Early Acheulean organised core knapping strategies ca. 1.3 Ma at Rietputs 15, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

The Rietputs 15 site near Windsorton (Northern Cape, South Africa) has recently gained attention as the first Early Acheulean site in South Africa to be dated with an absolute rather than relative method (Gibbon et al., 2009). A large assemblage from Pit 5 has a cosmogenic nuclide burial age of 1.31 ± 0.21 Ma. In addition to the Early Acheulean handaxes, cleavers and picks retrieved from this pit, a notable feature is the presence of an organised core flaking strategy, which contrasts with the simpler reduction methods that dominate the assemblage. Just over 17% of the cores display features that demonstrate hominids were able to control core working in order to exploit the largest surface, occasionally for a preferential removal. The most common form of organised core has an asymmetrical shape, in which the underside is worked pyramidally to produce a larger upper surface suitable for yielding sizeable flakes, and in the most developed form flakes are removed perpendicular to the surface. Limited platform working of these cores suggests that raw materials were intentionally selected for large surfaces and shapes appropriate for organised flaking. Hornfels comprises over 64% of the raw materials, which is unusual in the African earlier Acheulean. Rietputs 15 provides strong supporting evidence for the origins of organised flaking strategies during the course of the Early Acheulean.