Xᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
Sierra Leone
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Yagala is a rock-shelter archaeological site in Sierra Leone associated with the persistence of Late Stone Age technology into the eleventh century. Stone tools recovered there may indicate that its occupants remained predominantly hunters and gatherers, despite the wider adoption of pottery, ground-stone axes, iron, and food production elsewhere in the Guinea zone. The site illustrates the uneven and prolonged transition between subsistence and technological systems.
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Le récit
Yagala rock shelter preserves evidence for the survival of a Late Stone Age technological tradition after many communities in the Guinea zone had adopted metal tools and food-producing economies. Its importance lies not in evidence for a large settlement, but in the persistence of stone technology within a region undergoing major changes in agriculture, metallurgy, and settlement.
People who left stone tools at Yagala in the eleventh century may have depended predominantly on hunting and gathering. The passage treats this interpretation cautiously, since the presence of stone tools alone does not provide a complete reconstruction of subsistence. Nevertheless, Yagala offers a concrete example of how older lifeways could continue alongside iron-using agricultural communities.
The site is paired with Kamabai in northern Sierra Leone, where an uppermost level containing iron tools, slag, and pottery produced seventh- and eighth-century radiocarbon dates. The contrast suggests that technological change was uneven and that communities using different technologies could exist within relatively nearby areas.
Xᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
Sierra Leone
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Yagala is a rock-shelter archaeological site in Sierra Leone associated with the persistence of Late Stone Age technology into the eleventh century. Stone tools recovered there may indicate that its occupants remained predominantly hunters and gatherers, despite the wider adoption of pottery, ground-stone axes, iron, and food production elsewhere in the Guinea zone. The site illustrates the uneven and prolonged transition between subsistence and technological systems.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Yagala rock shelter preserves evidence for the survival of a Late Stone Age technological tradition after many communities in the Guinea zone had adopted metal tools and food-producing economies. Its importance lies not in evidence for a large settlement, but in the persistence of stone technology within a region undergoing major changes in agriculture, metallurgy, and settlement.
People who left stone tools at Yagala in the eleventh century may have depended predominantly on hunting and gathering. The passage treats this interpretation cautiously, since the presence of stone tools alone does not provide a complete reconstruction of subsistence. Nevertheless, Yagala offers a concrete example of how older lifeways could continue alongside iron-using agricultural communities.
The site is paired with Kamabai in northern Sierra Leone, where an uppermost level containing iron tools, slag, and pottery produced seventh- and eighth-century radiocarbon dates. The contrast suggests that technological change was uneven and that communities using different technologies could exist within relatively nearby areas.