Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.

The Middle Stone Age record in southern Africa is recognising increasing diversity in lithic technologies as research expands beyond the coastal-montane zone. New research in the arid Tankwa Karoo region of the South African interior has revealed a rich surface artefact record including a novel meth...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Emily Hallinan, Matthew Shaw
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241068
id doaj-42186d07640b43e6ab8031d462d7faf9
record_format Article
spelling doaj-42186d07640b43e6ab8031d462d7faf92021-03-04T11:09:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-011510e024106810.1371/journal.pone.0241068Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.Emily HallinanMatthew ShawThe Middle Stone Age record in southern Africa is recognising increasing diversity in lithic technologies as research expands beyond the coastal-montane zone. New research in the arid Tankwa Karoo region of the South African interior has revealed a rich surface artefact record including a novel method of point production, recognised as Nubian Levallois technology in Late Pleistocene North Africa, Arabia and the Levant. We analyse 121 Nubian cores and associated points from the surface site Tweefontein against the strict criteria which are used to define Nubian technology elsewhere. The co-occurrence of typically post-Howiesons Poort unifacial points suggests an MIS 3 age. We propose that the occurrence of this distinctive technology at numerous localities in the Tankwa Karoo region reflects an environment-specific adaptation in line with technological regionalisation seen more widely in MIS 3. The arid setting of these assemblages in the Tankwa Karoo compares with the desert context of Nubian technology globally, consistent with convergent evolution in our case. The South African evidence contributes an alternative perspective on Nubian technology removed from the 'dispersal' or 'diffusion' scenarios of the debate surrounding its origin and spread within and out of Africa.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241068
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Emily Hallinan
Matthew Shaw
spellingShingle Emily Hallinan
Matthew Shaw
Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Emily Hallinan
Matthew Shaw
author_sort Emily Hallinan
title Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
title_short Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
title_full Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
title_fullStr Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
title_full_unstemmed Nubian Levallois reduction strategies in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa.
title_sort nubian levallois reduction strategies in the tankwa karoo, south africa.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2020-01-01
description The Middle Stone Age record in southern Africa is recognising increasing diversity in lithic technologies as research expands beyond the coastal-montane zone. New research in the arid Tankwa Karoo region of the South African interior has revealed a rich surface artefact record including a novel method of point production, recognised as Nubian Levallois technology in Late Pleistocene North Africa, Arabia and the Levant. We analyse 121 Nubian cores and associated points from the surface site Tweefontein against the strict criteria which are used to define Nubian technology elsewhere. The co-occurrence of typically post-Howiesons Poort unifacial points suggests an MIS 3 age. We propose that the occurrence of this distinctive technology at numerous localities in the Tankwa Karoo region reflects an environment-specific adaptation in line with technological regionalisation seen more widely in MIS 3. The arid setting of these assemblages in the Tankwa Karoo compares with the desert context of Nubian technology globally, consistent with convergent evolution in our case. The South African evidence contributes an alternative perspective on Nubian technology removed from the 'dispersal' or 'diffusion' scenarios of the debate surrounding its origin and spread within and out of Africa.
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241068
work_keys_str_mv AT emilyhallinan nubianlevalloisreductionstrategiesinthetankwakaroosouthafrica
AT matthewshaw nubianlevalloisreductionstrategiesinthetankwakaroosouthafrica
_version_ 1714804769261879296