Refining Our Understanding of Howiesons Poort Lithic Technology: The Evidence from Grey Rocky Layer in Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

Peña, Paloma de la

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143451

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…For the former, one would expect to see artifacts that are morphologically similar despite being made from a variety of raw materials and techniques, as is observed in the HP. Such patterns could have been the result of a collapse of previously existing long-distance cultural networks, leading to the formation of more local "traditions," again, which is exactly what we observe in HP bone and lithic technologies (53,55,88). The mechanism or mechanisms that operated behind such a process remain unclear (e.g., demographic changes, population replacement, cultural drift).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Raw materials used for the lithic technology were predominantly local or nearlocal in origin, in clear contrast to what is seen for SB bifaces. Similar to the SB, however, HP groups also sometimes heated lithic raw materials before they were reduced to produce blades (52) and occasionally used pressure flaking (53). Bifacial points are absent in the HP, with the exception of a single site where specimens that are smaller and of lower quality have been recovered (54).…”

Section: Cultural and Chronological Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

d’Errico

Banks

Warren

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The archaeological record shows that typically human cultural traits emerged at different times, in different parts of the world, and among different hominin taxa. This pattern suggests that their emergence is the outcome of complex and nonlinear evolutionary trajectories, influenced by environmental, demographic, and social factors, that need to be understood and traced at regional scales. The application of predictive algorithms using archaeological and paleoenvironmental data allows one to estimate the ecological niches occupied by past human populations and identify niche changes through time, thus providing the possibility of investigating relationships between cultural innovations and possible niche shifts. By using such methods to examine two key southern Africa archaeological cultures, the Still Bay [76-71 thousand years before present (ka)] and the Howiesons Poort (HP; 66-59 ka), we identify a niche shift characterized by a significant expansion in the breadth of the HP ecological niche. This expansion is coincident with aridification occurring across Marine Isotope Stage 4 (ca. 72-60 ka) and especially pronounced at 60 ka. We argue that this niche shift was made possible by the development of a flexible technological system, reliant on composite tools and cultural transmission strategies based more on "product copying" rather than "process copying." These results counter the one niche/one human taxon equation. They indicate that what makes our cultures, and probably the cultures of other members of our lineage, unique is their flexibility and ability to produce innovations that allow a population to shift its ecological niche.Middle Stone Age | Still Bay | Howiesons Poort | ecological niche modeling | paleoclimate R esearch on animal behavior has made it clear that culture represents a second inheritance system that may have changed the dynamics of evolution on a broad scale (1-3). Understanding how this process has affected the evolution of our genus is a major challenge in paleoanthropology. In what ways, and through what phases of evolutionary history, has human culture extended beyond culture seen in other species? Are the cultural adaptations and associated cultural innovations that we observe in the archaeological record the direct consequence of our biological evolution, or are they the outcome of mechanisms largely independent of it? In our lineage, if cultural innovations were directly linked to classic Darwinian evolutionary processes, such as isolation, random mutation, selection, and speciation, one would expect a clear correspondence between the emergence of a new species and a related set of novel cultural behaviors. By shaping a new hominin species, natural selection would provide this species with a new cognitive setting resulting in the capacity for particular cultural innovations or behaviors. Such a mechanism would provide the possibility for cultural variability but would narrow its range of expression to the species' biologically dictated potential. Although some would still argue ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Cultural and Chronological Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

d’Errico

Banks

Warren

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…A significant amount of research has focused on the artifacts and ecofacts recovered from the HP deposits at Sibudu (e.g., botanical remains: Allott, 2005Allott, , 2006Sievers, 2006;Hall et al, 2008Hall et al, , 2014Bruch et al, 2012;faunal remains: Glenny, 2006;Plug, 2006;Clark and Plug, 2008;Plug and Clark, 2008;Clark, 2009Clark, , 2011Clark, , 2013Clark and Ligouis, 2010;Wadley, 2010;Val, 2016;Val et al, 2016;lithic/organic technology: Backwell et al, 2008;Lombard, 2008Lombard, , 2011Wadley and Mohapi, 2008;Lombard and Phillipson, 2010;d'Errico et al, 2012;de la Peña et al, 2013;de la Peña andWadley, 2014a, 2014b;de la Peña, 2015;Soriano et al, 2015;geoarchaeology/dating: Jacobs et al, 2008ageoarchaeology/dating: Jacobs et al, , 2008bGoldberg et al, 2009;other: Wadley, 2008other: Wadley, , 2012Hodgkiss, 2013); here I will summarize the results of those aspects of the data most relevant to our understanding of the faunal assemblage: 1) paleoenvironmental reconstruction and 2) hunting technologies/techniques.…”

Section: The Howieson's Poort At Sibudu Cavementioning

confidence: 99%

The Howieson's Poort fauna from Sibudu Cave: Documenting continuity and change within Middle Stone Age industries

Clark

2017

Journal of Human Evolution

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The Howieson's Poort (HP; ∼65-59 ka) continues to be a source of interest to scholars studying human behavioral evolution during the Late Pleistocene. This is in large part because the HP preserves evidence for a suite of innovative technologies and behaviors (including geometric backed tools and engraved ostrich eggshell), but also because the disappearance of the innovative behaviors associated with this phase is not well understood. Here, I present taphonomic and taxonomic data on the full sample of macromammal remains excavated from the HP deposits at Sibudu Cave under the direction of Lyn Wadley. With a total number of identified specimens (NISP) of 5921, Sibudu provides the largest sample of HP fauna published to date. Taken as a whole, the data suggest a focus on a diverse range of prey. Ungulates dominate the assemblage, as do taxa that preferentially inhabit closed (particularly forested) environments. Small bovids are common throughout; blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) alone comprises ∼33% of the total NISP. A diverse smaller game assemblage is also present. Taphonomic data implicate humans as the primary contributor to the fauna; however, low levels of gastric etching (∼1% of the NISP) suggest that non-human agents may have played some role in the accumulation of the smaller game. Despite broad similarities in the fauna, a number of directional trends are evidenced. Most notably, the lowermost deposits of the HP contain the highest frequency of blue duiker and other small ungulates, taxa which prefer closed environments, and miscellaneous smaller game. All of these decline throughout the HP, and these differences are statistically significant. After considering possible explanations for these trends, I discuss the potential implications of the variation evidenced in the assemblage to our understanding of the onset-and disappearance-of this important substage of the MSA.

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“…Our techno-typological and raw material results are in broad agreement with earlier technological and mostly qualitative work of Wadley’s HP sequence at Sibudu. As one example, bipolar technology is frequent and mostly associated with quartz throughout the HP in both this study and inWadley’s excavation [ 68 , 69 ]. High frequencies of bipolar knapping appear to distinguish the HP of Sibudu from other sites [ 69 ] where this technology is usually rare [e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional patterns of diachronic technological change in the Howiesons Poort of southern Africa

Will

Conard

2020

PLoS ONE

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The Howiesons Poort (HP) of southern Africa plays an important role in models on the early behavioral evolution of Homo sapiens . The HP is often portrayed as a coherent MSA industry characterized by early complex material culture. Recent work has emphasized parallel technological change through time across southern Africa potentially driven by ecological adaptations or demographic change. Here we examine patterns of diachronic variation within the HP and evaluate potential causal factors behind these changes. We test previous temporal assessments of the technocomplex at the local and regional level based on high-resolution quantitative data on HP lithic assemblages from Sibudu (KwaZulu-Natal) and comparisons with other southern African sites. At Sibudu, consistent unidirectional change in lithic technology characterizes the HP sequence. The results show a gradual reduction in typical HP markers such as the proportion of blades, backed pieces, and HP cores, as well as declining size of blades and backed artifacts. Quantitative comparisons with seven HP sites in South Africa suggest that lithic technology varies between regions over time instead of following similar changes. Concerning hypotheses of causal drivers, directional changes in lithic technology at Sibudu covary with shifting hunting patterns towards larger-sized bovids and a gradual opening of the vegetation. In contrast, variation in lithic technology shows little association with site use, mobility patterns or demographic expansions. Unlike at Sibudu, diachronic changes at other HP sites such as Diepkloof, Klasies River and Klipdrift appear to be associated with aspects of mobility, technological organization and site use. The regional diachronic patterns in the HP partly follow paleoclimatic zones, which could imply different ecological adaptations and distinct connection networks over time. Divergent and at times decoupled changes in lithic traits across sites precludes monocausal explanations for the entire HP, supporting more complex models for the observed technological trajectories.

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Refining Our Understanding of Howiesons Poort Lithic Technology: The Evidence from Grey Rocky Layer in Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

Cited by 31 publications

References 56 publications

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

The Howieson's Poort fauna from Sibudu Cave: Documenting continuity and change within Middle Stone Age industries

Regional patterns of diachronic technological change in the Howiesons Poort of southern Africa

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