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Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift

Thesis (PhD)-University of Pretoria, 2026.

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Other Authors: Schmidt, Peter Ridgway
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Schmidt, Peter Ridgway
author_browse Schmidt, Peter Ridgway
author_facet Schmidt, Peter Ridgway
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)-University of Pretoria, 2026.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/107703 Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift Schmidt, Peter Ridgway j4cyiza@gmail.com Pikirayi, Innocent Arthur, Weedman Kathryn Nyiracyiza, Jackline Besigye UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Late boudine Stone age Kansyore Kabata Rusoona Procurement strategies Western Rift Late Stone Age Assemblages Ndali Crater Lakes Region Procurement strategies Recycling strategies Kansyore and Boudine ceramics Thesis (PhD)-University of Pretoria, 2026. This dissertation investigates Late Stone Age (LSA) lithic assemblages from the Ndali Crater Lakes region of the western Albertine Rift, Uganda, with the aim of reconstructing technological organization, settlement strategies, and cultural interaction during the Holocene. While previous scholarship in the region has largely emphasized state formation processes, little attention has been given to lithic technologies. This study, therefore, fills a critical gap by situating lithic production and use within broader socioecological transformations from the late first millennium BCE to the mid-second millennium CE. Archaeological investigations at RU-1 and KA-3 reveal complex occupational sequences that encompass Kansyore and Boudiné ceramic traditions, alongside lithic assemblages with both LSA and Middle Stone Age (MSA)-like characteristics. These include radial cores, bifacial points, Levallois reduction strategies, and patterned platform technologies, indicating technological continuity rather than abrupt replacement. Radiocarbon dates further demonstrate overlapping occupations and episodic site use, with RU-1 yielding evidence of preceramic horizons that challenge conventional MSA–LSA typologies. The analysis highlights adaptive responses to environmental and social contexts, as evidenced by raw material procurement strategies. Toolmakers employed both local resources— such as gneiss and quartz—and non-local chert, suggesting mobility, exchange, and selective choices in technological organization. Recycling practices, where flakes were repurposed into cores or incorporated into composite tools, reflect dynamic strategies of conservation and innovation. At KA-3, faunal remains associated with Kansyore and Boudiné ceramics, including bush pig and giant forest hog, provide further insights into subsistence, revealing a mixed economy that combined foraging with early agricultural practices. Taken together, the findings argue for a model of technological persistence and cultural hybridity in the Holocene Albertine Rift. Rather than a linear succession of 'stone age' industries, the evidence demonstrates that technological traits often considered diagnostic of the MSA persisted deep into the LSA, adapted and recontextualised within evolving social and economic frameworks. The co-occurrence of diverse lithic technologies, ceramic traditions, and subsistence strategies underscores a long-term trajectory of interaction, continuity, and innovation. This dissertation thus contributes to broader debates in African archaeology on the fluidity of technological traditions, the entanglement of foragers and farmers, and the resilience of cultural practices in dynamic landscapes. University Bursary, Tuition fees for the academic year 2021to 2022. Employer, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies PhD (Archeology) Unrestricted Faculty of Humanities SDG-04: Quality education SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities SDG-15: Life on land 2026-01-29T12:43:32Z 2026-01-29T12:43:32Z 2026-04-06 2026-01-28 Dissertation * A2026 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/107703 10.25403/UPresearchdata.31169392 en © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Late boudine
Stone age
Kansyore
Kabata
Rusoona
Procurement strategies
Western Rift
Late Stone Age Assemblages
Ndali Crater Lakes Region
Procurement strategies
Recycling strategies
Kansyore and Boudine ceramics
Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title_full Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title_fullStr Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title_full_unstemmed Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title_short Late Stone Age Assemblages around the Ndali Crater Lakes of the Uganda Western Albertine Rift
title_sort late stone age assemblages around the ndali crater lakes of the uganda western albertine rift
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Late boudine
Stone age
Kansyore
Kabata
Rusoona
Procurement strategies
Western Rift
Late Stone Age Assemblages
Ndali Crater Lakes Region
Procurement strategies
Recycling strategies
Kansyore and Boudine ceramics
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/107703