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.

<p>The bark from prehistory – an osteological analysis on dog bones from the Stone Age settlements of Hemmor and Gullrum at Gotland and a theoretic study of the secular and sacred roles of the dog during the Neolithic.</p><p>Dog bones from two Pitted Ware Culture (around 2500 BC) settlements, Hemmor in När parish and Gullrum in Näs parish/Havdhem parish, at southern Gotland, Sweden are analyzed. The analysis contains a study of age, withers height and size estimation as well as skeletal changes and pathologies. The attempt of the analysis is to highlight the secular and sacred role of the dog during the Neolithic at Gotland. The dog bones were collected during excavations in the years 1890 and 1903 and were found across the entire surfaces of the settlements.</p><p>Although there were no specific dog breeds during the Stone Age, the dogs at Hemmor and Gullrum show a wide range of size (withers height spans from 39,74 cm to 56,47 cm) and may therefore have been used for different purposes depending on their size. The dogs were not eaten, but evidence of skinning is found. The results are compared with other analysis made on dog bones from similar settlements.</p><p>The analysis is complemented with a theoretic study of the functions of dogs in other parts of the world. Ethnologic studies of traditional societies show the importance and wide range of functions in which the dogs are used and can give us an idea of the corresponding functions at a Neolithic Gotland. The functions vary from pet and guardian of the settlement to fishing, hunting and ritual purposes.</p>

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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.

The bark from prehistory – an osteological analysis on dog bones from the Stone Age settlements of Hemmor and Gullrum at Gotland and a theoretic study of the secular and sacred roles of the dog during the Neolithic. Dog bones from two Pitted Ware Culture (around 2500 BC) settlements, Hemmor in När parish and Gullrum in Näs parish/Havdhem parish, at southern Gotland, Sweden are analyzed. The analysis contains a study of age, withers height and size estimation as well as skeletal changes and pathologies. The attempt of the analysis is to highlight the secular and sacred role of the dog during the Neolithic at Gotland. The dog bones were collected during excavations in the years 1890 and 1903 and were found across the entire surfaces of the settlements. Although there were no specific dog breeds during the Stone Age, the dogs at Hemmor and Gullrum show a wide range of size (withers height spans from 39,74 cm to 56,47 cm) and may therefore have been used for different purposes depending on their size. The dogs were not eaten, but evidence of skinning is found. The results are compared with other analysis made on dog bones from similar settlements. The analysis is complemented with a theoretic study of the functions of dogs in other parts of the world. Ethnologic studies of traditional societies show the importance and wide range of functions in which the dogs are used and can give us an idea of the corresponding functions at a Neolithic Gotland. The functions vary from pet and guardian of the settlement to fishing, hunting and ritual purposes.

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

Log-boats within the Ertebölle culture have had a broad use in the society. From social usesas transport and communication devises to economical uses within hunting and fishing. Thelog-boats have been quite large, larger than log-boats in later periods. With a length of up to 10 meters and a width of 0,5-1 meter the log-boat have been big enough to carry a family andthere gear along the cost. Even though the long and narrow shape of the log-boat have made them mostly suitable for calm and shallow water they have still aloud the people of theErtebölle culture to cross major waters such as the sound between Denmark and Sweden.

This thesis examines variation within the microlith industries of the Later Stone Age (LSA) of Northwest Africa, around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) until the onset of the Holocene, between &Tilde;25 - 11.5 ka. The traditionally held view is that whilst there is variation amongst the lithic assemblages, this can all be accommodated by a single definable industry, known as the Iberomaurusian. This thesis indicates an alternative scenario. Based on the typo-technological analysis of 16,689 lithic artefacts recovered from recent excavations at the site of Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt, Morocco) and the re-analysis of published data using the multivariate statistical approach of correspondence analysis (CA), this thesis shows that there was much greater variation than previously proposed within the Pleistocene LSA. This thesis indicates that the LSA industries can be sub-divided into four chronologically distinct variants, an Initial LSA time-coincident with the first appearance of microlithic technology from &Tilde;25 ka and lasting up until Heinrich event 2, a succeeding Early LSA at &Tilde;22 ka that continued until Heinrich event 1, a Middle LSA marking a shift in technologies around this event at &Tilde;16 ka, and an Upper LSA occurring with the climatic amelioration of the B&oslash;lling-All&oslash;rod at &Tilde;14.5 ka. The proposed chronological model provides a new framework for categorising variation within the LSA, which is a necessary pre-requisite for potential future research addressing wider anthropological and archaeological issues, such as reasons for shifts in subsistence and settlement.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Archaeology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Anthropology and Archaeology / unrestricted