The Msikaba Red Sand Dunes: Middle Pleistocene Lithic Technological Variability in Pondoland, South Africa

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recent Advances and Debates in the Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Msikaba Red Sand Dunes along South Africa's Pondoland coast are a recently discovered open-air site complex that documents Middle Pleistocene lithic technological and morphological change. The deposit comprises ancient dune surfaces stacked over time with repeated sea-level highstand events. Initial excavations and surface collections document in situ lithics comprising large bifaces, prepared cores, large blade production as well as a novel small bladelet and flake component. We also document a large groundstone and anvil assemblage in the same horizon as the site’s other lithic components. OSL dating provides minimum ages for the deposits making the this one of the few well-dated open-air coastal Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in Africa. Here, we provide the results of ongoing lithic analyses and further details on the assemblage’s structure and taphonomy that will be the focus of future fine-scale archaeological analyses at the site. This study highlights the significance of the early Middle Pleistocene in Africa for understanding behavioral variability and the evolution of our genus.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Recent Advances and Debates in the Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25585