Leaving No Stone Unturned: Raw Material Variability within the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter Middle Stone Age in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Umhlatuzana rock shelter is a site first excavated in the 1980s located in the ZwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. About 70.000 years of human activity are represented at the site without occupational hiatuses, which is rarely found in the region. A recent (2018-2019) fieldwork campaign by a team from Leiden University has unearthed thousands of lithic artefacts dating between the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age. This thesis aims to determine the raw material composition of a sample of 100 recently excavated lithics, coming from two different spits dating to the end of the Howiesons Poort and to the Late Middle Stone Age periods. The results from the two spits are compared to identify any chronological patterns of variation. The results are then related to the raw material proportions reported from the first excavation. A combination of visual and geochemical (PXRF) analyses is used to identify different rock types and to test the accuracy of visual determination for raw...Show moreUmhlatuzana rock shelter is a site first excavated in the 1980s located in the ZwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. About 70.000 years of human activity are represented at the site without occupational hiatuses, which is rarely found in the region. A recent (2018-2019) fieldwork campaign by a team from Leiden University has unearthed thousands of lithic artefacts dating between the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age. This thesis aims to determine the raw material composition of a sample of 100 recently excavated lithics, coming from two different spits dating to the end of the Howiesons Poort and to the Late Middle Stone Age periods. The results from the two spits are compared to identify any chronological patterns of variation. The results are then related to the raw material proportions reported from the first excavation. A combination of visual and geochemical (PXRF) analyses is used to identify different rock types and to test the accuracy of visual determination for raw material classification. The main rock types identified in the sample are hornfels, sandstone and quartz, accompanied in smaller amounts by other materials such as quartzite and ironstone. The data obtained suggests continuity in raw material choice from the Howiesons Poort to the Late MSA period and purposefulness in the selection of different rock types for different uses. The evidence aligns in this aspect with other nearby sites, such as Sibudu and Umbeli Belli. The exact raw material proportions of the spits, however, are unlike what is seen elsewhere, and do not conform with the results presented by J. Kaplan, the original excavator of the site. Raw material choice is fundamental to the toolmaking process and integral to our understanding of past hunter-gatherer lifeways. The study presented here adds to a growing body of evidence on the southern African Middle Stone Age, furthering the current knowledge on the behaviors of early Modern Humans.Show less

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Leaving No Stone Unturned: Raw Material Variability within the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter Middle Stone Age in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa