Middle Stone Age Lithic Assemblages Research Articles

The generic Middle Stone Age: fact or fiction?

ABSTRACT Recent decades have seen a surge of interest in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) as it constitutes the archaeological background to the early evolution of Homo sapiens. Research primacy has been given to rare regional and temporal signatures of MSA technological diversity and material culture, typically in open grassland or sparse savanna regions. These include, for example, the Still Bay, Howiesons Poort, Lupemban and Aterian, all of which can be seen as specific variants of the MSA. Archaeological assemblages apparently lacking distinctive features have received little attention in their own right. Such occurrences can be subsumed under the informal term of a more ‘generic’ MSA. The marginalisation of this material culture is problematic as it dominates the MSA record. The apparent continuity and commonality of generic MSA elements over large spatial and temporal scales also raise manifold questions about the early evolution of our species. As such, a ‘generic’ MSA might be perceived as the common technological and material substrate of early Homo sapiens behaviour and culture. At the same time, we lack quantitative studies that justify subsuming close to 300,000 years of material culture into a single category. This special issue of Azania is based on a symposium at the Sixteenth Congress of the PanAfrican Archaeological Association of Prehistory and Related Studies in Zanzibar (Tanzania) that brought together researchers working in different African regions to scrutinise apparently ‘non-specific’ MSA lithic assemblages across time and space, evaluating their commonality and relevance on different chronological and geographical scales. The six articles in this issue span comparative quantitative studies within and across regions, methodological and theoretical advances to reach these goals and the integration of palaeoecological data. A common interest lies in understanding but also testing the validity of using a ‘generic’ MSA and the general relevance of more specific or generic technological assemblages in the wider framework of modern human cultural and biological evolution.

The MIS 5a (~80 ka) Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages from Melikane Rockshelter, Lesotho: Highland adaptation and social fragmentation

Multidisciplinary research suggests that Marine Isotope Stage 5 (~130–74 ka) was an important evolutionary stage in African deep history. Population expansion and growth spurred changes in material culture as well as the exploration of previously unoccupied regions and ecosystems. The archaeological sequence at Melikane Rockshelter (1860 masl) in the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains of highland Lesotho, southern Africa, stretches from the late Holocene back to sub-stage 5a, ~80 ka. The site's earliest strata represent one of the earliest known examples of a sustained human presence in high mountain systems worldwide. This paper deals with the lithic assemblages from those levels, which are currently the oldest radiometrically dated archaeology in Lesotho and one of the few stratified assemblages of Last Interglacial age in the southern African interior. The results of a typo-technological analysis of the assemblages are presented. They suggest that the afromontane foragers who resided at Melikane employed both blade-focussed and bipolar flaking systems, curated a maintainable toolkit suited to frequent residential moves, and used a hybrid provisioning system adapted to their immediate environment. Comparisons with other late Last Interglacial assemblages across the subcontinent suggest that highland populations at this time were largely disconnected from their lowland counterparts. This implies that as Last Interglacial populations in southern Africa expanded into new environments, they also fragmented, adapting to local conditions rather than adhering to a universal technological system.

Is it Time to Retire NASTIES in Southern Africa? Moving Beyond the Culture-Historical Framework for Middle Stone Age Lithic Assemblage Variability

ABSTRACT The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of southern Africa provides crucial insight on early Homo sapiens behavioral evolution. Archaeologists have traditionally presented lithic assemblage variability as a sequence of discrete Named Stone Tool Industries (“NASTIES”, Shea, 2014, Quaternary International) or techno-complexes. Many have highlighted the issues associated with the archaeological systematics of this time period in southern Africa and beyond, yet the original framework continues to persist. This paper presents two case studies from the Late Pleistocene that further problematize the usefulness of NASTIES. First, the Pinnacle Point complex of sites show that significant landscape-scale variability between coeval lithic assemblages defies the traditional classification system. Second, investigating the relationship between technological and environmental change has led to conflicting results that cannot be resolved when NASTIES are the units of analysis. While lithic data are key for understanding early Homo sapiens behavioral evolution, NASTIES are not the best tools for doing so.

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

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.

Landscape variability in tool-use and edge damage formation in South African Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages

Landscape variability in tool-use and edge damage formation in South African Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages

Sub-surface movement of stone artefacts at White Paintings Shelter, Tsodilo Hills, Botswana: Implications for the Middle Stone Age chronology of central southern Africa

White Paintings Shelter, Tsodilo Hills, Botswana plays a pivotal role in the archaeological chronology of the Middle Stone Age in the Kalahari. Results of refitting and the application of the chaîne opératoire on the Middle Stone Age lithic assemblage from this site suggest that the previously reported relatively undisturbed nature of the lower deposits should be refuted. Potential causes for this admixture include sloping deposits and post-depositional processes. The significant consequences for the Middle Stone Age occupation, dating and transition to the Later Stone Age at White Paintings Shelter are explored.

A Refitting Study of Late Early to Middle Stone Age Lithic Assemblages from the Site of Kudu Koppie, Limpopo Province, South Africa

The examination of lithic material from the late Early Stone Age (ESA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels of Kudu Koppie (KK), Limpopo Province (South Africa) has revealed a range of raw material exploitation patterns and lithic technology. Situated on an escarpment within close proximity to the modern day Limpopo River, and given the high concentration of raw material sources within easy access of the site, KK offered an ideal environment for use by early human groups. This paper reviews the results of a refitting study of material associated with four types of raw material from four out of ten excavated squares at KK. The results demonstrate evidence for a range of technological approaches that are, in some cases, associated with differential use of various lithic materials. In addition, the analysis of the KK refits offers high-resolution insights into the unique qualities of individual technological events including the recycling of previously exploited nodules and, through additional flaking, the co-opting and alteration of one type of tool for the purpose of producing a second form of tool. Moreover, this paper also clearly demonstrates the applicability and value of refitting large Early and Middle Stone Age assemblages, thus offering interpretations concerning early prehistoric technological behaviour that would otherwise be rarely revealed.

Coastal adaptations and the Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages from Hoedjiespunt 1 in the Western Cape, South Africa

New excavations at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) open-air site of Hoedjiespunt 1 (HDP1) on the west coast of South Africa advance our understanding of the evolution of coastal adaptations in Homo sapiens. The archaeological site of HDP1 dates to the last interglacial and consists of three phases of occupation, each containing abundant lithic artifacts, shellfish, terrestrial fauna, ostrich eggshell and pieces of ground ocher. The site provides an excellent case study to analyze human behavioral adaptations linked to early exploitation of marine resources.Here we reconstruct human activities through a detailed study of the lithic assemblages, combining analyses of the reduction sequences, artifact attributes and quartz fracturing. These methods provide insights into raw material procurement, lithic reduction sequences, site use and mobility patterns, and foster comparison with other MSA coastal sites.The main characteristics of the lithic assemblages remain constant throughout the use of the site. Quartz dominates silcrete and other raw materials by almost four to one. Knappers at HDP1 produced different forms of flakes using multiple core reduction methods. Denticulates represent the most frequent tool type. The assemblages document complete, bipolar and hard hammer reduction sequences for the locally available quartz, but highly truncated reduction sequences with many isolated end products for silcrete, a material with a minimum transport distance of 10–30km. This observation suggests that well provisioned individuals executed planned movements to the shoreline to exploit shellfish. Our excavations at HDP1 furthermore demonstrate the simultaneous occurrence of flexible raw material use, anticipated long-distance transport, systematic gathering of shellfish and use of ground ocher. The HDP1 lithic assemblages document a robust pattern of land-use that we interpret as a stable adaptation of modern humans to coastal landscapes as early as MIS 5e.

Middle and later Pleistocene hominins in Africa and Southwest Asia

Approximately 700,000 years ago, Homo erectus in Africa was giving way to populations with larger brains accompanied by structural adjustments to the vault, cranial base, and face. Such early Middle Pleistocene hominins were not anatomically modern. Their skulls display strong supraorbital tori above projecting faces, flattened frontals, and less parietal expansion than is the case for Homo sapiens. Postcranial remains seem also to have archaic features. Subsequently, some groups evolved advanced skeletal morphology, and by ca. 200,000 years ago, individuals more similar to recent humans are present in the African record. These fossils are associated with Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages and, in some cases, Acheulean tools. Crania from Herto in Ethiopia carry defleshing cutmarks and superficial scoring that may be indicative of mortuary practices. Despite these signs of behavioral innovation, neither the Herto hominins, nor others from Late Pleistocene sites such as Klasies River in southern Africa and Skhūl/Qafzeh in Israel, can be matched in living populations. Skulls are quite robust, and it is only after approximately 35,000 years ago that people with more gracile, fully modern morphology make their appearance. Not surprisingly, many questions concerning this evolutionary history have been raised. Attention has centered on systematics of the mid-Pleistocene hominins, their paleobiology, and the timing of dispersals that spread H. sapiens out of Africa and across the Old World. In this report, I discuss structural changes characterizing the skulls from different time periods, possible regional differences in morphology, and the bearing of this evidence on recognizing distinct species.

Newly discovered fossil- and artifact-bearing deposits, uranium-series ages, and Plio-Pleistocene hominids at Swartkrans Cave, South Africa

We report on new research at Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, that provides evidence of two previously unrealized artifact- and fossil-bearing deposits. These deposits underlie a speleothem dated by the uranium-thorium disequilibrium technique to 110,000 ± 1,980 years old, the first tightly constrained, geochronological date available for the site. Recovered fauna from the two underlying deposits—including, prominently, the dental remains of Paranthropus ( Australopithecus) robustus from the uppermost layer (Talus Cone Deposit)—indicate a significantly older, late Pliocene or early Pleistocene age for these units. The lowest unit (LB East Extension) is inferred to be an eastward extension of the well-known Lower Bank of Member 1, the earliest surviving infill represented at the site. The date acquired from the speleothem also sets the maximum age of a rich Middle Stone Age lithic assemblage.