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Mauran G. Red Balloon rock shelter Middle Stone Age ochre assemblage and population's adaption to local resources in the Waterberg (Limpopo, South Africa). ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2023; 15:79. [PMID: 37200545 PMCID: PMC10175935 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01778-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Ochre has been found at many Middle Stone Age sites throughout southern Africa. Much work has been done to document these iron-rich raw materials, their modifications and their implications for past communities' behaviours, skills and cognition. However, until recently few works focused on the Middle Stone Age Waterberg ochre assemblages. The paper presents the ochre assemblage recovered at Red Balloon rock shelter, a new Middle Stone Age site on the Waterberg Plateau. The site preserves Middle Stone Age occupations dated around 95,000 years ago. Scanning electron microscopy observations, portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy characterization document the presence of four ochre types. The MSA ochre assemblage recovered is mainly composed of specularite and specular hematite similar to the ones of Olieboomspoort and North Brabant. Microscopic observations and infrared analyses of soil sediment and of post-depositional deposits found on the ochre pieces show that this raw material specificity is of anthropic origin and not the result of post-depositional processes. Optical and digital observations of the archaeological assemblage and its comparison with a preliminary exploratory experimental one highlight the use of abrasion and bipolar percussion to process the ochre pieces at the site. The results point to the know-how and skills of the Middle Stone Age populations who inhabited the Waterberg region around 95,000 years ago. This raises the question of whether the specificities of the Waterberg ochre assemblages correspond to populations' adaptation to the local mountainous mineral resources and the existence of a regional ochre processing tradition. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01778-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilhem Mauran
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Wits 2050 South Africa
- PACEA UMR 5199, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, 33600 Pessac, France
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Archaeological adhesives made from Podocarpus document innovative potential in the African Middle Stone Age. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2209592119. [PMID: 36161935 PMCID: PMC9546601 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209592119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying the earliest archaeological adhesives has implications for our understanding of human cognition. In southern Africa, the oldest adhesives were made by Homo sapiens in the Middle Stone Age. Chemical studies have shown that these adhesives were made from a local conifer of the Podocarpaceae family. However, Podocarpus does not exude resin, nor any other substance that could have been recognized as having adhesive properties. Therefore, it remains unknown how these adhesives were made. This study investigates how Podocarpus adhesives can be made, comparing their mechanical properties with other naturally available adhesives. We found that Podocarpus tar can only be made by dry distillation of leaves, requiring innovative potential, skill, and knowledge. This contrasts with our finding that the Middle Stone Age environment was rich in substances that can be used as adhesives without such transformation. The apparent preference for Podocarpus tar may be explained by its mechanical properties. We found it to be superior to all other substances in terms of its adhesive properties. In addition, the condensation method that allows producing it can be recognized accidentally, as the processes take place above ground and can be triggered accidentally. Our findings have implications for establishing a link between technology and cognition in the Middle Stone Age.
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Martin L, Galy A, Barbotin G, Claverie F, Pons-Branchu E, Tribolo C, Mercier N, Pécheyran C. Isotopic Imaging Using fsLA Single-Collector ICP-SFMS for Direct U/Th Dating of Small Archaeological Carbonates. Anal Chem 2022; 94:3046-3055. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Loïc Martin
- Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Avenue de l’Université, BP 576, 64012 Pau Cedex, France
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, CNRS: UMR 5060, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
- LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Chemin de Saint Aubin─RD 128, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Asmodée Galy
- Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Avenue de l’Université, BP 576, 64012 Pau Cedex, France
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, CNRS: UMR 5060, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Gaëlle Barbotin
- Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Avenue de l’Université, BP 576, 64012 Pau Cedex, France
| | - Fanny Claverie
- Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Avenue de l’Université, BP 576, 64012 Pau Cedex, France
| | - Edwige Pons-Branchu
- LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Chemin de Saint Aubin─RD 128, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, CNRS: UMR 5060, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, CNRS: UMR 5060, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Pécheyran
- Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Avenue de l’Université, BP 576, 64012 Pau Cedex, France
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Rifkin RF, Vikram S, Ramond JB, Rey-Iglesia A, Brand TB, Porraz G, Val A, Hall G, Woodborne S, Le Bailly M, Potgieter M, Underdown SJ, Koopman JE, Cowan DA, Van de Peer Y, Willerslev E, Hansen AJ. Multi-proxy analyses of a mid-15th century Middle Iron Age Bantu-speaker palaeo-faecal specimen elucidates the configuration of the 'ancestral' sub-Saharan African intestinal microbiome. MICROBIOME 2020; 8:62. [PMID: 32375874 PMCID: PMC7204047 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00832-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The archaeological incidence of ancient human faecal material provides a rare opportunity to explore the taxonomic composition and metabolic capacity of the ancestral human intestinal microbiome (IM). Here, we report the results of the shotgun metagenomic analyses of an ancient South African palaeo-faecal specimen. METHODS Following the recovery of a single desiccated palaeo-faecal specimen from Bushman Rock Shelter in Limpopo Province, South Africa, we applied a multi-proxy analytical protocol to the sample. The extraction of ancient DNA from the specimen and its subsequent shotgun metagenomic sequencing facilitated the taxonomic and metabolic characterisation of this ancient human IM. RESULTS Our results indicate that the distal IM of the Neolithic 'Middle Iron Age' (c. AD 1460) Bantu-speaking individual exhibits features indicative of a largely mixed forager-agro-pastoralist diet. Subsequent comparison with the IMs of the Tyrolean Iceman (Ötzi) and contemporary Hadza hunter-gatherers, Malawian agro-pastoralists and Italians reveals that this IM precedes recent adaptation to 'Western' diets, including the consumption of coffee, tea, chocolate, citrus and soy, and the use of antibiotics, analgesics and also exposure to various toxic environmental pollutants. CONCLUSIONS Our analyses reveal some of the causes and means by which current human IMs are likely to have responded to recent dietary changes, prescription medications and environmental pollutants, providing rare insight into human IM evolution following the advent of the Neolithic c. 12,000 years ago. Video Abtract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riaan F Rifkin
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa.
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
| | - Surendra Vikram
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Jean-Baptiste Ramond
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alba Rey-Iglesia
- Centre for GeoGenetics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Hatfield, Denmark
| | - Tina B Brand
- Centre for GeoGenetics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Hatfield, Denmark
| | - Guillaume Porraz
- CNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn-AnTET, Université Paris-Nanterre, Paris, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Aurore Val
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Grant Hall
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Stephan Woodborne
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
- iThemba LABS, Braamfontein Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Matthieu Le Bailly
- University of Bourgogne France-Comte, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-environment, Besancon, France
| | - Marnie Potgieter
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Simon J Underdown
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
| | - Jessica E Koopman
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Don A Cowan
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Yves Van de Peer
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
- VIB Centre for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eske Willerslev
- Centre for GeoGenetics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Hatfield, Denmark
- GeoGenetics Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Anders J Hansen
- Centre for GeoGenetics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Hatfield, Denmark.
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d'Errico F, Pitarch Martí A, Shipton C, Le Vraux E, Ndiema E, Goldstein S, Petraglia MD, Boivin N. Trajectories of cultural innovation from the Middle to Later Stone Age in Eastern Africa: Personal ornaments, bone artifacts, and ocher from Panga ya Saidi, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 141:102737. [PMID: 32163764 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
African Middle Stone Age (MSA) populations used pigments, manufactured and wore personal ornaments, made abstract engravings, and produced fully shaped bone tools. However, ongoing research across Africa reveals variability in the emergence of cultural innovations in the MSA and their subsequent development through the Later Stone Age (LSA). When present, it appears that cultural innovations manifest regional variability, suggestive of distinct cultural traditions. In eastern Africa, several Late Pleistocene sites have produced evidence for novel activities, but the chronologies of key behavioral innovations remain unclear. The 3 m deep, well-dated, Panga ya Saidi sequence in eastern Kenya, encompassing 19 layers covering a time span of 78 kyr beginning in late Marine Isotope Stage 5, is the only known African site recording the interplay between cultural and ecological diversity in a coastal forested environment. Excavations have yielded worked and incised bones, ostrich eggshell beads (OES), beads made from seashells, worked and engraved ocher pieces, fragments of coral, and a belemnite fossil. Here, we provide, for the first time, a detailed analysis of this material. This includes a taphonomic, archeozoological, technological, and functional study of bone artifacts; a technological and morphometric analysis of personal ornaments; and a technological and geochemical analysis of ocher pieces. The interpretation of the results stemming from the analysis of OES beads is guided by an ethnoarcheological perspective and field observations. We demonstrate that key cultural innovations on the eastern African coast are evident by 67 ka and exhibit remarkable diversity through the LSA and Iron Age. We suggest the cultural trajectories evident at Panga ya Saidi were shaped by both regional traditions and cultural/demic diffusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco d'Errico
- UMR 5199 CNRS De La Préhistoire à L'Actuel: Culture, Environnement, et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023 F - 33615 Pessac CEDEX, Talence, France; Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour, Øysteinsgate 3, Postboks 7805, 5020 University of Bergen, Norway.
| | - Africa Pitarch Martí
- UMR 5199 CNRS De La Préhistoire à L'Actuel: Culture, Environnement, et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023 F - 33615 Pessac CEDEX, Talence, France; Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Facultat de Geografia i Història, Departament d'Història i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Montalegre 6, 08001, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ceri Shipton
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Emma Le Vraux
- UMR 5199 CNRS De La Préhistoire à L'Actuel: Culture, Environnement, et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023 F - 33615 Pessac CEDEX, Talence, France
| | - Emmanuel Ndiema
- National Museums of Kenya, Department of Earth Sciences, Box 40658 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Steven Goldstein
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07745 Jena, Germany; Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20560, USA; School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07745 Jena, Germany; School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20560, USA
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Technology and Function of Middle Stone Age Points. Insights from a Combined Approach at Bushman Rock Shelter, South Africa. VERTEBRATE PALEOBIOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-46126-3_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
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