New field research in the Singida region, in Tanzania’s central plateaus, represents an emblematic case to study early hunter-foragers transition to agropastoralism and raises issues relevant for reflections on archaeological theory. Its emerging significative heritage, with contexts ranging from the Early-Middle Stone Age period to the present time, including more than 60 stratified open-air sites, rockshelters and rock art sites, shows how much modern archaeological research can acquire from an area so far under-researched. It is still possible, in 21 st century CE, to change the geographic narrative of archaeology by expanding research horizons and by designing and devising grassroots projects with the local community. Furthermore, the recent transition of hunting-gathering communities to agropastoral economic strategies, has condensed in the last 50 years a major transformation of human socio-economic, and cultural adaptive behaviors to varied ecological niches. In our project, we adopt multiple cutting edge palaeoecological proxies such as phytoliths, stable isotopes, and plant wax biomarkers to complement site and stone tool studies. Our goal is to better understand the historical trends related to ancient mosaic habitats, and the role that climatic and environmental drivers had on shaping human cultural and technological adaptations to the arid environments of Singida during the Pleistocene- Holocene. The project is framed inside a community-oriented research project, namely the ‘Singida Heritage and Archaeological Research Project’ (SHARP), recognizing archaeology as a practice intertwined with a fabric of social and cultural relations. African scholars generally lack direct funding, and are still unlikely to obtain grants from external funders, therefore we still work with little support or resources. We’re now able to demonstrate that we can change not only where archaeology is done in Africa, but also how we’re changing project design, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge mobilization.

Note: This talk has not gone through a process of peer review, and findings should therefore be treated as preliminary and subject to change. Acknowledgement and citation: Itambu, Makarius. 2024. A Contemporary View of Hunters and Gatherers' Environmental Niche and Adaptations through an Under-Researched African Region. Talk given at The Rift Valley Network Webinar Series. 11/12/2024.