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37 results on '"Schoville, Benjamin J."'

21. An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa

Author

Brown, Kyle S., Marean, Curtis W., Jacobs, Zenobia, Schoville, Benjamin J., Oestmo, Simen, Fisher, Erich C., Bernatchez, Jocelyn, Karkanas, Panagiotis, and Matthews, Thalassa

Subjects
Appropriate technology -- Methods, Stone implements -- Design and construction, Environmental issues, Science and technology, Zoology and wildlife conservation
Abstract

There is consensus that the modern human lineage appeared in Africa before 100,000 years ago (1,2). But there is debate as to when cultural and cognitive characteristics typical of modern [...]

Published
2012

26. Innovative Homo sapiensbehaviours 105,000 years ago in a wetter Kalahari

Author

Wilkins, Jayne, Schoville, Benjamin J., Pickering, Robyn, Gliganic, Luke, Collins, Benjamin, Brown, Kyle S., von der Meden, Jessica, Khumalo, Wendy, Meyer, Michael C., Maape, Sechaba, Blackwood, Alexander F., and Hatton, Amy

Abstract

The archaeological record of Africa provides the earliest evidence for the emergence of the complex symbolic and technological behaviours that characterize Homo sapiens1–7. The coastal setting of many archaeological sites of the Late Pleistocene epoch, and the abundant shellfish remains recovered from them, has led to a dominant narrative in which modern human origins in southern Africa are intrinsically tied to the coast and marine resources8–12, and behavioural innovations in the interior lag behind. However, stratified Late Pleistocene sites with good preservation and robust chronologies are rare in the interior of southern Africa, and the coastal hypothesis therefore remains untested. Here we show that early human innovations that are similar to those dated to around 105 thousand years ago (ka) in coastal southern Africa existed at around the same time among humans who lived over 600 km inland. We report evidence for the intentional collection of non-utilitarian objects (calcite crystals) and ostrich eggshell from excavations of a stratified rockshelter deposit in the southern Kalahari Basin, which we date by optically stimulated luminescence to around 105 ka. Uranium–thorium dating of relict tufa deposits indicates sporadic periods of substantial volumes of fresh, flowing water; the oldest of these episodes is dated to between 110 and 100 ka and is coeval with the archaeological deposit. Our results suggest that behavioural innovations among humans in the interior of southern Africa did not lag behind those of populations near the coast, and that these innovations may have developed within a wet savannah environment. Models that tie the emergence of behavioural innovations to the exploitation of coastal resources by our species may therefore require revision.

Published
2021
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27. Did climate change make Homo sapiensinnovative, and if yes, how? Debated perspectives on the African Pleistocene record

Author

Wilkins, Jayne and Schoville, Benjamin J.

Abstract

Our enhanced capacity to innovate is a key feature that sets Homo sapiensapart as a species. The Middle Stone Age archaeological record of Pleistocene Africa documents the emergence and elaboration of this capacity, and its relationship to changes in past climate and environments. However, the models and interpretations developed to understand the relationship between early Homo sapiens’innovativeness and climate change are varied and often contradictory. Here, we review these contrasting interpretations. We contend that while climate change may have influenced early human innovation, it was in an inconsistent and multifaceted way.

Published
2024
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32. STAB IN THE DARK: TESTING THE EFFICACY OF WATSONIA EXUDATE AS GLUE FOR STONE TOOL HAFTING.

Author

SINGELS, ELZANNE and SCHOVILLE, BENJAMIN J.

Subjects
WATSONIA, STONE implements, MICROSCOPY, GLUE, ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations
Abstract

Composite tool manufacture is a complex technological behaviour that arose in the Middle Stone Age. The hafting of stone tools to handles or shafts seems to depend on the use of glue or adhesive. Chemical and microscopic analysis of glue or adhesive residues on lithic artefacts show the origins of these residues to be from various plant and animal sources, although attributing these residues to specific species has been problematic for various reasons. Experimental evaluation of the efficacy of glue for composite tool manufacture is a valuable method to identify possible sources of residues found on lithic artefacts. Various plant sources of glue have been identified in historical accounts, but some are yet to be identified in the archaeological record or need to be tested for their efficacy. The botanical remains of the genus Watsonia are particularly well represented in the archaeological record, where it is thought to have been foraged as a food source by Stone Age hunter-gatherers. During field observations, Watsonia underground storage organs (USOs) have been found to produce exudate. We test the efficacy of this exudate as a hafting glue for stone tools. Our results indicate that Watsonia exudate is nearly as effective as resin from Vachellia karroo (previously Acacia karroo) trees. These results lay the groundwork for identifying glue as part of composite tool technological components in the archaeological record that may not yet have been identified by other analytical methods, and highlight the role USOs might have played in human technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2018

37. Evidence for Early Hafted Hunting Technology.

Author

Witkins, Jayne, Schoville, Benjamin J., Brown, Kyle S., and Chazan, Michael

Subjects
*PROJECTILE point analysis, *HUNTING equipment, *SPEARS, *ARROWHEADS, *HEIDELBERG man, *ARCHAEOLOGICAL research, *PALEOARCHAEOLOGY
Abstract

Hafting stone points to spears was an important advance in weaponry for early humans. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that ~500,000-year-old stone points from the archaeological site of Kathu Pan 1 (KP1), South Africa, functioned as spear tips. KP1 points exhibit fracture types diagnostic of impact. Modification near the base of some points is consistent with hafting. Experimental and metric data indicate that the points could function well as spear tips. Shape analysis demonstrates that the smaller retouched points are as symmetrical as larger retouched points, which fits expectations for spear tips. The distribution of edge damage is similar to that in an experimental sample of spear tips and is inconsistent with expectations for cutting or scraping tools. Thus, early humans were manufacturing hafted multicomponent tools ~200,000 years earlier than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2012
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