Lithic Technology at Loiyangalani, a Late Middle Stone Age Site in the Serengeti, Tanzania

Loiyangalani is important to the understanding of human occupation patterns in the Serengeti and Northern Tanzania during the Middle Stone Age in terms of food-processing activities and lithic technology. The abundant faunal remains at the site show that it was used for game processing. The lithic technology was based on prepared core methods, dominated by the discoid and Levallois types, for the production of flakes. The retouched tools found at the site (scrapers, denticulates, and notches) are characteristic of activities associated with animal butchering while those connected with hunting activities are scarce. Some previous studies proposed that the Middle Stone Age occupation at Loiyangalani represents an independent industry in the region since the techno-typological differences noted between it and the neighboring sites are quite striking. We revisit this hypothesis by using three approaches—taphonomy, typology, and technology—for analyzing the MSA assemblage in Loiyangalani. We then compare the data from these three analyses with two other MSA industries in Northern Tanzania—Mumba and Nasera. Using principal component and cluster analyses to evaluate the typological and technological variation in these three industries, we show the patterns of differences and similarities among them and offer explanations for these patterns.