SISI NI MIFUPA YA MTU! I guess the universe accepted the sacrifice of my wildlife photos because we hit human remains on our very first day of excavation. Specifically, we found one perfect human trapezium (part of the wrist) in a unit that is about 3 metres away from where human remains were discovered in 2006. I suspect we also have some cranial and limb bones, but it’s hard to say for sure since they are out of context. The bones I identified today were found while hand sorting artifacts in a karai (head pan), but with careful excavation tomorrow, I think we can determine precisely where in the unit they are coming from.
This bodes well for my research for a variety of reasons. Primarily, it raises a bunch of questions. How are these bones related to the ones discovered in 2002 and 2006? How many individuals are we dealing with? What processes are underway at the site that could cause bone to be dispersed over several meters? Is any of this behaviour cultural? Secondarily, it strongly suggests that there are additional human remains in this rock shelter. I’m very excited to see what the next few weeks of excavation yields. Today, we also found stone tools, shell, faunal bone, iron and iron slag, and beads (both modern maasai and shell). This pango continues to impress.
Tutarudi Canada hamsini ya siku (we will return to Canada in 50 days).
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Mapango, or just Pango, are rock shelters. These posts chronicle my experiences in a granite pango in southern Tanzania, as well as other hijinks from the field.
About Me
- Ebeth
- My name is Elizabeth and I'm an archaeologist. I'm also a palaeoanthropologist, a bioarchaeologist, and a physical anthropologist, depending on the day. I'm spending the summer excavating bones (and other treasures) from an archaeological site in Tanzania. Otherwise, I'm a typical graduate student who enjoys coffee, reality television, and long walks on the beach.
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