100th century BCE
Kagera Valley, Uganda
Nsongezi is a stratified archaeological sector in Uganda’s Kagera Valley that preserves Acheulian and Sangoan assemblages in geological succession. Excavations identified Acheulian material in the M–N Horizon Rubble Tongue and Sangoan material in an overlying Upper Rubble horizon. Younger deposits in the Orichinga tributary valley contain assemblages with similarities to Lupemban and Tshitolian materials of the Congo Basin. The sequence is valuable but remains undated with certainty and provides limited palaeo-ecological evidence.
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The Story
The Nsongezi sector lies in the Kagera Valley, roughly 100 kilometres west of the present shores of Lake Victoria. Its geological setting reflects the complex Pleistocene history of the Victoria basin, including tectonic deformation, changing water levels and a reversal in the direction of drainage from westward to eastward flow. These processes controlled sedimentation in the valley and complicated earlier interpretations of its stratigraphy and climate.
Excavations identified an Acheulian assemblage in the M–N Horizon Rubble Tongue and a Sangoan assemblage in the Upper Rubble horizon, which lies disconformably above it. The succession can also be followed into the Orichinga tributary valley, where younger deposits contain assemblages that resemble aspects of the Lupemban and Tshitolian traditions of the Congo Basin.
Nsongezi is consequently one of the stratified sequences in which Acheulian and post-Acheulian assemblages can be observed together. Despite extensive technical and geological investigation, the site cannot be dated with certainty and has yielded only limited palaeo-ecological evidence. Nearby surface collections around Sango Bay led to suggestions of a Sangoan culture, but it remains unclear whether the heavy tools represent a brief cultural episode or a recurring facies within Acheulian and post-Acheulian repertoires.
100th century BCE
Kagera Valley, Uganda
Nsongezi is a stratified archaeological sector in Uganda’s Kagera Valley that preserves Acheulian and Sangoan assemblages in geological succession. Excavations identified Acheulian material in the M–N Horizon Rubble Tongue and Sangoan material in an overlying Upper Rubble horizon. Younger deposits in the Orichinga tributary valley contain assemblages with similarities to Lupemban and Tshitolian materials of the Congo Basin. The sequence is valuable but remains undated with certainty and provides limited palaeo-ecological evidence.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Nsongezi sector lies in the Kagera Valley, roughly 100 kilometres west of the present shores of Lake Victoria. Its geological setting reflects the complex Pleistocene history of the Victoria basin, including tectonic deformation, changing water levels and a reversal in the direction of drainage from westward to eastward flow. These processes controlled sedimentation in the valley and complicated earlier interpretations of its stratigraphy and climate.
Excavations identified an Acheulian assemblage in the M–N Horizon Rubble Tongue and a Sangoan assemblage in the Upper Rubble horizon, which lies disconformably above it. The succession can also be followed into the Orichinga tributary valley, where younger deposits contain assemblages that resemble aspects of the Lupemban and Tshitolian traditions of the Congo Basin.
Nsongezi is consequently one of the stratified sequences in which Acheulian and post-Acheulian assemblages can be observed together. Despite extensive technical and geological investigation, the site cannot be dated with certainty and has yielded only limited palaeo-ecological evidence. Nearby surface collections around Sango Bay led to suggestions of a Sangoan culture, but it remains unclear whether the heavy tools represent a brief cultural episode or a recurring facies within Acheulian and post-Acheulian repertoires.
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