Quantification of climate and vegetation from southern African Middle Stone Age sites – an application using Late Pleistocene plant material from Sibudu, South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 7-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela A. Bruch ◽  
Christine Sievers ◽  
Lyn Wadley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Middle Stone Age ◽  
Stone Age

Uncovering the Late Pleistocene LSA of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa: Early Results from Iron Pig Rock Shelter

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor D. Bader ◽  
Jörg Linstädter ◽  
Maria H. Schoeman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Middle Stone Age ◽  
Lithic Analysis ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Rock Shelter ◽  
Mpumalanga Province ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Comparative Review

Abstract South Africa is one of the best-studied regions in terms of Stone Age research in the last few decades. Considerable progress has been made, especially for the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Recently the late Pleistocene Later Stone Age (LSA) has come back into focus. However, there are still large understudied areas such as northeastern South Africa. Here we present the first data from an archaeological site containing late Pleistocene occupations associated with the Robberg techno-complex in this region. Iron Pig rock shelter provides a well-dated sequence spanning from >16000 cal BP to <9000 cal BP. A lithic analysis of the Robberg occupations of the lowermost layers 5 and 6 provided here implies gradual temporal shifts in technology indicating short-term changing traditions. A comparative review of other LSA sites in the wider region suggests considerable research gaps and the necessity of intensified work in this area.

scholarly journals Palaeomagnetic results and new dates of sedimentary deposits from Klasies River Cave 1, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo G. Nami ◽  
Paloma de la Peña ◽  
Carlos A. Vásquez ◽  
James Feathers ◽  
Paloma de la Peña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Rock Magnetism ◽  
Middle Stone Age ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Main Site ◽  
White Sand ◽  
Remanent Magnetisation ◽  
Field Excursion

Abstract Palaeomagnetic data from Klasies River main site Cave 1 (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa) are reported. Natural remanent magnetisation directions obtained from 77 oriented samples were determined by progressive alternating field demagnetisation methodology. Three palaeomagnetic samplings from the Witness Baulk from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) Late Pleistocene White Sand member and the Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) middens in Cave 1 were dated and analysed to obtain the palaeomagnetic directions recorded in the sediments. Here we provide new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates for the White Sand Member, and new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates for the LSA midden of areas not previously dated. The palaeomagnetic analysis took into account rock magnetism and directional analysis. The former reveals that the main magnetic carrier was magnetite; the latter shows that characteristic remanent magnetisation of normal and anomalous directions was observed in the lower portion of the White Sand Member and LSA midden. Normal directions correspond to the palaeosecular variation record for South Africa during the Late Pleistocene. On the other hand, the anomalous directions recorded in the LSA midden might represent the likely Sterno-Etrussia geomagnetic field excursion which occurred during the Late Holocene and is observed in other places on the planet. Finally, the directional data obtained are a potential tool for discussing the age of deposits corresponding to those periods.

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

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manvir Singh ◽  
Luke Glowacki
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Middle Stone Age ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Human History ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Social Variation

Many researchers assume that until 10-12,000 years ago, humans lived in small, mobile, relatively egalitarian bands composed mostly of kin. This “nomadic-egalitarian model” 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 propose an alternative, the diverse histories model, to replace it. We outline 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.

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