The place beyond the trees: renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome

A Val,D.M Witelson,J.X Zhao,S Bansal,K.J Thomsen,T Hodgskiss,F.H Neumann,J Culey,D Stratford,F Colino,M Murungi,M Duval,K Shadrach,M Van Der Ryst,P Morrissey,A Murray,P De La Peña

doi:10.1007/s12520-021-01302-7

Abstract

Olieboomspoort is one of the few rock shelters in the vast interior of southern Africa documenting pulses of occupation from the Acheulean until the end of the Later Stone Age. Revil Mason excavated the site in 1954 and attributed the large Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblage to his middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg Industry. Recent work at the site has focused on the Holocene layers, but little is known about the earlier phases of shelter use. Here, we provide some background to the shelter, give a history of past research and present initial results following renewed fieldwork at the site. The MSA deposits contain abundant lithic artefacts and ochre, and we present an initial description of these cultural remains. Palynological analysis reveals limited potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, but some faunal remains indicate open grasslands. We dated two equid teeth that provided highly consistent combined U-series-ESR estimates, resulting in a mean age of 150 ± 14 ka (1σ). Even when considering potential sources of uncertainty such as variations in water-intake, these fossils can securely be dated to Marine Isotopic Stage 6. Our reappraisal of site formation processes highlights the fact that the archaeological assemblage is strongly time-averaged. We discuss these different results in the context of a recently rekindled interest in the so-called Pietersburg Industry.

Highlights

In southern Africa, several coastal and near-coastal sites have provided evidence for the emergence of innovative behaviours amongst early modern human populations (e.g. Henshilwood et al 2002, 2004, 2011; d’Errico et al 2005, 2008, 2012; Marean et al 2007; Backwell et al 2008; Jacobs et al 2008; Mourre et al 2010; Texier et al 2010, 2013; Wadley et al 2011)
Almost 60 years ago, the large lithic assemblage retrieved from Olieboomspoort (OBP) was instrumental in characterising Middle Stone Age (MSA) techno-cultural developments in the interior of southern Africa generally and central to Mason’s definition of the so-called Pietersburg Industry (Mason 1957, 1959, 1962)
The OBP site in the Waterberg mountain range of Limpopo Province is one of the few sites in South Africa preserving a succession of Earlier Stone Age (ESA) (Acheulean), MSA and Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) occupation phases, attesting to the long presence of hominins in the area

Summary

Introduction

In southern Africa, several coastal and near-coastal sites have provided evidence for the emergence of innovative behaviours amongst early modern human populations (e.g. Henshilwood et al 2002, 2004, 2011; d’Errico et al 2005, 2008, 2012; Marean et al 2007; Backwell et al 2008; Jacobs et al 2008; Mourre et al 2010; Texier et al 2010, 2013; Wadley et al 2011). Previous excavations conducted by van der Ryst (2007) exposed a large 20 m2 sub-horizontal surface of MSA deposits.

Results

Conclusion