Discovering the trick to flaking Middle Stone Age tools on quartzite

Summary

South African Middle Stone Age tool makers were skilled at the production of fine, symmetric points and blades on quartzite, a material that is known for its toughness and durability but not for its ease of flaking. The accurate replication of MSA tools on quartzite proved to be almost impossible during a replication and experimentation program that spanned over ten years. Heat treatment was the ‘trick’ that unlocked the potential of silcrete and it became clear that there must also be a trick with the South Coast quartzites for consistent and predictable success.

Information gained from the systematic collection and preparation of raw material samples for the SACP4 Palaeoscope Project eventually provided clues that lead to the discovery of two key requirements for quartzite replication. The morphology of beach cobbles selected for flaking is the first critical step. Successful flaking of quartzite then requires an understanding of the internal structure of the stone and perhaps even rudimentary geometry. Identification of tricks or critical path steps in the stone tool production process provide insight into early modern human behavioral complexity and identifies definable raw material traits that lead to regional variation in the Middle Stone Age technology.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Building the Hunter-gatherer’s Paleoscape on the South African Coast: the archaeological record   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

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