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
We develop a framework to differentiate the technological niches of co-existing hominin species by reviewing some theoretical biases influential in thinking about techno-behaviours of extinct... Show moreWe develop a framework to differentiate the technological niches of co-existing hominin species by reviewing some theoretical biases influential in thinking about techno-behaviours of extinct hominins, such as a teleological bias in discussing technological evolution. We suggest that some stone-tool classification systems underestimate technological variability, while overestimating the complexity of the behaviours most commonly represented. To model the likely technological niches of extinct populations, we combine ecological principles (i.e. competitive exclusion) with physical anthropology and the archaeological record. We test the framework by applying it to the co-existence of Homo naledi and Homo sapiens during the late Middle Pleistocene in southern Africa. Based on our analysis, we suggest that tool use was probably not an essential part of H. naledi’s niche, but that technology occasionally provided caloric benefits. In contrast, tool use was a structural part of the H. sapiens way of life. We provide reasoning for our interpretation that the latter population is associated with more sophisticated reduction strategies and the development of prepared core technology. The method also has applicability to cases such as the co-existence of different toolmakers during the Earlier Stone Age (ESA) in East Africa and the co-existence of Neanderthals and H. sapiens in Eurasia. Show less
