Our recent archaeological expeditions in the Siuyu and Ughaugha wards of
Singida eastern province have recuperated the very compelling rock engravings
(petroglyphs) that weren’t reported in Tanzania before. Archaeologically,
Singida’s fame emanated from her endowments of rock paintings. However;
during this research, we did discover rock cupules, gongs, and grinding hollows
art together with rock paintings (pictographs) that have opened up a new
avenue for rock art studies in Tanzania. We carried out intensive site surveys
around four sites namely Siuyu, Ngaghe, Misimbwa and Ughaugha B with the
aims of solely examining, recording, and documenting archaeological artifacts
on the surface in order to research the cultural and behavioural patterns of
early humans in the Singida region. Surveys also enabled us to locate suitable
areas where future excavations would be established. In some cases, ethnographic
enquiries were employed to get supplementary information on the
present-day use of rock art sites. Besides, we interviewed local people to assess
their general understanding of the presence of more sites or helping in locating,
and discovering new sites. Through ethnographic inquiries, we discovered
several sites with substantial number of rock engravings that were never
document by any researcher. On top of that, this study reports other archaeological
potentials of the region by describing in detail their significances for
future research undertakings. Additionally, this paper article reports on the
occurrence of Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeological assemblages from the
open-air site and the presence of grinding hollows and rock cupules (Siuyu
complexes) in central Tanzania for the first time.
References
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[2]
Ekeke, F. (2010) Transition from Later Stone Age to Iron Age in Northern Singida District-Central Tanzania. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam.
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Itambu, M.P. (2016) Managing the Balance: Ecological Pressures and Heritage Resources in Rungwe District, Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 79-90. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2016.43007
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Saanane, C.B. (2016) Cultural Heritage Assets: Rituals, Grinding Hollows and Other Socio Cultural Practices in Simiyu Region, Tanzania. Natural Resources, 7, 214-238. https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2016.74020
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