Examining the Causes and Consequences of Short-Term Behavioral Change during the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa

Abstract

Sibudu in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) with its rich and high-resolution archaeological sequence provides an ideal case study to examine the causes and consequences of short-term variation in the behavior of modern humans during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). We present the results from a technological analysis of 11 stratified lithic assemblages which overlie the Howiesons Poort deposits and all date to ~58 ka. Based on technological and typological attributes, we conducted inter-assemblage comparisons to characterize the nature and tempo of cultural change in successive occupations. This work identified considerable short-term variation with clear temporal trends throughout the sequence, demonstrating that knappers at Sibudu varied their technology over short time spans. The lithic assemblages can be grouped into three cohesive units which differ from each other in the procurement of raw materials, the frequency in the methods of core reduction, the kind of blanks produced, and in the nature of tools the inhabitants of Sibudu made and used. These groups of assemblages represent different strategies of lithic technology, which build upon each other in a gradual, cumulative manner. We also identify a clear pattern of development toward what we have previously defined as the Sibudan cultural taxonomic unit. Contextualizing these results on larger geographical scales shows that the later phase of the MSA during MIS 3 in KwaZulu-Natal and southern Africa is one of dynamic cultural change rather than of stasis or stagnation as has at times been claimed. In combination with environmental, subsistence and contextual information, our high-resolution data on lithic technology suggest that short-term behavioral variability at Sibudu can be best explained by changes in technological organization and socio-economic dynamics instead of environmental forcing.

Lithic technological responses to Late Pleistocene glacial cycling at Pinnacle Point Site 5-6, South Africa

“…For example, Wurz [56], draws attention to the point that the apparent increase in temporal and spatial patterning during the SB and HP compared to earlier and later time periods could be in part a reflection of more intense research, and that those industries are best understood within the context of local historical trajectories of technological change rather than as responses to environmental change. This perspective of the MSA in general is supported by evidence for dynamic, short-term behavioral variability in the recently studied MIS 3 levels at Sibudu [117–119]. At Blombos Cave, the SB technocomplex is associated with warmer temperatures (based on shellfish types) and higher productivity (based on mammal assemblages), leading Langejans et al [120] to argue that the SB technocomplex is not an adaption to harsh conditions or low environmental productivity as has previously been suggested.…”

“…The decision to choose silcrete over quartzite might not be explained solely by economic factors, which is a perspective in line with a recent study of MSA and LSA silcrete abundance [175], and hypotheses that link raw material selection to aspects of reciprocal exchange and symbolism [52, 53]. The traits not listed in Table 4 are also good candidates for understanding the meaning of continuity in material culture style across space in South Africa and for exploring the ideas that similarities were reinforced by contact and exchange among and between early modern human foragers [51, 92, 172, 176], that short-term temporal changes in technological behavior and differences between sites could reflect local socio-cultural historical trajectories [56, 118, 177], and that a holistic consideration of what drove MSA technological change will include a consideration of non-environmental factors [95, 119, 121, 123]. Further investigations of intra-MIS variability at PP5-6 will also contribute to better understanding the diversity of factors—environmental, economic, functional, and socio-cultural—that operate on finer-scales to influence technological behaviors.…”

Traditional Glue, Adhesive and Poison Used for Composite Weapons by Ju/’hoan San in Nyae Nyae, Namibia. Implications for the Evolution of Hunting Equipment in Prehistory

“…The archaeological evidence for hafting techniques appears to confirm the sorts of regional and possibly time-related traditions that are also implied by bone [29] and stone technology [30,31]. However, the archaeological evidence is mute on the behavioural, technological and cognitive complexity involved in the production and use of fixative pastes for hunting and other types of equipment.…”

What is Still Bay? Human biogeography and bifacial point variability

“…This is problematic because: (a) the prevailing tendency to focus on technological similarity obscures important inter-assemblage variation; (b) the specific geographic, technological and morphological parameters used to evaluate these similarities are seldom justified; and (c) the reliability of tracing technological indicators of population interaction across time and space is often not tested rigorously (however see Wadley and Mohapi, 2008;Porraz et al, 2013a;Archer et al, 2015;Conard and Will, 2015;Soriano et al, 2015). Although strong counterarguments against assemblage pigeonholing were previously proposed (Parkington et al, 1980;Mazel, 1984;Parkington, 1993; among others), recently Lombard et al (2012) suggested that variation in the southern African Stone Age cultural-historic sequence is most accurately interpreted as reflecting similarities and differences in artefact making 'traditions'.…”