Mr. Curtis Marean, will continue his doctoral dissertation research under the direction of J.D. Clark. He will complete the analysis of faunal materials recovered from two groups of sites located near Lukenya Hill and the Central Rift Valley in Kenya. These sites which date from Late Pleistocene and Holocene times contain abundant faunal remains in addition to other materials such as stone tools. Mr. Marean's focus is on the former and he will examine these to determine species present, the ages at which animals - both wild and domestic - were killed, and butchering patterns. This will allow him both to reconstruct changes in environment over time and to determine the responses of prehistoric peoples to them. The CRV and Lukenya Hill sites document two major external impacts on indigenous East Africans over the last ca. 20 thousand years. The first is a major climatic change which occurred at the end of the Pleistocene and the second, the introduction of domestic animals and likely new cultures several thousand years ago. Examination of each will provide evidence on how hunters and gatherers responded to major cultural and environmental pertubations. The research is important for several reasons. While much archaeological research has been conducted in East Africa on both earlier and more recent cultures, from this crucial time period little is known. Secondly this work will increase our understanding of how simple societies adapt. Finally, Mr. Marean will train a Kenyan assistant and thus both assist in the development of science in Kenya and strengthen U.S. - Kenya research ties.
