Middle Stone Age Research Articles

Lacustrine geoarchaeology in the central Kalahari: Implications for Middle Stone Age behaviour and adaptation in dryland conditions

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) was a time of great human adaptation and innovation. In southern Africa, coastal locations have been viewed as key places for the development of human resource use and behaviour, with the dryness of the continental interior after c.130 ka regarded as both an obstacle to occupation and a limit on behaviour. Newly excavated MSA sites on the floor of the now-dry palaeolake Makgadikgadi basin, central Botswana, along with accompanying environmental data, have provided a significant opportunity to reassess the nature of MSA adaptation to, and behaviour under, dry conditions. Excavated sites dated to 80–72 ka and post 57 ka reveal purposeful early human use of an extensive 60,000 km2 lacustrine basin during dry, as opposed to lake-high, phases, as well as highlighting movement strategies for tool-making resource procurement. Findings have significant implications for theories of early human mobility and innovation, as well as for understanding the drivers, constraints and opportunities for the use of drylands. The deliberate selective movement of lithic raw materials within the basin for artefact manufacture evidences thoughtful adaptation to dry conditions within the lake basin. This research shows that open-air sites in the Kalahari drylands of central southern Africa can make important contributions to debates surrounding the development of human-environment relationships during the MSA, as well as challenging narratives of a hostile and largely empty landscape.

Technological and geometric morphometric analysis of ‘post-Howiesons Poort points’ from Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Lithic assemblages immediately following the Howiesons Poort, often loosely referred to as the ‘post-Howiesons Poort’ or MSA III, have attracted relatively little attention when compared to other well-known phases of the South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) sequence. Current evidence from sites occurring in widely-differing environments suggests that these assemblages are marked by temporal and technological variability, with few features in common other than the presence of unifacial points. Here we present a technological and geometric morphometric analysis of ‘points’ from the new excavations of Members 2 BS, 2 WA and the top of 3 BS members at Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, one of the key sites for studying modern human cultural evolution. Our complementary methodologies demonstrate that, at this site, hominins adopted a knapping strategy that primarily produced non-standardised unretouched points. Triangular morphologies were manufactured using a variety of reduction strategies, of which the discoidal and Levallois recurrent centripetal methods produced distinctive morphologies. We find technological and morphological variability increases throughout the post-Howiesons Poort sequence, with clear differences between and within chrono-stratigraphic groups. Finally, we assess the suitability of the ‘Sibudan’ cultural-technological typology proposed for post-Howiesons Poort assemblages at Sibhudu, another KwaZulu-Natal site, and find similarities in the morphological axes characterising the samples, despite differences in the shaping strategies adopted. Overall, our work contributes to the growing body of research that is helping to address historical research biases that have slanted our understanding of cultural evolution during the MSA of southern Africa towards the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort technocomplexes.

A marine isotope stage 11 coastal Acheulian workshop with associated wood at Amanzi Springs Area 1, South Africa.

Amanzi Springs is a series of inactive thermal springs located near Kariega in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Excavations in the 1960s exposed rare, stratified Acheulian-bearing deposits that were not further investigated over the next 50 years. Reanalysis of the site and its legacy collection has led to a redefined stratigraphic context for the archaeology, a confirmed direct association between Acheulian artefacts and wood, as well as the first reliable age estimates for the site. Thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence and post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence dating indicates that the Acheulian deposits from the Amanzi Springs Area 1 spring eye formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 at ~ 404–390 ka. At this time, higher sea levels of ~13-14m would have placed Amanzi Springs around 7 km from a ria that would have formed along what is today the Swartkops River, and which likely led to spring reactivation. This makes the Amanzi Springs Area 1 assemblage an unusual occurrence of a verified late occurring, seaward, open-air Acheulian occupation. The Acheulian levels do not contain any Middle Stone Age (MSA) elements such as blades and points that have been documented in the interior of South Africa at this time. However, a small number of stone tools from the upper layers of the artefact zone, and originally thought of as intrusive, have been dated to ~190 ka, at the transition between MIS 7 to 6, and represent the first potential MSA identified at the site.

Lithic technological and spatial analysis of the final Pleistocene at Border Cave, South Africa

This contribution focuses on the recently excavated lithic assemblage from Border Cave Members 1 RGBS, 3 BS, 2 WA and 2 BS. These members were attributed by Beaumont to the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort Industries of the southern African Middle Stone Age. Here we consider lithics as indicators of cultural behaviour, site formation processes, and occupation intensity. As such, the assemblage is explored in depth through lithic technology attribute analysis, particle size distribution, and spatial analysis. These lines of inquiry follow the new allostratigraphic divisions proposed for the deposits by Stratford and colleagues. Results show that the lower members share a degree of similarity in terms of flaking strategies and raw material selection, whereas the upper members record a dissimilar set of features, with differentiation between them. The technological and spatial analyses suggest the sporadic presence of different groups at the site, each characterized by distinct sets of knapping techniques and methods but employing related knapping strategies and using similar raw materials. The interpretation of these members as a palimpsest of sporadic occupation is supported by the low number of archaeological finds by sediment volume. The evidence at hand does not support a Howiesons Poort attribution for the lowest members. The data show that lithics from part of Member 2 WA and 2 BS are in accordance with those of the recently defined Sibudan technocomplex.

Technological and functional analysis of 80–60 ka bone wedges from Sibudu (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

Fully shaped, morphologically standardized bone tools are generally considered reliable indicators of the emergence of modern behavior. We report the discovery of 23 double-beveled bone tools from ~ 80,000–60,000-year-old archaeological layers at Sibudu Cave in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We analyzed the texture of use-wear on the archaeological bone tools, and on bone tool replicas experimentally used in debarking trees, processing rabbit pelts with and without an ochre compound, digging in sediment in and outside a cave, and on ethnographic artefacts. Debarking trees and digging in humus-rich soil produce use-wear patterns closely matching those observed on most Sibudu tools. This tool type is associated with three different Middle Stone Age cultural traditions at Sibudu that span 20,000 years, yet they are absent at contemporaneous sites. Our results support a scenario in which some southern African early modern human groups developed and locally maintained specific, highly standardized cultural traits while sharing others at a sub-continental scale. We demonstrate that technological and texture analyses are effective means by which to infer past behaviors and assess the significance of prehistoric cultural innovations.

Archaeological adhesives made from Podocarpus document innovative potential in the African Middle Stone Age

Studying the earliest archaeological adhesives has implications for our understanding of human cognition. In southern Africa, the oldest adhesives were made by Homo sapiens in the Middle Stone Age. Chemical studies have shown that these adhesives were made from a local conifer of the Podocarpaceae family. However, Podocarpus does not exude resin, nor any other substance that could have been recognized as having adhesive properties. Therefore, it remains unknown how these adhesives were made. This study investigates how Podocarpus adhesives can be made, comparing their mechanical properties with other naturally available adhesives. We found that Podocarpus tar can only be made by dry distillation of leaves, requiring innovative potential, skill, and knowledge. This contrasts with our finding that the Middle Stone Age environment was rich in substances that can be used as adhesives without such transformation. The apparent preference for Podocarpus tar may be explained by its mechanical properties. We found it to be superior to all other substances in terms of its adhesive properties. In addition, the condensation method that allows producing it can be recognized accidentally, as the processes take place above ground and can be triggered accidentally. Our findings have implications for establishing a link between technology and cognition in the Middle Stone Age.

Pleistocene climate variability in eastern Africa influenced hominin evolution

Despite more than half a century of hominin fossil discoveries in eastern Africa, the regional environmental context of hominin evolution and dispersal is not well established due to the lack of continuous palaeoenvironmental records from one of the proven habitats of early human populations, particularly for the Pleistocene epoch. Here we present a 620,000-year environmental record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia, which is proximal to key fossil sites. Our record documents the potential influence of different episodes of climatic variability on hominin biological and cultural transformation. The appearance of high anatomical diversity in hominin groups coincides with long-lasting and relatively stable humid conditions from ~620,000 to 275,000 years bp (episodes 1–6), interrupted by several abrupt and extreme hydroclimate perturbations. A pattern of pronounced climatic cyclicity transformed habitats during episodes 7–9 (~275,000–60,000 years bp), a crucial phase encompassing the gradual transition from Acheulean to Middle Stone Age technologies, the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa and key human social and cultural innovations. Those accumulative innovations plus the alignment of humid pulses between northeastern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean during high-frequency climate oscillations of episodes 10–12 (~60,000–10,000 years bp) could have facilitated the global dispersal of H. sapiens.

Human social organization during the Late Pleistocene: Beyond the nomadic-egalitarian model

Many researchers assume that until 10–12,000 years ago, humans lived in small, mobile, relatively egalitarian bands. This “nomadic-egalitarian model” suffuses the social sciences. It informs evolutionary explanations of behavior and our understanding of how contemporary societies differ from those of our evolutionary past. Here, we synthesize research challenging this model and articulate an alternative, the diverse histories model, to replace it. We review the limitations of using recent foragers as models of Late Pleistocene societies and the considerable social variation among foragers commonly considered small-scale, mobile, and egalitarian. We review ethnographic and archaeological findings covering 34 world regions showing that non-agricultural peoples often live in groups that are more sedentary, unequal, large, politically stratified, and capable of large-scale cooperation and resource management than is normally assumed. These characteristics are not restricted to extant Holocene hunter-gatherers but, as suggested by archaeological findings from 27 Middle Stone Age sites, likely characterized societies throughout the Late Pleistocene (until c. 130 ka), if not earlier. These findings have implications for how we understand human psychological adaptations and the broad trajectory of human history.

A vegetation record based on charcoal analysis from Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, ∼227 000 to ∼44 000 years ago

Border Cave is a key Middle Stone Age (MSA) site in southern Africa, with a 4 m-deep sedimentary sequence that dates from more than 227 000 (227 ka) to 44 ka ago. Lithic assemblages vary considerably during this period and artefacts made from organic materials become common at the end of the MSA sequence. Here we describe charcoal from the 10 members that comprise the stratigraphic sequence. Anatomical features of charcoal were studied by means of reflected light microscopy, the use of the International Association of Wood Anatomists code and modern wood charcoal reference collections. Most woody plants represented by charcoal at the site are evergreen trees. Indicator plants from bushveld and open woodland taxa were most common in Member 6 BS (>227 ka) and Member 5 WA (∼227 ka). Moist forest was most common in Members 5 BS (∼161–144 ka) and 4 WA (∼168–113 ka), while Member 1 RGBS (∼74 ka) had a combination of bushveld and moist forest. At about 64 ka, dry bushveld predominated, while in Members 3 BS (72–56 ka) and 2 WA (∼60 ka) moist forest was the predominant vegetation type. Member 2 BS.UP (49–44 ka) mostly included bushveld and moist forest patches, while Member 1 WA (∼43 ka) was predominantly dry bushveld. The Border Cave occupations seem to have taken place in drier conditions than those at present. The driest members were 5 BS, 4 WA, 1 RGBS and 3 WA, followed by Members 2 BS and 1 WA. Member 3 BS was only slightly drier than present, while Member 2 WA was moderately drier than present. The past vegetation is similar to the modern vegetation profile and there appears to have been remarkable stability through time, suggesting that cultural changes in the sequence may not be linked to environmental change.

The Dorothy Garrod Site: a new Middle Stone Age locality in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) is a key site for the study of human evolution as well as the origin of modern humans and the Middle Stone Age (MSA). In this study, we present a new MSA location named Dorothy Garrod Site (DGS), found in the main branch of Olduvai Gorge. The site has only one archaeological level, located stratigraphically in the Upper Ndutu. Although it has not yet been possible to radiometrically date it, it has yielded numerous archaeological remains with a functional association between the faunal remains and the lithic industry. The fauna identified includes Alcelaphini, Hippotragini, and Equidae, some of which present percussion marks and evidence of burning. The lithic industry involved knapping using discoid methods. The retouched blanks are denticulates and retouched flakes with, up to now, a total absence of points. DGS is therefore a new site that will aid our understanding of modern human occupations in northern Tanzania in a period for which there is a dearth of properly contextualised archaeological evidence.

Hunter-gatherer environments at the Late Pleistocene sites of Mwanganda's Village and Bruce, northern Malawi

Mwanganda's Village (MGD) and Bruce (BRU) are two open-air site complexes in northern Malawi with deposits dating to between 15 and 58 thousand years ago (ka) and containing Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages. The sites have been known since 1966 and 1965, respectively, but lacked chronometric and site formation data necessary for their interpretation. The area hosts a rich stone artifact record, eroding from and found within alluvial fan deposits exhibiting poor preservation of organic materials. Although this generally limits opportunities for site-based environmental reconstructions, MGD and BRU are located at the distal margins of the alluvial fan, where lacustrine lagoonal deposits were overprinted by a calcrete paleosol. This has created locally improved organic preservation and allowed us to obtain ecological data from pollen, phytoliths, and pedogenic carbonates, producing a regional- to site-scale environmental context for periods of site use and abandonment. Here, we integrate the ecological data into a detailed site formation history, based on field observations and micromorphology, supplemented by cathodoluminescence microscopy and μ-XRF. By comparing local, on-site environmental proxies with more regional indicators, we can better evaluate how MSA hunter-gatherers made decisions about the use of resources across the landscape. Our data indicate that while tree cover similar to modern miombo woodland and evergreen gallery forest prevailed at most times, MSA hunter-gatherers chose more locally open environments for activities that resulted in a lithic artifact record at multiple locations between 51 and 15 ka.

Lessons from a lakebed: unpicking hydrological change and early human landscape use in the Makgadikgadi basin, Botswana

The intersection of archaeological material with the landscape is investigated using OSL dating of landforms associated with Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeology in the Makgadikgadi basin, Botswana. In this study, MSA archaeological sites on the Makgadikgadi pan floor date to two dry periods in the basin during the late Quaternary. Site formation at one site occurred during dry, or seasonally dry conditions that followed a period of high lake levels between 128 ± 18 ka and 81 ± 6 ka. The site was buried by sediments from a subsequent period of high lake levels dating to between 72 ± 5 ka and 57 ± 8 ka. At other investigated sites, the archaeological material was most likely deposited during a second dry period sometime after this. Overlying dunes are much younger (late Holocene) than the late Pleistocene lakebed sediments associated with the archaeological sites. Rapid burial of the archaeological sites by clayey sands has resulted in limited disturbance and weathering of archaeological material which appears to have only been exposed very recently, perhaps in the last 350 years when conditions have been particularly dry and susceptible to deflation. The spatial patterning of both sediment accumulation and deflation strongly influences archaeological visibility both within and around the Makgadikgadi basin.

The first uses of colour: what do we know?

Colour strongly shapes our perception of the world and plays a main role in the emergence of language and in the transmission of information. It has been shown that systematic use of ochre, along with other cultural traits that reflect cognitive complexity, disappear and reappear from the archaeological record, suggesting that cultural transmission follows discontinuous trajectories that to this day are unknown to us. Understanding when humans started using colour and how this feature evolved may therefore be instrumental to understand the evolutionary paths followed by members of our lineage towards cultural complexity. The earliest secure evidence for ochre use is found at 300.000-year-old archaeological sites from Africa and Europe. It usually consists of iron-rich rocks characterized by a red, orange, yellow or brown colour and/or streak, modified by grinding, scraping and knapping to produce red or yellow powder, ochre residues adhering to different types of artefacts or sediment stained with ochre or rich in ochre microfragments. Around 160 ka, ochre use becomes a recurrent feature. Although analyses of ochre collections have become increasingly frequent, there is still very little information on the first instances of ochre use and on how this cultural feature evolved through time. Most cases of early evidence for colour use by different human fossil species were recovered during excavations conducted several decades ago, when ochre was not documented systematically. Excluding a few recently studied cases, there is often a lack of evidence to support the anthropogenic nature of these findings. The aim of this paper is to summarise what we know on ochre use during the Lower Palaeolithic / Early Stone Age (ESA) and Middle Palaeolithic / Middle Stone Age (MSA), review techniques currently used for the analysis of this material and highlight analytical and theoretical issues surrounding this complex cultural feature.

A targeted drilling and dating campaign to identify Stone Age archaeological sites before excavation in west coast southern Africa

Here we present the results of a targeted drilling campaign that facilitated a geochronological study with coarse sampling resolution inside a new cave site, Simons Cave, on the west coast of southern Africa. A combination of radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was used as a range-finder. Results confirmed preservation of Holocene and late Pleistocene sediments up to 133 ± 35 ka, overlapping with the ages of Middle Stone Age (MSA) occupations of the broader west coast region. A subsequent, systematic test-excavation at the site then embarked on a second geochronological study with a higher sampling resolution. Ultimately, the comparative study confirmed the potential of Simons Cave as a new site for the exploration of hominin occupation through the later Pleistocene and Holocene, yet raised several issues concerning the direct comparability of information deriving from drilled sediment cores and actual archaeological excavation.

Electron spin resonance dating of quartz from archaeological sites at Victoria Falls, Zambia

When electron spin resonance (ESR) is applied to sedimentary quartz, dealing with the poor bleachability of the signals is particularly challenging. In this study, we used both the single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and the single aliquot ESR dating of quartz from deep sand deposits preserving a Stone Age archaeological sequence to combine the advantages of the two methods: good bleaching behaviour and extended age range. Using the youngest samples at each sampling site we were able to calculate the mean ESR residual age from the difference between the OSL ages and the apparent ESR ages. Focusing mainly on the single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol here, we were able to calculate the mean ESR residual age for the Ti and Al centres, including the non-bleachable signal component for the latter. For the NP site, residual ages of 209 ± 13 ka and 695 ± 23 ka were calculated for the two centres, whereas for the ZS site 268 ± 39 ka and 742 ± 118 ka were determined. These residual ages are significant and cannot be neglected. Thus, the residual age was subtracted from the apparent ESR ages. The validity of the residual subtraction method was tested through a comparison of the oldest OSL age from each site with the residual subtracted ESR age. For both NP and ZS sites, the residual subtracted Ti and Al ages were consistent with the OSL age within 2-σ uncertainty, and therefore confirm the robustness of the subtraction method. Within the NP sequence, we were able to locate the end of the Early Stone Age at 590 ± 86 ka, and this provides a maximum age for the transition to the Middle Stone Age in this part of south-central Africa.

Geoarchaeology and zooarchaeology of Border Cave, South Africa: Initial multiproxy considerations of stratigraphy and site formation processes from the Backwell et al. excavations

Border Cave (BC) has accumulated over 200,000 years of archaeological deposits that document remarkable evidence of human behaviour during the Middle and Later Stone Age. For nearly fifty years, researchers have relied on the stratigraphic framework established by Peter Beaumont in 1973, in which the deposits are lithostratigraphically categorized into a sequence of alternating ‘Brown Sand’ (BS) and ‘White Ash’ (WA) members. Geoarchaeological work in the 1970s focused on stratigraphic sequencing of the anthropogenic assemblages, and proposed broad correlations between autogenic contributions and environmental conditions. The research presented here was undertaken as part of a new excavation campaign at Border Cave started in 2015 under the direction of Backwell at al. Re-examining the stratigraphic context of the deposits and assessing site formation processes are among the key goals of this project; this will enable finer-scale intra- and inter-member comparative analyses of the artefacts and ecofacts recovered at the site. In this paper, we apply a facies and allostratigraphic approach to assess the stratigraphic sequence exposed through the Backwell et al. excavations. We also provide an initial assessment of the prevailing site formation processes active in the deposition and modification of the sediments. The geoarchaeological data are integrated with new zooarchaeological and taphonomic evidence in order to explore inter- and intra-unit patterns throughout the sequence. Results of this work are: (1) exposed sediments can be broadly correlated to members of the Beaumont sequence; (2) we clearly define member boundaries, reassess member stratigraphic complexity and recognise finer intra-member layering; (3) geoarchaeological and taphonomic studies demonstrate that the sediments have been subjected to greater post-depositional disturbance than was previously recognised and affect all levels of the sequence; (4) overall, faunal density at BC appears to be much lower than that at other Middle Stone Age sites such as Blombos and Sibudu; (5) multiproxy analysis suggests that WA and BS members have distinctive taphonomic histories that cross-cut the identified archaeological industries. As such, caution is warranted when combining BS and WA members for analysis of artefacts and ecofacts.

What do spatial data from Sibhudu tell us about life in the Middle Stone Age?

For the last 10 years, we have been carefully excavating rich, well-stratified Middle Stone Age (MSA) horizons from Sibhudu in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This work has provided a great abundance of numerous classes of cultural material from well-controlled contexts dating to between > 90 and 36 ka that is relevant for documenting the Late Pleistocene cultural evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa. In this paper, we look more closely at intra-site spatial relationships between the finds and critically examine their context to determine what has been learned through such careful excavation. The effort is justified because through excavation we destroy sites, necessitating the recovery of as much relevant information as is possible and practicable, for ourselves and for future generations. This paper focuses on the high-resolution Sibhudan sequence at Sibhudu (~ 58 ka) which features high sedimentation rates and abundant finds, with people performing multiple activities in different parts of the site over time. The analyses present examples of how quantitative, 3D spatial data and statistical analyses open new paths of inquiry that advance our understanding of the lifeways of MSA peoples on spatial and temporal scales that have yet to attract much attention by researchers in Africa. Our analyses find intra-site patterning both within and across layers that is indicative of structured spatial use even in small areas of excavation. We identify potential knapping and dumping areas that change their position through time and connect these observations with rich techno-typological and techno-functional information. This work points to future directions, such as refitting and related contextual studies that are rarely used in Late Pleistocene archaeology of southern Africa, but will ultimately provide new insights into MSA lifeways.

Aspects of Human Adaptation to Life in Mesopotamia in the Light of Pottery Scenes and Pictographic Writing

One of the most important turning points that resulted in the achievements of man and human civilization in history, is first, the great climate change that occurred when the last glacial retreat began about 18,000 years ago, with the Middle Stone Age approximately. Secondly, the stage of man’s transition from gathering food to producing food, which is one of the most important steps that man has taken on his way to stability in the lifestyle thousands of years ago, and because of its importance, researchers called it the Neolithic Revolution. After the great change in the climate in the Near East region, human's confrontation with their new environment and trying to adapt to it constituted one of the most important challenges that man had to face, to ensure survival. And then this challenge led to the most important human discoveries, which are attempts to domesticate and agriculture: they began with attempts to grow grain, then succeeded little by little and became stable agriculture and led to the emergence of agricultural settlements, and this is mainly the content of adaptation. Because of the importance of that stage of human life in which writing was still non-existent and unknown, it was addressed by researchers from several aspects, and in light of archaeological evidence in terms of architectural styles, the development of stone tools, and pottery products (in terms of the accuracy of industry and techniques used), as well as Important studies were conducted on plant and animal remains, and other studies on the human lifestyle in the period following the discovery of agriculture. Despite the aforementioned studies on the archaeological remains, which revealed the many facades of life in Mesopotamia during that stage, the visual picture of the manifestations of adaptation to life and the extent of human harmony with natural phenomena in light of stability in that period, remains an important part to complement what His image is research and studies. Fortunately, the images and scenes painted on pottery from the late Neolithic and Metallic Age serve us, which by studying and analyzing them we aim to see the reflection of the reality of man's interaction and adaptation with his natural environment. Thus, our models come from pottery scenes from the region of Mesopotamia (Iraq and Syria) in the time frame that starts from the period of Hassuna, Samarra, Halaf and Ubaid, and finally some models from the era of Warka and Jemda-Nasr, and these are the models that carry the elements that serve the objectives of the research. One of the objectives of the research is also to track the developments that occurred in these inscriptions, which later became elements of the first and oldest models of writing in history, cuneiform writing, from its pictorial stage, and this confirms more that the elements and symbols of writing are rooted in pottery inscriptions from preceding eras. We use some scenes on pottery models from present-day Iran and Turkey for the purpose of comparison.

Border Cave: A 227,000-year-old archive from the southern African interior

In 2015, which marked 35 years since Beaumont had worked at the site, we renewed excavations at Border Cave. Our primary aims were to reassess the stratigraphic context of the sedimentary and cultural sequence, gain insight into site formation processes, make a detailed study of organic remains, identify long term cultural trends, and characterize expressions of complex behaviour and innovation. This contribution serves as an update on activities conducted in 2018 and 2019 and provides an overview of our research findings to date, placing them in the broader context of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. New luminescence ages based on feldspar grains in the sedimentary sequence are in broad agreement with the previous chronology established for the site. Geoarchaeology and faunal taphonomy have started to elucidate site formation processes, showing that the members should not be considered as homogeneous units, and that associated formation interpretations established by Beaumont are simplifications that are not representative of the diverse site formation processes active in the shelter. This finding is supported by lithic analysis of the Member 2 WA assemblage that shows differences in technology between artefacts from the top, middle, and lower part of the same member. In addition, the lithic artefacts from the middle and lower part of Member 2 WA show continuities with the lithics from the underlying Members 3 BS and 1 RGBS, which were attributed by Beaumont to a different industry. Grass mats/bedding layers are preserved throughout the sequence, the oldest of which dates to ∼200 ka. The use of ash and leaves with insecticidal properties in the bedding construction reflects complex cognition, as does the cooking of starchy rhizomes that come from layers dated to 170 ka. In addition to a rich mammal fauna found in all of the deposits, the remains of a new individual, a 3–4-year-old child, were recovered from Member 1 BS.LR C that has an ESR date of 42.6 ka.

Variability in hunting behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa

Large mammal remains from Middle Stone Age sites in southern Africa, just like in many other parts of Africa, show variability in prey selection. While smaller game are often considered less profitable in terms of meat returns, their abundance and fast reproduction meant that they were often favoured over larger prey species. The Game Index measures the ratio between smaller and larger prey in faunal samples. When applied to MSA faunal assemblages with low probabilities of carnivore activity, it is apparent that at some sites, notably Blombos Cave (M3 phase) and Die Kelders (layers 6, 10, 12 and 14), hominins were focussing on acquiring small prey. At these two sites, the coastal dunes offered plentiful resources to obtain Cape dune molerats, rock hyraxes and steenbok/grysbok. The focus on small game hunting may not necessarily relate to depletion of large game resources, but rather that hominins were exploiting the sandy substrates close to habitation caves.