Early Stone Age The
Early Stone Age is described by Barham and Mitchell as the time period where the ancient ancestors of
Homo sapiens sapiens first emerged, branching from the
Australopithecus afarensis, evolving into
Homo habilis and then
Homo erectus 2.6 million years ago to 280,000 years ago
. Archaeologists hypothesize that the technological progression over time can be examined in the morphological characteristics of tools that are associated with different eras of habitation. The earliest identified stone tools, made by
Homo habilis are known as
Oldowan tools, and they consist of the basic large pounding stones and small pebble flakes, known as Mode 1 technology. As time progressed and
Homo habilis evolved into
Homo erectus, so did the technology as more specialized stone tools were being developed, even tools that were used for making other tools, Mode 2 and 3 technologies. These Late
Acheulean stone tools, along with hearths and well-preserved organic objects were found at Kalambo Falls and documented by JD Clark. These organic artifacts collected included a wooden club and
digging sticks as well as the dietary evidence for fruit consumption. Tools excavated from Kalambo Gorge have been analyzed and OSL dating of quartzite within the soil context to between 500,000 and 50,000 years ago, and some contexts dated to 100,000 years ago with
amino acid dating. In 2023, archaeologists announced the discovery of
wooden structures and other wooden artifacts, which were determined to be at least 476,000 years old using
luminescence dating. The discovery predates
Homo sapiens, so the tools may have potentially been made by
Homo heidelbergensis, of which a 300,000 year old skull was found at another Zambian site. The discovery was considered unusual because wood does not usually survive for so long. Archaeologists such as Larry Barham of
the University of Liverpool, one of the discoverers of the wooden structures, believes that wooden tools were potentially even more common than stone tools in the
Stone Age, but due to wood decaying quickly in the ground archaeologists could not find such tools.
Middle Stone Age The
Middle Stone Age, dated at 280,000 years ago to roughly 40,000 years ago, is the period where the final stages of hominid evolution brought what is known today as "
modern human behavior". During this time, the Acheulean industry of Kalambo Falls was superseded by the
Sangoan culture. This shift is considered by Clark as a result of an ecological shift to a cooler and wetter climate. It is at this time in the archaeological record that the large, Acheulean handaxe disappears and is replaced by the core axe and chopping tools characteristic of Sangoan technologies. Heavy woodworking tools and small, notched and denticulated tools, collected by Clark, were dated to have been made before 41,000 BC. This rapid change is predicted to be a result of population movement during this time period, as the "Acheulean man" who lived in open settlements were replaced by a culture associated with
Homo rhodesiensis found at
Kabwe mine, the Sangoan culture. Evidence of Sangoan habitation has been collected from less open Rock Shelters and Cave areas, possibly due to the persisting, wetter climate. Evidence of fire technologies, such as hearths, charred logs, reddened clay, and stone heat spalls were also collected and found in association with charcoal remains.
Radiocarbon dates of the scattered charcoal indicate people were using fire systematically there some 60,000 years ago. The cool, wet climates of the region were similar to that of the Congo, and similar cultural practices have been identified at Kalambo Falls, known as
Lupemban industries. Evidence suggests that the Sangoan tradition was replaced by the Lupemban industry around 250,000 years ago and continued through to 117,000 years ago. It is characterized by two-sided, or
bifacial, stone tools like core axes and double-ended points that were possibly for hafting as spearheads. Geological studies by J.D. Clark indicate that the frequency of these tools is possibly due to factors that exemplified the amount of large pieces of breakable, or
knappable, raw materials.
Later Stone Age The
Later Stone Age is the final age of the
Paleolithic Era of Africa, and generally refers to more recent hunter/gatherer sites. Around 10,000 years ago Kalambo Falls was occupied by the
Magosian culture which in turn gave way to
Wilton activity.
Iron Age and the Luangwa tradition Around the fourth century AD, a more industrialized
Bantu-speaking people began to farm and occupy the area. These Bantu-speaking people made ceramic vessels that have characteristics of East African pottery, which suggests a population movement from the
Rift Valley. Burials from this period are characterized by
Clark as shaft grave burials, which are similar to those of the earlier cultures of the
East African Rift as opposed to the Kalambo region. The
Iron Age in Zambia is split into an earlier, regionally categorized period and a later period of materialistically differing traditions. Early assemblages of iron tools and pottery have been collected from the Kalambo Falls and are categorized as being from the Kalambo Group tradition. At Kalambo falls, Early Iron Age traditions are believed to have continued into the 11th century. In 1971, Robert C. Soper studied different assemblages of Iron Age pottery in eastern and southern Africa and consolidated them into two major groups, known as
Urewe and
Kwale wares. He indicated that Kalambo and Mwabulambo pot traditions may also be included in these. David W. Phillipson used these conclusions to form a north to south chronology of artifacts and comprised many of the groups studied by Soper into one, Mwitu tradition. This tradition is exhibited by pots that range from the first millennium AD. The Kalambo group was replaced by the
Luangwa tradition, whose pottery is similar to the Early Iron Age
Chondwe Group of the Central
African Copperbelt. Luangwa Pottery is characteristic of necked pots and shallow bowls, with the most common comb-stamped decoration pressed in a horizontal pattern of delineated lines. There has yet to be found any evidence for an interface between this Luangwa tradition and the Early Iron Age tradition at Kalambo Falls, whereas sites at the
Eastern Province of Zambia exhibit this interrelationship. Exact dates for this transition in the Kalambo area are inconclusive, but the tradition has continued through to the present. ==Chronology of the site==