New Chronology and Stratigraphy for Kathu Pan 6, South Africa Abstract Kathu Pan 6 (Northern Cape Province) is an open-air site exposed by sinkhole activity that includes a Middle Stone Age Howiesons Poort (HP) component in a stratigraphic sequence that also includes Later Stone Age, early Middle Stone Age, and Earlier Stone Age (Fauresmith) assemblages. Here, we present the dating of the Kathu Pan 6 sequence using multiple luminescence signals: optically stimulated luminescence (blue OSL) and thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) on quartz; and the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) post IR-IR290 signal on potassium feldspar. The results obtained from analyses of different minerals and signals for the archaeological deposits do not always conform but the quartz OSL provides the most accurate set of ages for the HP at KP6 (between 100 ± 6 and 74 ± 5 ka). This age range places the KP6 HP earlier than any of the scenarios considered plausible by Jacobs and Roberts (Journal of Human Evolution, 107, 1–13 2017) but fits well with the extended duration for the HP at Diepkloof proposed by Tribolo et al. (Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(3) 730–39 2009) and promoted by Feathers (Journal of Archaeological Science, 63, 164–174 2017). Two OSL ages bracket the Later Stone Age Wilton industry at KP6, placing it between 5.7 ± 0.3 ka and 2.3 ± 0.1 ka. These fit with known ages for the Wilton and place the KP6 occupation contemporary with Strata 4c–3b at Wonderwerk Cave.

30,000-Year-Old Geometric Microliths Reveal Glacial Refugium in Dhofar, Southern Oman Abstract Despite its significant geographic position along the southern corridor into and out of Africa, little is known of the period between 70 and 12 thousand years ago in South Arabia. The existing archeological data come from a handful of lithic surface scatters and buried sites with broad chronological constraints. Here, we report the open-air site of Matafah, a stratified deposit in the Wadi Ghadun drainage system of Dhofar, southern Oman. The accretional terrace discovered at Matafah is composed of low-energy overbank sediments interstratified with cemented layers of fluvial gravels, eolian sands, and hillslope deposits. Three discrete archeological horizons were excavated from the 2.5-m stratigraphic sequence, including Holocene assemblages that overlie a heretofore-unknown assemblage type with geometric microliths. Optically stimulated luminescence age estimates bracket this lower assemblage between 33 and 30 thousand years ago, providing the earliest evidence for the use of projectile armatures in the Arabian Peninsula.

New Data from Shovakh Cave and Its Implications for Reconstructing Middle Paleolithic Settlement Patterns in the Amud Drainage, Israel Abstract This study presents the geoarchaeological and geochronological aspects of Shovakh Cave and the first comparative context to the nearby Amud Cave (~ 500 m downstream), providing an exceptional opportunity to explore the range of human behaviours within a small geographic area. Sediment samples from two newly excavated areas at the rear and entrance of the cave were analysed using infrared spectroscopy, micromorphology and phytolith analysis and dated through uranium-thorium and luminescence techniques. The rear of the cave shows carnivore activity and low artefact concentrations. It also exhibits a shift in sedimentation from wind-blown deposits to colluviation of terra rossa. Direct dating of the deposits associated with the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) occupation at this area could not be obtained due to the breccia forming at the lower part of the excavation area. However, the later phases of the Middle Palaeolithic occupation at this area gave an age estimate of 45.5 ± 3.7 ka. At the entrance of the cave, there are relatively more residues associated with human use of fire. Post-depositional processes in this area include decalcification of the upper layer, cementation of the lower layer and phosphatisation due to guano decomposition, which indicates that this area was probably roofed. The ages obtained in this area range between 67.5 ± 5.5 to 56.2 ± 5.9 ka, overlapping with the occupation time of Amud cave. The evidence from Shovakh Cave presents lower intensity of occupation compared to Amud, indicating variable modes of site use by humans in the Amud drainage during the Late Middle Palaeolithic.

Late Middle Stone Age Behavior and Environments at Chaminade I (Karonga, Malawi) Abstract The African Middle Stone Age (MSA, typical range ~ 320–30 ka) has been the subject of intense research interest in recent decades as a culture-chronological Unit associated with the emergence and dispersal of our species. Recent results of this work have shown that sites designated as “MSA” contain common approaches to lithic reduction, but that within this rubric, there is much diversity in overall assemblage characteristics and the timing of their appearance across the continent. As researchers recover more data from more sites, especially from undersampled geographic regions, this more complex picture of the MSA reveals technological and other behavioral diversity in early modern human populations that may inform about the ultimate success of our species. Here we add to this growing database by describing the environmental context and characteristics of two concentrations of stone artifacts from the late MSA (~ 43–21 ka) open-air locality of Chaminade-I (CHA-I), near the town of Karonga in northern Malawi. The CHA-I lithic artifacts show a flexible approach to stone tool production and use that is common to assemblages in Karonga but distinctive from MSA sites reported elsewhere. Radial and minimally reduced cores typify an unelaborated lithic assemblage, in which raw material choice is driven by toolstone clast size and shape rather than preferential use or treatment of specific materials, as found in MSA assemblages in the East African Rift, South Africa, and the North African coast. Lithic reduction at CHA-I took place within a woody, riparian context embedded within a more open woodland landscape. Most artifacts occurred in near-channel sandy deposits dated to ~ 41 ka, and were buried under alluvial fan deposits that began aggrading by at least ~ 21 ka and continued beyond ~ 5.5 ka within a grassy, open landscape. The site’s late MSA age and lack of elaboration in lithic technology challenges straightforward ideas of increasing complexity in human technological behavior over time and provides important insight into the diversity of MSA technologies and the environmental conditions in which they existed.

Flexibility and Conceptual Fidelity in the Production of Keilmesser with Tranchet Blow Abstract The present paper discusses terminological and technological issues related to prominent stone artifacts of the Middle Paleolithic. The Keilmesser with tranchet blow in focus can be described as asymmetrical (mostly bifacial) knives with a back, whose active edge has been shaped by a modification called tranchet blow (Fr. coup de tranchet, Ger. Schneidenschlag) in such a way that a straight, stable, small-angled cutting edge is formed. With regard to the spatial and chronological setting, this paper focuses on Western and Central European assemblages from the late Middle Paleolithic. Referring to earlier contributions, the difficulty of these artifacts lies not only in their recognition and analysis, but also in the disparate terminology underlying other studies. Therefore, this work represents an attempt to propose a uniform terminology in order to enable the comparison of these remarkable lithic artifacts within different assemblages. Furthermore, we offer a precise description of the pieces with regard to their technological differentiation from pieces with supposedly similar modifications. This study is an attempt to use technological aspects to further develop a tool concept that reflects the flexibility and conceptual fidelity in the production of Keilmesser with tranchet blow. The decisive factor for this concept is its great dynamic, since the equifinal property of the tranchet blow can be achieved flexibly via different production paths.

New Evidence from Ořechov IV (Czech Republic) for the Production of Microblades During the Bohunician Abstract New evidence from the Moravian Bohunician site Ořechov IV demonstrates that the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) is more heterogeneous than previously thought. While Ořechov IV exhibits overarching technological similarities with key Bohunician sites, this assemblage contains several unprecedented elements. These include a significant microblade element, miniaturization in the Levallois blanks and a new intensity of off-quarry reduction. These differences are supplemented by differences in raw material composition, specifically an absence of exotic material, decreased implement manufacture and high rates of artefact removal. It is tentatively suggested that these differences indicate the presence of diverse technological traditions and/or cultural groups in the Brno Basin during the EUP.

Examining the Origins of Hafting in South Asia Abstract The appearance of hafting technologies marks a key shift in hominin behavioural evolution. Hafting first appears in Africa and Western Eurasia across the transition from Late Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic technologies ~ 300–200 thousand years ago (ka). Hafting technology in South Asia may have emerged as a result of a local innovation, through cultural diffusion or a population dispersal. The resolution of the South Asian Palaeolithic records has improved significantly over the past decade, enabling examination of patterns of change through time in stone tool technologies. Although functional studies of tool use remain limited in the region, a range of indices of hafting appear in stone tool assemblages that offer the first means to evaluate the origins of hafting in South Asia. Rare examples appear in Middle Pleistocene contexts, but indices of hafting appear repeatedly in Middle Palaeolithic assemblages dating within the past 100 thousand years and are commonplace amongst Late Palaeolithic assemblages dating within the past 45 thousand years. This dataset remains too immature to authoritatively resolve between alternate models for the origins of hafting, whereas direct association with discrete hominin populations is hampered by the region’s scant fossil record. Nevertheless, this examination of the origin of hafting technology presents the means to reorient approaches to Late Pleistocene behavioural change in South Asia and integrate them within global debates regarding hominin innovation, demographic interaction and population expansion.

Beyond a Cutting Edge: a Morpho-technological Analysis of Acheulian Handaxes and Cleavers from Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel Abstract Handaxes and cleavers are among the most iconic stone tool types of the Acheulian Technocomplex. As they share several morphological and technological traits, they are considered to belong to the wider category of “bifaces” or “large cutting tools.” Concurrently, each of these types presents substantial morphological and technological variability across time and space. Thus, the criteria on which their typological classification is based are relatively vague, varying among different research approaches and schools. Furthermore, the factors governing the variability within and between these types remain controversial, resulting in several competing and non-comprehensive hypotheses. In this study, we apply a combination of 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis with standard typo-technological attribute analysis to a large sample of handaxes and cleavers from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel. The results indicate that in each of these types, priority was given to different morphological traits. In light of common hypotheses explaining variability in Acheulian bifacial tool assemblages, it appears that while in cleavers these traits are mainly related to functional-utilitarian aspects, in handaxes, they may be related to social aspects as well.

The Dating of a Middle Paleolithic Blade Industry in Southern Russia and Its Relationship to the Initial Upper Paleolithic Abstract The open-air site of Shlyakh, located near Volgograd in southern Russia, contains two assemblages of stone artifacts assigned to the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the artifacts are buried in low-energy stream deposits and appear to be in primary context (i.e., they do not exhibit signs of stream transport). The lithic technology reflects an emphasis on blade production and Levallois products are present. The artifacts lie in sediments formed during and immediately following the Laschamp Paleomagnetic excursion (41.2 ± 1.6 ka); they underlie the Mono Lake excursion (34.2 ± 1.2 ka). Although the radiocarbon dating is broadly consistent with the paleomagnetic stratigraphy, the wide range of ages obtained on bone from the upper assemblage suggests that older materials may have been introduced to one or both cultural layers. The dating and contents of Shlyakh are discussed in the wider context of events in Europe during ~ 50–40 ka. At this time, an Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) industry (Bohunician), characterized by Levallois blade technology and a high proportion of Upper Paleolithic tool types, is established in central Europe and on the southwest plain of eastern Europe. A different pattern is evident on the south-central plain, however, where the IUP is absent and a local “transitional unit” in the form of a Middle Paleolithic blade industry is represented at Shlyakh and other sites during 50–40 ka.

Surface Stone Artifact Scatters, Settlement Patterns, and New Methods for Stone Artifact Analysis Abstract Movement and mobility are key properties in understanding what makes us human and so have been foci for archeological studies. Stone artifacts survive in many contexts, providing the potential for understanding landscape use in the past through studies of mobility and settlement pattern. We review the inferential basis for these studies based on archeological practice and anthropological understanding of hunter-gatherer bands. Rather than structured relationships among band size, composition, and mobility, anthropological studies suggest variability in how hunter-gatherer groups were organized. We consider how stone artifact studies may be used to investigate this variability by outlining a geometric approach to stone artifact analysis based on the Cortex Ratio. An archeological case study from Holocene semi-arid Australia allows consideration of the potential of this approach for understanding past landscape use from stone artifact assemblage composition more generally.