Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.

Emily Hallinan,Matthew Shaw,Michael D Petraglia

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241068

Emily Hallinan, Matthew Shaw + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241068

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Abstract

The Middle Stone Age record in southern Africa is recognising increasing diversity in lithic technologies as research expands beyond the coastal-montane zone. New research in the arid Tankwa Karoo region of the South African interior has revealed a rich surface artefact record including a novel method of point production, recognised as Nubian Levallois technology in Late Pleistocene North Africa, Arabia and the Levant. We analyse 121 Nubian cores and associated points from the surface site Tweefontein against the strict criteria which are used to define Nubian technology elsewhere. The co-occurrence of typically post-Howiesons Poort unifacial points suggests an MIS 3 age. We propose that the occurrence of this distinctive technology at numerous localities in the Tankwa Karoo region reflects an environment-specific adaptation in line with technological regionalisation seen more widely in MIS 3. The arid setting of these assemblages in the Tankwa Karoo compares with the desert context of Nubian technology globally, consistent with convergent evolution in our case. The South African evidence contributes an alternative perspective on Nubian technology removed from the ‘dispersal’ or ‘diffusion’ scenarios of the debate surrounding its origin and spread within and out of Africa.

Highlights

Southern Africa is a critical location for understanding the origins of modern humans in the Middle Stone Age (MSA), about 300 ka to 40 ka
While it is currently difficult to unravel the ‘dispersal, diffusion or convergence’ debate that surrounds the northern Nubian cores, we propose that the South African evidence–separated substantially in time and space–presents a good independent opportunity to examine whether, and why, Nubian technology might represent an adaptation to arid environments
A hypothesis that we propose for the regionally-specific Tankwa Karoo technology is that Nubian Levallois products were an effective way of producing predetermined points that were thick enough to withstand use and multiple resharpening episodes

Summary

Introduction

Southern Africa is a critical location for understanding the origins of modern humans in the Middle Stone Age (MSA), about 300 ka to 40 ka. The Still Bay and Howiesons Poort have received special attention due to the early evidence of art and symbolism alongside high levels of technological investment in producing characteristic artefacts, bifacial points (Still Bay) and backed artefacts (Howiesons Poort) [4, 5]. The Fynbos vegetation biome, where these tend to occur, provides a dense and predictable food supply in its juxtaposition of terrestrial and marine resources, the latter often linked with increasing technological, social and cognitive developments in the MSA [6,7,8].

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