In this dissertation, I examine the representation of projectile points in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) of Tanzania, and the way in which such tools were used over time and space. This study reviews the different strategies used to produce points during the MSA and LSA. It also examines the mechanisms involved in raw material procurement, hafting technology, and the use of these tools as projectile weapons and how they evolved over time. It is clear that there were different kinds of multi-weapon systems in use in Tanzania during the MSA, LSA and the transition between them. The points examined are from three archaeological sites: Mumba, Nasera and Magubike. They reveal that triangular blanks were preferred for the production of points. Most of them were modified on their proximal ends to provide a suitable binding portion for hafting and aerodynamic movement. Results from the Tip Cross Section Area (TCSA) and weight values suggest that spear and arrow projectiles coexisted in these sites during the MSA and MSA/LSA transition. Both local and exotic rocks were used for the production of points. In previous studies, the appearance of exotic rocks in the archaeological assemblages was correlated with trade and exchange. But here the use of exotics seems to be influenced by functional values such as durability, sharpness and brittleness. Sharp and durable rocks such as chert and quartzite were needed for spears because of their high compression strength. This makes them better able to withstand unintentional breakage after being stressed by the force of impact. Points made of brittle rocks, such as quartz and obsidian, were mainly used for light duty projectiles such as throwing spears (darts) and arrows, because they penetrate the body of an animal better and sometimes break more easily. The presence of points made of exotic or local rocks shows that functional variables were important for projectile technologies. The overall morphological and technological patterns revealed in this study suggest that foragers who made and used points had elaborate technological skills, abstract thinking and developed behavioural capability similar to those of other modern foragers.

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Previous archaeological research in southern Tanzania has focused on Plio-Pleistocene sites documenting early hominid evolution, or alternatively, the late Holocene Later Stone Age and Iron Age sites documenting the transition from foraging to food production. However, recent surveys and test excavations conducted by Dr. Pamela Willoughby in Iringa have revealed the regions potential for also contributing to the study of the Middle Stone Age, the time period and technological system that coincides with the appearance of anatomically modern humans. Analysis of lithics recovered from two 1m2 test pits during 2006 test excavations at Magubike rockshelter demonstrate the site contains sequences yielding Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, and Iron Age materials. Michael Mehlmans lithic typology is used to place the lithics within a relative cultural historical context. Further analysis documents patterns and intensity of lithic reduction, raw material utilization, and other aspects of lithic production at Magubike throughout time.

abstract: The Middle Stone Age archaeological record from the south coast of South Africa contains significant evidence for early modern human behavior. The south coast is within the modern Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), which in the present-day encompasses the entirety of South Africa’s Winter Rainfall Zone (WRZ) and contains unique vegetation elements that have been hypothesized to be of high utility to hunter-gatherer populations. Extant paleoenvironmental proxy records for the Pleistocene in the region often indicate evidence for more open environments during the past than occur in the area in the present-day, while climate models suggest glacial presence of the WRZ that would support maintenance of C3-predominant GCFR vegetation. These paleoenvironmental proxies sample past environments at geographic scales that are often regional. The GCFR flora is hyper-diverse, and glacial climate change-driven impacts on local vegetation could have been highly variable over relatively small geographic scales. Proxy records that are circumscribed in their geographic scale are thus key to our understanding of ancient environments at particular MSA archaeological localities. Micromammal fossil teeth are now recognized as an abundant potential reservoir of paleoenvironmental proxy data at an extremely local scale. This study analyzed modern micromammal teeth obtained from raptor pellets at three locations on the south coast. Stable carbon isotope analysis indicates that the modern micromammals from the taxa sampled consume a wide range of δ13Cplant on the landscape when it is available, and thus stable carbon isotope analysis of micromammal teeth should act as a proxy for the range of available δ13Cdiet in a circumscribed area of vegetation. Micromammal stable carbon isotope data obtained from specimens from one of the few well-dated MIS6-MIS5 sequences in the region (Pinnacle Point sites 13B, 30, and 9C). δ13Cenamel values for the taxa sampled indicate diets that are primarily C3, and there is almost no evidence for a dietary C4 grass component in any of the sampled specimens. This indicates that, at a minimum, pockets of C3 vegetation associated with the GCFR were likely available to hunter-gatherers at Pinnacle Point throughout the Middle and Late Pleistocene. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2015

Analytical methods for extracting detailed functional and technological information from Middle Stone Age stone tools were refined and developed. This was achieved within a theoretical framework that insists on multiple-stranded evidence for behavioural interpretation. The methods include micro-residue analysis, macrofracture analysis and usewear analysis. Stone tool assemblages – spanning the period between about 100 000 and 50 000 years ago – from Sibudu Cave, Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Klasies River Cave 2 and Blombos Cave were analysed. Results derived from macrofracture analyses, that are often conducted as an initial study to assess whether tool classes could have been used in hunting weapons, are used to formulate the following working hypotheses for Stone Age hunting technologies in South Africa: a) some pre-Howiesons Poort pointed tools were used as hafted butchery knives, while others could have been used to tip hunting weapons; b) Howiesons Poort backed tools were probably used as interchangeable pieces in hafted hunting weapons; c) post-Howiesons Poort points were used to tip hunting weapons; d) Later Stone Age hunting technologies were different from those practiced during the Middle Stone Age. The macrofracture results also provided interesting comparable data showing distinct time-related clustering of the results. Although more tools that could have functioned as hunting weapons must be analysed to evaluate the authenticity of these observations, the results suggest that macrofracture studies are important for the study of change in Stone Age hunting behaviours. The main methodological contribution of this thesis is micro-residue analysis. Advances in this method developed from blind tests on replicated flakes with residues derived from the processing of plant and animal products. Lessons learned from previous blind tests shaped the new research reported here and lead to improved methodology and interpretative skills. The last test in the series of four resulted in the most accurate interpretations because, prior to Test 4, iv identification difficulties experienced during the first three blind tests were addressed through replication. The new work reported here highlights some of the difficulties that can be experienced in the morphological identification of microscopic organic residues, particularly the distinction between animal and plant residues. It is specifically recommended that multi-stranded evidence be used for the identification of animal and plant residues. Micro-residue analysis of archaeological samples provided direct evidence for functional and hafting interpretations. These can be used to evaluate the hypotheses based on the results of macrofracture analyses and to provide data for further detailed interpretations. For example, it is shown that: a) retouched points from the Still Bay were used as knives hafted to wooden handles; b) segments from the Howiesons Poort were probably hafted in bone and wood shafts in different hafting configurations that varied during the span of the technocomplex; c) Howiesons Poort segments were mostly used on animal material; d) ochre was mixed into the adhesive recipes during the post-Howiesons Poort, the Howiesons Poort and possibly during the Still Bay technocomplexes at Sibudu Cave. Thus, the multi-analytical approach followed throughout the study contributes evidence for the early development of sophisticated and variable hunting and hafting technologies used by anatomically modern humans in South Africa. Our current knowledge of behavioural trends during the Middle Stone Age has been expanded, allowing rare glimpses into the everyday activities of people living in the deep past. Perceptions of a static, pre-modern technology and unvaried faunal exploitation during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa are unfounded.

The Mesolithic period in Sweden lasted generally between 9500-4000 BC and is characterised by the dynamic landscape. People usually lived in smaller groups by the coast, sustained by the forests and the sea’s resources. The study is limited to central Sweden, specifically the province of Västmanland. Fourteen settlements are analysed through an archaeological analysis with an ecological perspective in order to answer how the Mesolithic people utilised the landscape resources and how this is reflected in said landscape. In conclusion, people used the landscape in order to accommodate their current needs long term or short term.

En Afrique Australe, plusieurs sites attribués au Middle Stone Age (MSA) ont livré de grandes quantités de blocs " d'ocre ", suggérant une longue tradition d'exploitation, bien avant l'occurrence des premières peintures rupestres. Les indices sur la fonction de ce matériau et le but pour lequel il a été utilisé sont rares, ce qui a conduit à plusieurs hypothèses. Certains auteurs leur ont associé des comportements symboliques tandis que d'autres ont montré qu'une utilisation " utilitaire " était possible. La question de la fonction et du rôle qu'occupait l'ocre est par ailleurs centrale dans le contexte du MSA, étant donnée l'émergence de plusieurs innovations, production de perles, de motifs gravés et technologies de taille spécifiques. Le site de Diepkloof Rock Shelter apparait particulièrement propice pour tenter de comprendre les comportements associés à l'exploitation de l'ocre, du fait de sa longue séquence fouillée récemment. Ce travail propose d'aborder les différentes étapes de l'exploitation de l'ocre, de la collecte des matières premières à l'utilisation, à partir de l'étude des blocs. Plusieurs méthodes d'observations et d'analyse physico-chimique (MEB-EDS, DRX, ICP-MS, TL, TEM et PIXE) ont été mises en œuvre pour identifier les matières premières, leur provenance, et les transformations opérées. Des prospections et une comparaison avec un corpus géologique ont permis de déterminer l'origine géologique des objets. Des expérimentations et une étude des traces d'usure ont permis d'identifier les transformations. Les résultats obtenus indiquent que des distances supérieures à 20 km ont été parcourues pour l'acquisition de certaines matières premières, dont on constate qu'elles sont plus riches en fer que celles accessibles localement. Les matières premières ont été presque systématiquement abrasées pour produire de la poudre. Ces résultats sont compatibles avec une fonction comme agent siccatif, couvrant ou colorant. Enfin, la continuité avec laquelle l'ocre est exploitée à Diepkloof malgré les changements survenus dans les techno-complexes, ainsi qu'un usage différent par rapport à d'autres sites, suggère que l'ocre a pu jouer un rôle dans les relations sociales inter et intra-groupes.

abstract: This study explores how early modern humans used stone tool technology to adapt to changing climates and coastlines in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. The MSA is associated with the earliest fossil evidence for modern humans and complex cultural behaviors during a time period of dramatic climate change. Human culture allows for the creation, use, and transmission of technological knowledge that can evolve with changing environmental conditions. Understanding the interactions between technology and the environment is essential to illuminating the role of culture during the origin of our species. This study is focused on understanding ancient tool use from the study of lithic edge damage patterns at archaeological assemblages in southern Africa by using image-based quantitative methods for analyzing stone tools. An extensive experimental program using replicated stone tools provides the comparative linkages between the archaeological artifacts and the tasks for which they were used. MSA foragers structured their tool use and discard behaviors on the landscape in several ways – by using and discarding hunting tools more frequently in the field rather than in caves/rockshelters, but similarly in coastal and interior contexts. This study provides evidence that during a significant microlithic technological shift seen in southern Africa at ~75,000 years ago, new technologies were developed alongside rather than replacing existing technologies. These results are compared with aspects of the European archaeological record at this time to identify features of early human technological behavior that may be unique to the evolutionary history of our species. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2016