The African Middle Stone Age (MSA, typically considered to span ca. 300–30 thousand years ago [ka]), represents our species’ first and longest lasting cultural phase. Although the MSA to Later Stone Age (LSA) transition is known to have had a degree of spatial and temporal variability, recent studies have implied that in some regions, the MSA persisted well beyond 30 ka. Here we report two new sites in Senegal that date the end of the MSA to around 11 ka, the youngest yet documented MSA in Africa. This shows that this cultural phase persisted into the Holocene. These results highlight significant spatial and temporal cultural variability in the African Late Pleistocene, consistent with genomic and palaeoanthropological hypotheses that significant, long-standing inter-group cultural differences shaped the later stages of human evolution in Africa.

Summary The emergence of Homo sapiens in Pleistocene Africa is associated with a profound reconfiguration of technology. Symbolic expression and personal ornamentation, new tool forms, and regional technological traditions are widely recognized as the earliest indicators of complex culture and cognition in humans. Here we describe a bone tool tradition from Contrebandiers Cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, dated between 120,000–90,000 years ago. The bone tools were produced for different activities, including likely leather and fur working, and were found in association with carnivore remains that were possibly skinned for fur. A cetacean tooth tip bears what is likely a combination of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic modification and shows the use of a marine mammal tooth by early humans. The evidence from Contrebandiers Cave demonstrates that the pan-African emergence of complex culture included the use of multiple and diverse materials for specialized tool manufacture.

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Photography and photogrammetry have recently become among the most widespread and preferred visualisation methods for the representation of small objects and artefacts. People want to see the past, not only know about it; and the ability to visualise objects into virtually realistic representations is fundamental for researchers, students and educators. Here, we present two new methods, the ‘Small Object and Artefact Photography’ (‘SOAP’) and the ‘High Resolution “DIY” Photogrammetry’ (‘HRP’) protocols. The ‘SOAP’ protocol involves the photographic application of modern digital techniques for the representation of any small object. The ‘HRP’ protocol involves the photographic capturing, digital reconstruction and three-dimensional representation of small objects. These protocols follow optimised step-by-step explanations for the production of high-resolution two- and three-dimensional object imaging, achievable with minimal practice and access to basic equipment and softwares. These methods were developed to allow anyone to easily and inexpensively produce high-quality images and models for any use, from simple graphic visualisations to complex analytical, statistical and spatial analyses.