Variation in hunting weaponry for more than 300,000 years: A tip cross-sectional area study of Middle Stone Age points from southern Africa

Abstract

Much has been written about Middle Stone Age hunting in southern Africa, yet there is no comprehensive overview for the development and use of stone-tipped hunting weapons. With this contribution, I use the tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) method to hypothesise about variation in weapon-assisted hunting strategies for the last 300,000 years or more. I assess and build onto previous hypotheses generated from similar approaches, introducing a larger sample from across the region. By also bolstering the standard TCSA ranges for javelin tips and stabbing/thrusting spear tips with more experimental and ethno-historical material, the method's interpretative robusticity is increased. The results indicate a general trend through time towards smaller weapon tips until reaching arrow-tip range during the MIS 4 glacial. Whereas light-weight javelins, similar to those used by African hunters today may have been in play since almost 200,000 years ago, it remains uncertain whether spearthrower-and-dart technology was ever used in southern Africa. Finally, I align the TCSA outcomes with climatic and demographic reconstructions and explain how human cognition interacts with technological adaptations such as the use of hunting weapons – demonstrating how the interplay between environment, demography, technology and cognition is integral to the development and understanding of Middle Stone Age weapon-assisted hunting strategies.