100th century BCE – 90th century BCE
Plateau regions of Zambia and east-central Africa
Nachikufan I was an early microlithic Later Stone Age industry distributed across the plateau regions of Zambia and parts of east-central Africa. It emerged around the fifteenth millennium BC after transitional industries at Kalemba and Leopard’s Hill, and lasted until approximately the ninth or tenth millennium BC. Pointed backed bladelets dominated, while scrapers, bored stones, ground axes, and occasional bone points also occurred.
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The Story
Nachikufan I developed at Kalemba and Leopard’s Hill after a transitional industry in which artifact size declined and bladelet production increased. Around the fifteenth millennium BC, these earlier assemblages were succeeded by fully microlithic Mode 5 industries identified as Nachikufan I.
The industry spread across the Muchinga Mountains, the eastern plateau, the Lusaka area, and a site near Solwezi on the Zambezi–Congo watershed. Its distribution followed Brachystegia-covered plateau environments and excluded the Kalahari Sand regions, the southern and western areas, and the Zambezi valley.
Pointed backed bladelets outnumbered crescents, while deep crescents and geometric forms were uncommon. Scrapers were present but less numerous than microliths; bored stones were frequent, ground stone axes could occur, and occasional bone points represented the principal non-lithic artifacts.
Radiocarbon dates indicate a duration of roughly six thousand years, from the fifteenth to the ninth or tenth millennia BC. Later Nachikufan phases became more localized and varied, whereas Nachikufan I is presented as a widely distributed early microlithic tradition derived substantially from regional Mode 3 industries.
100th century BCE – 90th century BCE
Plateau regions of Zambia and east-central Africa
Nachikufan I was an early microlithic Later Stone Age industry distributed across the plateau regions of Zambia and parts of east-central Africa. It emerged around the fifteenth millennium BC after transitional industries at Kalemba and Leopard’s Hill, and lasted until approximately the ninth or tenth millennium BC. Pointed backed bladelets dominated, while scrapers, bored stones, ground axes, and occasional bone points also occurred.
Continue exploring
The Story
Nachikufan I developed at Kalemba and Leopard’s Hill after a transitional industry in which artifact size declined and bladelet production increased. Around the fifteenth millennium BC, these earlier assemblages were succeeded by fully microlithic Mode 5 industries identified as Nachikufan I.
The industry spread across the Muchinga Mountains, the eastern plateau, the Lusaka area, and a site near Solwezi on the Zambezi–Congo watershed. Its distribution followed Brachystegia-covered plateau environments and excluded the Kalahari Sand regions, the southern and western areas, and the Zambezi valley.
Pointed backed bladelets outnumbered crescents, while deep crescents and geometric forms were uncommon. Scrapers were present but less numerous than microliths; bored stones were frequent, ground stone axes could occur, and occasional bone points represented the principal non-lithic artifacts.
Radiocarbon dates indicate a duration of roughly six thousand years, from the fifteenth to the ninth or tenth millennia BC. Later Nachikufan phases became more localized and varied, whereas Nachikufan I is presented as a widely distributed early microlithic tradition derived substantially from regional Mode 3 industries.