A late Middle Stone Age artifact assemblage from Sibudu (KwaZulu-Natal): comparisons with the European Middle Paleolithic

It has been suggested that many behavioral innovations, said to appear during the late Middle Stone Age in sub-Saharan Africa, facilitated the expansion of anatomically modern humans from Africa and the Near East into Europe at about 50 kyr; the process eventually led to the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans and the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic. However, assemblages in this time range are little known in South Africa. In fact, the transition from Middle to the Later Stone Age in Southern Africa is controversial. The early appearance in South Africa of many innovations, such as sophisticated knapping techniques (e.g. the use of soft hammer or indirect percussion in blade production, of composite tools, of microlithic and bladelet technologies) remains to be established through technological analysis.We present here the first results of a project designed to carry out detailed technological studies of several lithic assemblages in South Africa and France dated to the transition period. At this time we have completed the study of a post-Howiesons Poort assemblage from the rock shelter site of Sibudu.The >2 m deep stratigraphic sequence of Sibudu extends from Howiesons Poort at its base to final Middle Stone Age, directly under Iron Age layers. We have analyzed in detail layer RSP (ca. 53 kyr, 1 m above the Howiesons Poort levels) which has provided a large assemblage of several thousand stone artifacts. Compared to published MSA assemblages this industry is unusual for the very high proportions of retouched pieces (15%). The technology is not very elaborate and there is no strong standardization of the end-products. There are no flakes of predetermined shapes; retouch is used to modify irregular flakes to obtain desired edges. Knapping of flakes and blades is done by hard hammer; soft hammer is used only for retouching tools. Interestingly the older Howiesons Poort blades were produced on the same raw materials by soft hammer. Raw material (hornfels and dolerite) was procured from distances of less than 20 km. Unifacial points are the dominant type and there is strong evidence of hafting and use as spear armatures. Detailed comparisons with Middle Paleolithic assemblages of Western Europe show that the late Middle Stone Age technology in South Africa is very similar to that of the Middle Paleolithic; in fact we see no fundamental differences between the two entities, as far as lithic technology is concerned. Implications for the Out of Africa hypothesis are discussed.     

Context, curation, and bias: an evaluation of the Middle Paleolithic collections of Combe-Grenal (France)

The site of Combe-Grenal is arguably the reference site for the Mousterian of southwest France. Bordes excavated the site over a period of 13 years and generated a large collection of lithics and fauna from a deep series of 64 Lower and Middle Paleolithic levels. Though Bordes only partially published his work at the site, its long stratigraphic sequence and particularly its collections have been subjected to numerous studies over the years and have figured prominently in several long-running debates concerning the Mousterian. Recently, the authors undertook a project to inventory and analyzed these collections along with the documentation of their archaeological context. In so doing, however, a number of serious problems became apparent with the collection in its current state, problems that cannot easily be resolved given the state of the available documentation. These problems have important implications not only for results of studies based on these collections, but more generally, they also point to problems in terms of how archaeological collections are curated.     

The history of stones: behavioural inferences and temporal resolution of an archaeological assemblage from the Middle Palaeolithic

Behavioural issues are a main focus of current Palaeolithic research, especially where the archaeological record of archaic hominids is concerned. Often these issues are approached using archaeological assemblages that are palimpsests defined exclusively by stratigraphic criteria. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether such assemblages are adequate for solving behavioural questions. As a case study, we will present the lithic provisioning strategies documented in level L of the Abric Romaní Middle Palaeolithic site. The results of this study suggest that the number of events and/or the amount of time included in the archaeological assemblages could be relevant when explaining the interassemblage variability, given that palimpsests tend to reduce the behavioural variability. If we want to approach the behavioural domain, we need archaeological assemblages of higher temporal resolution, defined through the identification of single activity events.     

A useful measure of the desirability of different raw materials for retouch within and between assemblages: the raw material retouch index (RMRI)

Due to their predictable fracture and the quality of the edge that can be produced on them, fine-grained raw materials such as chert have long been favoured by prehistoric toolmakers for the production of relatively small retouched artefacts. It is common to find far higher frequencies of retouch in such materials than is the case in all other rock types. In order to quantify the desirability of different materials for retouch I propose a simple index relating the frequency of retouched tools in a raw material to the frequency of that material in the entire assemblage. Using the ‘raw material retouch index’ (RMRI) one can compare relative raw material desirability both within and between assemblages.     

Edge damage distribution at the assemblage level on Middle Stone Age lithics: an image-based GIS approach

Lithic artifacts represent the most abundant cultural remains from Middle Stone Age sites in southern Africa. Of these, pointed forms (under a variety of names), blades, and flakes have long been recognized as the three most abundant general types, and retouch on all three is rare relative to similar forms of equivalent age elsewhere. Here we offer a new technique for documenting concentrations of edge damage on an assemblage level to infer taphonomic processes and to record usewear and retouch. This approach is specifically aimed at patterning on the assemblage scale, rather than on individual artifacts. We use points from a Middle Stone Age assemblage from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, near Mossel Bay, South Africa, to illustrate the technique. Combining GIS, rose diagrams, and polar statistics, we were able to visually and statistically summarize lithic artifacts for patterns of edge damage. For the points made on quartzite in this assemblage, edge damage was found to be significantly patterned and taphonomic causes of the damage were rejected. The technique also opens avenues for many other quantitative analyses that are either impossible or difficult with current non-visual systems of recording, such as measurements of distance, angle, and area of edge damage.     

Middle paleolithic scraper reduction: Background,clarification, and review of the evidence to date

The hypothesis that the principal varieties of Middle Paleolithic scrapers reflect varying degrees of resharpening and rejuvenation, rather than discrete emic types, has generated considerably controversy over the past decade. While there have been certain misunderstandings surrounding the proposed models of scraper reduction, this controversy also reflects different approaches taken by prehistorians in interpreting lithic artifacts. Placing the notion of scraper reduction in the context of lithic processes generally known as the Frison Effect, this article presents the background and intellectual context of this interpretation and attempts to clarify the models themselves and their test implications. It also reviews and summarizes data generated by several independent tests of the hypothesis and presents new data bearing on this question.     

Stone tools for the hunt: points with impact scars from a Middle Paleolithic site in southern Italy

We present the find of impact scars on six Middle Paleolithic points from the rock shelter site of Oscurusciuto in southern Italy, dated to MIS 3. We review our knowledge of hunting weapons in the European Middle Paleolithic, the available evidence for the use of Mousterian points as spear tips and the interpretations of impact scars. Our identifications are based on comparisons to similar scars observed on experimental material and archaeological material of known function, made of the same raw materials (cryptocrystalline varieties of silica) as the points from the Oscurusciuto site. The scarce evidence available prior to our work suggested that at least some Mousterian points were used to tip hand-delivered spears already by MIS 6 (i.e. between 186 and 127 ka). The evidence from Oscurusciuto confirm that Neanderthals in Western Europe sometimes used Mousterian points to tip spears to hunt large and medium size mammals, like the fauna present at the Oscurusciuto site. The significance of this sample is not diminished by its small size, as indicated by a discussion of the factors that influence the frequencies of impact scars in different archaeological samples and a review of comparable evidence from residential sites of similar and younger ages.     

Late Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic Evidence from the East European Plain and Caucasus: A New Look at Variability,Interactions, and Transitions

This paper presents analyses of Late Middle Paleolithic (LMP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) material from the East European Plain and Caucasus. Late Middle Paleolithic industries show a highly variable pattern, although they are formally ascribed to a limited number of technocomplexes. Many of the LMP industries, especially in the Crimea, survived to the time of the transition to the Upper Paleolithic, but data suggesting a local origin of EUP are extremely rare. The transition is generally dated between 32/30,000 and 26/24,000 years, while the most crucial changes coincide with the Stillfried B interstadial. Aurignacian (two variants), Gravettian, and Transitional industries are recognized in the EUP. The presence of Middle Paleolithic traits in the Aurignacian may indicate acculturation, while the Transitional industries might reflect either acculturation or independent local development of new technologies, raising the possibility of local transformation of some Middle Paleolithic into non-Aurignacian EUP industries.     

Sexualities,subjectivities and urban spaces: a case for assemblage thinking

In this essay, we argue that assemblage thinking has much to offer geographers attempting to conceptualize the interrelationships between sexualities, subjectivities and contemporary urban spaces. In our current research on queer mobilities, we found that despite the explanatory weight provided by mobilities approaches, two fundamental questions remained: how to conceptualise the nature of ‘the queer subject’, and how to better explain why certain kinds of urban spaces still seemed to support these newly mobile queer subjects. Here we speculate on the potential of assemblage thinking to formulate some new theoretical and conceptual responses to these questions. While quite preliminary, there is the potential to understand how interlocking (but temporary and unstable) notions of identities, subjectivities and mobilities (of ideas, people, knowledge, capital, etc.) can be ‘assembled’ in and across urban spaces, recursively reshaping sexualities and places.     

The Shuidonggou site complex: new excavations and implications for the earliest Late Paleolithic in North China

The initial Late Paleolithic, said to appear between 40 and 30 kya in eastern Asia, is defined by the appearance of many innovations. These archaeological indicators include the appearance of more refined stone tool making techniques (e.g., include the appearance of blade and microblade technology), complex hearth construction, use of pigments and personal ornamentation, as well as worked faunal implements such as bone and antler tools. We report here new findings from a multidisciplinary research project conducted at the Shuidonggou (Choei-tong-keou) site complex in northern China, a series of localities that date from the initial Late Paleolithic to the Neolithic.     

Connecting climate variability and conflict: Implications for empirical testing

Quantitative research on climate variability and conflict is frequently criticized for being theoretically underdeveloped. In this article I discuss the most plausible suggested mechanisms connecting climate variability to conflict explicitly in reference to empirical testing. This approach could help solve the puzzle of how climate variability and conflict are related by highlighting how researchers can establish the key elements in the causal argument before moving on to testing it empirically. More specifically, I emphasize four key elements when evaluating each individual mechanism: first, who are the most relevant actors, second, what are the actors reacting toward (what type of climate variability), third, what conflict type is the most likely outcome, and fourth, what is the most appropriate temporal and spatial scale for each individual mechanism. Although empirical studies have moved toward more focus on theory and explicit tests of hypotheses derived from theoretical frameworks, an overview of how mechanisms are likely to manifest themselves and a discussion on how researchers can model them in analyses are missing in the research field. Adding technical fixes or new datasets to empirical testing does not automatically improve our understanding of the relationship between climate variability and conflict if the choices are not anchored in theoretical expectations.     

Whistler-mode propagation: results of model calculations for an inhomogeneous plasma

Waveforms computed using the new whistler model derived from Maxwell's equations were analysed. In the calculations, realistic model values for magnetospheric parameters were used. The results accurately described whistler-mode propagation in the magnetosphere and provide explanations for some features exhibited by real observed whistlers when they are analysed. In particular, solutions of the exact full-wave whistler model can explain the whistler fine structure, and may be used to develop a more accurate (matched filtering) fine-structure analysis method.     

Questions of Complexity and Scale in Explanations for Cultural Transitions in the Pleistocene: A Case Study from the Early Upper Paleolithic

Matching scales of observation and explanation is an essential challenge for archaeology, Paleolithic archaeology in particular. This paper presents a case study from the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) in the Eastern Mediterranean to illustrate some of the scalar issues in explaining transitions in the Pleistocene. The cultural sequence at Üça??zl? Cave I documents both continuity and change in a range of behaviors over approximately 12 ky. The sequence spans the transition from one EUP cultural unit, the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) to another one, the Ahmarian. There is evidence for changes in lithic technology and retouched tool forms, human diets, and the role of the site within a regional land use system, but few if any of these changes are closely timed with the shift from one archaeological “culture” to another. In this particular case, local and regional transitions seem to be largely unconnected. However, considering the local situations allows a more precise focus on what the broader cultural transition represents and how it might be studied.     

The triangular model as an instrument for visualising and analysing residuality

Over the last thirty years, residuality has developed into a major research topic in archaeology. In these studies, several ways of visualising residuality have been proposed, facilitating the analyses of archaeological contexts. These all started from linear temporal concepts, though. In the present article, a new approach is proposed, which makes use of an extra dimension. This enables the inclusion of extra variables and, hence, a more balanced analysis of the contexts through their graphic representations. Archaeological contexts from recent excavations in Carthage are used to illustrate the potentials of the model and its application in the archaeological practise.     

Toward an ecological model for chalcolithic cultures of central and western India

The culture area is a construct of behavioral uniformities which occur within an area of environmental uniformities. It is assumed that cultural and natural areas are generally coterminous because the culture represents an adjustment to the particular environment. (Steward 1955:35)     

The Broad Spectrum Revolution at 40: Resource diversity,intensification, and an alternative to optimal foraging explanations

More than 40 years ago Kent Flannery coined the term Broad Spectrum Revolution (BSR) in reference to a broadening of the subsistence base of Late Pleistocene hunter–gatherers in the Near East that preceded and helped pave the way for the domestication and plants and animals and the emergence of agriculture. Set within a demographic density model that projected differential rates of population growth and emigration in different resource zones of the Near East, Flannery’s BSR quickly became a global construct linking resource diversification and intensification to imbalances between population and environmental carrying capacity. In recent years the BSR has proven especially attractive to researchers working within an optimal foraging theory (OFT) framework in which diversification and intensification of subsistence only occurs within the context of resource depression, caused by either demographic pressure or environmental deterioration. This OFT perspective, that situates human societies in a one-way adaptive framework as they are forced to adapt to declining availability of optimal resources, however, is increasingly being called into question. Numerous examples of diversification and intensification are being documented in contexts of resource abundance shaped, in part, by deliberate human efforts at ecosystem engineering intended to promote resource productivity. An alternative approach, framed within a newer paradigm from evolutionary biology, niche construction theory (NCT), provides a more powerful explanatory framework for the BSR wherever it occurred.