Using Ungulate Bones to Retouch and (Re)Sharpen Middle Stone Age End-Scrapers at Bushman Rock Shelter, South Africa

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Animal Resources in Experimental Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Bone retouchers were first recognized in European Paleolithic assemblages at the turn of the nineteenth century. They have since been documented from sites across Eurasia, from Lower Paleolithic to Neolithic contexts. Notwithstanding their abundance in the archaeological record, the association between the characteristics of the retouch on stone artifacts and the technological features of bone retouchers remain to be clarified. Besides, and surprisingly perhaps, bone retouchers are virtually unknown in Africa. A recent study describes the first significant sample of bone retouchers in Africa, from Taforalt (Morrocco), associated with Aterian lithic technology and dated to ca. 85,000 BP (Turner et al. 2020). Here we present a contemporaneous assemblage of bone retouchers from the southern end of the continent, discovered during excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Bushman Rock Shelter, South Africa. We have recognized 23 specimens, strictly retrieved from layers associated with the production of lithic end-scrapers. The nature, morphology, and type of surface modifications observed on these retouchers highlight a standardized selection and use, possibly embedded in the broader *chaîne opératoire* of the end-scrapers. We discuss future experimental work on retouching end-scrapers with bone to investigate the modalities of production and use of these retouchers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Animal Resources in Experimental Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36093.0