Lyn Wadley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Lyn Wadley
Southern African Humanities, 2004
Backed tools from the Howiesons Poort Industry of Rose Cottage Cave often have ochre on or near t... more Backed tools from the Howiesons Poort Industry of Rose Cottage Cave often have ochre on or near their backed edges rather than on their working edges. This suggests a use for ochre in the hafting process of the tools, perhaps as an ingredient in mastic that would have included plant resin. The proximity of plant tissue, plant fibre and white starchy deposit to the ochre on the backed tools may also be the consequence of hafting. Backed blades appear to have been hafted laterally, whereas segments might have been placed transverse to their hafts. Obliquely backed blades were possibly hafted with their short axis (the backed edge) in the haft.
South African Journal of Science, 2003
There is a great deal of debate over the nature and timing of culturally modern behaviour and wel... more There is a great deal of debate over the nature and timing of culturally modern behaviour and well respected archaeologists do not necessarily agree with each other; their interpretations depend, of course, on their personal definitions of modern behaviour. I first describe a popular archaeological view of how to recognize cultural modernity, then I present my own perspective.
South African Journal of Science, 2004
Sibudu Cave excavations have yielded an Iron Age occupation directly overlying a long sequence of... more Sibudu Cave excavations have yielded an Iron Age occupation directly overlying a long sequence of final Middle Stone Age (MSA) layers dating c. 61 000-26 000 years ago. Older, undated layers contain a Howiesons Poort Industry. A diverse animal population is represented in the final MSA. Proxy environmental data suggest cooler, drier conditions with a larger savanna component to the vegetation than at present.
Southern African Humanities, 2006
A technological analysis of crystal quartz backed tools from the Howiesons Poort of Sibudu Cave s... more A technological analysis of crystal quartz backed tools from the Howiesons Poort of Sibudu Cave shows that they are smaller than backed tools made from other rock types. They are not highly standardized and their reduction sequence is straightforward. Raw materials could have been obtained near the shelter. The distribution of organic and inorganic residues on the backed tools suggests that they were hafted. Our results imply that interpretations of Howiesons Poort technology as innovative, based on attributes such as long distance transport of raw materials and size standardization of backed pieces, remain undemonstrated.
Southern African Humanities, 2015
Biochemical analyses of residues preserved on ethno-historical and archaeological artefacts incre... more Biochemical analyses of residues preserved on ethno-historical and archaeological artefacts increase our understanding of past indigenous knowledge systems. The interpretation of biochemical traces is, however, difficult. Problems that can hamper credible interpretations of ethno-historical or archaeological residues include incomplete knowledge about local natural products, limited published data about product applications, and overestimation of the abilities of the analytical techniques to make specific identifications. In an initial attempt to address some of the challenges, we discuss arrow poison as a case in point, and we provide complete, updated inventories of known southern African poison ingedients and recipes, suspected poisons, and the current state of knowledge about these toxins and their effects. We also suggest that discoveries of ancient arrow poison, and the technical steps involved in early toxicology, have the potential to indicate levels of human cognition.
The final Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tool assemblage from Sibudu Cave is characterized by sides... more The final Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tool assemblage from Sibudu Cave is characterized by sidescrapers, bifacial and unifacial points, hollow-based points, bifacial cutting tools and backed tools, including large, wide segments. The assemblage has been dated to between c. 33 and 35 kyr by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), but a radiocarbon date of c. 42 000 BP is also available. This Sibudu lithic collection shows that large backed tools can be an integral part of the final MSA because no Later Stone Age (LSA) occupation occurs at the site. Sibudu data contribute to discussion of local traditions in the final MSA, of dating the final MSA, and of the presence of segments in non-Howiesons Poort and non-LSA assemblages.
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa
A camera trap was set near a greater kudu bull carcass for 3 weeks at the start of winter. The ca... more A camera trap was set near a greater kudu bull carcass for 3 weeks at the start of winter. The carcass lay in an open savanna setting on a game farm in Limpopo, and it was visited by leopard, brown hyena, black-backed jackal, African civet, honey badger, bushpig and warthog. At the end of a month there were no visible remains of the carcass save the skull and damaged horns. After a week, when decomposition was pronounced, suids spent more time at the carcass than other animals. They may have been responsible for much of the on-site bone consumption. Bone and meat portions not eaten directly at the death scene were probably carried away by scavengers like brown hyena and jackal. The area was excavated and sieved to collect bone debris that might have been trampled into sediment. Only a few small bone fragments were recovered, one of which had a tooth mark. Several outcomes are of interest to archaeologists. Firstly, the diversity of scavengers at the kudu carcass (including some animals not normally classified as scavengers) suggests that damage on surviving bone at some archaeological sites may be from an assortment of animals not normally considered to be scavengers. Comparative collections must accommodate such variety. Secondly, under certain environmental conditions, death assemblages in the wild may disappear without trace when predators can move freely and feed without disturbance. Thirdly, is possible that some bone fragments survive at archaeological sites because they were protected (possibly unintentionally) by human presence, and because they were on occasion processed in ways that made them less attractive to predators.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
A horncore feature was encountered during excavations at Border Cave, in Member 2 BSL, dated 60–4... more A horncore feature was encountered during excavations at Border Cave, in Member 2 BSL, dated 60–49 ka. The basal half of the horncore lay towards the centre of a combustion feature and was calcined. The tip half lay on a mat of burnt grass bedding towards the edge of the fireplace. It was covered with a black shiny residue, which was also present on nearby stone tools. The feature was jacketed and excavated later under a microscope in the laboratory. Raman spectroscopy identified the residue only as amorphous carbon, indicating the presence of a heated organic substance. Knowing that variation exists in modern and archaeological glue recipes, we wanted to know if the black residue was melted keratin, and if it was, whether it had been used as a substitute for beeswax or latex for hafting. We set out to test the hypothesis by conducting a heating experiment with a modern sheathed horncore. Experimental results showed that keratin does not transform into viable glue when heated. Instead, it reduces immediately to a glassy brittle residue. Our finding strongly supports a scenario of incidental deposition of residue on the archaeological stone tools. Previous combustion experiments have shown that the sediment below a fire can reach 300+ °C through vertical heat transfer. This implies that horn sheaths in archaeological deposits, separated from overlying combustion features by thousands of years, can transform into a black residue that may deposit on nearby stone and bone tools.
Science
Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor preservation. We... more Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor preservation. We report the discovery of grass bedding used to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working by people who lived in Border Cave at least 200,000 years ago. Sheaves of grass belonging to the broad-leafed Panicoideae subfamily were placed near the back of the cave on ash layers that were often remnants of bedding burned for site maintenance. This strategy is one forerunner of more-complex behavior that is archaeologically discernible from ~100,000 years ago.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Abstract Located in the KwaZulu-Natal, 15 km from the coast, Sibudu has yielded twenty-three mari... more Abstract Located in the KwaZulu-Natal, 15 km from the coast, Sibudu has yielded twenty-three marine gastropods, nine of which are perforated. At 70.5 ± 2.0 ka, in a Still Bay Industry, there is a cluster of perforated Afrolittorina africana shells, one of which has red ochre stains. There is also a perforated Mancinella capensis and some unperforated shells of both A. africana and M. capensis. The cluster may represent an area where the shells were processed or where apparel to which shells were attached was lost. In a Howiesons Poort layer, 64.7 ± 1.9 ka, there is a single perforated Afrolittorina africana shell. This shell may be from the Still Bay and may have been dislodged by rock fall. Two Nassarius kraussianus shells, one of them perforated and bearing traces of utilisation as a bead, were found in a late Middle Stone Age layer with an OSL age of 46.6 ± 2.3 ka. N. kraussianus was not found in older layers, even though this taxon occurs in southern Cape sites during the Middle Stone Age. Where the perforations are undamaged and suitable for microscopy, they appear to have been made by punching the shells with a pointed tool made of bone or hard wood. Such perforations have been replicated experimentally. Unlike the Blombos beads, the Sibudu shells from the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort layers bear no compelling evidence of use wear in their perforations. We therefore cannot be certain that they were suspended. However, if the Sibudu shells were beads, the changing use of taxa through time suggests variability in symbolic traditions.
Heritage Science
Using fire experiments, we investigate claims that black organic residues on lithics found in Sto... more Using fire experiments, we investigate claims that black organic residues on lithics found in Stone Age sites are markers for heat treatment of rocks in the embers of aboveground wood fires. We buried sedges overlain with lithics and bone to replicate plant bedding sometimes found in archaeological sites. Small fires were lit over the material buried under a mixture of coarse-and medium-grained sand. Black carbonised residues formed on several lithics that were in direct contact with buried sedges that burned below the fire. FTIR, Raman and preliminary GC-MS measurements were made on dried and burnt sedge, burnt bone, and on a prominent black residue that formed on one quartz piece that had been in contact with buried fresh sedge when it was heated. Importantly, we were able to confirm the spontaneous and accidental transfer of organic compounds to lithics buried and heated underground in the presence of plant material. This means that carbonised organic residues are not useful markers for determining whether heat treatment of rocks took place above or below ground. Our preliminary experiments imply that further work should be done to investigate the causes of the residues formed on lithics underground.
Antiquity
The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higherlevel co... more The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higherlevel cognitive functioning. How this technology originated and how we identify archaeological evidence for it are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent analysis of the putative bone arrow point from Sibudu Cave in South Africa, dated to 61.7±1.5kya, has provided important new insights. High-resolution CT scanning revealed heat and impact damage in both the Sibudu point and in experimentally produced arrow points. These features suggest that the Sibudu point was first used as an arrowhead for hunting, and afterwards was deposited in a hearth. Our results support the claim that bone weapon tips were used in South African hunting long before the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History
The meaning and context of gender is contested even in the 21st century. No generalizations about... more The meaning and context of gender is contested even in the 21st century. No generalizations about gender are applicable through time or across space. Even where gender roles are defined by particular cultural norms, they are not static, and an individual may pass through several gendered social transformations in a lifetime. Sub-Saharan African rites of passage into adulthood are sometimes marked by gender-specific physical mutilations such as circumcision, dental modification or scarification, together with other forms of symbolic marking that invariably adopt a binary gender system as the norm. The initiations are largely designed to instruct initiates about behavior appropriate for men and women of reproductive age belonging to a specific community. Some aspects of initiation rites may be detected archaeologically through skeletal alterations, rock art motifs, and props such as scarified dolls. Concepts of gender are also connected to the last rite of passage: burial. Through thi...
Journal of Field Archaeology
ABSTRACT New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sedi... more ABSTRACT New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago. The density of lithics varies considerably through time, with high frequencies occurring before 100,000 years ago where a putative MSA 1/Pietersburg Industry was recovered. The highest percentage frequencies of blades and blade fragments were found here. In Members 1 BS and 1 WA, called Early Later Stone Age by Beaumont, we recovered large flakes from multifacial cores. Local rhyolite was the most common rock used for making stone tools, but siliceous minerals were popular in the upper members.
Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, Jan 20, 2018
In the African Pleistocene, the fossil evidence for early Homo sapiens populations is still relat... more In the African Pleistocene, the fossil evidence for early Homo sapiens populations is still relatively limited. Here we present two additional specimens (two deciduous teeth) recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits of Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). We describe their morphology and metrics, using three-dimensional models of the teeth obtained from high-resolution micro-CT images. The first specimen is a Ldm₁ (HUM. TO 1) recovered in the BS5 layer dated 77.3±2.7 ka, and associated with stone tools assigned to the "pre-Still Bay" assemblage. The other specimen is a Rdi₁ (HUM. TO 2) coming from the Pinkish Grey Sand (PGS) layer, dated 64.7±2.3 ka, and associated with a Howieson's Poort industry. Both teeth are well preserved, with minor post mortem cracks not affecting the overall morphology, and they comprise the intact, worn crown and the remnants of the roots, naturally resorbed. A large carious lesion occupies most of the distal face and part of ...
PloS one, 2017
We evaluate the cultural variation between the youngest Howiesons Poort layer (GR) and the oldest... more We evaluate the cultural variation between the youngest Howiesons Poort layer (GR) and the oldest post-Howiesons Poort layers (RB-YA) of Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). We first conducted a technological analysis, secondly we performed a cladistic study with all the technological traits and, finally, we compare the technological variability with other data from Sibudu (ochre, micromorphology, fauna and plant remains). The synapomorphies of the cladistical analysis show numerous lithic technological changes between the youngest Howiesons Poort and the oldest post-Howiesons Poort layers as previously concluded. However, some technological strategies that are present, yet uncommon, in the Howiesons Poort become abundant in the overlying layers, whereas others that were fundamental to the Howiesons Poort continue, but are poorly represented in the overlying layers. We further show that lithic technological strategies appear and disappear as pulses in the post-Howiesons Poort ...
Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry
Before 100,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of South Africa, silica varieties of ... more Before 100,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of South Africa, silica varieties of minerals and rocks were sometimes heated during tool making in order to improve their knapping properties. If the heating and cooling process is not controlled, failure results and the nodules fracture. Recently, we postulated that the reversible α- to β-phase transition may play a role in causing silcrete, a type of rock often used to make stone tools in the Western Cape, to fracture. In this new study, we analyse the thermal behaviour (520–620 °C) of silcrete and compare it to that of two chalcedony samples from different origins, together with samples of chert, agate and flint. These minerals and rocks were commonly used to make stone tools. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements show that the α- to β-phase transformation is prominent in silcrete, agate and one of the chalcedony samples, weaker in chert and the second chalcedony sample, but non-existent in flint. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and carbon and sulphur analyses show differences in elemental composition between the rocks and minerals. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy highlight differences in microstructure. These small differences in chemical composition and structure contribute to a variety of chemical reactions and phase transformations that can take place in rocks and minerals, which in combination determine their stability upon heating and show that care should be taken when generalising thermal behaviour.
Antiquity
Ochre is well-known as a substance used in Stone Age symbolism, but it can be shown to have had p... more Ochre is well-known as a substance used in Stone Age symbolism, but it can be shown to have had practical functions too. The authors used microscopic examination of Middle Stone Age tools to show they had been hafted, making use of an adhesive compound which included ochre in its recipe.
PLOS ONE, 2017
We describe colour, hardness, grain size, geological type and surface modifications of ochre piec... more We describe colour, hardness, grain size, geological type and surface modifications of ochre pieces excavated, first by Malan and later by Harper, from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Rose Cottage Cave, 96, 000 to 30, 000 years ago. Soft, bright-red shales are abundant, and most ochre has clayey or silty grain sizes. The post-Howiesons Poort layers contain the most ochre pieces, but the Howiesons Poort layers have the highest frequency of ochre per sediment volume. The pre-Howiesons Poort layers have the highest utilization rate. Use-traces include rubbing, grinding, combined grinding and rubbing, and rare instances of scoring. The processing techniques are proxies for ochre use. Rubbing transfers red ochre powder directly onto soft surfaces, such as human skin, or animal hide. This is appropriate when skin colouring and marking or skin protection (for example from sun, insects or bacteria) is the purpose. Grinding produces ochre powder that can be used for a variety of tasks. It can be mixed with water or other products to create paint, cosmetics or adhesives. Multiple uses of ochre powder and ochre pieces are therefore implied at Rose Cottage and changes through time are apparent.
South African Journal of Science, 2017
The antiquity of the use of hunting poisons has received much attention in recent years. In this ... more The antiquity of the use of hunting poisons has received much attention in recent years. In this paper we present the results of a pilot study designed to detect the presence of organic compounds, typically of less than 1200 Da, from poisonous plants that may have been used as hunting poisons in the past. We used ultra-performance liquid chromatography connected to a Synapt G2 high-resolution MS-QTOF mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to provisionally identify plant-based toxins present in (1) extracts of fresh plant material, (2) a blind control recipe consisting of three plant ingredients and (3) a Hei||om arrow poison of unknown ingredients. Although not all expected toxic compounds were identified, those that were identified compared favourably with those reported in the literature and confirmed through databases, specifically the Dictionary of Natural Products and ChemSpider. MS/MS fragmentation patterns and accurate mass were used for tentative identification of compounds becaus...
Southern African Humanities, 2004
Backed tools from the Howiesons Poort Industry of Rose Cottage Cave often have ochre on or near t... more Backed tools from the Howiesons Poort Industry of Rose Cottage Cave often have ochre on or near their backed edges rather than on their working edges. This suggests a use for ochre in the hafting process of the tools, perhaps as an ingredient in mastic that would have included plant resin. The proximity of plant tissue, plant fibre and white starchy deposit to the ochre on the backed tools may also be the consequence of hafting. Backed blades appear to have been hafted laterally, whereas segments might have been placed transverse to their hafts. Obliquely backed blades were possibly hafted with their short axis (the backed edge) in the haft.
South African Journal of Science, 2003
There is a great deal of debate over the nature and timing of culturally modern behaviour and wel... more There is a great deal of debate over the nature and timing of culturally modern behaviour and well respected archaeologists do not necessarily agree with each other; their interpretations depend, of course, on their personal definitions of modern behaviour. I first describe a popular archaeological view of how to recognize cultural modernity, then I present my own perspective.
South African Journal of Science, 2004
Sibudu Cave excavations have yielded an Iron Age occupation directly overlying a long sequence of... more Sibudu Cave excavations have yielded an Iron Age occupation directly overlying a long sequence of final Middle Stone Age (MSA) layers dating c. 61 000-26 000 years ago. Older, undated layers contain a Howiesons Poort Industry. A diverse animal population is represented in the final MSA. Proxy environmental data suggest cooler, drier conditions with a larger savanna component to the vegetation than at present.
Southern African Humanities, 2006
A technological analysis of crystal quartz backed tools from the Howiesons Poort of Sibudu Cave s... more A technological analysis of crystal quartz backed tools from the Howiesons Poort of Sibudu Cave shows that they are smaller than backed tools made from other rock types. They are not highly standardized and their reduction sequence is straightforward. Raw materials could have been obtained near the shelter. The distribution of organic and inorganic residues on the backed tools suggests that they were hafted. Our results imply that interpretations of Howiesons Poort technology as innovative, based on attributes such as long distance transport of raw materials and size standardization of backed pieces, remain undemonstrated.
Southern African Humanities, 2015
Biochemical analyses of residues preserved on ethno-historical and archaeological artefacts incre... more Biochemical analyses of residues preserved on ethno-historical and archaeological artefacts increase our understanding of past indigenous knowledge systems. The interpretation of biochemical traces is, however, difficult. Problems that can hamper credible interpretations of ethno-historical or archaeological residues include incomplete knowledge about local natural products, limited published data about product applications, and overestimation of the abilities of the analytical techniques to make specific identifications. In an initial attempt to address some of the challenges, we discuss arrow poison as a case in point, and we provide complete, updated inventories of known southern African poison ingedients and recipes, suspected poisons, and the current state of knowledge about these toxins and their effects. We also suggest that discoveries of ancient arrow poison, and the technical steps involved in early toxicology, have the potential to indicate levels of human cognition.
The final Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tool assemblage from Sibudu Cave is characterized by sides... more The final Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tool assemblage from Sibudu Cave is characterized by sidescrapers, bifacial and unifacial points, hollow-based points, bifacial cutting tools and backed tools, including large, wide segments. The assemblage has been dated to between c. 33 and 35 kyr by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), but a radiocarbon date of c. 42 000 BP is also available. This Sibudu lithic collection shows that large backed tools can be an integral part of the final MSA because no Later Stone Age (LSA) occupation occurs at the site. Sibudu data contribute to discussion of local traditions in the final MSA, of dating the final MSA, and of the presence of segments in non-Howiesons Poort and non-LSA assemblages.
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa
A camera trap was set near a greater kudu bull carcass for 3 weeks at the start of winter. The ca... more A camera trap was set near a greater kudu bull carcass for 3 weeks at the start of winter. The carcass lay in an open savanna setting on a game farm in Limpopo, and it was visited by leopard, brown hyena, black-backed jackal, African civet, honey badger, bushpig and warthog. At the end of a month there were no visible remains of the carcass save the skull and damaged horns. After a week, when decomposition was pronounced, suids spent more time at the carcass than other animals. They may have been responsible for much of the on-site bone consumption. Bone and meat portions not eaten directly at the death scene were probably carried away by scavengers like brown hyena and jackal. The area was excavated and sieved to collect bone debris that might have been trampled into sediment. Only a few small bone fragments were recovered, one of which had a tooth mark. Several outcomes are of interest to archaeologists. Firstly, the diversity of scavengers at the kudu carcass (including some animals not normally classified as scavengers) suggests that damage on surviving bone at some archaeological sites may be from an assortment of animals not normally considered to be scavengers. Comparative collections must accommodate such variety. Secondly, under certain environmental conditions, death assemblages in the wild may disappear without trace when predators can move freely and feed without disturbance. Thirdly, is possible that some bone fragments survive at archaeological sites because they were protected (possibly unintentionally) by human presence, and because they were on occasion processed in ways that made them less attractive to predators.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
A horncore feature was encountered during excavations at Border Cave, in Member 2 BSL, dated 60–4... more A horncore feature was encountered during excavations at Border Cave, in Member 2 BSL, dated 60–49 ka. The basal half of the horncore lay towards the centre of a combustion feature and was calcined. The tip half lay on a mat of burnt grass bedding towards the edge of the fireplace. It was covered with a black shiny residue, which was also present on nearby stone tools. The feature was jacketed and excavated later under a microscope in the laboratory. Raman spectroscopy identified the residue only as amorphous carbon, indicating the presence of a heated organic substance. Knowing that variation exists in modern and archaeological glue recipes, we wanted to know if the black residue was melted keratin, and if it was, whether it had been used as a substitute for beeswax or latex for hafting. We set out to test the hypothesis by conducting a heating experiment with a modern sheathed horncore. Experimental results showed that keratin does not transform into viable glue when heated. Instead, it reduces immediately to a glassy brittle residue. Our finding strongly supports a scenario of incidental deposition of residue on the archaeological stone tools. Previous combustion experiments have shown that the sediment below a fire can reach 300+ °C through vertical heat transfer. This implies that horn sheaths in archaeological deposits, separated from overlying combustion features by thousands of years, can transform into a black residue that may deposit on nearby stone and bone tools.
Science
Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor preservation. We... more Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor preservation. We report the discovery of grass bedding used to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working by people who lived in Border Cave at least 200,000 years ago. Sheaves of grass belonging to the broad-leafed Panicoideae subfamily were placed near the back of the cave on ash layers that were often remnants of bedding burned for site maintenance. This strategy is one forerunner of more-complex behavior that is archaeologically discernible from ~100,000 years ago.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Abstract Located in the KwaZulu-Natal, 15 km from the coast, Sibudu has yielded twenty-three mari... more Abstract Located in the KwaZulu-Natal, 15 km from the coast, Sibudu has yielded twenty-three marine gastropods, nine of which are perforated. At 70.5 ± 2.0 ka, in a Still Bay Industry, there is a cluster of perforated Afrolittorina africana shells, one of which has red ochre stains. There is also a perforated Mancinella capensis and some unperforated shells of both A. africana and M. capensis. The cluster may represent an area where the shells were processed or where apparel to which shells were attached was lost. In a Howiesons Poort layer, 64.7 ± 1.9 ka, there is a single perforated Afrolittorina africana shell. This shell may be from the Still Bay and may have been dislodged by rock fall. Two Nassarius kraussianus shells, one of them perforated and bearing traces of utilisation as a bead, were found in a late Middle Stone Age layer with an OSL age of 46.6 ± 2.3 ka. N. kraussianus was not found in older layers, even though this taxon occurs in southern Cape sites during the Middle Stone Age. Where the perforations are undamaged and suitable for microscopy, they appear to have been made by punching the shells with a pointed tool made of bone or hard wood. Such perforations have been replicated experimentally. Unlike the Blombos beads, the Sibudu shells from the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort layers bear no compelling evidence of use wear in their perforations. We therefore cannot be certain that they were suspended. However, if the Sibudu shells were beads, the changing use of taxa through time suggests variability in symbolic traditions.
Heritage Science
Using fire experiments, we investigate claims that black organic residues on lithics found in Sto... more Using fire experiments, we investigate claims that black organic residues on lithics found in Stone Age sites are markers for heat treatment of rocks in the embers of aboveground wood fires. We buried sedges overlain with lithics and bone to replicate plant bedding sometimes found in archaeological sites. Small fires were lit over the material buried under a mixture of coarse-and medium-grained sand. Black carbonised residues formed on several lithics that were in direct contact with buried sedges that burned below the fire. FTIR, Raman and preliminary GC-MS measurements were made on dried and burnt sedge, burnt bone, and on a prominent black residue that formed on one quartz piece that had been in contact with buried fresh sedge when it was heated. Importantly, we were able to confirm the spontaneous and accidental transfer of organic compounds to lithics buried and heated underground in the presence of plant material. This means that carbonised organic residues are not useful markers for determining whether heat treatment of rocks took place above or below ground. Our preliminary experiments imply that further work should be done to investigate the causes of the residues formed on lithics underground.
Antiquity
The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higherlevel co... more The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higherlevel cognitive functioning. How this technology originated and how we identify archaeological evidence for it are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent analysis of the putative bone arrow point from Sibudu Cave in South Africa, dated to 61.7±1.5kya, has provided important new insights. High-resolution CT scanning revealed heat and impact damage in both the Sibudu point and in experimentally produced arrow points. These features suggest that the Sibudu point was first used as an arrowhead for hunting, and afterwards was deposited in a hearth. Our results support the claim that bone weapon tips were used in South African hunting long before the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History
The meaning and context of gender is contested even in the 21st century. No generalizations about... more The meaning and context of gender is contested even in the 21st century. No generalizations about gender are applicable through time or across space. Even where gender roles are defined by particular cultural norms, they are not static, and an individual may pass through several gendered social transformations in a lifetime. Sub-Saharan African rites of passage into adulthood are sometimes marked by gender-specific physical mutilations such as circumcision, dental modification or scarification, together with other forms of symbolic marking that invariably adopt a binary gender system as the norm. The initiations are largely designed to instruct initiates about behavior appropriate for men and women of reproductive age belonging to a specific community. Some aspects of initiation rites may be detected archaeologically through skeletal alterations, rock art motifs, and props such as scarified dolls. Concepts of gender are also connected to the last rite of passage: burial. Through thi...
Journal of Field Archaeology
ABSTRACT New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sedi... more ABSTRACT New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago. The density of lithics varies considerably through time, with high frequencies occurring before 100,000 years ago where a putative MSA 1/Pietersburg Industry was recovered. The highest percentage frequencies of blades and blade fragments were found here. In Members 1 BS and 1 WA, called Early Later Stone Age by Beaumont, we recovered large flakes from multifacial cores. Local rhyolite was the most common rock used for making stone tools, but siliceous minerals were popular in the upper members.
Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, Jan 20, 2018
In the African Pleistocene, the fossil evidence for early Homo sapiens populations is still relat... more In the African Pleistocene, the fossil evidence for early Homo sapiens populations is still relatively limited. Here we present two additional specimens (two deciduous teeth) recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits of Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). We describe their morphology and metrics, using three-dimensional models of the teeth obtained from high-resolution micro-CT images. The first specimen is a Ldm₁ (HUM. TO 1) recovered in the BS5 layer dated 77.3±2.7 ka, and associated with stone tools assigned to the "pre-Still Bay" assemblage. The other specimen is a Rdi₁ (HUM. TO 2) coming from the Pinkish Grey Sand (PGS) layer, dated 64.7±2.3 ka, and associated with a Howieson's Poort industry. Both teeth are well preserved, with minor post mortem cracks not affecting the overall morphology, and they comprise the intact, worn crown and the remnants of the roots, naturally resorbed. A large carious lesion occupies most of the distal face and part of ...
PloS one, 2017
We evaluate the cultural variation between the youngest Howiesons Poort layer (GR) and the oldest... more We evaluate the cultural variation between the youngest Howiesons Poort layer (GR) and the oldest post-Howiesons Poort layers (RB-YA) of Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). We first conducted a technological analysis, secondly we performed a cladistic study with all the technological traits and, finally, we compare the technological variability with other data from Sibudu (ochre, micromorphology, fauna and plant remains). The synapomorphies of the cladistical analysis show numerous lithic technological changes between the youngest Howiesons Poort and the oldest post-Howiesons Poort layers as previously concluded. However, some technological strategies that are present, yet uncommon, in the Howiesons Poort become abundant in the overlying layers, whereas others that were fundamental to the Howiesons Poort continue, but are poorly represented in the overlying layers. We further show that lithic technological strategies appear and disappear as pulses in the post-Howiesons Poort ...
Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry
Before 100,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of South Africa, silica varieties of ... more Before 100,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of South Africa, silica varieties of minerals and rocks were sometimes heated during tool making in order to improve their knapping properties. If the heating and cooling process is not controlled, failure results and the nodules fracture. Recently, we postulated that the reversible α- to β-phase transition may play a role in causing silcrete, a type of rock often used to make stone tools in the Western Cape, to fracture. In this new study, we analyse the thermal behaviour (520–620 °C) of silcrete and compare it to that of two chalcedony samples from different origins, together with samples of chert, agate and flint. These minerals and rocks were commonly used to make stone tools. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements show that the α- to β-phase transformation is prominent in silcrete, agate and one of the chalcedony samples, weaker in chert and the second chalcedony sample, but non-existent in flint. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and carbon and sulphur analyses show differences in elemental composition between the rocks and minerals. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy highlight differences in microstructure. These small differences in chemical composition and structure contribute to a variety of chemical reactions and phase transformations that can take place in rocks and minerals, which in combination determine their stability upon heating and show that care should be taken when generalising thermal behaviour.
Antiquity
Ochre is well-known as a substance used in Stone Age symbolism, but it can be shown to have had p... more Ochre is well-known as a substance used in Stone Age symbolism, but it can be shown to have had practical functions too. The authors used microscopic examination of Middle Stone Age tools to show they had been hafted, making use of an adhesive compound which included ochre in its recipe.
PLOS ONE, 2017
We describe colour, hardness, grain size, geological type and surface modifications of ochre piec... more We describe colour, hardness, grain size, geological type and surface modifications of ochre pieces excavated, first by Malan and later by Harper, from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Rose Cottage Cave, 96, 000 to 30, 000 years ago. Soft, bright-red shales are abundant, and most ochre has clayey or silty grain sizes. The post-Howiesons Poort layers contain the most ochre pieces, but the Howiesons Poort layers have the highest frequency of ochre per sediment volume. The pre-Howiesons Poort layers have the highest utilization rate. Use-traces include rubbing, grinding, combined grinding and rubbing, and rare instances of scoring. The processing techniques are proxies for ochre use. Rubbing transfers red ochre powder directly onto soft surfaces, such as human skin, or animal hide. This is appropriate when skin colouring and marking or skin protection (for example from sun, insects or bacteria) is the purpose. Grinding produces ochre powder that can be used for a variety of tasks. It can be mixed with water or other products to create paint, cosmetics or adhesives. Multiple uses of ochre powder and ochre pieces are therefore implied at Rose Cottage and changes through time are apparent.
South African Journal of Science, 2017
The antiquity of the use of hunting poisons has received much attention in recent years. In this ... more The antiquity of the use of hunting poisons has received much attention in recent years. In this paper we present the results of a pilot study designed to detect the presence of organic compounds, typically of less than 1200 Da, from poisonous plants that may have been used as hunting poisons in the past. We used ultra-performance liquid chromatography connected to a Synapt G2 high-resolution MS-QTOF mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to provisionally identify plant-based toxins present in (1) extracts of fresh plant material, (2) a blind control recipe consisting of three plant ingredients and (3) a Hei||om arrow poison of unknown ingredients. Although not all expected toxic compounds were identified, those that were identified compared favourably with those reported in the literature and confirmed through databases, specifically the Dictionary of Natural Products and ChemSpider. MS/MS fragmentation patterns and accurate mass were used for tentative identification of compounds becaus...