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.     

Alma Söderhjelm and Hilma Granqvist

This essay examines two outstanding Finnish scholars, the historian Alma Söderhjelm (1870–1949) and the social anthropologist Hilma Granqvist (1890–1972). The article investigates their social background, the obstacles they faced in becoming qualified and in advancing within the university system, their scholarly ambitions and the particular personal qualities they brought to their task. Although a generation apart and coming from different social milieux, their stories have much in common, both with each other and with many other pioneers of womenà s history in a variety of societies.