DOCSLIB.ORG

Paleoanthropologically Significant South African Sea Caves Dated To

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Paleoanthropologically Significant South African Sea Caves Dated To Quaternary Science Reviews 65 (2013) 39e52 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev Paleoanthropologically significant South African sea caves dated to 1.1e1.0 million years using a combination of UePb, TT-OSL and palaeomagnetism Robyn Pickering a,*, Zenobia Jacobs b, Andy I.R. Herries c, Panagiotis Karkanas d, Miryam Bar-Matthews e, Jon D. Woodhead a, Peter Kappen f, Erich Fisher g, Curtis W. Marean g a School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, McCoy Building, Cnr Swanston and Elgin Streets, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia b Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia c Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, Environment and Community Planning, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria 3086, Australia d Ephoreia of PalaeoanthropologyeSpeleology of Southern Greece, Ministry of Culture, Greece e Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malchei Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel f Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, Victoria 3086, Australia g Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA article info abstract Article history: Deposits in sea caves found along the southern coastline of South Africa have produced a rich and Received 27 September 2012 detailed archaeological record of early modern humans. There is, however, little evidence for coastal cave Received in revised form deposits and human occupation older than MIS5e (w120 ka). Based on the correlation of four different 20 December 2012 chronological methods we present evidence for remnant cave deposits of 1.1e1.0 Ma from the quartzite Accepted 22 December 2012 sea cliff of Pinnacle Point, near Mossel Bay. Initial uraniumethorium ages at isotopic equilibrium indi- Available online cated an age of >500 ka for two flowstone layers, confirmed by uraniumelead dating of these flowstones from 1.099 Æ 0.012 to 1.047 Æ 0.011 Ma. TT-OSL (thermally transferred optically stimulated lumines- Keywords: Æ Geochronology cence) provides an age of 1.02 0.088 Ma for the sand grains imbedded in the tufa underlying the fl Æ Æ UePb dating owstone and 0.720 0.066 to 0.665 0.056 for the overlying beach sediments, producing an internally TT-OSL dating consistent age sequence centring on 1.0e1.1 Ma. The normal palaeomagnetic signal of the younger Palaeomagnetism section of the flowstone is interpreted to represent the Jaramillo between 1.07 and 0.99 Ma. There is Pinnacle Point a clear hiatus in the middle of this flowstone, leading us to interpret the lower normal signal as the South African cave deposits Punaruu event at w1.115e1.1051 Ma. Together these four techniques point to an age of 1.1e1.0 Ma for these cave deposits at Pinnacle Point, far older than anticipated. The persistent presence of these 1.1 e1.0 Ma deposits means that the enigmatic lack of Earlier Stone Age (Acheulean) artefacts in the sea caves along this coastal region can no longer be explained entirely by the age of the caves or through removal of sediments by previous sea level highstands. We believe that these and other coastal caves from this region, if located high enough above sea level, may contain deposits of great antiquity, which could provide outstanding records of climate, environment, sea level change, and human occupation back into the early to middle Pleistocene. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction of South Africa (Fig. 1), contain a series of caves and rockshelters, formed as a result of previous high sea-levels stands (Marean et al., Sea caves and rockshelters along the west and south coasts of 2007). These caves and rockshelters contain rich anthropogenic South Africa provide some of the richest archaeological records of sediments, as well as ancient dune and beachrock deposits and cave early modern humans worldwide. The quartzitic coastal cliffs of carbonate layers, both pure speleothem and impure tufa deposits. Pinnacle Point (PP), near the town of Mossel Bay on the south coast The younger deposits at PP have been the subject of much recent investigation (Marean et al., 2007; Brown et al., 2009; Bar- Matthews et al., 2010; Matthews et al., 2011), during which * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 (0)3 8344 6531; fax: þ61 (0)3 8344 7761. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected], a number of cave sites were shown to contain deposits older than [email protected] (R. Pickering). the 500 ka limit of UeTh dating. This was initially surprising as 0277-3791/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.12.016 40 R. Pickering et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 65 (2013) 39e52 Fig. 1. A map of South Africa (A) showing the position of Mossel Bay and the cave sites of PP13G and PPOH at Pinnacle Point (B). The position of PP13G at between 16 and 22 masl is shown in (C) with the section dated here enlarged in (D) (scale bar is 10 cm). Pinnacle Points, along with the other archaeological sites along this age of the oldest deposits in these caves, and to determine when coast, usually only contain sediments younger than w120 ka. The the cave and rockshelter sites may have been available for human apparent lack of deposits, and indeed cave sites, older than 120 ka occupation in the past. A parallel aim was to test the concordance of has been the subject of much debate. One explanation could be that the UePb and TT-OSL age estimates, and their consistency with the the cave systems themselves are relatively young and postdate palaeomagnetic time scale. 120 ka, meaning that the preservation potential pre-120 was too low for a record to exist. Alternatively, Hendey and Volman (1986) 2. Pinnacle Points cave sites and their geology deposits argued that the pre-120 ka cave sediments from this coastal region were all removed by previous sea-level high stands. A third and The coastal cliffs at PP (Fig. 1) consist of heavily dissected different explanation is that this coastal region was not recognized exposures of the Skurweberg formation of the Palaeozoic as an attractive occupation site and the lack of pre-120 ka sedi- Table Mountain Sandstone Group (TMS) (Viljoen and Malan, 1993). ments is due to anthropogenic reasons. The most likely explanation Fault breccias formed by movement along shear zones within the is some combination of all three, in which there where few sites TMS are more susceptible to erosion by high sea levels, forming available, possibly un-used by early humans, all of which have been caves in the near vertical cliffs. There are numerous caves in varying subject to significant erosion from previous sea level high stands. In states of preservation along this coast, here we focus on two, small, any event, the prevailing understanding of these sites along the highly eroded cave remnants, sites PP13G and PPOH (Opera House). south and western coast of South Africa is that the probability of finding old occupation sites is unlikely. 2.1. PP13G Recent advances in uraniumelead (UePb) dating and palae- omagnetic analysis of speleothems (Woodhead et al., 2006; PP13G is a small cave that preserves an exposed sequence of Pickering et al., 2010; Herries and Shaw, 2011), and thermally- fossil beach sediments, a porous sand-rich tufa, a flowstone layer transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) dating of and an aeolianite deposit (Figs. 1 and 2). The cave is developed quartz grains (Wang et al., 2006b; Jacobs et al., 2011; Duller and between 22.16 and 16.37 m above present sea-level and in its Wintle, 2012) are opening up new opportunities to study these present configuration consists of two discrete small chambers earlier time periods by providing a precise and consistent chro- separated by a ledge of cemented sediments (Fig. 2C). The lower nological framework. Moreover, the ability of UePb to date spe- beach sediment is a bioclast-rich, moderate well sorted granule- leothems older than 500 ka and an increase in the sensitivity of sized deposit with up to boulder-sized quartzite blocks floating in magnetometers is allowing the ability to identify and directly date it. Microscopically the sediment consists of well rounded to sub- geomagnetic field events in speleothems throughout the Pliocene angular quartzite clasts and rounded bioclasts (30e40%). Bioclasts and Pleistocene (Dirks et al., 2010; Herries et al., 2010; Osete et al., tend to be elongated and there are thin long fragile fragments with 2012). To this end we employed a multiple chronometer study of only rounded edges (Fig. 2F). The sediment is very porous, only intercalated sandstone and speleothem deposits at Cave 13G slightly cemented by two phases of freshwater phreatic equant (PP13G) and Opera House Cave (PPOH). The goal was to resolve the calcite rims (Longman, 1980). R. Pickering et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 65 (2013) 39e52 41 Fig. 2. Photograph of PP13G Cave showing the two chambers separating by a ledge of cemented sediments (C), including the location of the lower TT-OSL sample (X). The lower beach sediments (F) consists of elongated bioclasts (B) and rounded to subangular lithoclasts, quartzite (Qz) and calcitic cement (Cc). This grades into a tufa layer (E) showing a clastic-rich lower part overlain by alternating clastic-rich and calcite-rich layers, enlarged in (G) to show the different types of clasts and aggregates cemented with calcite (L ¼ beach lithoclast, Qz ¼ quartzite, B ¼ bioclast, V ¼ vug). The erosional contacts below and above the flowstone layer are shown in (D) and (A), where the flowstone layers of fibrous calcite (with arrows) are truncated by the upper beach sediments (sample 162570, XPL).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Experimentation Preceding Innovation in a MIS5 Pre-Still Bay Layer from Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa): Emerging Technologies and Symbols
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Experimentation preceding innovation in a MIS5 Pre-Still Bay layer from Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa): emerging technologies and symbols. Guillaume Porraz1,2, John E. Parkington3, Patrick Schmidt4,5, Gérald Bereiziat6, Jean-Philip Brugal1, Laure Dayet7, Marina Igreja8, Christopher E. Miller9,10, Viola C. Schmid4,11, Chantal Tribolo12,, Aurore 4,2 13 1 Cite as: Porraz, G., Parkington, J. E., Val , Christine Verna , Pierre-Jean Texier Schmidt, P., Bereiziat, G., Brugal, J.- P., Dayet, L., Igreja, M., Miller, C. E., Schmid, V. C., Tribolo, C., Val, A., Verna, C., Texier, P.-J. (2020). 1 Experimentation preceding Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, UMR 7269 Lampea, 5 rue du Château innovation in a MIS5 Pre-Still Bay de l’Horloge, F-13094 Aix-en-Provence, France layer from Diepkloof Rock Shelter 2 University of the Witwatersrand, Evolutionary Studies Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa (South Africa): emerging 3 technologies and symbols. University of Cape Town, Department of Archaeology, Cape Town, South Africa EcoEvoRxiv, ch53r, ver. 3 peer- 4 Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary reviewed and recommended by PCI Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany Archaeology. doi: 5 10.32942/osf.io/ch53r Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Geosciences, Applied Mineralogy, Wilhelmstraße 56, 72074 Tübingen, Germany. 6 Université de Bordeaux, UMR CNRS 5199 PACEA, F-33615 Pessac, France Posted: 2020-12-17 7 CNRS-Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, UMR 5608 TRACES, F-31058 Toulouse, France 8 LARC DGPC, Ministry of Culture (Portugal) / ENVARCH Cibio-Inbio 9 Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Institute for Archaeological Sciences & Senckenberg Recommender: Anne Delagnes Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Rümelinstr.
    [Show full text]
  • Models and Methods of Tectonic Geomorphology and the Reconstruction of Hominin Landscapes
    This is a repository copy of Landscapes of human evolution : models and methods of tectonic geomorphology and the reconstruction of hominin landscapes. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/11178/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Bailey, G.N. orcid.org/0000-0003-2656-830X, Reynolds, Sally and King, G.C.P. (2011) Landscapes of human evolution : models and methods of tectonic geomorphology and the reconstruction of hominin landscapes. Journal of Human Evolution. pp. 257-80. ISSN 0047-2484 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.01.004 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ This is an author-created pdf. Cite as: In press, J Hum Evol (2010), doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.01.004 Landscapes of human evolution: models and methods of tectonic geomorphology and the reconstruction of hominin landscapes Geoffrey N. Bailey 1 Sally C. Reynolds 2, 3 Geoffrey C.
    [Show full text]
  • Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in Context: the Cape Floral Kingdom, Shellfish, and Modern Human Originsq
    Journal of Human Evolution 59 (2010) 425e443 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in context: The Cape Floral kingdom, shellfish, and modern human originsq Curtis W. Marean Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, P.O. Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA article info abstract Article history: Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 ka, Received 15 December 2009 and recent evidence suggests that complex cognition may have appeared between w164 and 75 ka. This Accepted 19 March 2010 evidence directs our focus to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, when from 195e123 ka the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage, when much of Africa was cooler and drier, and when dated Keywords: archaeological sites are rare. Previously we have shown that humans had expanded their diet to include Middle Stone Age marine resources by w164 ka (Æ12 ka) at Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (PP13B) on the south coast of South Mossel Bay Africa, perhaps as a response to these harsh environmental conditions. The associated material culture Origins of modern humans documents an early use and modification of pigment, likely for symbolic behavior, as well as the production of bladelet stone tool technology, and there is now intriguing evidence for heat treatment of lithics. PP13B also includes a later sequence of MIS 5 occupations that document an adaptation that increasingly focuses on coastal resources.
    [Show full text]
  • Heat-Induced Alteration of Glauconitic Minerals in The
    Journal of Archaeological Science 86 (2017) 81e100 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas Heat-induced alteration of glauconitic minerals in the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for evaluating site structure and burning events * Magnus M. Haaland a, , David E. Friesem b, Christopher E. Miller c, d, Christopher S. Henshilwood a, e a Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 1, PO Box 7805, N-5020 Bergen, Norway b McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK c Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany d Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany e Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. WITS, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa article info abstract Article history: In this paper we conduct geochemical and colourimetric measurements of glauconite grains in micro- Received 22 February 2017 morphological thin sections from the Middle Stone Age site of Blombos Cave, South Africa, to investigate Received in revised form the formation, internal structure and reworking of heat-exposed cave deposits that are related to pre- 5 June 2017 historic burning events. Controlled heating experiments were first carried out on glauconite-rich loose Accepted 11 June 2017 sediments and block samples, both of which were collected from the Blombos Cave bedrock. The control Available online 27 June 2017 samples were then subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), microscopic Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (micro-FTIR) and petrographic-colourimetric analyses.
    [Show full text]
  • A Paleoethnobotanical Assessment of Plant Use In
    ANCESTRAL PHARMACOPOEIAS: A PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL ASSESSMENT OF PLANT USE IN THE WESTERN FREE STATE, SOUTH AFRICA by Senna R. Thornton-Barnett, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in Anthropology December 2013 Committee Members: C. Britt Bousman, Chair C. Garth Sampson Phillip Dering COPYRIGHT by Senna R. Thornton-Barnett 2013 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Senna Thornton-Barnett, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the guidance, patience, and generosity of colleagues, family, and friends in the United States and South Africa. My advisor, Dr. C. Britt Bousman, at Texas State University, provided the encouragement, motivation, and seemingly endless patience required to stay the course. Jeff Leach and the LivNaked Scholarship afforded me the financial support that made this project a reality. My committee members, Dr. Garth Sampson and Phil Dering offered insightful comments and challenging questions throughout the research process. Sincere thanks are in order for Dr. James Brink and the staff at the Florisbad Quaternary Research Department for providing a nurturing research environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Bushman Rock Shelter (Limpopo, South Africa): a Perspective from the Edge of the Highveld
    Article Bushman Rock Shelter (Limpopo, South Africa): a perspective from the edge of the highveld PORRAZ, Guillaume, et al. Abstract In this paper, we introduce a recently initiated research project conducted at Bushman Rock Shelter, on the northeastern edge of the Highveld plateau in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Previous excavations carried out at the site during the 1960s and 1970s exposed a deep and well-stratified sequence of c. 7 metres of archaeological deposits associated with Later and Middle Stone Age occupations (LSA and MSA). Owing to the lack of contextual information, Bushman Rock Shelter remains poorly studied despite recording cultural and palaeoenvironmental data that are key for the understanding of the South African Stone Age. Here, we propose a synthesis of the 1967–1976 excavations led by Hannes Eloff and provide general background information that will serve as a reference for future research. Our synthesis is based on previous publications by Ina Plug, as well as on Eloff ’s field diaries, which were thought to be lost. We complement these observations with data from our own 2014 field season, and pay tribute to the work previously done at the site. Finally, we discuss some aspects of the LSA/MSA contact at the site and [...] Reference PORRAZ, Guillaume, et al. Bushman Rock Shelter (Limpopo, South Africa): a perspective from the edge of the highveld. South African Archaeological Bulletin, 2015, vol. 70, no. 202, p. 166-179 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:105881 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 166 South African Archaeological Bulletin 70 (202): 166–179, 2015 Research Article BUSHMAN ROCK SHELTER (LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA): A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE EDGE OF THE HIGHVELD GUILLAUME PORRAZ1,2*, AURORE VAL2,3, LAURE DAYET1, PALOMA DE LA PEÑA2,3, KATJA DOUZE2,3, CHRISTOPHER E.
    [Show full text]
  • Richard G. Klein, Curriculum Vitae, 15 October 2019 Address
    Richard G. Klein, Curriculum Vitae, 15 October 2019 Address: Building 50, Inner Quad, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2034 Phone:+1 (650) 575-5643 Email: [email protected] Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois Marital Status: Married (Gail Ann Christensen Klein) Degrees: A. B., University of Michigan, 1962. M. A., University of Chicago, 1964. Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1966. Positions Held: Sept. 1966 - June 1967 Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sept. 1967 - Aug. 1969 Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University Sept. 1969 - Aug. 1973 Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington Sept. 1973 - Aug. 1977 Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago Sept. 1977 - June 1993 Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago July 1993 - Sept. 2007 Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University Dec. 2002 - present Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University Sept. 2007 - present Professor of Biology and Anthropology, Stanford University Research Interest: Human Origins. Principal Geographic Research Area: southern Africa. Books (Authored): 2009 The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Third Edition. 2002 The Dawn of Human Culture. New York: John Wiley & Sons (with Blake Edgar). 1999 The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Second Edition. 1989 The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. 1984 The Analysis of Animal Bones from Archeological Sites . Chicago, University of Chicago Press. (with K. Cruz-Uribe). 1973 Ice-Age Hunters of the Ukraine. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Klein vita p. 2 1969 Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene: A Case Study.
    [Show full text]
  • A Shape to the Microlithic Robberg from Elands Bay Cave (South Africa) Guillaume Porraz, Marina Igreja, Patrick Schmidt, John Parkington
    A shape to the microlithic Robberg from Elands Bay Cave (South Africa) Guillaume Porraz, Marina Igreja, Patrick Schmidt, John Parkington To cite this version: Guillaume Porraz, Marina Igreja, Patrick Schmidt, John Parkington. A shape to the microlithic Robberg from Elands Bay Cave (South Africa). Southern African Humanities, KwaZulu-Natal Mu- seum - South Africa, 2016, Elands Bay Cave and the Stone Age of the Verlorenvlei, South Africa, 29, pp.203-247. halshs-02517687 HAL Id: halshs-02517687 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02517687 Submitted on 27 Mar 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Southern African Humanities 29: 203–47 December 2016 KwaZulu-Natal Museum A shape to the microlithic Robberg from Elands Bay Cave (South Africa) 1,2Guillaume Porraz, 3Marina Igreja, 4Patrick Schmidt and 5John E. Parkington 1CNRS, USR 3336, Institut Français d’Afrique du Sud, Johannesburg, South Africa; [email protected] 2Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 3ENVARCH, CIBIO–INBIO, University of Porto, Portugal; [email protected] 4Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; [email protected] 5Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa; [email protected] ABSTRACT Elands Bay Cave (EBC) is a key South African site allowing discussion of technological change and adaptations that occurred from the Upper Pleniglacial to the Holocene.
    [Show full text]
  • New Ages from Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, Provide Increased Resolution on Late/Terminal Pleistocene Human Behavioural Variabil
    AZANIA: ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN AFRICA, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2018.1436740 New ages from Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, provide increased resolution on late/terminal Pleistocene human behavioural variability Justin Pargetera, Emma Loftusb, Alex Mackayc, Peter Mitchelld and Brian Stewarte aAnthropology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, United States of America and Centre for Anthropological Research & Department of Anthropology and Development Studies University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa; bResearch Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom and Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa; cCentre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia and Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa; dSchool of Archaeology, University of Oxford/St Hugh’s College, Oxford, OX2 6LE, United Kingdom and School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Wits 2050, South Africa; eMuseum of Anthropological Archaeology and Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1109 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079, United States of America and Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Wits 2050, South Africa. ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, contains a rich archaeological
    [Show full text]
  • Archaeological Shellfish Size and Later Human Evolution in Africa
    Archaeological shellfish size and later human evolution in Africa Richard G. Kleina,b and Teresa E. Steelec,d,1 aDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; bNatural History Collections, Iziko Museums of South Africa, Cape Town 8000, South Africa; cDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; and dDepartment of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany Edited by James O’Connell, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, and approved May 15, 2013 (received for review March 11, 2013) Approximately 50 ka, one or more subgroups of modern humans from Diepkloof Rock Shelter (4), proposed art objects are rare expanded from Africa to populate the rest of the world. Significant in Howieson’s Poort layers, but the segments themselves are behavioral change accompanied this expansion, and archaeolo- sometimes considered an index of modern cognition (5). gists commonly seek its roots in the African Middle Stone Age Today, specialists commonly propose that population growth (MSA; ∼200 to ∼50 ka). Easily recognizable art objects and “jewelry” explains both the initial flickering of modern behavior in the Still become common only in sites that postdate the MSA in Africa and Bay and Howieson’sPoortanditsfullflorescence after 50 ka (6, 7). Eurasia, but some MSA sites contain possible precursors, especially Our purpose here is to examine this proposition through an anal- including abstractly incised fragments of ocher and perforated shells ysis of average mollusc size in coastal South African middens. We interpreted as beads. These proposed art objects have convinced argue that average size in oft-exploited rocky intertidal species most specialists that MSA people were behaviorally (cognitively) mostly reflects the number of human collectors, and if this is modern, and many argue that population growth explains the accepted, we infer that by LSA standards, MSA human pop- appearance of art in the MSA and its post-MSA florescence.
    [Show full text]
  • Excavations at Blombos Cave and the Blombosfontein Nature Reserve
    HOLOCENE PREHISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: EXCAVATIONS AT BLOMBOS CAVE AND THE BLOMBOSFONTEIN NATURE RESERVE Christopher Stuart Henshilwood Institute for Human Evolution University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa & Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway 1 PREFACE During 1992/3 nine Later Stone Age (LSA) coastal midden sites ranging in age from 6960 B.P. to 290 B.P., and representing 28 depositional units were excavated in the Blombosfontein Nature Reserve and in the directly adjacent Blombos Estates, situated 20 km to the west of Still Bay, southern Cape, South Africa (Figs. 1.1). This research formed the core of the authors doctoral thesis ‘Holocene archaeology of the coastal Garcia State Forest, southern Cape, South Africa’ completed at Cambridge University in 1995 (Henshilwood 1995). This monograph is based on the results derived from this research. Additional data derived from the 1997 – 1999 excavations of the Later Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave (BBC) has been added into the text (also see appendix) and a brief review of the results from the 1997 – 2005 excavations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels is included. In this monograph the term Blombosfontein is used to cover both the Blombosfontein Nature Reserve and the Blombos Estates. On some older topographical maps the area is designated Garcia State Forest but the currently accepted name is Blombosfontein (lit. flower bush spring). The sites excavated were originally numbered from 1 – 9 and given the acronym GSF (Henshilwood 1995). In this monograph the acronym has been changed to BBF (for Blombosfontein); BBF 1 is the oldest and BBF 9 the youngest site (Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOMORPHOLOGY and GEO-ARCHEOLOGY at ELANDSBAAI WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA K.W. Butzer the University of Chicago 5828 S. Universi
    I i j GEOMORPHOLOGY AND GEO-ARCHEOLOGY AT ELANDSBAAI WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA K.W. Butzer The University of Chicago 5828 S. University Ave., Chicago, II. 60637, U.S,A. SUMMARY The external geomorphic record of the Elandsbaai area includes a variety of slope rubbles, colluvia, littoral-eolian deposits, fossil beaches, cambic paleosols and calcretes. Cave deposits additionally include frost-weathered spall, eolian sands, and cultural components, in part dated by 14C. Several mid-Pleistocene cold inter- vals led to large-scale frost-weathering of cliff faces and mobilization of 15 ° block rubbles or grazes lit~es along footslopes. During the late Pleistocene cold intervals (deep-sea isotope stages 5b and 4) slope transfer was limited to stony colluvial deposits with some block talus, while frost-weathering was subdued. A +6m sea level with thermophile mollusca, marking isotope stage 5e, includes la- goonal gypsum, indicative of drier climate. Most eolian deposits were related to marine transgressions and the last major eolian phase occurred 12,500 - 8000 B.P., with probable parallels at the very beginning of isotope stages 7 and 5e. Deep cambic paleosols formed during part of isotope stage 7 and during 5c or 5d, while calcretes formed later during stage 7 and again during 5a. Middle Stone Age occu- pation is recorded during isotope stages 6 and 5b, while Later Stone Age settle- ment began well before 21,000 B.P., with a major shift from continental to litto- ral subsistence after ii,000 B.P.. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die geomorphologische Entwicklung des Elandsbaai-Gebietes ist ablesbar aus Hang- schuttdecken, Kolluvien, littoral-~olischen Sedimenten, fossilen Str~nden, Pal~o- b~den und Kalkkrusten.
    [Show full text]