Identifying regional variability in Middle Stone Age bone technology: The case of Sibudu Cave

d’Errico, Francesco; Backwell, Lucinda; Wadley, Lyn

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.040

Cited by 129 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…For the former, one would expect to see artifacts that are morphologically similar despite being made from a variety of raw materials and techniques, as is observed in the HP. Such patterns could have been the result of a collapse of previously existing long-distance cultural networks, leading to the formation of more local "traditions," again, which is exactly what we observe in HP bone and lithic technologies (53,55,88). The mechanism or mechanisms that operated behind such a process remain unclear (e.g., demographic changes, population replacement, cultural drift).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

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Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

d’Errico

Banks

Warren

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The archaeological record shows that typically human cultural traits emerged at different times, in different parts of the world, and among different hominin taxa. This pattern suggests that their emergence is the outcome of complex and nonlinear evolutionary trajectories, influenced by environmental, demographic, and social factors, that need to be understood and traced at regional scales. The application of predictive algorithms using archaeological and paleoenvironmental data allows one to estimate the ecological niches occupied by past human populations and identify niche changes through time, thus providing the possibility of investigating relationships between cultural innovations and possible niche shifts. By using such methods to examine two key southern Africa archaeological cultures, the Still Bay [76-71 thousand years before present (ka)] and the Howiesons Poort (HP; 66-59 ka), we identify a niche shift characterized by a significant expansion in the breadth of the HP ecological niche. This expansion is coincident with aridification occurring across Marine Isotope Stage 4 (ca. 72-60 ka) and especially pronounced at 60 ka. We argue that this niche shift was made possible by the development of a flexible technological system, reliant on composite tools and cultural transmission strategies based more on "product copying" rather than "process copying." These results counter the one niche/one human taxon equation. They indicate that what makes our cultures, and probably the cultures of other members of our lineage, unique is their flexibility and ability to produce innovations that allow a population to shift its ecological niche.Middle Stone Age | Still Bay | Howiesons Poort | ecological niche modeling | paleoclimate R esearch on animal behavior has made it clear that culture represents a second inheritance system that may have changed the dynamics of evolution on a broad scale (1-3). Understanding how this process has affected the evolution of our genus is a major challenge in paleoanthropology. In what ways, and through what phases of evolutionary history, has human culture extended beyond culture seen in other species? Are the cultural adaptations and associated cultural innovations that we observe in the archaeological record the direct consequence of our biological evolution, or are they the outcome of mechanisms largely independent of it? In our lineage, if cultural innovations were directly linked to classic Darwinian evolutionary processes, such as isolation, random mutation, selection, and speciation, one would expect a clear correspondence between the emergence of a new species and a related set of novel cultural behaviors. By shaping a new hominin species, natural selection would provide this species with a new cognitive setting resulting in the capacity for particular cultural innovations or behaviors. Such a mechanism would provide the possibility for cultural variability but would narrow its range of expression to the species' biologically dictated potential. Although some would still argue ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Bifacial points are absent in the HP, with the exception of a single site where specimens that are smaller and of lower quality have been recovered (54). Bone tools recovered from HP sites consist of awls, pressure flakers, shaped splintered pieces (pièces esquillées), and small projectile points (55) (Fig. 2K).…”

Section: Cultural and Chronological Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

d’Errico

Banks

Warren

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Because these finds clearly predate the oldest known age for the use of similar objects in Europe by anatomically modern humans, they could also be evidence for cultural diffusion from Neandertals to modern humans. human evolution | Paleolithic archaeology | Middle Paleolithic S pecialized bone technology first appears in Africa (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) and is widespread in Europe after the arrival of modern humans with the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic (6)(7)(8). Modern humans shaped bone by grinding and polishing to produce standardized or so-called formal tools that were used for specific functions (6,9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe

Soressi

McPherron

Lenoir

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

238

116

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Modern humans replaced Neandertals ∼40,000 y ago. Close to the time of replacement, Neandertals show behaviors similar to those of the modern humans arriving into Europe, including the use of specialized bone tools, body ornaments, and small blades. It is highly debated whether these modern behaviors developed before or as a result of contact with modern humans. Here we report the identification of a type of specialized bone tool, lissoir , previously only associated with modern humans. The microwear preserved on one of these lissoir is consistent with the use of lissoir in modern times to obtain supple, lustrous, and more impermeable hides. These tools are from a Neandertal context proceeding the replacement period and are the oldest specialized bone tools in Europe. As such, they are either a demonstration of independent invention by Neandertals or an indication that modern humans started influencing European Neandertals much earlier than previously believed. Because these finds clearly predate the oldest known age for the use of similar objects in Europe by anatomically modern humans, they could also be evidence for cultural diffusion from Neandertals to modern humans.

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“…Se consideraron artefactos óseos a todas las piezas enteras o fragmentadas con algún tipo de modificación antrópica atribuida al uso o formatización, visibles a ojo desnudo y/o con lupa binocular a 25X (D'Errico et al 2012).…”

Section: Metodologíaunclassified

“…Borella y Buc 2009). El extremo activo presenta un patrón de estrías largas y profundas ubicadas transversalmente al eje de la pieza sobre una de sus caras (Figura 3c), que es similar al presentado por otros autores en piezas experimentales utilizadas en el retoque de artefactos líticos (Castel et al 2003;D'Errico et al 2012; Mozota Holgueras 2008; Nami y Scheinsohn 1997; Santander y López 2012, entre otros). Esto complementa lo observado en los conjuntos líticos de C.Pun.39, señalando la formatización final de instrumentos mediante el lascado por presión.…”

Section: Cpun39unclassified

Intensificación Y Dinámica Ocupacional en El Período Prehispánico Tardío De Las Sierras De Córdoba (Argentina): Una Aproximación Desde El Registro Artefactual Óseo

2014

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Se presenta el análisis del conjunto artefactual óseo de cuatro sitios arqueológicos correspondientes al período Prehispánico Tardío de las Sierras de Córdoba (ca. 1.100-360 años a.p., Argentina). El estudio tuvo como objetivo clasificar los artefactos en grupos morfológicos y determinar las actividades realizadas en los sitios. Los resultados indican la existencia de una tecnología ósea que utilizaba materiales disponibles localmente y se vinculaba con las necesidades de consumo de los grupos domésticos. También sugieren que la adopción de estrategias agrícolas, ca. 1.100 años a.p., fue acompañada por una intensificación de las prácticas de caza-recolección, con el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías para la caza y el procesamiento de sus subproductos. Por último, se concluye que los asentamientos interpretados como bases residenciales exhibieron una mayor diversidad de artefactos óseos y evidencias concretas de su manufactura, lo cual refleja la realización de una amplia gama de actividades y tiempos de permanencia extendidos.Palabras claves: Sierras de Córdoba, Holoceno Tardío Final, intensificación, movilidad residencial, tecnología ósea. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the bone technology from four Sierras de Córdoba (Argentina) Late Prehispanic archaeological sites (ca. 1,100-360 BP). The aims of the study were to classify the bone tools into morphological groups and to

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Identifying regional variability in Middle Stone Age bone technology: The case of Sibudu Cave

Cited by 129 publications

References 75 publications

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe

Intensificación Y Dinámica Ocupacional en El Período Prehispánico Tardío De Las Sierras De Córdoba (Argentina): Una Aproximación Desde El Registro Artefactual Óseo

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