Analysis of Late Pleistocene fauna exploitation (~130,000–12,000 years ago) in southern Africa is of global academic relevance. Faunal analyses from southern African sites have led to the... Show moreAnalysis of Late Pleistocene fauna exploitation (~130,000–12,000 years ago) in southern Africa is of global academic relevance. Faunal analyses from southern African sites have led to the development of influential hypotheses on the evolution of modern human hunting methods and subsistence economies. In the 1970s and 1980s, analysis of faunal remains from the Middle Stone Age site Klasies River informed the hypothesis that Middle Stone Age humans were less effective hunters than ethnographically documented huntergatherers. This was based on the underrepresentation of dangerous prey species in the bone assemblages. The development of detailed taphonomic research in the 1990s and 2000s demonstrated that the accumulation of faunal assemblages was the result of complex processes involving both human and nonhuman agents. These studies helped establish that Middle Stone Age hunters were as capable as those in ethnographically documented societies. Since then, important progress has been made in the identification of the weapons systems that were used to hunt animals. Analyses of lithic implements indicate bow-and-arrow use in southern Africa going back to at least 65,000 years ago. Animal exploitation strategies do change over time. Hunting strategies probably focused on large antelope during the Middle Pleistocene, and the importance of smaller animals increased This change was likely caused by a shift in prey populations that stemmed from a combination of environmental change and perhaps human population pressure. Late Pleistocene archaeological sites show increasing evidence for intensification; that is, an increase in the amount of food extracted from the environment by more thorough processing of prey, exploitation of new prey types, and development of new exploitation strategies. This pattern is usually linked to animal overexploitation and may be a result of human population expansion or environmental change if decreasing productivity limits the supply of animal prey. Notable examples of this are shellfish middens at coastal sites, the abundance of tortoises, and the presence of large numbers of small mammals that were likely snared instead of pursued. Show less
Van collega’s hoor ik wel eens dat archeologie zo’n witte discipline is omdat we ‘ons’ verleden opgraven. Dat zou voor mensen wier voorouders recent naar Nederland emigreerden oninteressant zijn....Show moreVan collega’s hoor ik wel eens dat archeologie zo’n witte discipline is omdat we ‘ons’ verleden opgraven. Dat zou voor mensen wier voorouders recent naar Nederland emigreerden oninteressant zijn. Maar volgens mij gaan dit soort verhalen over de prehistorie niet helemaal op, en laten we belangrijke mogelijkheden liggen om juist onze gezamenlijke oorsprong te bestuderen.Show less
Here we evaluate the hypothesis that during cold climatic phases, people and resources became increasingly packed along highland Lesotho's riverine corridors as the viability of palatable... Show moreHere we evaluate the hypothesis that during cold climatic phases, people and resources became increasingly packed along highland Lesotho's riverine corridors as the viability of palatable grasslands for large mammal hunting on the upland plateaus declined. These intensification efforts resulted in increased reliance on lower-ranked aquatic (fish) resources with knock-on effects for lithic technological organization. We compare data on the relative contributing of fishing to the diets of highland hunter-gatherers at Sehonghong rockshelter with a faunal proxy widely argued to correlate with subsistence intensification (faunal assemblage evenness). In addition, we compare these data with two measures of lithic technological intensification (cutting edge production and core reduction intensity) to test whether diet intensification tracks technological intensification. We show that at Sehonghong, aquatic resource exploitation is not always correlated with faunal assemblage evenness. We find that some layers (i.e. RF) show spikes in aquatic resource use irrespective of changes in mammal hunting. Other layers (i.e. layer RBL/CLBRF) were intensively occupied, but they do not have many fish. Our data also demonstrate that aquatic resource use is not associated with lithic technological intensification. These results suggest that while aquatic resource exploitation was a ‘fallback’ option for some of Lesotho's highland hunter-gatherers, there is considerable variability. Our data show that multiple intensification dimensions were variably combined through the Late Pleistocene at Sehonghong as they were elsewhere in southern Africa. Show less
Dusseldorp, G.L.; Raczynski-Henk, Y.; Amkreutz, L. 2022
De afgelopen 20 jaar wordt steeds duidelijker hoe de eerste Europeanen eruitzagen en dat die mensen waarschijnlijk al vanaf 800.000 jaar geleden sporadisch in onze streken komen. Uitgerekend in... Show moreDe afgelopen 20 jaar wordt steeds duidelijker hoe de eerste Europeanen eruitzagen en dat die mensen waarschijnlijk al vanaf 800.000 jaar geleden sporadisch in onze streken komen. Uitgerekend in Nederland is een vindplaats opgegraven die een uniek kijkje in de wereld van die vroegste Europeanen geeft. Die vindplaats, Maastricht-Belvédère, staat internationaal in alle handboeken, maar in Nederland kent niemand haar. Je kan er bijna tot op de seconde nauwkeurig een episode reconstrueren in het leven van mensen die hier 250.000 jaar geleden leefden. Een beeld van een voor ons vrijwel onvoorstelbare manier van leven verschijnt, waarin geleidelijk een aantal prominente menselijke kenmerken verschijnen, zoals complexe planning en de ontwikkeling van verfijnde technologische snufjes. Daaruit wordt duidelijk dat die hele vroege ‘Nederlanders’ alleen vanuit een pan-Europees perspectief begrepen kunnen worden. Show less
Lombard, M.; Bradfield, J.; Caruana, M.V.; Makhubela, T.V.; Dusseldorp, G.L.; Kramers, J.D.; Wurz, S. 2022
A decade ago, we summarised the South African and Lesotho Stone Age technocomplex sequence as a heuristic exercise, anchored in 242 dated assemblages (Lombard et al. 2012). Following Clarke (1968),... Show moreA decade ago, we summarised the South African and Lesotho Stone Age technocomplex sequence as a heuristic exercise, anchored in 242 dated assemblages (Lombard et al. 2012). Following Clarke (1968), Sampson (1974) and Deacon (1980), we defined a technocomplex as a group of industries characterised by assemblages that have many, but not all, properties in common. Spatiotemporal changes and shifts in artefact design and frequencies owing to material use/availability and socio-economic factors are built into the framework. The accompanying dataset was intended to serve as a useful resource to both students and professionals, and to fuel research and debate. Show less
