Implications of Nubian-Like Core Reduction Systems in Southern Africa for the Identification of Early Modern Human Dispersals

Will, Manuel; Mackay, Alexander; Phillips, Natasha

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131824

Cited by 73 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…4, nr. 1, p. xx-xx doi:10.2218/jls.v4i1.1688 Hilbert et al 2016;Will et al 2015). Due to the restricted sample size and lack of chronological control over the surface scatters the two localities can, within the regional context, only cautiously be suggested to indicate events of dispersal or diffusion, or a combination of both, rather than convergence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mechanisms of dispersal and diffusion operate across continuous geographical regions and time periods, and as a result are difficult to isolate in archaeological material culture. Examples for technological convergence may be suggested by the presence of Nubian-like cores in South Africa (Hallinan & Shaw 2015;Will et al 2015) and the Indian Thar desert (Blinkhorn et al 2013). These two regions represent both geographical and chronological discontinuity with the region consisting of East Africa, the Nile Valley, the Negev desert and Arabia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Middle Palaeolithic find spots with Nubian cores from the Southern Negev and the Arava, Israel

Goldberger

Ginat

Ragolski

et al. 2017

JLS

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Abstract:This is a report of results from a cursory survey of several Middle Paleolithic find spots from the Arava, Israel, conducted as part of a broader collaboration between the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center and the Israel Antiquities Authority. A series of find spots were recorded on the eastern flanks of the Zehiha hills and on the northern terraces of Wadi Paran. These finds consist of mostly Middle Paleolithic artifacts including Levallois centripetal, bidirectional and Nubian cores. The presence of Nubian cores within this technological constellation is of interest in light of recent discussions regarding archaeological markers of modern human dispersals out of Africa and feasible routes into Eurasia and Arabia. The Nubian core technology, a specific variant of the Levallois technology is found within a defined and continuous geographic region and is perceived as penecontemporaneous. Sites with a similar technological package are found to the east at Al-Jawf, within the Arabian Peninsula, as well as to the North-West, within the central Negev highlands, at the localities of Har Oded and H2. The distinctive technological characteristics, geographical extent and chronology advocate its use as a possible marker for human dispersals and interactions between Eastern Africa, the Nile Valley, the southern Levant and Arabia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Palaeolithic find spots with Nubian cores from the Southern Negev and the Arava, Israel

Goldberger

Ginat

Ragolski

et al. 2017

JLS

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“…In any case, similar “micro Levallois” technology is characteristic of various MSA sites across Africa. Nubian Levallois core reduction is also found from at least MIS 5 to 3 in East Africa, South Africa, and Asia (Blinkorn et al, ; Will et al, ; Douze & Delagnes, ).…”

Section: Stone Toolsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The North African Middle Stone Age and its place in recent human evolution

Scerri

2017

Evolutionary Anthropology

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The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ∼300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features what may be the oldest fossils of our species as well as extremely early examples of technological regionalization and 'symbolic' material culture (d'Errico, Vanhaeren, Barton, Bouzouggar, Mienis, Richter, Hublin, McPherron, Louzouet, & Klein, ; Scerri, ; Richter, Grün, Joannes-Boyau, Steele, Amani, Rué, Fernandes, Raynal, Geraads, Ben-Ncer Hublin, McPherron, ). The geographic situation of North Africa and an increased understanding of the wet-dry climatic pulses of the Sahara Desert also show that North Africa played a strategic role in continental-scale evolutionary processes by modulating human dispersal and demographic structure (Drake, Blench, Armitage, Bristow, & White, ; Blome, Cohen, Tryon, Brooks, & Russell, ). However, current understanding of the NAMSA remains patchy and subject to a bewildering array of industrial nomenclatures that mask underlying variability. These issues are compounded by a geographic research bias skewed toward non-desert regions. As a result, it has been difficult to test long-established narratives of behavioral and evolutionary change in North Africa and to resolve debates on their wider significance. In order to evaluate existing data and identify future research directions, this paper provides a critical overview of the component elements of the NAMSA and shows that the timing of many key behaviors has close parallels with others in sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia.

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“…However the scale at which convergence or drift become likely explanations for assemblage similarities or differences is seldom investigated or even discussed. Indeed, the amount of space and time separating technologically similar artefacts/assemblages is correlated with the probability of convergence (Kleindienst, 1968;Wang et al, 2012;Adler et al, 2014;Will et al, 2015). For instance, it is unlikely that the presence of bifacial foliates in the Aterian of north-west Africa or in the Somalian MSA necessarily means there is a connection to the Still Bay.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%