Kyra Pazan
Grant Type
Post PhD Research GrantInstitutional Affiliation
California State U., StanislausGrant number
Gr. 11044Approve Date
April 9, 2026Project Title
Pazan, Kyra (California State U., Stanislaus) "Emerging entanglements in the southern African highlands: continuing excavations at Likonong Shelter"This project proposes the excavation of the basal archaeological layers at Likonong Shelter, Lesotho. Excavations in 2023 and 2024 established Likonong as the oldest known archaeological site in the southern African highlands, occupied by early humans exhibiting burgeoning behavioral plasticity. Excavation of Likonong’s deepest layers, dated between 242,000 and 144,000 years ago, will bring new insight into how our ancestors evolved and adapted to a highly seasonal montane environment, and why only our species has achieved lasting success in some of Earth’s most marginal landscapes.