The Later Stone Age (LSA) is marked by the transition from the discoidal and Levallois core reduction methods to leptolithic or small tools. The sequence of LSA lithic industries at Lukenya Hill, Kenya documents the appearance and increasing proportions of time of microlithic tools, also associated with modern human behavior. Other early LSA sites show increasing use of bone tools, the exploitation of fish using specialized technology, and the use of bored stones for plant food gathering. LSA sites also contain early evidence of artifacts related to personal adornment. Often these are blade tools. Lukenya Hill contains at least five early LSA archaeological sites, including GvJm 62, GvJm 46, GvJm 22, and GvJm 16. Analysis of these sites shows that the proportions of microlith-ic tools and the use of nonlocal obsidian from the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, about 150 km from Lukenya Hill, increase over time. Other important early LSA sites include Enkapune ya Muto, whose assemblages show that ostrich eggshell beads, hafted microliths, and small round steep scrapers similar to those made at GvJm62 were made and used there (see Africa, Central: Foragers, Farmers, and Metallurgists; Africa, West: Early Holocene Foragers).
Other significant LSA industries are found in the Eburran Industry of the Central Rift Valley in Kenya. The Eburran Industry represents hunter-gatherers well-adapted to Rift Valley highlands and lake basins in East Africa, who used abundant obsidian to make microlithic tools and hunted a variety of ungulates associated with woodlands and forests. After 3000 BP, many Eburran sites appear to be associated with the origins of food production, in particular the keeping of goats, such as at the site of Enkapune ya Muto. LSA people are also associated with fish exploitation and the making of pottery, as evidenced in the Kansyore midden sites of Lake Victoria.
World History
