Dynamics of subsistence and technology before and during the Still Bay at Sibudu, South Africa
Final Report Abstract
The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of southern Africa plays a crucial role in the study of the early behavioral evolution of our species. This research project aimed at characterizing the lithic technology and subsistence strategies of early modern humans during and before the Still Bay (SB) at Sibhudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Although much research in the southern African MSA has concentrated on the SB and its potential role in the behavioral evolution of Homo sapiens as a period of cultural fluorescence, the definition, variability and temporal duration of this technocomplex is still open to debate. This project intended to further research into the SB and industries with bifacial technology in general by focusing on the SB and “pre-SB” deposits from Sibhudu Cave. The site preserves a high-resolution, well-dated SB sequence but also deeper and so-far unstudied strata, with both deposits being rich in stone artifacts and faunal remains. The project was particularly interested in questions on the nature and duration of bifacial technologies at Sibhudu. Finally, we aimed to critically evaluate the status of the SB as a technocomplex and the role of bifacial technology with regard to the cultural evolution of early modern humans within Africa. The excavation of this phase of the project uncovered multiple new archaeological layers which correspond to the oldest deposits excavated at Sibhudu and dating up to ~90 ka. All new find horizons were extremely rich in stone artefacts with faunal preservation declining with increasing depth. Nonetheless, we recovered important human fossil remains demonstrating the presence of early modern humans in the deepest layers of Sibhudu. The faunal record shows a continued reliance on hunting and trapping local bovids but also birds. The occupants of the site also produced a wide variety of bone tools during and before the SB. Botanical remains were found in all layers and reflect the environmental conditions of the uThongati valley. A particularly important result is the presence of bifacial technology often with serrated edges separated from the SB by layers lacking bifacial tools. The long sequence from Sibhudu demonstrates that bifacial points are best seen as a flexible technological adaptations instead of the traditional focus of their serving primarily as chrono-cultural markers. Excavations planned for the coming years should extend this impressive MSA sequence still further. The Sibhudu team is particularly proud of its broad-reaching program of scientific outreach in the local as well as the national and global scientific communities. The global reach and outstanding universal value of Sibhudu was demonstrated by the inscription as UNESCO World Heritage as part of a serial nomination during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2024.
Publications
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Blade Technology Characterizing the MIS 5 D-A Layers of Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Lithic Technology, 44(4), 199-236.
Schmid, Viola C.; Porraz, Guillaume; Zeidi, Mohsen & Conard, Nicholas J.
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Human teeth from securely stratified Middle Stone Age contexts at Sibudu, South Africa. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 11(7), 3491-3501.
Will, Manuel; El-Zaatari, Sireen; Harvati, Katerina & Conard, Nicholas J.
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The CA layers of Sibhudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) in the light of the MSA lithic technologies in MIS 5 (Doctoral dissertation, Universität Tübingen).
Schmid, V.
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Timing and trajectory of cultural evolution on the African continent 200,000-30,000 years ago. In: Sahle, Y., Reyes-Centeno, H., Bentz, C. (Eds.) Modern Human Origins and Dispersal, pp. 25-72. Tübingen: Kerns Verlag.
Will, M., Conard, N.J. & Tryon, C.A.
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Regional patterns of diachronic technological change in the Howiesons Poort of southern Africa. PLOS ONE, 15(9), e0239195.
Will, Manuel & Conard, Nicholas J.
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The Role of Different Raw Materials in Lithic Technology and Settlement Patterns During the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa. African Archaeological Review, 38(3), 477-500.
Will, Manuel
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Lithic Standardization and Behavioral Complexity in the Middle Stone Age – A Case Study From Sibhudu, South Africa. Lithic Technology, 48(4), 378-392.
Blessing, Matthias A.; Conard, Nicholas J. & Will, Manuel
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The final MSA of eastern South Africa: a comparative study between Umbeli Belli and Sibhudu. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 57(2), 197-238.
Bader, Gregor D.; Sommer, Christian; Conard, Nicholas J. & Wadley, Lyn
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What do spatial data from Sibhudu tell us about life in the Middle Stone Age?. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 14(8).
Conard, Nicholas J.; Brenner, Mareike; Bretzke, Knut & Will, Manuel
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Bio-cultural approaches to human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology in the Pleistocene. (Habilitation thesis, Universität Tübingen)
Will, M.
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Technological Complexity as an Indicator of Behavioural Modernity A Case Study on Middle Palaeolithic Birch Tar Production a South African Microlithic Technology (Doctoral dissertation, Universität Tübingen).
Blessing, M. A.
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The revolution that still isn't: The origins of behavioral complexity in Homo sapiens. Journal of Human Evolution, 179, 103358.
Scerri, Eleanor M.L. & Will, Manuel
