An experimental micromorphological investigation of bedding construction in the Middle Stone Age of Sibudu,South Africa

We conducted experiments to compare the micromorphological signatures of modern burnt sedge and grass bedding to laminated layers of carbonized material and phytoliths in Middle Stone Age deposits at the shelter, Sibudu. The experiments were designed to clarify the formation processes associated with the laminated layers and to investigate whether these previously identified layers of bedding were deliberately burned or not. The results indicate that the laminated layers were most likely produced by human activity related to the construction, maintenance and burning of bedding. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that large volumes of vegetal material could have produced the relatively thin, archaeological deposits of burnt bedding.     

Finding resolution for the Howiesons Poort through the microscope: micro-residue analysis of segments from Sibudu Cave,South Africa

In this paper I present the results of a micro-residue analysis of stone segments, the type fossils of the Howiesons Poort technocomplex in South Africa, with an age of more than 60 ka at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal. Fifty-three segments were systematically analysed and 1826 organic micro-residue occurrences were documented on the sample. The distribution patterns of micro-residues and other use-traces are interpreted in terms of hafting and function. It is shown that most of the tools were indeed hafted and most were probably used as inserts for hunting weapons. There is evidence for differences and changes over time in haft materials and hafting configurations of the segments. The study demonstrates how functional studies could improve our understanding of change and variability in human behaviour during the Middle Stone Age, a period that used to be portrayed as static or slow changing.     

Bedding, hearths, and site maintenance in the Middle Stone Age of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Micromorphological analysis of sediments from the Middle Stone Age site of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provides a high-resolution sequence and evidence of site formation processes of predominantly anthropogenic deposits. This methodology allows for a detailed interpretation of individual anthropogenic activities, including the construction of hearths and bedding and the maintenance of occupational surfaces through the sweep out of hearths and the repeated burning of bedding. This analysis also provides a context for evaluating other studies at the site relating to magnetic susceptibility, paleobotany, paleozoology, anthracology, and studies of ochre.     

The Middle and Later Stone Age faunal remains from Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The faunal sample from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and overlying Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape Province, South Africa) includes at least 40 taxa, mostly mammals, but also tortoises, snakes, birds (especially ostrich represented by eggshell), and intertidal mollusks. The LSA sample contains only species that occurred nearby historically, including domestic sheep, which LSA people introduced to the region by 1800 years ago. In contrast, like other Western Cape MSA faunas, the Diepkloof MSA sample has more species and it is especially notable for five large extralimital grazing species. These imply a greater-than-historic role for grasses in the local vegetation, particularly in the post-Howiesons Poort (latest MSA) interval where the grazers appear most abundant. Extreme fragmentation and dark-staining impedes analysis of the MSA bones, but cut-marks, abundant burning, and numerous associated artifacts suggest that people were the main accumulators. Rare coprolites imply that carnivores could have contributed some bones, and concentrations of small mammal bones, particularly near the bottom of the MSA sequence, suggest a role for raptors. Tortoise bones are common throughout the sequence, and the MSA specimens tend to be especially large, as in other MSA assemblages. The LSA specimens are smaller, probably because LSA human populations were denser and preyed on tortoises more intensively. The most surprising aspect of the Diepkloof assemblage is its marine component. The coast is currently 14 km away and it would have been even more distant during much of the MSA when sea levels were often lower. Intertidal mollusks, particularly black mussels and granite limpets, are concentrated in the LSA and in the Late and Post-Howiesons Poort layers. Only LSA shells are complete enough for measurement, and the limpets are small as at other LSA sites. The implication is again for more intense LSA collection by relatively dense human populations. Both the LSA and MSA deposits also contain bones of shorebirds and Cape fur seals. Whale barnacles and occasional dolphin bones indicate that MSA people scavenged beached cetaceans.     

New ages for the post-Howiesons Poort,late and final Middle Stone Age at Sibudu,South Africa

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements are reported for single grains of quartz from deposits within Sibudu rock shelter. Such measurements enable rejection of unrepresentative grains and application of the finite mixture and central age models to obtain the most reliable age estimates. Three types of single-grain equivalent dose (D_e) distributions were observed: one sample represented a single dose population, three samples indicated mixing between Iron Age (IA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits, and 10 samples (in addition to the three mixed samples) showed scattered distributions. The latter type resulted from differences in the beta dose received by individual grains. For these samples, the beta doses were modelled and adjusted accordingly. Ages for the 14 samples collected from MSA deposits post-dating the Howiesons Poort (HP) resulted in three age clusters, which are stratigraphically consistent with the three informally named cultural phases at Sibudu: namely, the post-HP, late MSA and final MSA. Weighted mean ages of 58.5 ± 1.4 ka, 47.7 ± 1.4 ka and 38.6 ± 1.9 ka were calculated for these phases, respectively. The three phases were separated by two occupational hiatuses with durations of 10.8 ± 1.3 ka and 9.1 ± 3.6 ka. We hypothesise that the punctuated presence of humans at Sibudu was determined by large-scale fluctuations in climate during oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 3, which resulted in alternating wet and dry periods. Phases of occupation correspond to wet periods when fresh water was available in the Tongati River, whereas intervals of site abandonment correspond to dry periods when people were forced to migrate in search of a reliable source of fresh water. Where people migrated to, remains unresolved.     

Middle Stone Age pièces esquillées from Sibudu Cave,South Africa: an initial micro-residue study

In this paper I present the results of a micro-residue study conducted on ten pièces esquillées (scaled pieces) from Sibudu Cave, South Africa. These artefacts are associated with the Howiesons Poort Industry (∼61.7 and ∼64.7 ka years ago at Sibudu), representing part of the later phase of the Middle Stone Age. Until now, it was unclear on what these pieces were used, and whether they were functional. Previous experimental use-wear work tentatively pointed towards bone processing. However, replication work on stone tool production technology suggests that pièces esquillées are merely the by/end-product of bipolar knapping. I used residue analysis on the Sibudu artefacts because this alternative method has the potential to identify if they were used, and if so, illuminate the specific materials the pieces were used on. Although the sample is small, all the pièces esquillées reveal a clear animal processing signal. There are some bone deposits on the utilised edges that may substantiate bone processing, or perhaps a bone hammer was used with them, but additional study, including Later Stone Age artefacts, is needed to assess the feasibility of these observations. It remains possible that the artefacts are core reduced pieces that were subsequently used as tools or simply knapped with a bone hammer.     

Ochre resources from the Middle Stone Age sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

Although no paintings are associated with archaeological contexts before the end of the Middle Stone Age, hundreds of ochre pieces were discovered on numerous southern African sites suggesting a lasting tradition of ochre use. The variability and the significance of ochre exploitation remain however poorly documented. The MSA site of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape Province, South Africa) offers an ideal opportunity to discuss questions of ochre procurement, processing, and use over a long sequence. This study develops an original methodology based on observations on one hand, and SEM-EDS, XRD and Raman spectrometry analyses on the other hand. By comparing raw materials with our geological database, we show that some iron-rich raw materials were collected more than 20 km from the site. Such long-distance procurement combined with other elements of the overall context suggests a planning of procurement. One main chaîne opératoire based on grinding was identified at Diepkloof. In comparison with other South African sites, we observed no evidence for use as loading agent in adhesives. We conclude that ochre use may follow regional cultural patterns.     

Possible shell beads from the Middle Stone Age layers of Sibudu Cave,South Africa

Recent excavations at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, uncovered an Iron Age horizon below which is a complex 3 m thick Middle Stone Age sequence with post-Howiesons Poort, Howiesons Poort, Still Bay and pre-Still Bay layers. Available OSL ages indicate that the Howiesons Poort occupation is older than 60 ky and the Still Bay older than 70 ky. Here we present the archaeological context and the taphonomic analysis of six Afrolittorina africana, three of which bear perforations, from the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort layers of this site. The single specimen from the latter cultural horizon comes from the lowermost layer attributed to this technocomplex. This and the depositional context of this layer suggest that this shell derives, as do the other five, from the Still Bay occupation layers. Taphonomic analysis of the archaeological specimens based on present day Afrolittorina africana biocoenoses, microscopic examination, morphometry, experimental perforation of modern shells, and a review of the natural agents that may accumulate marine shells at inland sites, indicate probable human involvement in the collection, transport, modification, and abandonment of Afrolittorina africana in Sibudu. If confirmed by future discoveries these shells would corroborate the use of personal ornaments, already attested at Blombos Cave, Western Cape Province, by Still Bay populations. The apparent absence of ornaments at Howiesons Poort sites raises the question of the mechanisms that have led to cultural modernity since it seems to contradict the scenario according to which cultural innovations recorded at Middle Stone Age sites reflect a process of continuous accretion and elaboration interpreted as the behavioural corollary of the emergence of anatomically modern humans.     

Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers,Sibudu Cave,South Africa

Recently discovered bone implements from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at Sibudu Cave, South Africa, confirm the existence of a bone tool industry for the Howiesons Poort (HP) technocomplex. Previously, an isolated bone point from Klasies River provided inconclusive evidence. This paper describes three bone tools: two points and the end of a polished spatula-shaped piece, from unequivocal HP layers at Sibudu Cave (with ages greater than ∼61 ka). Comparative microscopic and morphometric analysis of the Sibudu specimens together with bone tools from southern African Middle and Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits, an Iron Age occupation, nineteenth century Bushman hunter-gatherer toolkits, and bone tools used experimentally in a variety of tasks, reveals that the Sibudu polished piece has use-wear reminiscent of that on bones experimentally used to work animal hides. A slender point is consistent with a pin or needle-like implement, while a larger point, reminiscent of the single specimen from Peers Cave, parallels large un-poisoned bone arrow points from LSA, Iron Age and historical Bushman sites. Additional support for the Sibudu point having served as an arrow tip comes from backed lithics in the HP compatible with this use, and the recovery of older, larger bone and lithic points from Blombos Cave, interpreted as spear heads. If the bone point from the HP layers at Sibudu Cave is substantiated by future discoveries, this will push back the origin of bow and bone arrow technology by at least 20,000 years, and corroborate arguments in favour of the hypothesis that crucial technological innovations took place during the MSA in Africa.     

Burned bone in the Howieson’s Poort and post-Howieson’s Poort Middle Stone Age deposits at Sibudu (South Africa): behavioral and taphonomic implications

Despite a growing awareness of the wide range of information that can be provided by detailed analyses of burned bone from archaeological contexts, such analyses are still relatively uncommon. This paper focuses on the behavioral and taphonomic implications of burned bone from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Sibudu Cave (South Africa), reporting on the analysis of a large sample (>377,000 fragments) of bone recovered from the Howieson’s Poort (HP) and post-HP MSA deposits at the site. Faunal remains were initially sorted into burning categories based on changes in color; microscopic analyses focused on the optical properties of the bone matrix (degree of preservation of the bone structure, reflectance and fluorescence) indicated that the color is a valid indicator of thermally altered bone in the Sibudu assemblage. The association of burned bone with hearths, the intensity of burning damage, and the sheer quantity of thermally altered bone suggests that the bone was not burned primarily as a result of natural fires. We propose that the high incidence of burned bone primarily reflects two types of site maintenance activities: first, the discarding of bone into fire as a means of disposing of food waste (as also argued by Cain [2005, Using burned animal bone to look at Middle Stone Age occupation and behavior. J. Archaeol. Sci. 32, 873–884], for a smaller sample of material from the post-HP and late MSA deposits at the site), and second, the incidental burning of bone on/near the surface during the periodic burning of plant-based bedding. In considering the taphonomic implications of the burned bone, we demonstrate that calcined bone is in fact more heavily fragmented than unburnt or moderately burned bone. Furthermore, cortical preservation was negatively correlated with the intensity of burning damage, which has implications for the study of surface modifications. These results indicate the importance of conducting thorough taphonomic analyses prior to making comparisons between units that show differing degrees or intensities of burning damage.     

Engraved ochre from a Middle Stone Age context at Klein Kliphuis in the Western Cape of South Africa

This paper reports on a piece of engraved ochre recovered from a Middle Stone Age context at the rock shelter site of Klein Kliphuis (Western Cape, South Africa). The ochre was associated with a mixed assemblage of Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort MSA artefacts, suggesting that it is substantially younger than similar finds at Blombos Cave. The implications of the find for arguments concerning the nature of Late Pleistocene behavioural evolution are discussed.     

The Still Bay points of Blombos Cave (South Africa)

We present the results of a technological and morphometric analysis of all the Still Bay points (n = 371) recovered from the 1993 to 2004 excavations at Blombos Cave. We have been able to reconstruct the manufacturing sequence of the bifacial points from initial shaping, by direct internal percussion, to finished morphology, by direct marginal percussion. Identifications of impact fractures and manufacturing breaks are based on comparisons with experimental and archaeological bifacial points of verified function, i.e. Paleoindian points from bison kill sites, replicates of Solutrean points mounted as spear-heads or arrowheads and shot into adult cattle, and experimental replication on local raw materials. Our analysis shows that: (a) only a minority of the points are finished forms, and that a large number of pieces are production failures, a situation known at bifacial point production sites of later ages; (b) morphometric and impact scar analyses should take into account this process and distinguish finished points from preforms and unfinished points; (c) there were at least three different kinds of raw material sources and that there is a marked increase in the frequencies of silcrete with respect to the M2 and M3 phases at Blombos; (d) three kinds of evidence prove that some of the points were hafted axially and used as spear tips; (e) production of bifacial points was a primary activity at the site but the hypothesis of intergroup exchange of Still Bay points cannot be sustained on the basis of present evidence; and (f) the Still Bay phase appears to initiate a trend to relatively rapid changes in specialized hunting weaponry and that this innovation is congruent with other innovations such as bone tools, shell beads and engraved ochre of the M1 and M2 phases at Blombos.     

Behavioral ecological models of lithic technological change during the later Middle Stone Age of South Africa

This paper examines changes in the organization of lithic technological systems during the later Middle Stone Age (MSA) of South Africa. Using principal components analysis (PCA), the study looks at the lithic data from two important South African MSA sites: Blombos Cave and Klasies River Mouth. The paper uses PCA to describe the transition to (1) the biface-dominated Still Bay industry at Blombos Cave and (2) the microlithic Howiesons Poort industry at Klasies River Mouth. Based on these analyses, the paper offers a synthetic scenario of the emergence of the Still Bay industry from earlier MSA industries, closely followed by the dramatic transition to the Howiesons Poort. Using a few principles of tool design and behavioral ecological models derived from the study of modern foragers, the paper suggests that the Still Bay came about as the result of deteriorating environmental conditions at the beginning of Oxygen Isotope Stage 4, which caused resources to become scarce and more widely distributed. The study proposes that the bifacial point strategy of the Still Bay was a response to wider mobility patterns and increased movement away from lithic raw material sources. The paper then suggests that Howiesons Poort emerged as information sharing strategies improved, and resources in the environment could be more efficiently targeted with more task-specific tools. The paper closes by reviewing the implications of these findings for modern human origins in South Africa.     

New Excavations at Border Cave,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago. The density of lithics varies considerably through time, with high frequencies occurring before 100,000 years ago where a putative MSA 1/Pietersburg Industry was recovered. The highest percentage frequencies of blades and blade fragments were found here. In Members 1 BS and 1 WA, called Early Later Stone Age by Beaumont, we recovered large flakes from multifacial cores. Local rhyolite was the most common rock used for making stone tools, but siliceous minerals were popular in the upper members.     

Technological successions in the Middle Stone Age sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The southern African MSA comprises a series of phases of unique technological innovations that fuel current models on the evolutionary processes of Anatomically Modern Humans. However, the nature and variability of these technological phases remain poorly documented. This study reports on the previously unpublished sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa) and investigates the main technological changes therein, particularly emphasizing the emergence, succession and disappearance of the Still Bay (SB) and the Howiesons Poort (HP). We argue for technological change that occurred at different rates and under the influence of variable driving factors. Our model implies that the SB and the HP are not related to the influx of new populations but have regionally specific origins. Unlike the other techno-complexes, the HP at Diepkloof is subdivided into different phases (Early, Intermediate and Late) but only the upper phases resemble the so-called “classic” HP. Finally, the technological sequence of Diepkloof questions the homogeneous picture which has been so far assumed for the southern African MSA and places emphasis on the importance of exploring long regional sequences.     

Ochre Provenance and Procurement Strategies During The Middle Stone Age at Diepkloof Rock Shelter,South Africa

Usually referred to in archaeological contexts simply as ‘ochre’, ferruginous rocks were commonly used during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in South Africa. While ochre use by early modern humans has often been interpreted as reflecting complex behaviours, related procurement strategies and selection criteria remain poorly documented. Eight ochre sources from the surroundings of Diepkloof rock shelter in South Africa and 28 ochre pieces from the site's MSA levels were studied by XRD, ICP–OES and ICP–MS. Mineralogical and geochemical data demonstrate that ochre was both locally procured and transported to the site from more distant sources. Here, we investigate the reasons underlying the choice of particular local and non‐local ochre sources exploited at Diepkloof, emphasizing differences in their physico‐chemical properties. Regardless of the motivations behind ochre selection, our data shed new light on the behavioural complexity of MSA societies and suggest that ochre procurement strategies may be independent of subsistence concerns.     

New radiometric ages for the Fauresmith industry from Kathu Pan,southern Africa: Implications for the Earlier to Middle Stone Age transition

The Fauresmith lithic industry of South Africa has been described as transitional between the Earlier and Middle Stone Age. However, radiometric ages for this industry are inadequate. Here we present a minimum OSL age of 464 ± 47 kyr and a combined U-series–ESR age of 542₋₁₀₇⁺¹⁴⁰ kyr for an in situ Fauresmith assemblage, and three OSL ages for overlying Middle and Later Stone Age strata, from the site of Kathu Pan 1 (Northern Cape Province, South Africa). These ages are discussed in relation to the available lithostratigraphy, faunal and lithic assemblages from this site. The results indicate that the Kathu Pan 1 Fauresmith assemblage predates transitional industries from other parts of Africa e.g. Sangoan, as well as the end of the Acheulean in southern Africa. The presence of blades, in the dated Fauresmith assemblages from Kathu Pan 1 generally considered a feature of modern human behaviour ( McBrearty and Brooks, 2000, The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior, J. Human Evolution 39, 453–563),-provides evidence supporting the position that blade production in southern Africa predated the Middle Stone Age and the advent of modern Homo sapiens.     

OSL and TL dating of the Middle Stone Age sequence at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa): a clarification

Diepkloof Rock Shelter offers an exceptional opportunity to study the onset and evolution of both Still Bay (SB) and Howiesons Poort (HP) techno-complexes. However, previous age estimates based on luminescence dating of burnt quartzites (Tribolo et al., 2009) and of sediments (Jacobs et al., 2008) were not in agreement. Here, we present new luminescence ages for 17 rock samples (equivalent dose estimated with a SAR-ITL protocol instead of classical MAAD-TL) as well as for 5 sediment samples (equivalent dose estimated with SAR-single grain OSL protocol) and an update of the 22 previous age estimates for burnt lithics (modified calibration and beta dose estimates). While a good agreement between the rock and sediment ages is obtained, these estimates are still significantly older than those reported by Jacobs et al. (2008). After our own analyses of the sediment from Diepkloof, it is suspected that these authors did not correctly chose the parameters for the equivalent dose determination, leading to an underestimate of the equivalent doses, and thus of the ages.     

Introduction to the project and excavation of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape,South Africa): a view on the Middle Stone Age

This introduction presents the background to the present research project at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, initiated in 1998. It is followed by a series of original papers that were presented in November 2010 at the join 13th PAA Congress (Panafrican Association of Prehistory and Associated Disciplines) and 20th conference of SAfA (Society of Africanist Archaeologists) at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal). These papers were presented in a “Symposium on the MSA sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter: a view on the cultural evolution of southern African modern humans” organized by Pierre-Jean Texier, Guillaume Porraz, John Parkington and Jean-Philippe Rigaud. This series of papers is a first attempt at a multidisciplinary reconstruction of the way Middle Stone Age people inhabited the site of Diepkloof and the way they interacted with their environment. The resultant narrative outlines artifactual change through the sequence and discusses the factors that might underlie it.     

Prepared core reduction at the site of Kudu Koppie in northern South Africa: temporal patterns across the Earlier and Middle Stone Age boundary

Kudu Koppie is a stratified late Earlier Stone Age and Middle Stone Age archaeological site located in the northern Limpopo Province of South Africa. The prepared core reduction strategies are described and temporal trends across the ESA–MSA boundary are presented. The prepared cores and endproducts of Kudu Koppie suggest that both the late ESA and MSA toolmakers employed the Levallois Volumetric Concept, but they often exploited a nodule's natural convexities and form. The MSA toolmakers used a greater variety of prepared core methods and more intensively exploited cryptocrystalline and microcrystalline nodules, the scarcity of which may have resulted in a more “formalized” application of the Levallois Volumetric Concept. These observations are considered within the context of human behavioural evolution.