Enkapune Ya Muto (RBL3)
Basic information
Sample name: Enkapune Ya Muto (RBL3)

Sample aka: Twilight Cave

Reference: C. W. Marean. 1992. Hunter to herder: large mammal remains from the hunter-gatherer occupation at Enkapune Ya Muto rock-shelter, Central Rift, Kenya. The African Archaeological Review 10(1):65-127 [ER 3705]
Geography
Country: Kenya



Coordinate: 0° 50' S, 36° 9' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Holocene

Section: 3705

Unit number: 6

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.00635

Min Ma: 0.00586

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Enkapune Ya Muto (EYM), also known as Twilight Cave, is a large enclosed rock-shelter located on a steep slope in a large incised gully on the eastern face of the Mau Escarpment above the Naivasha basin in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya".
Radiocarbon dates for the RBL3 layers range from 6350 ± 150 BP to 5860 ± 200 BP.

Environment
Lithology: ash

Taphonomic context: human accumulation,rock shelter

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "The Mau Escarpment is mostly formed of volcanic ashes and tufts with occasional outcrops of agglomerates and more heavily consolidated lavas. The stratigraphy was complex but the layers were typically distinct and horizontal".
"The six major EYM aggregates preserve various forms of evidence inconsistent with accumulations by porcupines and carnivores, indicating persistent occupation of the shelter by people".
Human accumulation of the remains is "further substantiated by the density of artefacts and the high frequencies of cutmarks on the bones". Stone tools of the Eburran industry, "characterized by geometric and non-geometric microliths produced from narrow blades of obsidian", are present.

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 162 specimens

Sampling comments: "The site was excavated during the two field seasons in 18 1-m squares, placed primarily in the northern section of the rock-shelter. The depth of the deposits, over 5 m, along with a rock shelf warranted reduction of the area excavated in the deeper deposits".

Metadata
Sample number: 3919

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-03-07 13:30:28

Modified: 2023-05-29 23:33:22

Abundance distribution
15 species
5 singletons
total count 162
geometric series index: 29.6
Fisher's α: 4.035
geometric series k: 0.7492
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7801
Shannon's H: 1.8649
Good's u: 0.9694
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Hylochoerus meinertzhageni1
Hippotragus equinus2246 kg grazer
Potamochoerus porcus266 kg
also 3 Suidae indet.
Redunca sp.11
"bohor/mountain reedbuck"
Sylvicapra grimmia113 kg browser-grazer
Syncerus caffer20548 kg grazer-browser
Taurotragus oryx2393 kg browser-grazer
Tragelaphus scriptus5731 kg browser-grazer
Tragelaphus imberbis192 kg
also 462 Bovidae indet.
Leptailurus serval110 kg carnivore
"Felis serval"
Mellivora capensis17.7 kg carnivore-invertivore
Chlorocebus aethiops10 frugivore-folivore
"Cercopithecus aethiops"
Papio sp.2
Procaviidae indet.9
Thryonomys gregorianus422.2 kg