The Middle Stone Age archaeology of the Lower Omo Valley Kibish Formation: excavations, lithic assemblages, and inferred patterns of early Homo sapiens behavior

This paper describes the excavation, stratigraphy, and lithic assemblages of Middle Stone Age sites from the Omo Kibish Formation (Lower Omo Valley, southwestern Ethiopia). Three sites were excavated, two in Kibish Member I (KHS and AHS) and one at the base of Member III (BNS). The assemblages are dominated by relatively high-quality raw materials procured as pebbles from local gravels. The principal modes of core preparation are radial/centripetal Levallois and discoidal. Retouched tools are rare. Foliate bifaces are present, as are larger tools, such as handaxes, picks, and lanceolates, but these are more common among surface finds than among excavated assemblages. Middle Stone Age assemblages shed light on the adaptations of the earliest-known Homo sapiens populations in Africa.     

Middle Stone Age Ochre Processing and Behavioural Complexity in the Horn of Africa: Evidence from Porc-Epic Cave,Dire Dawa,Ethiopia

Ochre is a common feature at Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites and has often been interpreted as a proxy for the origin of modern behaviour. However, few ochre processing tools, ochre containers, and ochre-stained artefacts from MSA contexts have been studied in detail within a theoretical framework aimed at inferring the technical steps involved in the acquisition, production and use of these artefacts. Here we analyse 21 ochre processing tools, i.e. upper and lower grindstones, and two ochre-stained artefacts from the MSA layers of Porc-Epic Cave, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, dated to ca. 40 cal kyr BP. These tools, and a large proportion of the 4213 ochre fragments found at the site, were concentrated in an area devoted to ochre processing. Lower grindstones are made of a variety of raw materials, some of which are not locally available. Traces of use indicate that different techniques were employed to process ochre. Optical microscopy, XRD, μ-Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDS analyses of residues preserved on worn areas of artefacts show that different types of ferruginous rocks were processed in order to produce ochre powder of different coarseness and shades. A round stone bearing no traces of having been used to process ochre is half covered with residues as if it had been dipped in a liquid ochered medium to paint the object or to use it as a stamp to apply pigment to a soft material. We argue that the ochre reduction sequences identified at Porc-Epic Cave reflect a high degree of behavioural complexity, and represent ochre use, which was probably devoted to a variety of functions.     

Multivariate perspectives on change and continuity in the Middle Stone Age lithics from Klasies River Mouth, South Africa

This paper examines variability and the emergence of the Howiesons Poort within the Middle Stone Age lithic technologies of Klasies River Mouth. Here I present a pattern recognition study using multivariate statistical techniques examining the data presented by [Singer, R., Wymer, J.J., 1982. The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa. Chicago University Press, Chicago]. Using this model, the Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithics from Klasies River Mouth load on three main factors: (1) a Levallois flake manufacture factor, (2) a blade manufacture factor, and (3) a worked point factor. The MSA I assemblage from Cave 1 and the MSA II assemblage from Shelter 1a correlate strongly with the worked point factor, the MSA II assemblage from Cave 1 correlates strongly with the Levallois factor, and the Howiesons Poort assemblage from Shelter 1a correlates strongly with the blade factor. The Howiesons Poort from Shelter 1a is differs more from all other industries than the remaining industries do from each other. In addition, the Howiesons Poort from Cave 2 groups closely with the MSA III assemblage from Shelter 1a due to similarities in raw material frequencies.     

Faunal remains from Porc-Epic: paleoecological and zooarchaeological investigations from a Middle Stone Age site in southeastern Ethiopia

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) sediments of Porc-Epic Cave near Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, have produced a large assemblage of archaeofaunal remains dating to the later periods of the Late Pleistocene. As one of the few MSA faunal assemblages from East Africa subject to detailed analysis, it provides rare insight into the foraging behavior of the early modern humans in this region. The MSA fauna include taxa that were not historically present in the area, with the occurrence of reduncines and alcelaphines indicating widespread grasslands and proximity to a perennial source of water. The faunal analysis examined several lines of evidence, including breakage patterns, surface modification, and skeletal-element representation. By incorporating comparisons with multiple actualistic data sets, the analysis of the assemblage demonstrates that, while the influence of carnivores and other biotic agents was evident, the faunal remains were accumulated primarily by hominid activity. The skeletal-element representation at Porc-Epic includes an abundance of high utility bones, in contrast to the predominance of "head-and-foot" elements documented at other MSA and Middle Paleolithic (MP) sites. The MSA occupants of Porc-Epic effectively exploited a wide range of prey with more emphasis on small- and medium-sized mammals.     

旧石器时代早期石制品分析方案

本文提出一种应用于旧石器时代早期石制品研究的分析方案。本方案以宏观分析方法为主,不包括同样重要的微观分析方法,主要应用于旧石器时代早期石制品的技术-类型学分析,不涉及特定地区和特殊石制品的讨论。在旧大陆旧石器时代早期石器研究中,鉴于学者们使用的技术学与类型学分析方案总体相似,我们认为在研究中使用标准化的分析方案会提高地区间石器面貌的可比性,并有助于理解旧石器时代早期旧大陆古人类的技术行为模式。从这个角度出发,本文将回顾旧石器时代早期石器研究的主要理论和方法,并提出分析视角和术语建议,希望有助于研究中对描述剥片类、废片类、锤击工具、拼合工具和传统石制品的测量与绘图惯例。     

Human foot bones from Klasies River main site, South Africa

The caves at Klasies River contain abundant archaeological evidence relating to human evolution in the late Pleistocene of southern Africa. Along with Middle Stone Age artifacts, animal bones, and other food waste, there are hominin cranial fragments, mandibles with teeth, and a few postcranial remains. Three foot bones can now be added to this inventory. An adult first metatarsal is similar in size and discrete anatomical features to those from Holocene burials in the Cape Province. A complete and well-preserved second metatarsal is especially long and heavy at midshaft in comparison to all Holocene and more recent South African homologues. A large fifth metatarsal is highly distinctive in its morphology. In overall size, these pedal elements resemble specimens from late Pleistocene sites in western Asia, but there are some differences in proportions. The fossils support earlier suggestions concerning a relatively high level of sexual dimorphism in the African Middle Stone Age population. Squatting facets on the two lateral metatarsals appear to indicate a high frequency of kneeling among members of this group. The new postcranial material also underlines the fact that the morphology of particular skeletal elements of some of the 100,000-year-old Klasies River individuals falls outside the range of modern variation.     

L’industrie du site néandertalien de la grotte de Vindija (Croatie) : une révision des matières premières lithiques

The new analysis of the Middle Paleolithic industry from the cave Vindija (Croatia), showed a necessity of revision of the previous obtained data especially considering the use and origin of the raw materials (Kurtanjek and Marci, 1990). The results presented in this study pointed out some new aspects of interpretation. First, the significance of quartz in the Middle Paleolithic was underestimated. At the same time it is obvious that the major change in the use of the raw material was at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic and of the Epigravettian, especially in the use of chert. The second change is registered in the use of chert between Middle and Upper Paleolithic: the chalky nodules of chert are more frequent in the Upper Paleolithic then the river pebbles used in the production of Middle Paleolithic artefacts. Still, the origin of this new raw material is at the moment unknown.     

Paleoanthropology of the Kibish Formation, southern Ethiopia: Introduction

Cranial and skeletal remains of modern humans, Homo sapiens, were discovered in the Kibish Formation in 1967 by a team from the Kenya National Museums directed by Richard Leakey. Omo I, from Kamoya's Hominid Site (KHS), consists of much of a skeleton, including most of the cranial vault, parts of the face and mandible, and many postcranial elements. Omo II, from Paul's Hominid Site (PHS), is a virtually complete calvaria. Only a limited fauna and a few stone artifacts attributed to the Middle Stone Age were recovered in conjunction with the fossil hominids. The available dating techniques suggested a very early age, over 100 ka, for Member I, from which the Omo I and Omo II fossils were recovered. However, in subsequent decades, the reliability of the dates and the provenance of the Kibish hominids were repeatedly questioned. The papers in this volume provide a detailed stratigraphic analysis of the Kibish Formation and a series of new radiometric dates that indicate an age of 196 +/- 2 ka for Member I and 104 +/- 1 for Member III, confirming the antiquity of the lower parts of the Kibish Formation and, in turn, the fossils from Member I. Studies of the postcranial remains of Omo I indicate an overall modern human morphology with a number of primitive features. Studies of an extensive lithic record from Members I and III indicate a Middle Stone Age technology comparable to assemblages of similar age elsewhere in Ethiopia. Studies of the mammalian, avian, and fish faunas indicate overall similarities to those found in the region today, with a few distinctive differences.     

Additional evidence for bone technology in the southern African Middle Stone Age

Few Middle Stone Age sites have yielded convincing evidence for a complex bone technology, a behavior often associated with the emergence of modern cultures. Here, we review the published evidence for Middle Stone Age bone tools from southern Africa, analyze an additional nine bone artifacts recently recovered from Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, describe an unpublished bone tool from probable Middle Stone Age levels at Peers Cave, examine a single bone awl found at Blombosch Sands (an open site near Blombos Cave), and reappraise marked bone artifacts and a bone point recovered from Klasies River. To determine the chronological and cultural attribution of these artifacts, document bone-manufacturing techniques associated with the southern African MSA, and discuss the symbolic significance of the markings present on some of these objects we use (1) available contextual information; (2) morphometric comparison of Later Stone Age, Modern San, and purported Middle Stone Age projectile points; (3) analysis of the carbon/nitrogen content of bone tools and faunal remains from Peers and Blombos caves; and (4) microscopic analysis of traces of manufacture and use. Previously undescribed bone artifacts from Blombos Cave include a massive point manufactured on weathered bone, two complete awls and two awl tips manufactured on small-sized mammal and bird bone, a probable projectile point with a tang manufactured by knapping and scraping, a shaft fragment modified by percussion, used as retoucher and bearing a set of incised lines on the middle of the periosteal surface, and two fragments with possible engravings. The point from Peers Cave can be assigned to the Middle Stone Age and bears tiny markings reminiscent of those recorded on projectile points from Blombos and used as marks of ownership on San arrow points. The awl from Blombosch Sands and the bone point from Klasies River can be attributed to the Later Stone Age. Two notched objects from Klasies are attributed to the Middle Stone Age and interpreted as tools used on soft material; a third object bears possible deliberate symbolic engravings. Although low in number, the instances of bone artifacts attributable to the Middle Stone Age is increasing and demonstrates that the bone tools from Blombos Cave are not isolated instances. New discoveries of bone tools dating to this time period can be expected.     

New age constraints on the Middle Stone Age occupations of Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Spring-deposited carbonate rocks, or tufas, exposed along the flanks of the Libyan Plateau near Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt, can provide a directly datable stratigraphic context for Middle Stone Age/Middle Paleolithic (MSA/MP) archaeological material, if such material can be found in situ within tufa strata. Two such localities (Mata'na Site G and Bulaq Wadi 3 Locus 1) described by Caton-Thompson were revisited and sampled for uranium-series analysis. At Mata'na Site G (KH/MT-02), Middle Stone Age ("Upper Levalloisian") material is underlain by tufa with a uranium-series age of 127.9+/-1.3 ka, and overlain by tufa with an age of 103+/-14 ka. At Bulaq Wadi 3 Locus 1, a uranium-series age of 114.4+/-4.2 ka on tufa capping a small collection of Middle Stone Age artifacts also provides a minimum age constraint on that material. Tufa underlying an MSA workshop (KH/MD-10) indicates that this assemblage, characterized by use of several Levallois reduction methods, was deposited after approximately 124 ka. Furthermore, uranium-series ages averaging approximately 133 ka on a Wadi Midauwara tufa (WME-10) without associated archaeological material suggest that one period of spring flow in the region began during the Marine Isotope Stage 6/5e transition, prior to the warmest portion of the last interglacial period. The dated archaeological material suggests that the distinction that has been identified between Nubian and non-Nubian complexes in the Nile Valley may hold for the Western Desert, although local complexity has yet to be fully described.     

New human teeth from Middle Stone Age deposits at Klasies River, South Africa

Since 1984, the main site at Klasies River has been re-investigated. Human remains, animal bones and stone artefacts have been collected from the LBS, SAS and other stratigraphic members, and these discoveries help to establish the antiquity of anatomically near-modern populations practicing a Middle Stone Age way of life on the southern coast of Africa. Several teeth found in the lower SAS levels in 1989-1991 can be matched in recent South African populations. Two complete upper molars representing one individual have crowns that are relatively short mesiodistally. These specimens are small in comparison to black South African homologues, but MD and BL dimensions fall close to the averages for San burials. This evidence confirms that several of the Klasies individuals have very small molars, while others have cheek teeth that are close to the upper limits for size variation in recent Africans. The new material is in keeping with the view that sex dimorphism within this Middle Stone Age population may be pronounced.     

Les matières premières,la technologie lithique et les stratégies d’occupation dans le site du Pléistocène moyen de Covacha de los Zarpazos (gisement de Galería,Sierra de Atapuerca,Espagne)

Variability is one of the most debated topics in lithic technology studies. For the Middle Pleistocene period, this debate has specifically focused on the significance of large cutting tools such as handaxes and cleavers. This paper presents the stone tool assemblage from Covacha de los Zarpazos site, included in the Galería complex at Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). We analyse the management of lithic raw materials, the reduction sequences identified, and the morphological variation in the shape of large cutting tools. The results show that raw materials play an important role in the final variability of tool shape, although they do not represent any real constraint. However, what determines the main variability of a whole lithic assemblage is the occupation strategy and the specific activities carried out in a given site.     

Eland, buffalo, and wild pigs: were Middle Stone Age humans ineffective hunters?

Patterns of faunal exploitation play a central role in debates concerning the behavioral modernity of Middle Stone Age (MSA) peoples. MSA foragers have been portrayed as less effective hunters than their Later Stone Age (LSA) successors on the basis of relative species abundances from ungulate assemblages in southern Africa. Specifically, MSA hunters are said to focus on docile eland while avoiding more aggressive prey, particularly buffalo and wild pigs. To evaluate these arguments and compare subsistence behavior, I present a quantitative examination of 51 MSA and 98 LSA ungulate assemblages from southern Africa to show that: (1) with respect to ungulate exploitation, MSA diet breadth may have exceeded LSA diet breadth, (2) ungulate assemblage evenness is equivalent in the MSA and LSA, (3) eland, buffalo, and wild pig are equally abundant in the MSA and LSA, and (4) large ungulate prey are more common in the MSA than in the LSA. With few exceptions, the broad patterns, which sample a range of geographic and environmental contexts, are supported by an environmentally controlled comparison of Middle and Later Stone Age faunas that accumulated under interglacial conditions along the southern African coastline. When interpreted within a foraging theory framework, these differences suggest that MSA hunters enjoyed increased meat yields due to elevated encounter rates with large prey. These results need not imply cognitive differences, but are consistent with an increase in human populations from the Middle to Later Stone Age, which resulted in diminished abundances of large ungulates.     

Bushman rock shelter,Origstad, Eastern Transvaal,South Africa

Absolute dating of several stratigraphic levels position an infant's mandible relatively to about 29,500 years ago. This mandible may represent the infant stage of an early Negroid from of Homo sapiens afer and was probably associated with cultural material belonging to the transition of the Middle Stone Age to the Late Stone Age.     

Hominin Dispersal into the Nefud Desert and Middle Palaeolithic Settlement along the Jubbah Palaeolake,Northern Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding hominin dispersals and the effect of climate change on prehistoric demography, although little information on these topics is presently available owing to the poor preservation of archaeological sites in this desert environment. Here, we describe the discovery of three stratified and buried archaeological sites in the Nefud Desert, which includes the oldest dated occupation for the region. The stone tool assemblages are identified as a Middle Palaeolithic industry that includes Levallois manufacturing methods and the production of tools on flakes. Hominin occupations correspond with humid periods, particularly Marine Isotope Stages 7 and 5 of the Late Pleistocene. The Middle Palaeolithic occupations were situated along the Jubbah palaeolake-shores, in a grassland setting with some trees. Populations procured different raw materials across the lake region to manufacture stone tools, using the implements to process plants and animals. To reach the Jubbah palaeolake, Middle Palaeolithic populations travelled into the ameliorated Nefud Desert interior, possibly gaining access from multiple directions, either using routes from the north and west (the Levant and the Sinai), the north (the Mesopotamian plains and the Euphrates basin), or the east (the Persian Gulf). The Jubbah stone tool assemblages have their own suite of technological characters, but have types reminiscent of both African Middle Stone Age and Levantine Middle Palaeolithic industries. Comparative inter-regional analysis of core technology indicates morphological similarities with the Levantine Tabun C assemblage, associated with human fossils controversially identified as either Neanderthals or Homo sapiens.     

Evidence of hunting and hafting during the Middle Stone Age at Sibidu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a multianalytical approach

Points and point fragments from Middle Stone Age layers (dated to between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago) from Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were examined to establish whether they were used as hafted spearheads for hunting. A multi-analytical approach was followed, using macrofracture analysis, use-wear analysis, and residue analysis. In addition to the analytical processes, an experimental project tested the results of the macrofracture analysis on local raw materials. The study shows that points from Sibudu Cave were indeed hafted and used as hunting tools. It was further established that plant twine was probably the preferred binding material to attach the points to wooden hafts. Resin may have been used as an adhesive in combination with the binding material. A detailed examination of the ochre distribution on the points confirmed that ochre was also part of the hafting arrangement. The need to use a dependable methodology for the recognition of hunting and hafting traces on stone points from the southern African Middle Stone Age context is briefly discussed.     

Évolution des caractères technologiques et typologiques des industries lithiques dans la stratigraphie de la Caune de l'Arago

The thick Quaternary deposits of the Caune de l’Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France) are dated to between 690 000 and 90 000 years old. At least fifteen different archeostratigraphical units have been identified within these deposits, each corresponding to distinct prehistoric occupations. Numerous stone tools made from several different rock types, have been discovered in each unit. The tools present specific characteristics concerning the choice of raw materials, the typology, and the technology used to produce them. Morpho-technological study of the different components of the assemblage contributes to a better understanding of the debitage methods used for their production. Each raw material is considered individually in order to ascertain its origin in the environment, its typological role and the technology applied during its exploitation. Defining production systems leads to the characterisation of the assemblages from each unit. When compared, they reveal common elements, as well as differences, suggesting evolutionary trends. Some observations are also made concerning the extent to which changing uses of the site may have influenced the general morphology of each assemblage, therefore taking into account exterior factors. Analysis of this rich stone tool assemblage helps to situate the Caune de l’Arago industry within the larger evolutionary context of the Lower Paleolithic in Mediterranean Europe.     

Quartz Knapping Strategies in the Howiesons Poort at Sibudu (KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa)

The variability associated with Sibudu''s Howiesons Poort Industry highlights the unpredictable trajectory of technology in the Middle Stone Age. We reach this conclusion through a study of the technology on quartz from one of the Howiesons Poort layers (Grey Sand) from Sibudu rock shelter. Quartz bifacial technology has previously been described at the site, but this new in-depth study of the quartz technology reveals other strategies. First is the recurring employment of bipolar knapping, formerly considered as a defining feature of the Later Stone Age. Secondly, we highlight a laminar technology with emphasis on small quartz bladelets. Bipolar cores are most common, followed by prismatic cores. The knapping strategies in Grey Sand seem to involve systematic recycling and the deliberate production of microliths.     

Factors of intraspecific variability in ammonites,the example of Gassendiceras alpinum (d’Orbigny, 1850) (Hemihoplitidae,Upper Barremian)

The homogeneity of a large sample of Gassendiceras alpinum is tested statistically. The quantitative analysis did not reject the null hypothesis and the homogeneity of the sample is accepted. As a result, the different taxa used in the literature (G. alpinum, “Barrancyloceras barremense”, Leroyiceras mascarellii and Spinocrioceras sauvanae) all fall into the variability of a single species, although some doubt subsist for L. dolloi. Taxonomically, by the priority principle the only name that should be used is G. alpinum. The results and other examples about the intraspecific variability confirm the importance of the Westermann's laws in ammonites, but they show that there are other important sources of covariation. In Gassendiceras the variability is tripolar (both the classic robust-slender poles of the Westermann's laws plus a third morphological pole with thick section and not so robust ornamentation), which implies that the intraspecific variability is not always uniform or consistent from one group to another, or in any case do not necessarily respond to the same factors in equivalent proportions. Heterochronies, erasing of the ornamentation and uncoiling of the heteromorph ammonites are also considered as factors of the intraspecific variability.