摘要：Here we report tephra correlations, lithic artifacts, obsidian sourcing data, and fauna from nine Late Pleistocenelocalities of the eastern Lake Victoria basin of western Kenya, as well as new excavations from the 49–36 ka siteof Nyamita Main on Rusinga Island. The Late Pleistocene of Africa is an important period for the evolution anddispersals of Homo sapiens. A conspicuous behavioral feature of this period is the replacement of Middle StoneAge (MSA) technologies by Later Stone Age (LSA) technologies. Current research shows this process is complexwith the LSA appearing and the MSA disappearing at different times in different places across Africa. Accountingfor this pattern requires a precise chronology, detailed evidence of past human behavior and environmentalreconstructions of the appropriate scale. Data presented here provide this detail. Tephra correlations improve theregional chronology and expand the lateral area of Late Pleistocene eastern Lake Victoria basin exposures from~650km2 to >2500km2. Lithic artifacts show MSA technology is present younger than 36 ka in western Kenya,25–35 kyr younger than the first appearance of early LSA technology elsewhere in equatorial East Africa. Obsidiansourcing data presented here shows the use of the same raw material sources by MSA and LSA populationsthrough long periods of time from >100 ka through <36 ka. The methods employed here provide the temporalresolution and appropriate geographic scale to address modern human behavioral evolution.
