Prey Choice During the South African Middle Stone Age: Avoiding Dangerous Prey or Maximising Returns?

Scrutinising prey choice allows the testing of hypotheses on whether the hunting capabilities of Middle Stone Age (MSA) people were as sophisticated as those of Later Stone Age hunter–gatherers. I apply an optimal foraging perspective to investigate whether MSA prey choice was constrained by the danger associated with hunting certain species. Here, I study the relative importance of elands, buffalo and suids. Eland was the most attractive prey to hunter–gatherers because it is large and docile. Buffalo and suids are more aggressive. When additional species to eland needed to be exploited, we would expect unsophisticated hunters to prefer the smaller suids over buffalo. If hunting prowess was sufficient to deal with both buffalo and suids, buffalo should be preferred. Due to their size, exploitation of buffalo would be more profitable than exploitation of suids. I show that, taking environmental circumstances into account, buffalo were preferred to suids, suggesting that MSA people were capable, sophisticated hunters.     

Twenty-First-Century Historical Archaeology

The practice of historical archaeology has exploded over the past two decades, and especially since 2000. Methodological advances and new theoretical insights mean that archaeological research requires periodic evaluation, and this overview builds on the work of three earlier assessors of the discipline. Here, I concentrate on four areas of research currently being pursued by historical archaeologists: analytical scale, capitalism, social inequality, and heritage and memory. I conclude that historical archaeologists have made major strides in understanding the modern world and that future research promises to offer diverse perspectives that will deepen our appreciation for how the past influences the present.     

The Prehistoric Development of Clothing: Archaeological Implications of a Thermal Model

This paper presents a thermal model for the prehistoric origin and development of clothing. A distinction is drawn between simple and complex forms of clothing, with broad implications for the interpretation of paleolithic technological transitions and the emergence of modern human behavior. Physiological principles and paleoenvironmental data are harnessed to identify conditions requiring simple, loosely draped garments and the more challenging conditions that demanded additional protection in the form of complex garment assemblages. No actual clothing survives from the Pleistocene, yet the archaeological record yields evidence for technological and other correlates of clothing—more evidence than is generally supposed. Major innovations and trends in the distributions and relative frequencies of lithic and other tool forms may reflect the changing need for portable insulation in the context of fluctuating ice age climates. Moreover, the nonthermal repercussions of complex clothing can be connected with archaeological signatures of modern human behavior, notably adornment. Alternative models are less parsimonious in accounting for the geographical and temporal variability of prominent technological and other behavioral patterns in association with environmental change.