Program > By author > Spinapolice Enza Elena

The Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 in East Africa is characterized by a period of important technological changes within the Homo sapiens groups. From the archaeological point of view, this period is significant for the presence of a transitional phase, reflected in the progressive decrease of MSA technological traits and the increase of elements characterizing the Later Stone Age (LSA). Despite the Horn of Africa has been integrated into the general issue of the MSA-LSA transition in East Africa, it is known that this phenomenon in the Horn seems to appear later than the rest of the East Africa region, dating it back to the end of MIS 3 (ca. 35-29 ka). However, because of the scarcity of data referred to the MIS 3 in the region, both archaeological and paleoanthropological, human dispersal dynamics are still not clear, as well as the interaction between populations. This generates a chronological bias in the reconstruction of Homo sapiens occupation and dispersal dynamics in the Horn of Africa.
The intra-site analysis of the Got-10 site, an open-air stratified sequence referred to MIS3 with lithic artifacts and faunal remains in situ discovered in 2018, shed new lights on an almost unknown area, which is placed far away from the Rift border, where the major archaeological evidences dated to MIS 3 are located. The analysis of these fresh data will constitute the basis for a future study at a regional scale, in order to be integrated within the general pattern of human occupation and dispersal dynamics in the Horn of Africa during the MIS3. Through comparative analysis with other archaeological contexts using quantitative multivariate statistics, it will be possible to better understand the causes and modalities of the MSA/LSA transition in the Horn of Africa region.