular surfaces, and sternal rib-ends, as available) in con- undertaken in life. The incomplete nature of the skeletal ele- junction with indicators such as degree of dental wear, cra- ments precludes analyses that rely on anatomically fixed axes, nial suture obliteration, and presence of degenerative joint as well as CSG properties that must be standardized to body disease (DJD). Wherever possible, adults were grouped in- size or bone length before conducting comparisons. to younger (18–30 years), middle aged (30–50 years), and Given the dearth of Holocene eastern African comparative older (50+ years) age categories. Adult sex was determined data, pillar site individuals were compared to CSG properties by pelvic and cranial morphology following standard prac- from multiple southern African Later Stone Age (LSA) tice (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). Where possible, stature groups: hunter-gatherers inhabiting Mediterranean environ- and body mass estimates were based on a combination of in ments along the Cape Coast, hunter-gatherers involved in situ long bone measurements, maximum femur head some herding in semi-arid areas of the Central Interior, and 6228 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 hunter-gatherers more heavily engaged in herding in arid areas completely full, and 30–50 cm of rocky sediment was added, of the Namib Desert. Cape Coast I /I values were obtain- creating a mounded surface capped with rounded, uniformly max min ed using the methodology described above. Data for the sized basalt pebbles. Pillars were emplaced within the upper- Central Interior and Namib Desert southern African groups most cap deposits. were obtained using 3D surface scans (Cameron and Stock Bodies placed in the central platform did not follow a single 2018), results from which are comparable to those obtained funerary convention (Table 1). Two-thirds of the burials were with periosteal moulds (Davies et al. 2012; Cameron and primary; the others were secondary ‘bundle burials’ or fea- Pfeiffer 2014). Humerus, femur, and tibia data were available tures that were too poorly preserved to categorize by burial for all three southern African groups, whereas clavicle, radius, type. Among primary burials, the bodies were oriented in and ulna data were only available for Cape Coast individuals. multiple directions, apparently placed as space permitted: Comparisons among groups were performed using Kruskal- east-west with the head at the east (n = 11), north-south (n = Wallis ANOVAs, with Mann-Whitney U tests for subsequent 6), northeast-southwest (n = 5), south-north (n = 4), southeast- pairwise comparisons (α =0.05). northwest (n = 2), southwest-northeast (n =1), and west-east (n = 1). Skeletons with preserved cranial remains were ob- served to be facing north (n = 8), west (n = 6), east (n = 4), Results south (n = 2), northwest (n = 1), northeast (n = 1), and south- east (n = 1). Individuals tended to be flexed on one side, with Mortuary sequence arms and legs tightly contracted toward the torso and hands in front of the face. Many individuals were highly flexed to a Pillar sites appear to have functioned as mortuary repositories: degree that would have been unnatural in life, suggesting bod- all have some combination of primary and/or secondary ies may have been bound, wrapped, or shrouded in this posi- burials in platforms, stone circles, and/or cairns, and none tion prior to the onset of rigour mortis. Bundle burials were have evidence for habitation or other activity centres. commonly found to be linear arrangements of predominantly However, preliminary excavations suggest the scope, density, long bones representing parts of one or more individuals. We and architecture of the burial deposits vary among the sites. did not observe spatial or funerary patterning with respect to age, sex, or placement of the bundles—men, women, and Lothagam North children who decomposed elsewhere were placed near prima- ry interments. Red ochre staining was occasionally observed Extensive excavations at Lothagam North allowed for recon- on bones within both primary and secondary burials. None of struction of the burial sequence for deposits concentrated in the remains showed evidence of burning or cremation. the central platform (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand Once placed, primary and secondary burials were cov- et al. 2018; Hildebrand and Grillo 2012). The site’s construc- ered with rocky sediment that often included a heavy tion began with the removal of ~ 120m of Holocene beach piece of basalt (large cobble or small boulder) or sand- sands to create a deep cavity ringed with boulders and rein- stone (typically a tabular slab) on/around the head, torso, forced by sandstone slabs. The first burials were placed in pits and/or pelvis. Several of the crania are warped in a man- dug into the soft sandstone bedrock. After the floor space of ner that suggests that the resulting pressure was imposed the cavity was exhausted, subsequent bodies were added while the bodies were fresh. Over time, bodies were above the pits in various positions and orientations. Based compacted by the overburden of additional interments, on remote sensing of the mortuary cavity and the number of and their stone markers as the central platform grew into individuals recovered from a 2 ×2m unit, the platform con- a mound; some skeletons were compressed to < 5 cm in tains an estimated minimum of 580 burials (Hildebrand et al. vertical space. The overburden may also have caused re- 2018). Positions of the burials documented within this unit positioning of some bodies. Among the densely clustered illustrate the density of interments within the central platform burials of Lothagam North, there are no patterns of differ- (Fig. 5). entiationbyage,sex,ormaterialwealthasreflected by Platform fill between the burials contained high densities of the presence of personal adornment. One possible example artifacts, including lithics, ceramic sherds and a ceramic figu- of a dedicated area within the mortuary cavity was the rine fragment, stone and OES beads, and other adornments. close proximity of three infants and one young child While some artefacts (e.g. many of the stone beads) seem to (GeJi9 Burials 5, 7, 8, and 10) found at different depths have been deliberately included as part of a specific burial, but all within the southern extent of the 2 × 2m trench. others (e.g. highly fragmented pottery sherds that do not refit One stone circle was excavated at Lothagam North. It into whole vessels) appeared to be incorporated into the fill in held a bundle burial representing at least two adults and a more general way (Hildebrand et al. 2018 Supplementary one older juvenile. Bone preservation of these elements Information). Burial activities stopped before the cavity was was significantly better than was seen in the central Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6229 Fig. 5 Plan (top) and southern profile (bottom) orthophotographs of unit n04e42 with burial extents (coloured and numbered polygons) and stone beads (red marks). Burial extents are drawn around all point prove- nience data associated with each skeleton. Stone bead locations were recorded in the field via total station. Note the profile view ex- cludes burials 18 and 19 as these burials are located in a pit along the north wall that is not visible in the southern profile platform, perhaps because of the shallower depth and lack within this feature falls within the range of dates from of rocky overburden. A radiocarbon date on charcoal the central platform (Hildebrand et al. 2018), suggesting 6230 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 either contemporaneity of use or later recycling of plat- groups include (in descending order of frequency) zeolite form fill to a new context. (analcime), amazonite, talc schist (soapstone), chalcedony, volcanic rock (typically andesite, phonolite, or basalt host Other pillar sites rock), fluorite, and limestone. Individual beads made from calcite, gypsum, chlorite (schist), haematite, and an iron pre- Excavations at Lothagam West and Manemanya were less cipitate were also noted. Analcime (45%) and amazonite extensive, but it is clear that these platforms also contain mul- (32%) dominate the assemblage, making for a primarily tiple burials. Two partial individuals were recovered from pits pink-and-blue colouring. Colours range from orange/red within the central platform at Lothagam West, with additional (chalcedonies), deep to light purple (fluorites), dark green pit features visible in profile. At Manemanya, the lower 1 × (talc), off-white (limestone), and shades of black (volcanics); 2m step of excavations into the platform encountered the feet a brilliant white scolecite (zeolite) bead and a haematite- of an arthritic adult jutting perpendicularly over a burial of a cemented sandstone pendent add lustre to the collection. young adult woman. Their positioning suggests the presence Many of these stones and minerals are also represented in of diversely oriented burials, similar to Lothagam North. the collections from Jarigole, including amazonite (Nelson Platform deposits at both sites were shallower than at 1995). Lothagam North, and we encountered sterile substrates be- Most were shaped into round beads of varying sizes; other neath the lowest burials. At Kalokol, no human remains were forms included pendants, and incomplete circles that may encountered during 2009 excavations into the platform, al- have been designed as earrings. Jewellery observed in situ though our units were placed along the southeast periphery includes single ornaments (e.g. an amazonite ‘earring’ with which may have been outside the extent of burial deposits (see GeJi9 B-29), groupings manufactured from a single type of Fig. 4). mineral (e.g. a necklace made of amazonite beads and pen- Cairns at Lothagam West and Kalokol contained burials, dants with GeJi9 B-19), and groupings that included various but these interments may post-date creation of the central plat- combinations of raw materials, colours, and forms (e.g. ama- forms at their respective sites. At Lothagam West, a ~ 5-year- zonite, basalt, analcime and stromatolite stone beads and or- old child was recovered from the centre of a cairn just east of ganic beads with GeJi9 B-12) (Fig. 6). Mineralogical surveys the central platform on the opposite side of the line of pillars. of the region suggest that many of the raw materials, such as Excavation of the cairn’s margins revealed it to have been dug the zeolite and chalcedony, could have been sourced close to into platform deposits. At Kalokol, excavations of one cairn in Lothagam North. Other materials such as the fluorite and am- 2012 revealed a central pit containing probable human re- azonite could have come from the Rift Valley, but from more mains which were not excavated; this feature also intruded distant and more distinct (i.e. unitary) sources. Bone beads into pre-existing platform deposits. In 2017, local collabora- made from fragile, small faunal diaphyses were also found tors reported looting of a different cairn located just west of the (GeJi9 B-12, see Fig. 6). OES beads were ubiquitous through- site, approximately 20 m away from the platform outside the out the central platform deposits. Bead counts from a repre- curb. Fragmentary human remains were salvaged, but the de- sentative subset of four units (of the excavated ten) yielded gree of sun-bleaching and weathering indicated they had been 522 whole and 37 partial OES beads, suggesting a total of exposed for some time. The poorly preserved bones belong to 1250–1500 OES beads for the Lothagam North excavated at least one adult; age and sex could not be determined. The units. antiquity of the cairns at Kalokol and their association with the Other grave goods from Lothagam North include faunal ele- platform and pillars remain unclear. ments; some apparently incorporated into garments. Around the occipital portion of the skull of GeJi9 B-3, 405 gerbil Cultural materials from the burials (Gerbiliscus sp.) incisors representing at least 113 animals were configured in a bricklike lattice pattern, suggesting they had been Lothagam North fixed to a headpiece or wrap whose supporting material did not preserve. GeJi9 B-4’s torso was found with 49 hyrax (cf. Ornaments, primarily stone and OES beads, were the most Heterohyrax sp.) upper incisors from at least 25 animals. Ivory common artefacts found in direct association with burials. ornaments and bangles were found with several of the burials. We recovered 302 stone beads/pendants from deposits at GeJi9 B-26A wasburied nextto12perforatedhippo Lothagam North, of which 173 were directly associated with (Hippopotamus amphibious) tusks that may have been strung 20 of the 31 excavated burial features (Table 2, Fig. 5). Other together and worn. This feature overlaid a bundle burial contain- burials likely also contained beads, but the proximity of bod- ing three skulls facing into the ground as well as commingled ies and rocky matrix made it difficult to associate items with post-cranial bones (GeJi9 B-26B/C/D). East of the platform, an specific skeletons. Stone beads span a range of raw materials, unmodified Nile softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) vertebra was found within the stone circle bundle burial (GeJi9 B-6). These colours, and forms (Hildebrand et al. 2018). Mineral and rock Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6231 Table 1 Mortuary context for burials excavated from GeJi9, GeJi10, and GcJh5 (Ad, adult, Juv, juvenile, M, male, F, female, M?, probable male, F?, probable female,?, sex undetermined) Burial MNI Burial Age/Sex Position Side Orientation Facing Burial context Type (head) LOTHAGAM NORTH (GeJi9) 1 1 Primary Ad/M Prone, flexed N-S E Boulder on torso, arms and legs flexed beneath body, one hand by face 2 1 Primary Ad/M Prone, flexed R N-S/SW W Directly below B-1, left arm/leg partly extended (slumped) 3 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed L E-W N-NE Tightly flexed/crouched, slumped onto left side 4 1 Primary Ad/? Flexed ? N-SE 5 1 Primary Infant Poorly preserved neonate 63 Secondary Ad/M, Bundle N-S Bundle with parts of 3 disarticulated individuals, in pit in Ad/?, centre of stone circle Juv 7 1 Primary Infant Flexed R NE-SW SE 8 1 Primary Infant Supine N-S Up Neonate, right arm beneath torso 9 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R E-W N/NW Left arm flexed around head, face in elbow. Ring of rocks around head, slab on torso 10 1 Primary Juv Flexed L N-S E Slab on torso 11 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R NE-SW N/NW Slab on head and body, left arm flexed but shoulder high 12 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed R E-W N Slab over pelvis, left arm by chest, right arm semi-flexed under knees 13 1 Secondary Ad/M? Bundle SE-NW 14 1 Primary Ad/F? Prone E-W W/NW Slab over torso, right arm and lower body absent 15 3 Primary 2 Ad/F? Flexed R/R/? N-S/N-S/E-W? W/W/S? Double burial with two flexed adults, third poorly preserved Ad/? individual near feet 16 2 Primary, 2 Ad/? SE-NW Commingled remains of several poorly preserved Secon- (bundle) individuals, at least 1 flexed primary and 1 bundle burial dary 17 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R NE-SW NW? Poorly preserved burial on top of pit 18 2 Primary 2 Ad/M Flexed R/R E-W/NE-SW N/N Double burial inside bedrock pit, one on top of the other 19 1 Primary Juv/F? L E-W S Poorly preserved burial of ~16 year old in bedrock pit 20 1 Primary Ad/F? Flexed R E-W W Boulder on head, tightly flexed 21 2 Primary Ad/M? Prone/Flexed R E-W Flexed, slumped onto stomach. Found with additional Ad/F? isolated right os coxa 22 2 Primary? Ad/M?Ad/? N-S/NW-SE Poorly preserved and commingled remains of at least two individuals 23 1 Primary Ad/F Flexed R E-W NW Lying on bedrock, slabs on head and torso 24 3 Primary Ad/F, Ad/?, Flexed R NE-SW W Primary burial in bedrock pit with parts of second adult and Infant child. Head resting on edge of pit, body curled around possible grindstone 25 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed L N-S E In bedrock pit, slabs on head, shoulders, forearms, and knees 26 4 Primary, Ad/M, Flexed, R/− E-W/E-W N/down Primary burial with slab on torso, head between two Secon- 2Ad/M? Bundle boulders, overlying bundle burial with three dary Ad/? disarticulated skulls under boulders and commingled postcrania 27 1 Primary Ad/? Flexed L NE-SW S/down In bedrock pit 28 1 Secondary Ad/F Supine S-N Secondary burial of an isolated pelvis 29 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R E-W N/down In bedrock pit, slab on head and torso 30 1 Primary Ad/M? Flexed R NW-SE NE In bedrock pit A0 1 Primary Infant Head beneath two slabs LOTHAGAM WEST (GeJi1)0 1 1 ? Juv? Ribs displaced from an unexcavated pit 2 1 Primary Juv R N-S W Child in centre of cairn, skull beneath two large boulders 6232 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Table 1 (continued) Burial MNI Burial Age/Sex Position Side Orientation Facing Burial context Type (head) 3 1 Primary Ad/M Flexed L N-S E In bedrock pit, body on steep incline with head low and feet high, covered in cobbles MANEMANYA GcJh5 1 1 Primary Ad/F Partly flexed R N-S NW Upper body supine, arms extended, legs tightly flexed. Large boulder on skull, body covered with smaller cobbles. Charcoal/ash beneath the body 2 1 Primary? Ad/? Articulated feet extending over the torso of Manemanya Burial 1, rest of burial unexcavated examples stand apart from other faunal remains recovered from Asnoted,weencounteredapairoffeetfromasecondindividual burial fill, which were highly fragmentary and generally could above GcJh5 B-1’s torso and observed human bone in the walls of only be identified to mammal, bird, or fish categories. the 1 × 2m lower trench, indicating other burials are present in deeper reaches of the platform.Further excavation would be need- edtodetermineifthedegreeofornamentationseenwiththeyoung Other sites womanwastypical,orifthisindividualrepresentsanunusualcase. The stone beads at Manemanya are similar to one another Only one complete burial was excavated from Manemanya, in size and shape (as seen in Fig. 7). They were fashioned from but the feature included extensive cultural material (Fig. 7). raw materials different from those used at Lothagam North. The torso of a probable woman in her late 20s to early 30s They are almost exclusively calcite, with one bead made from (GcJh5 B-1) was covered by 329 stone beads of somewhat sandstone. With colour variations only slight (off-white to soft diverse shapes and sizes, further accompanied by at least 9559 pink), the Manemanya beads lack the dramatic hues of the whole and 978 broken OES beads. Beads were densely con- Lothagam North assemblage, but their larger dimensions centrated on and immediately around her body, suggesting would still have strong visual impact. Their materials would they were contained with the body within a wrap or shroud. have been readily available and are easier to work than some She was buried on her back with her arms at her sides and legs of the harder materials (e.g. chalcedonies) found at Lothagam tightly flexed to the right. The body appeared to have been lain North. The seemingly simpler material technology of the on a relatively flat, undisturbed surface. There was charcoal GcJh5 B-1 assemblage, however, is contrasted by the number beneath the body. She wore a necklace that included five of accompanying beads. This one burial yielded a stone bead gourd-shaped stone beads. Hundreds of larger, round stone count equivalent to 30 burials at Lothagam North, and more beads encircled her torso and pelvis in linear arrangements, than five times the estimated number of ostrich eggshell beads suggesting they were part of a garment. Twenty-six exception- from Lothagam North’s larger mortuary excavation area. ally small OES beads clustered bilaterally near her ears, prob- The other two excavated pillar sites, Kalokol and ably worn as elaborate earrings, while staggered dyads of Lothagam West, yielded fewer burials and, unsurprisingly, slightly larger OES beads likely decorated a garment or plack- almost no burial goods. Only ~ 10 OES beads total were re- et extending down her legs. Numerous strands of OES beads covered from Lothagam West, most of which were in associ- were draped over her rib cage, spine, and pelvis but did not ation with the most complete burial GeJi10 B-3. No beads extend beneath her torso, nor did they go around her neck. In were recovered from Kalokol. addition to beads, she wore perforated carnivore teeth as ornaments—pendants on her upper torso made from lion The human remains (Panthera leo) and hyena (Hyaena hyaena) teeth, and a brace- let of 42 canid (Canis sp.) teeth around her left wrist (Fig. 7). Skeletons excavated from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, An ivory bangle encircled her right wrist. An unidentified, and Manemanya represent both males and females, and range badly degraded composite object made of worked bone and in age from neonates to the elderly (Table 3, n =49).Of the 39 ivory was found near her right shoulder. The perforation of the adults and one older adolescent in this sample, 18 are probable bone component suggests it was worn or hung, and the size of males and 12 are probable females. Ten individuals are too its bone and ivory components are consistent with a very large poorly preserved or incomplete to estimate sex. Of the indi- animal, possibly hippo. viduals whose ages at death could be estimated, eight are Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6233 Table 2 Ornamentation and other inclusions for burials excavated from GeJi9, GeJi10, and GcJh5 Burial Stone bead Stone bead materials Ornament description Other inclusions (n) Lothagam North GeJi9 1 1 Volcanic (basalt) Stone bead at neck 2 5 Amazonite Stone earring at left temporal, stone beads at neck 3 5 Talc, chalcedony (carnelian), scolecite Gerbil-tooth headpiece, stone earring, stone beads near knees, ivory bangles on left arm 4 24 Amazonite, analcime, limestone (stromatolite) Stone beads and earring, hyrax teeth lying on chest 5 OES beads at wrist 6 Turtle vertebra 7 2 Amazonite Stone beads at neck, OES at pelvis 8 1 Amazonite Stone bead at right arm 9 5 Amazonite, talc Stone bead necklace 10 1 Stone and OES beads at neck, OES at pelvis 11 8 Amazonite, volcanic (basalt), fluorite Stone and OES beads at neck 12 12 Amazonite, volcanic (basalt), analcime, limestone Stone beads at neck, stone earring near Ochre staining on (stromatolite) forearm, ivory at chest, bone beads skull at hip and left ankle 13 Ochre-stained rock 14 1 Limestone (stromatolite) Beads and earring at neck, ivory squares at chest 15 19 Analcime Stone beads around two individuals’ necks, Ochre staining on ivory bangle around one wrist skull 16 Bone and OES beads, ivory squares, and possible tusk 17 None recovered 18 None recovered 19 33 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Stone bead necklace 20 1 Amazonite Stone and OES beads within burial fill 21 OES beads within burial fill Ochre staining on arms, torso, cranium 22 Four ivory rings on one left hand, beads by right hand 23 1 Analcime Stone bead necklace 24 2 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Stone bead necklace, OES beads near pelvis, Possible grindstone stone and OES beads within burial fill 25 1 Talc Stone bead near mandible 26 29 Amazonite, analcime, ivory Twelve perforated hippo tusks, stone and bone Zoomorphic stone bead necklace with primary burial; stone bead palette necklace, earring, loose stone beads, and ivory (between 26 and ring within bundle burial 29) 27 2 Fluorite, volcanic (basalt) Stone beads and ivory within burial fill, OES beads near left shoulder 28 None recovered 29 1 Amazonite Stone bead within burial fill Zoomorphic stone palette (between 26 and 29) 30 None recovered A0 OES beads within burial fill Lothagam West GeJi10 3 3 OES beads within burial fill Manemanya GcJh5 1 329 Rhyolite, calcite, sandstone Abundant stone and OES beads covering body, Ivory and modified perforated carnivore teeth pendants and bracelet, bone ivory bangles object found near body 2 6234 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 young adults (~ 18–30 years), 10 are middle-aged (~ 30– skeletons prevents systematic scoring of all joint surfaces. 50 years), and five appear to be elderly (50+). Sixteen could OA is found more commonly among the middle-aged adults only be assessed as adult. Five infants (newborn to 2 years) (5 of 8 observed, 63%) and older adults (3 of 4 observed, and five juveniles (2 to 18 years) were also recovered. The 75%) compared to the young adults. Distribution is relatively scarcity of complete long bones limited estimations of stature, equal between the sexes. mass, and proportionality. Based on a small sample of adults, Among the dentitions, two of the 25 individuals possess males’ stature averaged around 169 cm (n = 9) and females caries (n = 3 of 331 teeth that could be assessed), and all cases were around 163 cm (n = 3) (methods per Meadows and are slight. Tooth wear is moderate: the average mandibular Jantz 1992; Trotter 1970; Trotter and Gleser 1952). Average third molar wear score is 2.4 (n = 14), where cusps are mod- body mass estimated from femur head size is approximately erately blunted with only pinpoint dentine exposure, if any 62 kg (n = 3, all probable males) (McHenry 1992;Ruffetal. (Smith 1984). Dental calculus is pervasive, particularly in 1991). Coefficients of variation (CV) for metric variables with older adults. Calculus is present on most teeth that could be asample size of ≥ 10 are relatively low (mean = 13.28%, n = scored (66%, n = 426 teeth assessed). The only case of 20 variables) suggesting that the people buried at these sites abscessing was observed in GeJi9 B-25 on the left maxilla may constitute a deme—a subgroup of closely related individ- around the left second premolar, with a fistula leading into uals (Table 4). the maxillary sinus. The partial dentition of this elderly man also has large calculus deposits. Periodontal disease and ante- Indicators of health mortem tooth loss are rare, although poor preservation of jaws and alveolar tissue made these processes difficult to study. By We noted no indications of endemic disease or violent causes contrast, enamel hypoplasias are seen in 68% of individuals (n = 13/19 dentitions that could be scored). Defects include of death. The most commonly observed pathological features transverse lines (linear enamel hypoplasia, or LEH), grooves, are osteoarthritis, dental hypoplasias, and healed fractures. Osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative joint disease (DJD), and pits. The crania of only five of 49 individuals could be assessed characterized by articular cartilage destruction and associated bony porosity and lipping at joints, are relatively common for cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. An adult woman (GeJi9 B-24A) presents the sole case, with cribriform lesions among the adults. Twenty of the 39 adults have preserved joint surfaces that could be scored for OA, of which 14 skeletons visible on the orbital roof paired with minor periosteal activity on the right supraorbital area. Another individual, an elderly (70%) show some combination of osteophytes, lipping, and/or eburnation. These were typically observed in the spine, shoul- male over 50 years old (GeJi10 B-3), has indications of low bone mass suggestive of osteoporosis. ders, knees, and feet, although differential preservation of Fig. 6 Examples of stone beads accompanying the burials within Lothagam North’scentral platform, including a GeJi9 B-12’s assemblage of analcime, stromatolite, amazonite, carnelian, and talc (soapstone) beads, found in conjunction with a bone point; b GeJi9 B-19’sas- semblage of primarily amazonite beads and pendants as well as a broken analcime bead and a frag- ment of rodent tooth/ivory; and c a large amazonite ‘earring’ found with GeJi9 B-29. Image by Carla Klehm Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6235 Fig. 7 Examples of stone, shell, and bone adornments found with GcJh5 B-1 at Manemanya. These include (A) ivory fragments, Hyaena hyaena pendant, and Canis sp. tooth bracelet beads; (B) an unidentified bone and ivo- ry object; (C) large and small os- trich eggshell beads; (D) an ivory bracelet, pendant, and other frag- ments; and (E) numerous large calcite stone beads strung into necklaces, many of which were found still in situ and strung in order (as pictured here). Image by Carla Klehm Cases of possible infectious disease include GeJi9 B-7, an the well-preserved right side, may be related to the pattern of infant aged 6 to 12 months whose frontal bone shows disor- greater wear on the right side of the dentition, greater dental ganized new bone endocranially, on the squamous portion. calculus on the left side, and asymmetry in the mandibular The endocranial bone is highly thickened and vascularized rami. The right mandibular ramus is more prominently but the outer table appears normal, consistent with a non- inverted at gonion, with asymmetries extending through the specific indicator of haemorrhage or infection (Lewis 2004). submandibular fossa region (inferior to the mylohyoid line). GeJi9 B-21A (male, 20–30 years) and GeJi9 B-28 (female, Other distinguishing features of her skull include four large 30–40 years) both show non-taphonomic erosion around the wormian bones and a notably thin occipital squamous portion pubic symphysis from either infection or pelvic stress injury. which, taken in concert, may suggest a congenital or develop- We also documented healed fractures on various fingers, toes, mental origin for the asymmetry. Facial asymmetry can arise and ribs on three individuals (GeJi9 B-1, B-2, B-25). Healed from congenital, developmental, and acquired factors fractures may also account for mild OA on two rib heads of (Thiesen et al. 2015). One possibility in this case is congenital GcJh5 B-1 and a discrepancy in femur lengths in GeJi9 B-6A. muscular torticollis (wry-neck). Limited ranges of motion and The young woman from Manemanya buried with thou- repose can lead to asymmetries of the face and head (Nilesh sands of beads (GcJh5 B-1) shows several skeletal anomalies and Mukherji 2013). Given that she was also relatively tall (~ that suggest asymmetries to her face and jaw. Her left zygo- 170-180 cm, based on estimated maximum femur length, matic bears a bony spur along the temporal margin where the measured in situ), perhaps her appearance and bearing were temporal fascia attach. This feature, which is not present on in some ways linked to her burial treatment. Table 3 Estimated age/sex of excavated individuals (n =49) Site Probable M Probable F Juvenile/ Birth-2 years Juvenile Young adult Middle adult Older adult Adult undetermined 2–18 (18–30) (30–50) (50+) (18– 50+) GeJi9 17 11 16 5 3 7 10 4 15 GeJi10 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 GcJh5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 6236 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Table 4 Statistical summary of measurements (all in mm) for which Table 5 Cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties for pillar site ≥10 adults could be assessed individuals Bone Variable Adults (n) Mean S.D. C.V. Skeleton Est.SexSideI / max min Mandible Condyle (ant-pos) 12 9.27 1.16 12.56 HUMERUS Condyle (med-lat) 12 19.86 2.47 12.46 GcJh5 B-1 F L 1.16 Clavicle Midshaft (ant-pos) 14 11.30 1.47 13.03 GcJh5 B-1 F R 1.49 Midshaft (sup-inf) 14 9.91 1.58 15.89 GeJi9 B-6A M R 1.55 Circumference 11 38.32 3.14 8.20 GeJi9 B-6B ? – 1.53 Humerus Midshaft (max) 11 19.87 1.94 9.76 GeJi9 B-3 M? L 2.23 Midshaft (min) 11 17.38 2.49 14.33 GeJi9 B-3 M? R 1.77 Capitate Length 11 20.87 2.96 14.18 GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.78 Width 10 19.20 2.81 14.61 GeJi9 B-11 F L 1.45 Depth 10 13.41 3.28 24.47 GeJi9 B-18B M R 2.02 Hamate Length 10 20.86 2.06 9.89 GeJi9 B-20 F? R 1.39 Width 11 18.08 2.91 16.08 FEMUR Depth 11 16.60 5.49 33.06 GcJh5 B-1 F R 1.44 Lunate Length 10 16.29 1.82 11.19 GeJi9 B-6A" M L 2.21 Width 10 14.89 1.83 12.28 GeJi9 B-6A" M R 1.75 3rd metacarpal Midshaft (med-lat) 10 8.60 0.70 8.20 GeJi9 B-9 F R 1.39 Midshaft (dors-palm) 10 7.91 0.66 8.37 GeJi9 B-11 F R 1.72 Base (dors-palm) 10 14.58 1.53 10.48 GeJI9 B-12 M R 1.03 Patella Length 10 37.74 3.04 8.05 GeJi10 B-3 M R 2.47 Depth 12 19.22 1.64 8.51 GbJj1 B-1 M R 1.81 Average 13.28 TIBIA GeJi9 B-6A M R 2.61 Biomechanical indicators of mobility CLAVICLE GeJi9 B-3 M? L 1.49 Biomechanical measures obtained from the 34 eligible GeJi9 B-3 M? R 1.39 midshaft elements are presented in Table 5. Table 6 contains GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.54 mean values for elements analysed as well as summary data GeJi9 B15A F? R 2.11 for the southern African comparative groups. For all skeletal GeJi9 B-18B M L 2.04 elements, I /I values fall within the range of variation of max min GeJi9 B-20 F? L 1.60 the southern African herding and foraging groups (examples GeJi9 B-26A M L 2.13 in Fig. 8). There are no significant differences in I /I for max min GeJi9 B-26A ? R 1.45 any of the upper limb elements. The I /I values for the max min ULNA pillar site tibia and femora recovered are comparatively high GeJi9 B-3 M? L 1.58 relative to the southern African groups; however, tibia CSG GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.68 property data are very limited. For the femora, there are sig- GeJi9 B-18B M R 1.15 nificant differences between the four groups considered (p = GeJi9 B-30 M L 1.27 0.00). However, there are no pairwise significant differences, RADIUS likely due to the small sample sizes. GeJi9 B-9 F L 1.48 GeJi9 B-9 F R 1.41 GeJi9 B-18B M R 1.46 Discussion Bioarchaeological insights from the western pillar sites offer buried there. These results advance our knowledge on three fresh perspectives on the construction and use of pillar sites, as distinct fronts: mortuary behaviours at these sites, patterns of well as novel insights into the lived experienced of those Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6237 Table 6 Results of Kruskal-Willis ANOVAs comparing I /I CSG max min work has now confirmed the presence of burials in the central properties platform at Lothagam West, and in potentially younger cairn features at Lothagam West and Kalokol. The presence of a Element Sample n Mean S.D. p value mortuary cavity in Kalokol’s platform, beneath a centrally Left humerus Cape coast 75 1.56 0.20 positioned acacia tree, seems possible and may be tested with Central interior 36 1.52 0.26 additional excavations. Namib Desert 10 1.59 0.20 The ‘Jarigole Mortuary Tradition’ can now be revised. Pillar Sites 5 1.63 0.40 Although secondary bundle burials were present within plat- 0.489 form deposits at Lothagam North, most interments were pri- Right humerus Cape coast 67 1.65 0.21 mary, as were the few burials excavated at Lothagam West and Central interior 32 1.51 0.23 Manemanya. ‘Clothed’ bodies, at least with adornments, had Namib Desert 12 1.64 0.20 been prepared for individual placement. At Lothagam North, Pillar Sites 6 1.57 0.30 both primary and secondary burials were present as discrete 0.764 features and are likely to have been the source of the isolated Femora Cape coast 66 1.65 0.27 fragments found between the bodies within the cobble-filled Central interior 47 1.41 0.24 matrix. None of the western site platforms resemble ossuaries Namib Desert 17 1.40 0.27 strictly intended for secondary remains, and we did not ob- Pillar Sites 8 1.73 0.46 serve the degree of commingling reported at Jarigole (Nelson 1995). Most human remains recovered from Jarigole are frag- 0.000 Tibia Cape coast 44 2.46 0.44 ments and/or small, mobile elements such as teeth (personal observation, National Museums of Kenya), similar to those Central interior 43 2.26 0.40 observed in the ~ 50 cm upper cap deposits at Lothagam Namib Desert 16 2.15 0.39 North. Future excavations at Jarigole targeting deeper deposits Pillar Sites 1 2.61 would test the hypothesis that primary burials exist in deeper 0.084 strata. We do not know whether the architecture of the mortu- Left clavicle Cape coast 36 1.95 0.33 ary cavity and density of burials at Lothagam North are typi- Pillar Sites 5 1.76 0.30 cal. Although multiple burials were encountered at Lothagam 0.162 West and Manemanya, neither site presented the deeply strat- Right clavicle Cape coast 41 1.85 0.40 ified mortuary deposits observed at Lothagam North (Fig. 5). Pillar Sites 3 1.65 0.40 Based on available evidence, pillar sites are cemeteries, 0.321 although the extent to which this was their primary function Left ulna Cape coast 34 1.39 0.25 remains unclear. Most of the burials are primary, indicating Pillar Sites 3 1.51 0.22 that people were brought to the site shortly after death, con- 0.293 tradicting previous notions. This fact raises additional ques- Right ulna Cape coast 32 1.36 0.22 tions about mobility, social organization, and funerary prac- Pillar Sites 1 2.04 tices among groups who used these sites. Was each pillar site Left radius Cape coast 36 1.41 0.19 used by a specific group and/or extended family who either Pillar Sites 1 1.48 lived nearby or travelled great distances immediately after a 0.757 death? Or were individuals interred based on when and where Right radius Cape coast 33 1.51 0.22 they died or some combination of other factors? Why were Pillar Sites 2 1.43 0.04 some people included as secondary burials? And did funerals 0.659 trigger large community gatherings or were they smaller af- fairs carried out by a subset of relatives? To answer these questions, we need more information about who was buried inter-site variability, and skeletal indicators of health, disease, at specific pillar sites and in what contexts. As research to date and mobility among eastern Africa’s first herders. has focused largely on Lothagam North, future excavations should target other sites, particularly Kalokol and Mortuary patterns at the pillar sites Manemanya, to probe patterns of mortuary variation. Excavations at the four pillar sites west of Lake Turkana lend Intra-site variability: personal adornment additional support for the hypothesis that the pillar sites func- tioned as cemeteries. Building on previous identifications of Although material culture varies among the western pillar human remains at Lothagam North and Manemanya, our sites (Grillo and Hildebrand 2013; Hildebrand et al. 2011), 6238 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 Fig. 8 CSG I /I ratios for humerus and femur midshafts for the pillar site sample compared to southern African Later Stone Age Cape Coastal, max min Central Interior, and Namib Desert foragers and herders bioarchaeological excavations add another layer of complex- Manemanya may reveal whether this burial’s degree and types ity: items directly associated with buried people. With a few of ornamentation were exceptional or the norm. potential exceptions, such as the bone and ivory object at Bead and other burial inclusion differences between Manemanya and the zoomorphic palette at Lothagam North, Lothagam North and Manemanya, and between these sites all examples appear to be adornments rather than burial gifts. and Lothagam West and Kalokol (where few to no beads were At Lothagam North, stone beads were associated with most recovered) are topics that merit further investigation. Grillo primary burials in the central platform in diverse combinations and Hildebrand (2013) note that differences between pillar of number, raw material, and colour (Figs. 5 and 6, Table 2). sites do not easily track with geography or time; Lothagam Although some of the stones may have originated nearby, North and Jarigole are the most artifactually similar despite others would have come from more distant and distinct their positions on opposite sides of the lake (~ 300 km apart by sources. Beads were found with men, women, and children, land and ~ 100 km by water), while Lothagam North and West and they varied in pattern from person to person. Burials that are quite different despite close proximity and evidence of use could not be associated with any ornamentation were also the within the same 60-year period. Because it can be assumed most incomplete and poorly preserved, so may have been that the people using the two contemporaneous pillar sites on associated with other beads found in the platform fill. The Lothagam were aware of each other, differences in material ubiquity of beads with the burials suggests that interment with culture must reflect some other aspect of function, identity, or adornment was the norm. Patterns of bead distribution, com- preference. That said, some aspects of this tradition could well bined with the presence of men, women, and children within have shifted over the centuries-long span of pillar site activity, the central platform, suggests minimal social stratification and later burial events may reflect very different dynamics and among people buried there (Hildebrand et al. 2018). social organisation those from earlier times. The elaborate burial encountered at Manemanya (GcJh5 B-1) may reflect unique circumstances. The unidentified items Skeletal indicators for health, disease, and activity lain to her right and the strands of beads strewn on her body after interment distinguish this burial from those at Lothagam This new skeletal sample represents one of the largest collec- North, where almost all adornments could have been worn by tions from across eastern Africa, and the only one known to the deceased. The hundreds of stone beads and thousands of represent the region’s earliest food producers. OES beads covering her body may signify special status or Bioarchaeological datasets provide a first glimpse into who identity within the group. Stone bead raw materials are quite was buried at the pillar sites and their lived experiences. different from those observed at Lothagam North and Jarigole. Burials at Lothagam North seemingly represent a cross- Calcite and sandstone that would have been readily available section of a community in terms of age and sex, suggesting from local sources are dominant at Manemanya. Other orna- most members of the group may have been buried there. ments, such as the perforated lion tooth pendant, were likely While excavations at the other sites have been more minimal, difficult to procure, suggesting her bead choices may have the cairn burial of a child at Lothagam West and heavily been stylistic rather than economic. Future excavations at ornamented young woman at Manemanya raise other Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 6239 questions about early herder social organization. Coast foragers can be interpreted in two ways: either early Circumstances leading to burial within a pillar site remain an herders around Lake Turkana moved across comparably com- ongoing topic of investigation. plex (but not necessarily similar) terrain or their terrestrial Skeletal analyses provide several insights into the lives of mobility patterns were sufficiently intense to produce an these individuals. Prevalent conditions like OA suggest that equivalently high signal. These possibilities provide a starting people were living many years into adulthood, and evidence point for further study of mid-Holocene Turkana landscapes for more serious diseases and/or traumatic injuries is rare. and how people were moving across them. However, interpre- However, systematic assessments were limited by the frag- tation is limited by the small number of skeletons that were mentary nature of the remains, particularly the crania which complete enough to assess for CSG properties, as well as the were often crushed by a heavy boulder or slab. Dental health lack of eastern African comparative samples. was relatively good with slight wear and low rates of caries, It is difficult to contextualize those buried at the pillar sites but a high prevalence of dental calculus. A non-cariogenic diet among other human populations because we know little about low in carbohydrates seems to have been more influential in the health of ancient herders or forager societies transitioning deterring carious lesions than rapid tooth wear or cleaning (for to mobile pastoralism. Research on contemporary African which there is no evidence). Most individuals exhibit enamel pastoralists facing sedentarisation suggests that nomadic hypoplasias suggesting some health stressors during develop- groups maintain lower levels of malnutrition and morbidity ment. LEH rates are likely underestimates as the teeth were than settled groups, although this is complicated by other fac- too fragile to cast for microscopic study; future work will tors such as access to medical care (Fratkin and Abella Roth require a novel approach. 2005). Some attributes of the western pillar site sample, such Limb CSG properties fall within the range of southern as their low rates of dental caries and infectious disease, may African foragers whose subsistence patterns required them to indicate similar diet and health patterns between ancient and move frequently across the landscape. Upper limb I /I contemporary mobile pastoralists in eastern Africa. Skeletal max min values suggest that early herder lifeways around Lake evidence consistent with high mobility and/or mobility across Turkana required similar types of limb activities as those used complex terrain suggests other potential parallels. Ongoing by prehistoric southern African populations, although this bioarchaeological work at the pillar sites, as well as fisher- cannot be associated with a specific activity or movement forager sites in Turkana such as Lothagam Lokam type. Southern African forager upper limb CSG properties (Goldstein et al. 2017), may provide additional insights into differ from those of contemporary swimmers (Shaw and the biocultural impacts of the transition to herding as well as Stock 2013), as well as from archaeological groups who en- permit comparisons of health and behaviour between past vs. gaged in watercraft use (Stock and Pfeiffer 2001). present-day pastoralists. Comparable upper limb morphologies suggest that the people at the pillar sites around Lake Turkana likely did not engage in heavy use of watercraft (i.e. paddling) or frequent bouts of Conclusions vigorous swimming to obtain freshwater resources. There are significant differences between the femur I / Bioarchaeological investigations at four megalithic pillar sites max I values among the four groups, although no pairwise dif- west of Lake Turkana have revealed important information on min ferences reach significance. Pillar site femur I /I values the behaviour and biology of the first herders in eastern Africa. max min are higher than Central Interior and Namib Desert values, and Our findings confirm some previous assumptions about this most similar to those of Cape Coast foragers (Fig. 8). Greater mortuary tradition and challenge others. All pillar sites do lower limb I /I values have been associated with mobility appear to have mortuary components, and at least one max min across complex (but not necessarily high relief) terrain (Lothagam North) likely accommodated hundreds of people. (Higgins 2014), as well as unidirectional lower limb move- However, most burials on the west side of Lake Turkana are ment, such as those undertaken by marathon runners (Shaw primary. This indicates that people were usually buried shortly and Stock 2009). Although both factors are known to produce after death rather than receiving prior treatment and subse- high I /I ratios, it is not possible to determine which quent inclusion as secondary burials (although both types of max min factor was the primary driver in archaeological samples. burial are present at Lothagam North). Further work is needed Among the Cape Coast foragers, high values are attributed to discern whether primary burials predominate in deeper de- to an intensive mobile foraging lifestyle in a region with com- posits at pillar sites on the east side of the lake, and the extent plex terrain, including rocky shorelines (Stock and Pfeiffer of mortuary deposits at Lothagam West, Manemanya, and 2004;Cameron andStock 2018). Slightly lower values among Kalokol. Coastal Interior and Namib Desert groups likely reflect high Stone and OES beads recovered from Lothagam North are mobility but on less-complex landscapes (Cameron and Stock similar to those previously excavated from Jarigole, but at 2018). Similarities between the pillar site sample and Cape Lothagam North, their function as adornments within primary 6240 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:6221–6241 interments is clear. The presence of beads with most burials, References without apparent patterning regarding age and sex, suggests AlQahtani SJ, Hector MP, Liversidge HM (2010) Brief communication: the absence of strong social hierarchies (Hildebrand et al. the London atlas of human tooth development and eruption. Am J 2018). However, an elaborate burial excavated from Phys Anthropol 142:481–490 Manemanya with thousands of beads, many of types distinct Auerbach BM, Ruff CB (2006) Limb bone bilateral asymmetry: variabil- from those at Lothagam North, raises additional questions ity and commonality among modern humans. J Hum Evol 50(2): 203–218 about material cultural variability among pillar sites and the Barthelme JW (1977) Holocene sites north of Lake Turkana. Azania 12: complexity of social roles within these communities. 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Earth Planet Sc Acknowledgements We thank the people of Turkana County, the Lett 331-332:322–334 National Museums of Kenya, and Kenya’s National Council of Science Gifford-Gonzalez D (2017) “Animal disease challenges” fifteen year lat- and Technology for the permission to conduct research. LPWT crew er: the hypothesis in light of new data. Quat Int 436:283–293 members who assisted with excavations include P. Adupu, S. Githinji CK (1999) Il Lokeridede: a Pastoral Neolithic mortuary site east Derbyshire, A. DeRenzis, L.E. Doyle, H. Duke, M. Ekaale, M. Eyane, of Lake Turkana, Kenya. Unpublished MA thesis, University of F. Ekai, J. Ekusi, A. Ekutaan, J. Etabo, L. Hu, B. Kimeu, L. Lowasa, Z. Nairobi McKeeby, C. Ngugi, S. Pilliard, M. Rizzo, H. Sale, A. Shoemaker, B. Goldstein ST (In Press) Technological strategies of the earliest herders in Smith, and C. Swoger. We also thank project collaborators Emmanuel northern Kenya. Antiquity Ndiema, Purity Kiura, and Cecelia Ngugi. Figures 3 and 4 were adapted Goldstein ST, Hildebrand EA, Storozum MJ, Sawchuk EA, Lewis JE, from maps produced by Benson Kimeu. Justus Erus Edung (of the Ngugi C, Robbins LH (2017) New archaeological investigations at National Museums of Kenya-Lodwar Office) helped ensure maximal the Lothagam harpoon site at Lake Turkana. Antiquity 91 360:e5:1– recovery of looted remains from the Kalokol Pillar Site. The Turkana e5:5. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2017.215 Basin Institute provided crucial logistical support throughout this Grillo KM, Hildebrand EA (2013) The context of early megalithic archi- research. tecture in eastern Africa: the Turkana Basin c. 5000-4000 BP. Azania 48:193–217 Funding information Open access funding provided by Max Planck Gwynne MD (1969) The South Turkana expedition: scientific papers. Society. Funding was provided by the National Geographic Society Preliminary report on the 1968 season. Geogr J 135:331–342 (CRE9473-14 to EAH in 2014), the National Science Foundation (Grant Higgins RW (2014) The effects of terrain on long bone robusticity and BCS1124419 to EAH in 2012–2016), the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant cross- sectional shape in lower limb bones of bovids, Neandertals, 58962 to CEK in 2015), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Upper Paleolithic modern humans. In: Carlson KJ, Marchi D Council of Canada (767-2012-1903 to EAS in 2012). (eds) Reconstructing mobility: environmental, behavioural, and morphological determinants. Springer, New York, pp 227–252 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Hildebrand EA, Grillo KM (2012) Early herders and monumental sites in Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http:// eastern Africa: dating and interpretation. 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