Revisiting Mwulu’s Cave: new insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome

Peña, Paloma de la; Val, Aurore; Stratford, Dominic; Colino, F.; Esteban, Irene; Fitchett, Jennifer M.; Hodgskiss, Tammy; Matembo, Joseph; Moll, Rosa

doi:10.1007/s12520-018-0749-9

Cited by 29 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…In 2018, we initiated a geoarchaeological project to study the Pleistocene stratigraphy and depositional history of the site. This fits the trend of recent studies that focus on understanding the depositional history of MSA sites in South Africa (e.g., Backwell et al 2018;de la Peña et al 2019;Goldberg et al 2009;Haaland et al 2017;Henshilwood et al 2014;Larbey et al 2019;Lotter et al 2016;Miller et al 2013). Our fieldwork has three interrelated goals.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 66%

New Excavations at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Stratigraphic and Taphonomic Evaluation

et al. 2020

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Umhlatuzana rockshelter has an occupation sequence spanning the last 70,000 years. It is one of the few sites with deposits covering the Middle to Later Stone Age transition (~40,000–30,000 years BP) in southern Africa. Comprehending the site’s depositional history and occupation sequence is thus important for the broader understanding of the development of Homo sapiens’ behavior. The rockshelter was first excavated in the 1980s by Jonathan Kaplan. He suggested that the integrity of the late Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age sediments was compromised by large-scale sediment movement. In 2018, we initiated a high-resolution geoarchaeological study of the site to clarify the site formation processes. Here, we present the results of the excavation and propose a revised stratigraphic division of the Pleistocene sequence based on field observations, sedimentological (particle size) analyses, and cluster analysis. The taphonomy of the site is assessed through phytolith and geochemical (pH, loss on ignition, stable carbon isotope) analyses. The results indicate a consistent sedimentological environment characterized by in situ weathering. The analysis of the piece-plotted finds demonstrates semihorizontal layering of archaeologically dense zones and more sterile ones. There was no indication of large-scale postdepositional sediment movement. We show that the low-density archaeological horizons in the upper part of the Pleistocene sequence are best explained by the changing patterns of sedimentation rate.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 66%

New Excavations at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Stratigraphic and Taphonomic Evaluation

et al. 2020

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“…Soft-surface grinding or rubbing is even more frequent (n = 17) while scoring or incising is the least common modification type with only four known examples. The majority of the modified ochres have silty or clayey textures, and the general trend of darker purple and red hues is consistent with other ochre studies which report a preference for fine-grained ochre with deeper red and purple hues in later time periods [23, 119, 121, 123, 137].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Ochre and pigment use at Hohle Fels cave: Results of the first systematic review of ochre and ochre-related artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Germany

2018

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Though many European Upper Palaeolithic sites document early examples of symbolic material expressions (e.g., cave art, personal ornaments, figurines), there exist few reports on the use of earth pigments outside of cave art–and occasionally Neanderthal–contexts. Here, we present the first in-depth study of the diachronic changes in ochre use throughout an entire Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Hohle Fels cave, Germany, spanning from ca. 44,000–14,500 cal. yr. BP. A reassessment of the assemblage has yielded 869 individual ochre artefacts, of which 27 show traces of anthropogenic modification. The ochre artefacts are from all Upper Palaeolithic layers, stemming from the earliest Aurignacian horizons to the Holocene. This wide temporal spread demonstrates the long-term presence and continuity of ochre use in a part of Europe where it has not been systematically reported before. The anthropogenic modifications present on the ochre artefacts from the Gravettian and Magdalenian are consistent with pigment powder production, whereas the only modified piece from the Aurignacian displays a possible engraved motif. The non-modified artefacts show that more hematite-rich specular ochres as well as fine-grained deep red iron oxide clays were preferred during the Gravettian and Magdalenian, while the Aurignacian layers contain a broader array of colours and textures. Furthermore, numerous other artefacts such as faunal elements, personal ornaments, shells, and an ochre grindstone further strengthen the conclusion that ochre behaviours were well established during the onset of the Aurignacian and subsequently flourished throughout the Upper Palaeolithic at Hohle Fels cave.

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“…Olieboomspoort, the Pietersburg and the MSA in the Savanna Biome Mason's excavation of OBP yielded a rich lithic assemblage that he attributed to the middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg and that was instrumental in his characterisation of this industry (Mason 1957(Mason , 1959(Mason , 1962. Together with OBP, recent work at Bushman Rock Shelter (Porraz et al 2018) and Mwulu's Cave (de la Peña et al 2019) has reawakened interest in this somewhat forgotten MSA industry. Between its first mention by E.G.…”

Section: Pollen and Phytolith Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18). We refer to Porraz et al (2018) andde la Peña et al (2019) for recent historiographic accounts of this industry. Here, we highlight several problematic aspects related to the exact nature of the Pietersburg, which transpire in renewed discussions on this topic (Wadley et al 2016;Porraz et al 2018;de la Peña et al 2019;Chazan et al 2020;Feathers et al 2020).…”

Section: Pollen and Phytolith Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent fieldwork conducted in the Savanna Biome, south of the Limpopo River, constitutes several parallel attempts to compensate for the limited knowledge regarding the nature of MSA developments in the interior of southern Africa. This notably includes fieldwork at Bushman Rock Shelter (Porraz et al 2015(Porraz et al , 2018), Mwulu's Cave (de la Peña et al 2019), Steenbokfontein (Wadley et al 2016), Wonderkrater (Backwell et al 2014) and Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter (Wilkins et al 2020) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The place beyond the trees: renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome

Val

Peña

Duval

et al. 2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Olieboomspoort is one of the few rock shelters in the vast interior of southern Africa documenting pulses of occupation from the Acheulean until the end of the Later Stone Age. Revil Mason excavated the site in 1954 and attributed the large Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblage to his middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg Industry. Recent work at the site has focused on the Holocene layers, but little is known about the earlier phases of shelter use. Here, we provide some background to the shelter, give a history of past research and present initial results following renewed fieldwork at the site. The MSA deposits contain abundant lithic artefacts and ochre, and we present an initial description of these cultural remains. Palynological analysis reveals limited potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, but some faunal remains indicate open grasslands. We dated two equid teeth that provided highly consistent combined U-series-ESR estimates, resulting in a mean age of 150 ± 14 ka (1σ). Even when considering potential sources of uncertainty such as variations in water-intake, these fossils can securely be dated to Marine Isotopic Stage 6. Our reappraisal of site formation processes highlights the fact that the archaeological assemblage is strongly time-averaged. We discuss these different results in the context of a recently rekindled interest in the so-called Pietersburg Industry.

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Revisiting Mwulu’s Cave: new insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome

Cited by 29 publications

References 61 publications

New Excavations at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Stratigraphic and Taphonomic Evaluation

New Excavations at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Stratigraphic and Taphonomic Evaluation

Ochre and pigment use at Hohle Fels cave: Results of the first systematic review of ochre and ochre-related artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Germany

The place beyond the trees: renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome

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