Stone point variability reveals spatial, chronological and environmental structuring of eastern African Middle Stone Age populations

Timbrell, Lucy; Habte, Behailu; Tefera, Yosef; Maroma, Christine; Ndiema, Emmanuel; Plomp, Kimberly; Blinkhorn, James; Grove, Matt

doi:10.1080/0067270x.2023.2268986

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 69 publications

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“…Quantifying discrete attributes related to the shape of blanks can be challenging as they often rely on descriptors that are subjective and influenced by the analyst's experience and research background 153 . Various studies in the field of geometric morphometrics (GM) have shown that shape analysis is a crucial component for exploring lithic technological variability and understanding design space constraints in retouched tools 25,[154][155][156][157][158][159][160] . To enhance the objectivity of this study, we chose to employ Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA) 161 on both unmodified and retouched bladelets.…”

Section: D Geometric Morphometricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy

Falcucci,

Arrighi,

Spagnolo

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The Aurignacian is the first European technocomplex assigned to Homo sapiens recognized across a wide geographic extent. Although archaeologists have identified marked chrono-cultural shifts within the Aurignacian mostly by examining the techno-typological variations of stone and osseous tools, unraveling the underlying processes driving these changes remains a significant scientific challenge. Scholars have, for instance, hypothesized that the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption and the climatic deterioration associated with the onset of Heinrich Event 4 had a substantial impact on European foraging groups. The technological shift from the Protoaurignacian to the Early Aurignacian is regarded as an archaeological manifestation of adaptation to changing environments. However, some of the most crucial regions and stratigraphic sequences for testing these scenarios have been overlooked. In this study, we delve into the high-resolution stratigraphic sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy. Here, the Uluzzian is followed by three Aurignacian layers, sealed by the eruptive units of the CI. Employing a comprehensive range of quantitative methods—encompassing attribute analysis, 3D model analysis, and geometric morphometrics—we demonstrate that the key technological feature commonly associated with the Early Aurignacian developed well before the deposition of the CI tephra. Our study provides thus the first direct evidence that the volcanic super-eruption played no role in this cultural process. Furthermore, we show that local paleo-environmental proxies do not correlate with the identified patterns of cultural continuity and discontinuity. Consequently, we propose alternative research paths to explore the role of demography and regional trajectories in the development of the Upper Paleolithic.

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Section: D Geometric Morphometricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy

Falcucci,

Arrighi,

Spagnolo

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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A generic MSA: what problems will it solve and what problems will it create?

Shea

2024

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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The evolution of long-range hunting with stone-tipped weapons during the Afrotropic Middle Stone Age

Sahle,

Lombard

2024

Preprint

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In the Afrotropic biogeographic realm, with its high-density and diverse mammal population, early humans may have been hunting with stone-tipped weapons since ~500 000 years ago. Being able to hunt effectively from a distance has several important adaptive advantages. Yet, until now, African long-range javelin hunting remained unexplored as intermediate between short/medium-range, hand-delivered and long-range, mechanically projected weapons. Insights gained from a new Afrotropic comparative dataset with 950 weapon tips of known use – including several javelin types – provide a contextually appropriate middle-range tool for assessing the probable effective hunting ranges of Middle Stone Age points. We use a novel application of the ballistically relevant tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) statistic to define contact, short-, medium-, long- and maximum-range hunting and discuss the adaptive advantages for each. The approach is applied to assess developments and variations in the best-fit hunting ranges of 5597 stone points from 62 Middle Stone Age Afrotropic assemblages. By aligning our results with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) record we found that long-range hunting with stone-tipped weapons at ~20-30 m was probably not practiced by ≥MIS 8, and that experimentation with long-range javelins – similar to those used by contemporary Ethiopian hunters – over this distance may have started during MIS 6, becoming part of the everyday Afrotropic hunting arsenal by the end of MIS 5.

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Stone point variability reveals spatial, chronological and environmental structuring of eastern African Middle Stone Age populations

Cited by 3 publications

References 69 publications

A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy

A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy

A generic MSA: what problems will it solve and what problems will it create?

The evolution of long-range hunting with stone-tipped weapons during the Afrotropic Middle Stone Age

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