Definition: The Mumba Rockshelter (or Mumba-Hohle) is located in the Rift Valley of Tanzania, about 65 kilometers south of Olduvai Gorge, near the shore of Lake Eyasi. Excavated first in the 1930s by Ludwig and Margit Kohl-Larsen, the site includes about nine meters of archaeological deposit, dated
between the Middle Paleolithic and Late Stone Age.
Bed V-VI at Mumba Rockshelter are dated to the Middle to Late Paleolithic, and include Levallois flakes, and Stillbay and Howiesons Poort artifacts such as endscrapers and backed knives; a palette with ochre deposit was also recovered. A C14 date on Bed V returned a date of about 31,000 years ago.
Ten burials were found within the cave deposits, all of which are from a Late Stone Age occupation. Three human molars were recovered from the MSA levels, and have been identified at least tentatively as representing Early Modern Humans. Animals accounted for in Bed V include zebra, warthog, greater kudu, buffalo and tortoise, among many others.
Bed V-VI at Mumba Rockshelter are dated to the Middle to Late Paleolithic, and include Levallois flakes, and Stillbay and Howiesons Poort artifacts such as endscrapers and backed knives; a palette with ochre deposit was also recovered. A C14 date on Bed V returned a date of about 31,000 years ago.
Ten burials were found within the cave deposits, all of which are from a Late Stone Age occupation. Three human molars were recovered from the MSA levels, and have been identified at least tentatively as representing Early Modern Humans. Animals accounted for in Bed V include zebra, warthog, greater kudu, buffalo and tortoise, among many others.
Sources
Bräuer, Günter 1980 Human skeletal remains from Mumba Rock Shelter, Northern Tanzania. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 52(1):71-84.
Mehlman, M. J. 1979. Mumba-Hohle Revisited: The Relevance of a Forgotten Excavation to Some Current Issues in East African Prehistory. World Archaeology 11(1):80-94.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
