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.     

Late Pleistocene Technology at Rose Cottage Cave: A Search for Modern Behavior in an MSA Context

Recent excavations at Rose Cottage Cave, located in the Free State, South Africa, have revealed both a transitional assemblage, dated to ca. 20,000 bp, and a final Middle Stone Age (MSA) assemblage, dated to ca. 28,000 bp. Preliminary analysis of these assemblages was undertaken to determine if the current European model of a cultural revolution for the emergence of the Upper Palaeolithic can be applied to the southern African evidence. Examination of these assemblages revealed that differences occurred between the transition in Europe and that in southern Africa in both the chronology of the transition and the degree to which this complete cultural package is linked to the emergence of Late Stone Age (LSA) technology. The methods of lithic production, the chronology of the MSA/LSA transition, and the associated behavioral characteristics were examined and results indicated that the technological change which occurred during the MSA/LSA transition was not a dramatic innovation in technology but, rather, a shift in the emphasis of production from a level of technology already in place and demonstrate a level of continuity between the MSA and the LSA. As a gradual occurrence, the MSA/LSA transition does not seem to fit the time frame for the European Upper Palaeolithic; it both occurs at a later period and takes longer to transpire. In addition, the origins of symbolic use of lithics appear to lie within the MSA, indicating that a more complex set of behavioral adaptation was occurring in the late Pleistocene in southern Africa, and that the MSA/LSA transition in this region does not adequately conform to the model of a revolutionary shift in behavior and technology that is proposed for the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe     

Terminal Pleistocene Later Stone Age Human Remains from the Mlambalasi Rock Shelter,Iringa Region,Southern Tanzania

This paper introduces research at the Mlambalasi rock shelter in the Iringa Region of southern Tanzania. The deposits are composed of a historic and Iron Age occupation, a microlithic Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA), and then a macrolithic Late Pleistocene LSA. Middle Stone Age deposits are also present on the slope in front of the rock shelter. Excavations in A.D. 2002, 2006, and 2010 yielded fragmentary human remains as well as pottery, iron, stone tools, faunal bone, and glass and ostrich eggshell beads. Among the human remains, four individuals are present: two adults and a juvenile were found in the same LSA context, and another adult associated with the Iron Age/historic period. The most complete skeleton is an adult of indeterminate sex that was found in situ in an LSA deposit. Charcoal in proximity to the bone was AMS radiocarbon dated to 12,925 cal BC (OxA‐24620), which is consistent with radiocarbon dates on giant land snail shells from above and below the remains. The skeleton exhibits a series of pathological changes such as extensive dental wear and carious lesions, as well as damage most likely caused by termites, post‐mortem. The most striking aspect of this individual is its small size; stature and body mass estimations place it in the range of historic Khoesan from southern Africa. Consequently, this research adds to the discourse regarding the existence of small‐bodied people in the East African LSA. Findings from this new skeletal sample will contribute to studies of human biology and variation in Africa during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Chronological Evidence for the Introduction of Domestic Stock into Southern Africa

This essay reviews radiocarbon dates associated with the earliest evidence of domestic stock in southern Africa and reviews existing models for their introduction in light of the current evidence. Two primary models exist for the introduction of domestic stock into southern Africa: an early Khoisan wave and an Early Iron Age source. Neither model is completely supported by the evidence. Available chronological evidence suggests that Khoisan and Iron Age herders simultaneously ushered domestic stock into the northern and eastern regions of southern Africa. Early Iron Age groups in southern Zambia are likely external sources. Khoisan herders exclusively introduced domestic stock into Namibia and the Cape. However, in the northern and eastern regions of southern Africa, stock possession and transfers probably were complex and involved both Khoisan and Iron Age groups.     

Late Holocene Artifact Patterns and the Introduction of Herding to Semi-Arid Coastal Namaqualand,South Africa

ABSTRACT

Considerable change occurred in the Late Holocene Later Stone Age of Namaqualand, northwestern South Africa. Focusing on stone artifacts, pottery, and ostrich eggshell beads, the cultural sequence for the area is described. Two additions are identified, complicating the traditional model for the introduction of herding into the country. From the mid-Holocene onward, lithic assemblages are based on milky and/or clear quartz and cryptocrystalline silica and initially contain many backed tools with scrapers more common during the first millennium BC. These are hunter-gatherer assemblages. During the final centuries BC, backed bladelet-rich assemblages based on clear quartz appear, with the earliest examples demonstrating typological continuity with the existing assemblages. About 1,500 years ago, expedient assemblages lacking retouch and based on poorer quality quartz appear. The three types co-occur during the last 1,500 years, occasionally in combination with one another. This contrasts strongly with other parts of South Africa where just two distinct assemblage types are identified, suggesting that the hunter-gatherer-herder dichotomy is not universally valid. The artifact patterns between about 200 cal BC and cal AD 500 and the introduction of livestock suggest considerable cultural and social change, heralding the onset of a local Neolithic, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear.     

The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evidence from Africa,the Levant,and Europe

Projectile weaponry is a human cultural universal, but its origins and antiquity remain poorly understood. Stone- and bone-tipped projectile weapons have long been treated as emergent features of the "Upper Paleolithic" behavioral revolution. Recently it has been proposed that projectile technology was in widespread use among Homo sapiens populations in Africa during Middle Stone Age (MSA) times. One obstacle to researching the origins of projectile point technology is that the criteria archaeologists employ for recognizing plausible and implausible stone projectile points are largely subjective (overall tool shape, microwear traces). Tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) is a ballistically significant dimension that works well at discriminating North American stone projectile points (spearthrower dart tips and arrowheads) from spear points. This paper compares the TCSA values of ethnographic North American stone projectile points to hypothetical Middle and Upper Paleolithic stone projectile points from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. The results of this comparison do not support the hypothesis of widespread use of stone-tipped projectiles in Africa, the Levant, or Europe prior to 40 Ka. In the New World and in Australia, where we have the richest ethnographic record of stone projectile point use, these implements are largely employed in big-game hunting and in warfare. One or both of these factors may have played a role in the widespread adoption of stone projectile point technology after 40 Ka.     

Early Maritime Desert Dwellers in Namaqualand,South Africa: A Holocene Perspective on Pleistocene Peopling

ABSTRACT

South Africa's northern Namaqualand coastal desert is the southern extension of the Namib. Today, this region is semi-desert with patchy subsistence resources and scarce, unpredictable rainfall. Yet this ancient desert landscape possesses residues of human activity stretching back into the Middle Pleistocene, evidenced by heavily weathered surface finds, including handaxes and Victoria West cores. Such old finds in so harsh an environment raise important questions: how do human movements into this area relate to local palaeoenvironmental changes, and how has this relationship changed through time? While no dated Middle Pleistocene sites presently exist to reconstruct the earliest hominin dispersals, several late Pleistocene sites now have chronostratigraphic sequences that can be brought to bear on these questions. This article presents chronological and subsistence-settlement data for one such site, Spitzkloof A Rockshelter in northern Namaqualand's rugged Richtersveld. Humans are shown to have visited the site very sporadically between ～50,000 and 17,000 cal BP. Unlike most of the subcontinent, the most intensive occupations occur during early Marine Isotope Stage 2, when multiple proxies suggest enhanced humidity associated with intensified winter rainfall. We examine these data using the region's better-developed Holocene archaeological record to create predictions about the earliest coastal desert dwellers.     

The Holocene Archaeological Sequence of Shum Laka Rock Shelter (Grassfields, Western Cameroon)

Until recently the Grassfields (western Cameroon), cradle of the Bantu languages, were an unknown zone from the archaeological point of view. The excavations of Shum Laka rock shelter by de Maret and his team brought the most complete sequence in West Africa, spanning the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. After 20 millennia of microlithic tradition (Late Stone Age), a new culture, with macrolithic tools, polishing and pottery (Stone to Metal Age), slowly developed ca. 7000 B.P. onwards. From this early period on, forest hunting was associated with the exploitation of Canarium schweinfurthii. Around 4000 B.P., an industry with waisted axes, blades, and pottery had emerged. With a striking technological continuity, this culture survived throughout the Iron Age. Increasing importance and diversity of trees exploited through the Stone to Metal Age and the Iron Age suggests arboriculture. Regional comparisons show that, between 5000 and 2500 B.P., an original culture developed in the Grassfields and the Cross River basin.Jusqu'à récemment, les Grassfields (Cameroun occidental), berceau des langues bantoues, étaient inconnus d'un point de vue archéologique. Les fouilles de l'abri de Shum Laka par de Maret et son équipe permirent d'établir la plus complète séquence d'Afrique occidentale, embrassant la fin du Pléistocène et l'Holocène. Après 20,000 millénaires de traditions microlithiques (Age de la Pierre Récent), une nouvelle culture, caractérisée par l'apparition d'outils macrolithiques, de polissage et de poterie (Age de la Pierre au Métal), se développe lentement à partir de 7000 B.P. Dès le début, la chasse en forêt est associée à l'exploitation de Canarium schweinfurthii. Vers 4000 B.P. une industrie avec haches à gorge, lames et poterie a émergé. Dans une continuité technologique surprenante, cette culture survivra à l'Age du Fer. L'arboriculture est suggérée par l'importance et la diversification des arbres exploités durant l'Age de la Pierre au Métal et l'Age du Fer. Des comparaisons régionales montrent que, entre 5000 et 2500 B.P., une culture originale se développe dans les Grassfields et le bassin de la Cross River.     

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.     

The context,form and significance of the MSA engraved ostrich eggshell collection from Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

Broken ostrich eggshells are commonly found in Middle Stone Age sites of southern Africa, presumably collected for food consumption, and later used as artefacts. At Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Middle Stone Age inhabitants used ostrich eggshells as a medium to convey abstract depictions. Since 1998, excavations at Diepkloof have recovered 408 engraved pieces of ostrich eggshells. The study of these shows that Diepkloof inhabitants applied a restricted set of geometric engraving patterns, with the dominance of 2 main motifs, one using a hatched band and the other sub-parallel to converging lines. These motifs coexisted, but shifted in frequency toward the latter through time. Together with evidence that ostrich eggshells were used as containers, these patterns support the hypothesis that engravings were made with respect to clear but flexible social conventions and were part of a complex system of visual and symbolic communication. Since our last report (Texier et al., 2010), a few engraved pieces have been found in lower stratigraphic units, expanding substantially the time-range of the engraving practice on ostrich eggshells at Diepkloof. The earliest engravings appear at the end of the Early Howiesons Poort phase, but become numerous only during the Intermediate and Late phases of the Howiesons Poort. The collection from Diepkloof is presently unique and likely underlines the existence of regional traditions within the Howiesons Poort. Interestingly, and significantly in our view, the engraving disappears at the same time as the Howiesons Poort technology. We argue that this disappearance may reflect a modification in the way late Middle Stone Age inhabitants interacted with one another.     

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.     

Prehistoric exchange and interaction in southeastern southern africa: Marine shells and ostrich eggshell

The spatiotemporal distribution of seashells and ostrich eggshell in the Later Stone Age of southeastern southern Africa is used to infer several areas of social interaction. The inferred patterns are supported by comparisons with preferences for lithic raw materials and the distribution of bifacial stone arrows. Plusiers zones de l'interaction sociale sont déduites des distributions chronologiques et spatiales de la coquillage et de la coquille de'autruche de l'Age de la Pierre Récent au sud- est de l'Afrique australe. Ces distributions sont soutenues des préférences pour des matières premières lithiques et de la distribution des flèches bifaciales de la pierre. Provincial names and boundaries are as given on May 1, 1994     

From stone to metal: New perspectives on the later prehistory of West Africa

Earlier views saw West Africa as culturally stagnant through much of the Holocene until stimulus or intervention from north of the Sahara transformed Iron Age societies. Evidence accumulating over the past 15 years suggests that stone-using societies from 10,000 to 3000 B.P. were far more diverse than previously thought. Against an increasingly detailed record of Holocene climate change, the complexity of local adaptation and change is becoming better understood. Although a strong case currently exists for the introduction of copper and iron to West Africa from the north in the mid-first millennium B.C., the subsequent development of metallurgy was strongly innovative in different parts of the subcontinent. Soon after the advent of metals, a dramatic increase in archaeological evidence for social stratification and hierarchical political structures indicates the emergence of societies markedly more complex than anything currently documented in the Late Stone Age. The best-documented examples come from the Middle Niger region and the Nigerian forest. In these areas, earlier diffusionist models in which complexity originated outside West Africa have yielded to evidence that indigenous processes were instrumental in this transformation. Trade, ideology, climate shifts, and indirect influences from North Africa, including the introduction of the domesticated horse to the Sahelian grasslands, are identified as factors essential to an understanding of these processes.     

Levallois Lithic Technology from the Kapthurin Formation,Kenya: Acheulian Origin and Middle Stone Age Diversity

The earliest fossils of Homo sapiens are reported from in Africa in association with both late Acheulian and Middle Stone Age (MSA) artifacts. The relation between the origin of our species during the later Middle Pleistocene in Africa and the major archaeological shift marked by the Acheulian-MSA transition is therefore a key issue in human evolution, but it has thus far suffered from a lack of detailed comparison. Here we initiate an exploration of differences and similarities among Middle Pleistocene lithic traditions through examination of Levallois flake production from a sequence of Acheulian and MSA sites from the Kapthurin Formation of Kenya dated to ∼200–500 ka. Results suggest that MSA Levallois technology developed from local Acheulian antecedents, and support a mosaic pattern of lithic technological change across the Acheulian-MSA transition.Les premiers restes fossiles d’Homo sapiens sont rapportés d’Afrique aussi bien à des avec des outillages de l’Acheuléen final que du Middle Stone Age (MSA). La relation entre l’origine de notre espèce au Pléistocène moyen final d’Afrique et le changement majeur marquée par la transition Acheuléen-MSA est par conséquent un moment clé de l’évolution humaine qui a manqué jusqu’ici d’analyses comparatives détaillées. Nous nous proposons ici de commencer à explorer les différences et les similarités qui peuvent se faire jour au Pléistocène moyen dans les traditions techniques à l’examen des productions à éclats Levallois, dans une séquence de sites acheuléens et MSA de la formation de Kapthurin (Kenya), datée de 200–500 ka. Les resultants obtenus suggèrent que la technologie Levallois MSA s’est développée sur ce substrat acheuléen et renforce cette perception que l’on peut avoir d’une mosa?que de changements technologiques jalonnant la transition Acheuléen-MSA.     

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.     

The Middle Stone Age south of the Limpopo River

Current interest in the origins of anatomically modernHomo sapiens has focused attention on early modern human remains and related archaeological materials associated with the southern African Middle Stone Age. While the anatomically modern status and a Last Interglacial or later age for the human fossils enjoy general support, issues related to the definition of the Middle Stone Age, its dating, and the interpretation of human behavior lack consensus. Available evidence suggests that the anatomically modern human skeleton appeared well before many aspects of the subsistence and symbolic behavior that characterize recent foragers and that Middle Stone Age technology persisted longer in southern Africa than its northern hemisphere counterpart.     

The Early Later Stone Age in East Africa: Excavations and Lithic Assemblages from Lukenya Hill

The site of Lukenya Hill, Kenya, is one of the richest Later Stone Age (LSA) sites in East Africa. Its sequence documents the increasing manufacture of microlithic tools, one of the hallmarks of hunter–gatherer behavioral modernity (Bar-Yosef and Kuhn, 1999). This paper presents results of excavations at the LSA site of GvJm62, Lukenya Hill, and analysis of site formation processes on this inselberg rock shelter. It examines lithic assemblages from GvJm62 and four other Pleistocene-dated LSA sites at Lukenya Hill. Differences in raw material use, typology, and chronology indicate that there are three different kinds of LSA industries in the sampled sites at Lukenya Hill. Changes in technology, activities, and land use patterns can explain the differences among these three industries. The Lukenya Hill sequence is compared with other East African LSA industries.Le gisement de Lukenya Hill en Kenya est un des gisements les plus riches du type Paleolithique Superieure en Afrique de l'Est. La sequence demonstre l'éxistence et ensuite le fréquence des outils microlithiques. Cet article présent les résultats des fouilles du gisement de GvJm62 à Lukenya Hill et présent un étude des methodes de formation du gisement. On examine les outils lithiques de GvJm62 et quatre autres gisements à Lukenya Hill. Les differences des types des matières premiers, de la chronologie, et des types d'outils suggèrent qu'il y a trois types d'industrie à Lukenya Hill. On peut expliquer ces differences par changements en la technologie, les activités et les modèles de l'utilisation de la terre. La séquence à Lukenya Hill est comparée avec les autres industries Est Africain.     

浙江旧石器考古综述

从2002年开始,浙江进行了一系列旧石器考古调查与发掘,成果表明古人类在浙江活动频繁、从早更新世晚段开始一直延续到晚更新世的某一阶段,持续时间很长。石制品的组合大多数归属于南方主工业,但也表现出了一些小流域的特色。从目前所发现旧石器地点分析,浙江旧石器考古研究的前景广阔。     

Human Responses to Changing Environments in Central Africa Between 40,000 and 12,000 B.P.

Reconstructions of the Equatorial forest in Central Africa fuel the debate on whether hunter-gatherers at the end of the Pleistocene were capable of living in or off the forest prior to the advent of agriculture. Their traces are rare and often reduced to their stone equipment. In an attempt to see to what extent technology and environmental exploitation are interrelated, all Central African sites dated between 40,000 and 12,000 B.P. are analyzed for their material culture, the environmental setting at the time of the occupation, and the exploitation of that environment. Although the evidence is still circumstantial, two large technological traditions have been recognized in Central Africa at the end of the Pleistocene, the Lupemban and microlithic industries, and both are associated with a variety of environments. This, in combination with a fragmented forest and concomitant increase of ecotone during the Last Glacial Maximum, would have enhanced rather than hampered human occupation in the area. It may be argued that the inherent flexibility and capability of exploiting a variety of environments enabled the hunter-gatherer communities to face and adapt to environmental changes regardless of stone technology.     

The Taphonomy of the Final Middle Stone Age Fauna from Sibudu Cave,South Africa

This study applies a taphonomic analysis to the final Middle Stone Age faunal assemblage from Sibudu Cave, South Africa, by assessing bone surface modifications, breakage patterns and skeletal element abundances. Cut marks, percussion marks, severe fragmentation and the high frequency of burned bone combine to demonstrate that human behaviour was the principal agent in the assemblage's formation. These results are consistent with previous research on earlier occupations of Sibudu during the Middle Stone Age. Moreover, this assemblage is proposed to reflect regular site maintenance and cleaning. This conclusion is consistent with previous research that demonstrates systematic site maintenance during the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu and emphasises this behaviour as being a consistent activity for Middle Stone Age foragers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.