Situating the Sangoan Techno-Complex into the Stone Age context at Sango Bay, Southern Uganda

Abstract

The position of the Sangoan industry in the Stone Age nomenclature generated heated debates arising from its stratigraphic composition. This study purposed to situate the Sangoan techno complex into Stone Age nomenclature at Sango Bay, the type site of the Sangoan lithic industry located in southern Uganda. Situating the Sangoan entailed examining if the Sangoan techno-complex was Acheulean, Middle Stone Age or an independent Stone Age industry. Three specific objectives guided the study that were: (a) To examine the typological and technological characteristics of the Sangoan lithic industry; (b)To investigate the environmental conditions under which the Sangoan existed and (c) To establish the chronological sequence of the Sangoan industry. The study utilised a multidisciplinary approach that entailed using archaeological, historical and paleoenvironmental sources. Archaeological data collected from archaeological surveys and the four excavation units formed the principal primary data in addition to the archives and oral interviews. The latter was key informant interviews utilised to identify the sites and provide information for documenting the history of Sango Bay and interpretation of the archaeological and cultural materials. Paleoenvironmental proxy data using fossil and contemporary plant phytoliths was used to examine the environmental characteristics of the Sangoan. This study is significant because it addresses Stone Age nomenclature and the chronological sequence gaps that are still problematic in Uganda and the world over. The results suggest that heavy-duty and light-duty tools characterised the Sangoan typology dismissing the traditional view of the Sangoan as predominantly heavy-duty since the light-duty tools dominated the Sango Bay. Technologically the Sangoan predominantly employed the Levallois technology, which entailed the preparation of the platform to produce flakes of a predetermined size. The size, amount of cortex, and nature of the Sangoan tools depended greatly on the environment, behavioural characteristics, and availability of raw materials. Chronologically using relative dating through stratigraphy, the Sangoan was an Early Middle Stone Age. Nevertheless, the absolute dates using the Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating method indicated that the Sangoan dates range from 12500 ± 1000 to 9600 ± 600 years, implying that the Sangoan flourished during the terminal Pleistocene period characterised by the Later Stone Age. In terms of environment, the Sangoan inhabited woodlands punctuated with fire regimes and human activities with intervals of aridity. In conclusion, the Sangoan was neither Acheulean nor Middle Stone Age and not even an independent industry but a post-Acheulean techno-complex with traces of the LSA.