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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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This dissertation consists of three articles that develop and implement geoarchaeological approaches to the study of hominin biogeography in the Greek islands, a region that may have played a key role during the initial peopling of southeastern Europe in the Middle to Late Pleistocene (770 – 13 ka). The first article addresses the need to find Palaeolithic sites in the Greek islands by reviewing geoarchaeologically informed archaeological surveys that prioritize deposits – Pleistocene sediments and soils – on mainland Greece. I operationalize and implement a four-phase approach for future deposit-centered surveys in the islands. I conclude that future surveys should target geomorphic settings conducive to paleosol preservation, such as in near-shore coastal areas (e.g., uplifted hillslopes and actively eroding alluvial fans) marked by paleo-sea-level-indicators (sea notches, marine terraces, and aeolianites), as well as sediment depo-centers (e.g., internally drained basins) in non-coastal geomorphic settings. The second article develops and employs a multiscalar geoarchaeological approach for investigating and interpreting complex hillslope formation processes at the newly excavated Palaeolithic site of Stelida, located on the island of Naxos, Greece. Here, I integrate traditional geoarchaeological methods (lithostratigraphy, pedostratigraphy, allostratigraphy) with microarchaeological techniques, such as thin-section soil micromorphology and portable x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) to separate sediments and soils aiding in the construction of a stratigraphic framework for Stelida.The third article further develops the method of integrating pXRF and soil micromorphology applied at the site-specific scale. In this article, I developed an Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) method for visualizing geochemistry-facies relationships through the application of pXRF to a resin-impregnated block sample preserving an Archaic (seventh century BCE) ash midden (eschara) from the site of Kalopodi, Greece.This dissertation addresses a primary research effort in Greece’s Aegean Basin (Greek islands): the search for and study of Palaeolithic archaeology dating to Middle and Late Pleistocene. Geoarchaeologically informed research designs, such as deposit-centered surveys in open-air environments, can increase Palaeolithic site inventories for the region by focusing on finding geomorphic settings conducive to paleosol preservation. Moreover, the multi-scalar geoarchaeological approaches here, which integrate sedimentology, pedology, micromorphology, and geochemistry, provide an effective approach for the identification and compositional (mineralogic and geochemical) study of paleosols within those settings.