Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages from Leba Cave (Southwest Angola)

Abstract

Africa is a key region to understand the emergence and evolution of humans and their distinctive cultural traits. Detailed information exists across the continent, but major areas still lack crucial evidence. One of the most under-represented regions in research about the Middle Stone Age (MSA) is Angola. The geographical position of Angola linking the Central Plateau of Africa to the rainforest, at north, and the Namib Desert, at south, encompasses a mosaic of ecotones that are most relevant to understand the emergence and evolution of human culture in Southwestern Africa.A detailed analysis of the lithic assemblages from Leba Cave, a site located in the western edge of the Huíla Plateau is presented. These highlands correspond to a strip of the Great Escarpment of Africa, a major landform shaping the relief of the southern half of the continent. In the upper series of the escarpment in southern Angola, the outcrops of dolomites and dolostones present a variety of karstic features with preservation of palaeontological and archaeological remains.Leba Cave is located at Humpata, Huíla Province, and was discovered during the Portuguese Colonial Missions. A test pit opened in 1950 retrieved a collection of sediments, fauna and lithics. Our study was focused on the lithic assemblages referenced with the three lower horizons in the reported stratigraphy (III, IV, VI). The techno-typological analysis of the lithics showed these assemblages relate to the classic repertoires of the MSA found across Southern and Central Africa. The chrono-cultural significance of these results is discussed, as well as the regional idiosyncrasies that may characterize the lithic assemblages north of the Namib Desert.