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.

No description available.

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

abstract: The South African Middle Stone Age (MSA), spanning the Middle to Late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 8-3) witnessed major climatic and environmental change and dramatic change in forager technological organization including lithic raw material selection. Homo sapiens emerged during the MSA and had to make decisions about how to organize technology to cope with environmental stressors, including lithic raw material selection, which can effect tool production and application, and mobility. This project studied the role and importance of lithic raw materials in the technological organization of foragers by focusing on why lithic raw material selection sometimes changed when the behavioral and environmental context changed. The study used the Pinnacle Point (PP) MSA record (MIS6-3) in the Mossel Bay region, South Africa as the test case. In this region, quartzite and silcrete with dramatically different properties were the two most frequently exploited raw materials, and their relative abundances change significantly through time. Several explanations intertwined with major research questions over the origins of modern humans have been proposed for this change. Two alternative lithic raw material procurement models were considered. The first, a computational model termed the Opportunistic Acquisition Model, posits that archaeological lithic raw material frequencies are due to opportunistic encounters during random walk. The second, an analytical model termed the Active-Choice Model drawn from the principles of Optimal Foraging Theory, posits that given a choice, individuals will choose the most cost effective means of producing durable cutting tools in their environment and will strategically select those raw materials. An evaluation of the competing models found that lithic raw material selection was a strategic behavior in the PP record. In MIS6 and MIS5, the selection of quartzite was driven by travel and search cost, while during the MIS4, the joint selection of quartzite and silcrete was facilitated by a mobility strategy that focused on longer or more frequent stays at PP coupled with place provisioning. Further, the result suggests that specific raw materials and technology were relied on to obtain food resources and perform processing tasks suggesting knowledge about raw material properties and suitability for tasks. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2017