THE ISIMILA STONE AGE SITE in Tanzania provides fascinating
insights into how ancient man developed the tools to master his
environment.
Stone tools and artefacts found at Isimila near
Iringa town, over 500 kilometres from Dar es Salaam, show that the Hehe —
one of the ethnic groups in the region — used the site as a sort of
Stone Age weapons factory.
Excarvation in Iringa region, especially Mtera and
Upper Kihansi, indicate that there were settlements in these areas from
as early as 200,000 years ago to as late as the Iron Age.
According to Mohammed Ngoma, a conservationist at
the Isimila Stone Age Site, Upper Kihansi too was a production site for
stone tools of the Neolithic period, which include pot shards and
remains of iron works.
The Iron Age settlements in Iringa district and
rock paintings at Kombangulu in Kilolo district also provide fascinating
glimpses into the lives of early humans.
The Isimila site is reputed to have been inhabited
from 300,000 to 400,000 years ago. The soil erosion that has been
occurring there over the millennia, has un
covered remains of stone
tools, animals and plants that have contributed to the understanding of
the pre-history of the area.
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