Preliminary Study of Groundstone Tools from a Middle Stone Age Site in Enugu State

Groundstone tools, encompassing grinding stones, rubbing stones, and mortars, are frequently recovered from Middle Stone Age contexts across sub-Saharan Africa and provide direct evidence for plant food processing, pigment preparation, and hafting activities. This study examines a collection of groundstone tools recovered during construction monitoring activities at a rockshelter site in Enugu State, with the objective of characterizing the assemblage and inferring functional repertoires. Forty-two groundstone pieces were subjected to morphometric measurement, raw material identification, and use-wear description using low-power hand lens examination. The assemblage is dominated by sandstone grinding slabs with faceted surfaces bearing traces of red ochre, alongside quartzite rubbing stones and a smaller number of coarse granite mortars. Use-wear analysis suggests multi-function use of some pieces, with grinding surfaces on both upper and lower faces of several slabs. The presence of ochre residues is significant because it implies pigment processing behaviour, which recent literature associates with symbolic and social complexity in Middle Stone Age populations. Raw material procurement appears to have been largely local, with geological survey confirming the availability of all identified rock types within five kilometres of the site. The study recommends excavation of in-situ deposits within the rockshelter to recover groundstone tools in primary context, which would allow spatial and associational analysis not possible with the current collected sample. Keywords: groundstone tools, Middle Stone Age, Enugu State, use-wear, ochre processing.