A multi-component forager-to-herder sequence at Kapsoo Rockshelter (Chebinyiny) on the Uasin Gishu Plateau, Kenya

Early archaeological investigations of the Uasin Gishu Plateau of west-central Kenya highlighted its potential importance as a geographic link between the Central Rift, the Lake Victoria Basin and the western Kenyan highlands from the Middle Stone Age to the Pastoral Neolithic and Iron Age periods. Despite this, the region has seen little focused research in recent decades. Here, we report on archaeological research at the site of Kapsoo Rockshelter, Chebinyiny Hill (GmJf1), near Moiben on the northern end of the Uasin Gishu Plateau. We combine data from original fieldwork in 1982 with renewed test excavations at Kapsoo carried out in 2022. Results of lithic, faunal and material analyses combined with radiocarbon dating reflect occupation of the northern plateau from the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene and provide the first radiometric dates for the presence of mobile herders in this region. Quantitative assessment of the rich lithic record at the site identifies significant technological change over time, providing a description of the regional Later Stone Age sequence. Finally, we present hypotheses for the relationship between Kapsoo and the nearby undated sequence at Muringa, as well as how these records fit into broader patterns of economic change across southwestern Kenya. Les premieres recherches archeologiques dans le plateau d'Uasin Gishu au centre-ouest du Kenya ont mis en evidence l'importance potentielle de cette zone en tant que lien geographique entre le Rift central, le bassin du lac Victoria et les hautes terres de l'ouest du Kenya, de l'age de Pierre moyen (Middle Stone Age) au Neolithique Pastoral et a l'age du Fer. Malgre cela, la region a connu peu de recherches ciblees au cours des dernieres decennies. Ici, nous rendons compte de recherches archeologiques sur le site de Kapsoo Rockshelter, Chebinyiny Hill (GmJf1), pres de Moiben a l'extremite nord du plateau de Uasin Gishu. Nous combinons les donnees des travaux de terrain originaux de 1982 avec de nouvelles fouilles a Kapsoo realisees en 2022. Les resultats des analyses lithiques, fauniques et materielles combinees avec la datation au radiocarbone refletent l'occupation du nord du plateau sur une periode allant du fin du Pleistocene a l'Holocene tardif et fournissent les premieres dates radiometriques relatives a la presence d'eleveurs mobiles dans cette region. L'evaluation quantitative des riches archives lithiques du site identifie des changements technologiques importants au fil du temps, offrant une description de la sequence regionale de l'age de Pierre recent (Later Stone Age). Enfin, nous presentons des hypotheses sur la relation entre Kapsoo et la sequence voisine non datee de Muringa, ainsi que sur la maniere dont ces donnees s'inscrivent dans des schemas plus larges de changement economique dans le sud-ouest du Kenya.

Automated summary

This study reports on archaeological research at the Kapsoo Rockshelter in the Uasin Gishu Plateau of Kenya. By combining data from original fieldwork in 1982 and renewed excavations in 2022, the study reveals the occupation and technological changes in this region from the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene. The research also presents hypotheses for the relationship between Kapsoo and nearby sites, shedding light on broader patterns of economic change in southwestern Kenya.