Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa

Langejans, Geeske H. J.; Niekerk, Karen L. van; Dusseldorp, Gerrit L.; Thackeray, J. Francis

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.09.003

Cited by 100 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Thackeray (1988), for example, finds very few shellfish in the HP levels at Klasies River and an overall decline across the MSA II and HP levels. There was also a sharp decrease in the density of shell over time during the pre-SB and SB phases at Blombos Cave Langejans et al 2012). Shell densities also declined over time in the pre-SB contexts at Pinnacle Point (Jerardino 2010;Jerardino and Marean 2010).…”

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In their recent analysis of the shellfishing activities at Blombos Cave, Langejans et al (2012) also find shifts in species prevalence between the pre-SB and SB phases. While they characterize the shellfish species preference during the MSA at Blombos as generally focused on high-ranked species in mid-tidal zones, they find that infratidal species with the highest return rates were mostly limited to the earliest pre-SB phase (M3).…”

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 95%

“…A number of coastal SB and HP sites have shellfish remains, with those of Klasies River, Blombos Cave, and Pinnacle Point having received the most attention Jerardino 2010;Jerardino and Marean 2010;Langejans et al 2012;Marean 2010;Thackeray 1988;). Interestingly, these studies show decreasing quantities of shellfish remains over time in the periods prior to and including the SB and HP industries.…”

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the SB phase saw a dramatic rise in the frequency of the lower yield mussel species, Perna perna, and dramatic decline in the other higher yield species. Langejans et al (2012) argue that the increased focus on the collection of P. perna related to the tendency of individuals of this species to cling together during collection, making them suitable for mass collection (though their individual meat yields are relatively low). In addition, as a species of bivalve, P. perna may have been better suited to transport (without rotting) during periods of more distant shorelines.…”

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Still Bay and Howiesons Poort Foraging Strategies: Recent Research and Models of Culture Change

McCall

Thomas

2012

Afr Archaeol Rev

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The Still Bay (SB) and Howiesons Poort (HP) industries, endemic to southern Africa and dating to approximately 72-59 ka, have received a great deal of archaeological attention by virtue of their striking patterns of technology and their close association with some of the earliest unambiguously symbolic objects found in southern Africa. This paper reviews recent literature concerning SB and HP lithic assemblages, faunal remains, paleoenvironmental contexts, and chronological information. It argues that SB biface-dominated technology was designed to be multifunctional and to economize lithic raw material, a strategy well-suited to foragers moving frequently across a wide range of ecological zones in which access to resources and prey encounters were unpredictable. In contrast, HP blade-based tools, using backed blades as modular components in compound weapons, were efficient and reliable hunting weapons designed for specific tasks. More costly and difficult to maintain, HP technology resulted from the targeting of known, localized, and seasonal resources through planned logistical forays. We argue that these complicated patterns of innovation represent separate cultural responses to environmental instability during Marine Isotope Stage 4 and demographic pressures in southern Africa at this time. Against the backdrop of environmental and demographic shifts, the emergence of these innovative tools and associated symbolic objects reflects distinct but quintessentially modern cultural behaviors ethnographically associated with risk reduction, reciprocity, and information sharing.Résumé Les industries lithiques de Still Bay (SB) et de Howiesons Poort (HP), omniprésentes en Afrique australe et datant approximativement de 75-59 ka, ont reçu beaucoup d'attention de la part des archéologues en raison de leurs patterns technologiques frappant, ainsi qu'à leur association aux plus anciens objets symboliques trouvés dans cette région africaine. Cet article révise la littérature récente portant sur Afr Archaeol Rev (2012) 29:7-50 les assemblages lithiques et fauniques, les contextes paléoenvironnementaux, ainsi que les données chronologiques des industries SB et HP. L'article soutient que la technologie SB, dominée par les bifaces, fut créé pour être multifonctionnelle et pour économiser du matériel lithique brut; une stratégie bien adaptée à des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs se déplaçant fréquemment à travers différentes zones écologiques, où l'accès aux ressources et au gibier était imprévisible. Inversement, les outils laminaires HP, utilisant des lames supportées comme composants modulaires dans la fabrication d'armes composites, étaient spécifiquement fabriquées pour être des armes de chasse efficaces et fiables. Étant plus coûteuse et difficile à entretenir, la technologie HP fut le résultat d'une adaptation à des ressources bien connues, localisées et saisonnières, procurées le biais d'incursions logistiques planifiées. Nous soutenons que ces innovations technologiques complexes représentent des adaptations culturelles...

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Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shellfish and Geophyte Exploitation In The Later Msamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Still Bay and Howiesons Poort Foraging Strategies: Recent Research and Models of Culture Change

McCall

Thomas

2012

Afr Archaeol Rev

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“…Although temporal scales for archaeological assemblages are often longer than ideal for ecological studies, shell middens around the globe contain substantial evidence that human harvesters impacted the size structure and relative abundances of exploited populations (Jerardino 1997(Jerardino , 2010Langejans et al 2012;Mannino and Thomas 2002;Parkington, 2008;Sealy and Galimberti 2011;Tonner 2005;and others). Nevertheless, factors such as species interactions and trophic level dynamics, and changes in oceanographic temperature and sea level complicate anthropogenic induced effects of predation and its clues in the archaeological record (see Bailey and Milner 2008;Dayton et al 1998;Mannino and Thomas 2002).…”

Section: Methodological and Ecological Implications: Human Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using non-dietary gastropods in coastal shell middens to infer kelp and seagrass harvesting and paleoenvironmental conditions

Ainis¹,

Vellanoweth²,

Lapeña³

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology

Prentiss¹

2019

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Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa

Cited by 100 publications

References 60 publications

Still Bay and Howiesons Poort Foraging Strategies: Recent Research and Models of Culture Change

Still Bay and Howiesons Poort Foraging Strategies: Recent Research and Models of Culture Change

Using non-dietary gastropods in coastal shell middens to infer kelp and seagrass harvesting and paleoenvironmental conditions

Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology

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