Exploring the Middle Stone Age lithic technology at DGS, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Abstract

Olduvai Gorge, nestled between the East African Rift Valley and the Mozambique Belt, is key to understanding human evolution. Even though extensive archaeological and palaeoanthropological findings have been unearthed here since the 1930s, the Middle Stone Age in this area has nonetheless received less attention than the Oldowan or the Acheulean. This paper presents the lithic technology analysis of Dorothy Garrod Site (DGS), a newly-documented MSA site located at the junction of the main gorge and the side gorge at Olduvai. DGS provides valuable additional knowledge to our understanding of the MSA groups that inhabited the region, offering insights into the mobility and settlement patterns of human groups in East Africa during MIS 4. This study focuses on the techno-typological characterization of the DGS lithic assemblage through an analysis of the raw material management strategies and knapping methods employed. The presence of discoid and Levallois methods, as well as single platform methods shows DGS to be a ‘typical’ MSA archaeological site, together with its associated fauna. The retouched pieces are scarce and characterized by a high presence of denticulates, retouched flakes and notches, as well as by the low presence of heavy-duty tools and total absence of points. All of these features make of DGS an exceptional MSA site at the heart of Olduvai.