Search

The Later Stone Age of southern Africa sees the succession of varied lithic traditions. The Wilton (8ka BP – second millennium AD) corresponds to the last techno-complex of the LSA in South Africa. It has been typologically recognised over vast geographical areas and seems to last until the progressive disappearance of stone tool industries, while experiencing chronological and geographical variations. While Wilton formal tools, mainly small scrapers and microliths, have received much attention, the ways in which the stone tools themselves were produced are still unknown. This paper provides keys to describe mid-Holocene Wilton microlithic productions at the reference site of Rose Cottage Cave (Free-State). The lithic technological analysis highlights the integrated production of 'ready-made' blanks from one volume, including bladelets. The scraper and backed piece typologies are analysed and reveal an interesting diversity. These results provide a foundation for the building of the technological understanding of the Wilton in southern Africa. This paper ultimately aims to facilitate the exploration of regional and chronological variations at Wilton sites, and, by contrast, to differentiate other lithic traditions in southern Africa. • This paper provides keys for better understanding Wilton lithic technologies in South Africa • The knapping methods allowed for the production of various 'ready-made' blanks from one volume. • Different knapping techniques could have been used within one operational sequence. • The scraper and backed piece typology are more diverse than revealed by previous studies. • The paper provides a base line for future comparative studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Klipfonteinrand 1 (KFR1) is a foundational but poorly documented Middle Stone Age (MSA) site located in the south west of South Africa. Originally excavated by John Parkington in 1969 but undated for more than 50 years, the MSA component of the sequence formed a part of Thomas Volman's influential culture-historic technocomplex scheme. Renewed excavations identified four distinct MSA stratigraphic units at the site, the oldest two of which date to ∼85 ka and ∼156 ka. This paper presents an analysis of ∼4500 artefacts from the oldest units to test the viability of Volman's scheme and its derivatives. Coeval assemblages from other regional sites are also reviewed to test alternative models of regional technological variability driven by demographic dynamics in MIS 6 and MIS 5. We find that assemblages from neither of the deepest two stratigraphic units at KFR1 map perfectly to prevailing technocomplex schemes for southern Africa, and that they are also distinct from nearby assemblages of comparable age. Ultimately, KFR1 provides an important data point furthering the identification of variable technological adaptations during an important phase in the evolution of human behaviour. • Re-excavation and reassessment of Klipfonteinrand 1's Early Middle Stone Age units. • Validity testing of the relevancy of Thomas Volman's technocomplex scheme. • We find that the deepest two units do not map perfectly to Volman's determination. • Basal units from Klipfonteinrand 1 are distinct from coeval assemblages. • Typologically based assessments result in generalisations and mask variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. • The deposits exposed through new excavations can be broadly correlated to the Beaumont members. We re-assess Brown Sand member stratigraphic complexity and recognise finer intra-member layering in the White Ash members. • Sediments have been subjected to greater post-depositional disturbance than was previously recognised. Faunal density at BC appears to be much lower than that at other MSA sites such as Blombos and Sibudu. • Faunal density at BC appears to be much lower than that at other MSA sites such as Blombos and Sibudu. • Multi-proxy evidence suggests that the WA and BS members have distinct formation and taphonomic histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's southwestern Cape occupies a critical transition zone between Southern Hemisphere temperate (winter) and tropical (summer) moisture-bearing systems. In the recent geological past, it has been proposed that the relative influence of these systems may have changed substantially, but little reliable evidence regarding regional hydroclimates and rainfall seasonality exists to refine or substantiate the understanding of long-term dynamics. In this paper we present a mid-to late Holocene multi-proxy record of environmental change from a rock hyrax midden from Katbakkies Pass, located along the modern boundary between the winter and summer rainfall zones. Derived from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, fossil pollen and microcharcoal, these data provide a high resolution record of changes in humidity, and insight into changes in rainfall seasonality. Whereas previous work concluded that the site had generally experienced only subtle environmental change during the Holocene, our records indicate that significant, abrupt changes have occurred in the region over the last 7000 years. Contrary to expectations based on the site's location, these data indicate that the primary determinant of changes in humidity is summer rather than winter rainfall variability, and its influence on drought season intensity and/or length. These findings are consistent with independent records of upwelling along the southern and western coasts, which indicate that periods of increased humidity are related to increased tropical easterly flow. This substantially refines our understanding of the nature of temperate and tropical circulation system dynamics in SW Africa, and how changes in their relative dominance have impacted regional environments during the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews past and present distributions of murid (mice and rats) and soricid (shrew) species from the Pinnacle Point fossil sites PP5-6N, PP9C, PP13B, and PP30, as well as the coastal site of Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1. The positioning of these sites on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain resulted in the micromammal communities being exposed to rapid landmass changes through sea-level regressions and transgressions, as well as climatic and environmental fluctuations during glacial-interglacial cycling. Together, Pinnacle Point and Knysna preserve a composite coastal sequence from MIS 9 to MIS 1, and provide an opportunity to assess the long term sensitivity of micromammals to environmental change. Modern distributional information for the south coast region was obtained from owl pellet and small-carnivore scat assemblages, and extended the known current distributions of six murids. A uniform suite of micromammals was pervasive throughout all the fossil sites, during both glacial and inter-glacial cycling, and the composition of the majority of fossil micromammal assemblages remained unchanged, despite fluctuations in rainfall amount, seasonality, and the proportion of C3 versus C4 vegetation. This suggests an ability to adapt to, and cope with, climatic and environmental changes with relative ease. The fact that the fossil evidence indicates that many murid taxa occupied different ranges in the past, and, in some cases, had considerably more extensive ranges, and lived in a greater variety of habitats, raises a note of caution regarding using current biogeographies to elucidate palaeoenvironmental and climatic change, and for biogeographic and species distribution modelling. • The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain was populated by a unique flora and micromammalian fauna. • The micromammal population remained relatively unaffected by glacial-interglacial cycling. • Climate change cannot always be assumed to affect small mammal distributions. • The current biogeography of many micromammals differs to that of the past. • Current understanding of small mammal distributions is extremely poor and inaccurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain formed an important habitat exploited by Pleistocene hunter-gatherer populations during periods of lower sea level. This productive, grassy habitat would have supported numerous large-bodied ungulates accessible to a population of skilled hunters with the right hunting technology. It also provided a potentially rich location for plant food collection, and along its shores a coastline that moved with the rise and fall of sea levels. The rich archaeological and paleontological records of Pleistocene sites along the modern Cape south coast of South Africa, which would have overlooked the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain during Pleistocene times of lower sea level, provides a paleoarchive of this extinct ecosystem. In this paper, we present a first order illustration of the " palaeoscape modeling " approach advocated by Marean et al. (2015). We use a resourcescape model created from modern studies of habitat productivity without the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain. This is equivalent to predominant Holocene conditions before recent landscape modifications for farming. We then run an agent-based model of the human foraging system to investigate several research questions. Our agent-based approach uses the theoretical framework of optimal foraging theory to model human foraging decisions designed to optimize the net caloric gains within a complex landscape of spatially and temporally variable resources. We find that during the high sea-levels of MIS 5e (+5–6 m asl) and the Holocene, the absence of the Plain left a relatively poor food base supporting a much smaller population relying heavily on edible plant resources from the current Cape flora. Despite high species diversity of plants with edible storage organs, and marine invertebrates, encounter rates with highly profitable resources were low. We demonstrate that without the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, human populations must have been small and low-density, and exploited plant, mammal, and marine resources with relatively low caloric returns. The exposure and contraction of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain was likely the single biggest driver of behavioural change during periods of climate change through the Pleistocene and into the transition to the Holocene. • Agent-based model of Later Stone Age human foraging in coastal South Africa. • Reconstructed food resource landscape including mammals, shellfish, and plants. • Sustainable population is under 20 individuals/100 km^2. • Long foraging days (10 + hours per day) and small groups needed to survive. • Edible plants, including USOs, make up 80% or more of the diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]