Continental Patterns in Stone Tools: A Technological and Biplot-Based Comparison of Early Late Pleistocene Assemblages from Northern and Southern Africa

The Middle Stone Age of the northern Kenyan Rift: age and context of new archaeological sites from the Kapedo Tuffs

“…Clark et al, 1966). Detailed lithic technological studies that establish the presence of geographically and temporally restricted patterns of hominin behavior remain an important goal in analyses of MSA or other archaeological assemblages (e.g., Tostevin, 2003a,b;Wurz et al, 2005;Soriano et al, 2007). However, as a prelude to such a study, we explore geological processes that might also explain interassemblage patterning in an attempt to first reject the null hypothesis of non behavioral explanations for the observed archaeological differences (e.g., Clark, 1980;Rolland and Dibble, 1990;Inizan et al, 1999;White, 1998;Chase, 2006: 131-144;Dibble et al, 2006).…”

Edge damage distribution at the assemblage level on Middle Stone Age lithics: an image-based GIS approach

“…This paper does not address that topic and instead utilizes the data from an MSA assemblage to illustrate a methodological approach. Overviews and current discussions of the MSA are available elsewhere (Barham, 2000;Deacon and Deacon, 1999;Henshilwood and Marean, 2003;Klein, 1999;McBrearty and Brooks, 2000;Mitchell, 2002;Wurz, 2002;Wurz et al, 2003Wurz et al, , 2005. MSA people in southern Africa produced toolkits containing points, bifacial points, unifacial points, scrapers, blades, bladelets, flakes, and backed blades (Shea, 2006;Singer and Wymer, 1982;Thackeray, 1992;Wurz, 2002).…”

Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

“…Variation in morphometric attributes and point proportions, within and amongst MSA assemblages, is understood to reflect regional and temporal traditions (e.g. Clark, 1988;McBrearty and Brooks, 2000;Wadley, 2006;Wurz, 2002;Wurz et al, 2003Wurz et al, , 2005, and could allude to changes in subsistence behaviours through time (e.g. Bretzke et al, 2006;Brooks et al, 2006;Lombard, 2007;Lombard and Clark, 2008;Shea, 2006;Sisk and Shea, 2009;Villa and Lenoir, 2006).…”