Erich C. Fisher

Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene

Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 thousand years (kyr) ago, and recent evidence indicates symbolic behaviour may have appeared ∼135–75 kyr ago. From 195–130 kyr ago, the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage (marine isotope stage MIS6); much of Africa was cooler and drier, and dated archaeological sites are rare. Here we show that by ∼164 kyr ago (±12 kyr) at Pinnacle Point (on the south coast of South Africa) humans expanded their diet to include marine resources, perhaps as a response to these harsh environmental conditions. The earliest previous evidence for human use of marine resources and coastal habitats was dated to ∼125 kyr ago. Coincident with this diet and habitat expansion is an early use and modification of pigment, probably for symbolic behaviour, as well as the production of bladelet stone tool technology, previously dated to post-70 kyr ago. Shellfish may have been crucial to the survival of these early humans as they expanded their home ranges to include coastlines and followed the shifting position of the coast when sea level fluctuated over the length of MIS6.

An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa

There is consensus that the modern human lineage appeared in Africa before 100,000 years ago. But there is debate as to when cultural and cognitive characteristics typical of modern humans first appeared, and the role that these had in the expansion of modern humans out of Africa. Scientists rely on symbolically specific proxies, such as artistic expression, to document the origins of complex cognition. Advanced technologies with elaborate chains of production are also proxies, as these often demand high-fidelity transmission and thus language. Some argue that advanced technologies in Africa appear and disappear and thus do not indicate complex cognition exclusive to early modern humans in Africa. The origins of composite tools and advanced projectile weapons figure prominently in modern human evolution research, and the latter have been argued to have been in the exclusive possession of modern humans. Here we describe a previously unrecognized advanced stone tool technology from Pinnacle Point Site 5–6 on the south coast of South Africa, originating approximately 71,000 years ago. This technology is dominated by the production of small bladelets (microliths) primarily from heat-treated stone. There is agreement that microlithic technology was used to create composite tool components as part of advanced projectile weapons. Microliths were common worldwide by the mid-Holocene epoch, but have a patchy pattern of first appearance that is rarely earlier than 40,000 years ago, and were thought to appear briefly between 65,000 and 60,000 years ago in South Africa and then disappear. Our research extends this record to ∼71,000 years, shows that microlithic technology originated early in South Africa, evolved over a vast time span (∼11,000 years), and was typically coupled to complex heat treatment that persisted for nearly 100,000 years. Advanced technologies in Africa were early and enduring; a small sample of excavated sites in Africa is the best explanation for any perceived ‘flickering’ pattern.

Interpreting human behavior from depositional rates and combustion features through the study of sedimentary microfacies at site Pinnacle Point 5-6, South Africa.

Using fine and coarse resolution geoarchaeological studies at the Middle Stone Age site of PP5-6 at Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, South Africa, we discovered different patterns of anthropogenic input and changes in behavior through time. Through the microfacies approach, we documented the various geogenic and anthropogenic processes that formed the deposits of the site. By deciphering large scale rate differences in the production of these microfacies we estimated anthropogenic input rates and therefore gained understanding of occupational duration and intensity. The PP5-6 sediments document occupations characterized by small groups and short visits during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. This part of the sequence is characterized by numerous single (and mostly intact) hearth structures in a roofspall-rich matrix. During this time the sea was very close to the site and the people were focused on exploiting the rocky shores. With the advent of the glacial conditions of MIS4, the occupation of the site became much more intense. The occurrence of thick palimpsests of burnt remains, sometimes disturbed by small-scale sedimentary gravity processes, supports this conclusion. As sea level dropped and the coastline retreated, the geogenic input shifted to predominately aeolian sediments, implying an exposed shelf probably associated with a rich but more distant coastal environment. The occupants of PP5-6 turned their preference to silcrete as a raw material and they began to make microlithic stone tools. Since sites dating to MIS4 are abundant in the Cape, we suggest that populations during MIS4 responded to glacial conditions with either demographic stability or growth as well as technological change.

Multidimensional GIS modeling of magnetic mineralogy as a proxy for fire use and spatial patterning: evidence from the Middle Stone Age bearing sea cave of Pinnacle Point 13B (Western Cape, South Africa).

This paper aims to identify the spatial patterning of burning and occupation within an early Middle Stone Age (MSA) sea cave in the Western Cape Province of South Africa by creating a multidimensional model of archaeomagnetic data recovered from all excavated units. Magnetic susceptibility and other mineral magnetic parameters are shown to provide an excellent proxy for the anthropogenic alteration and spread of burnt material into the surrounding unaltered cave deposits. The identification of combustion features and areas of occupation or different activities within the site can be determined because the movement of people throughout the cave mixes magnetically strong hearth material with magnetically weak unaltered sediments. This is also indicated by micromorphological analysis. The degree of enhancement is also shown to indicate the extent to which a deposit has been altered, and therefore, intensity of occupation, because multiple heatings of deposits are needed to form the concentrations of iron minerals occurring in some layers. This is further supported by a comparison with artifact density for the layers. Variation in the magnetic values between different areas of the site is noted with major occupation or fire building occurring in the front of the cave during earlier MIS 6 periods, while during later MIS 5 periods the entire cave is occupied intensively. The oldest, MIS 11 deposits at the rear of the cave indicate no evidence of enhancement and an apparent absence of any anthropogenic signature.

Archaeological Reconnaissance for Middle Stone Age Sites Along the Pondoland Coast, South Africa

Part of the phytolith analysis was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (HAR2010-15967 to Albert). The field survey was funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society / Waitt Foundation (W160-11 to Fisher)

A new research strategy for integrating studies of paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and paleoanthropology.

Paleoanthropologists (scientists studying human origins) universally recognize the evolutionary significance of ancient climates and environments for understanding human origins. Even those scientists working in recent phases of human evolution, when modern humans evolved, agree that hunter‐gatherer adaptations are tied to the way that climate and environment shape the food and technological resource base. The result is a long tradition of paleoanthropologists engaging with climate and environmental scientists in an effort to understand if and how hominin bio‐behavioral evolution responded to climate and environmental change. Despite this unusual consonance, the anticipated rewards of this synergy are unrealized and, in our opinion, will not reach potential until there are some fundamental changes in the way the research model is constructed. Discovering the relation between climate and environmental change to human origins must be grounded in a theoretical framework and a causal understanding of the connection between climate, environment, resource patterning, behavior, and morphology, then move beyond the strict correlative research that continues to dominate the field.

Return rates from intertidal foraging from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point: Understanding early human economies

The south coast of South Africa provides the earliest evidence for Middle Stone Age (MSA) coastal resource exploitation by early Homo sapiens. In coastal archaeology worldwide, there has been a debate over the general productivity of intertidal foraging, leading to studies that directly measure productivity in some regions, but there have been no such studies in South Africa. Here we present energetic return rate estimates for intertidal foraging along the southern coast of South Africa from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point. Foraging experiments were conducted with Khoi-San descendants of the region, and hourly caloric return rates for experienced foragers were measured on 41 days near low tide and through three seasons over two study years. On-site return rates varied as a function of sex, tidal level, marine habitat type and weather conditions. The overall energetic return rate from the entire sample (1492 kcal h(-1)) equals or exceeds intertidal returns reported from other hunter-gatherer studies, as well as measured return rates for activities as diverse as hunting mammals and plant collecting. Returns are projected to be exceptionally high (∼ 3400 kcal h(-1) for men, ∼ 1900 kcal h(-1) for women) under the best combination of conditions. However, because of the monthly tidal cycle, high return foraging is only possible for about 10 days per month and for only 2-3 h on those days. These experiments suggest that while intertidal resources are attractive, women and children could not have subsisted independently, nor met all their protein-lipid needs from marine resources alone, and would have required substantial additional energy and nutrients from plant gathering and/or from males contributing game.

Submerged shorelines and landscape features offshore of Mossel Bay, South Africa

Abstract Coastal geomorphic systems have been studied widely to understand the responses of shorelines to fluctuating sea levels. Submerged shorelines, remnant of Pleistocene sea-level lowstands, are well preserved on the South African continental shelf. This paper describes work undertaken to better understand offshore coastal environments now submerged by high sea levels off the South African south coast near Mossel Bay, offshore of the Pinnacle Point archaeological locality. Multibeam bathymetry and side-scan sonar reveal evidence of past sea-level fluctuations and submerged coastal landscape features on the seabed. These results form the basis of an ongoing palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for this part of the shelf. We describe seven significant geomorphic features that show a submerged environment that differs significantly to the immediate adjacent coastal plain. However, these features are comparable to other stretches of the present South African shoreline that serve as modern analogues. We propose that features on the continental shelf primarily reflect geological substrate, gradients and Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations. Early modern humans were likely to have had a different set of resources to use in this Pleistocene landscape compared to those available along the presently exposed coast.

Paleoscape model of coastal South Africa during modern human origins: progress in scaling and coupling climate, vegetation, and agent-based models on XSEDE

To better understand the origins of modern humans, we are developing a paleoscape model that simulates the climatic conditions and distribution of natural resources available to humans during this critical stage of human evolution. Our geographic focus is the southern Cape region of South Africa, which was rich in natural resources for hunter-gatherer groups including edible plants, shellfish, animals, and raw materials. We report our progress in using the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) to realize the paleoscape model, which consists of four components: a climate model, correlative and dynamic vegetation models, and agent-based models. We adopt a workflow-based approach that combines modeling and data analytics to couple these four modeling components using XSEDE. We have made significant progress in scaling climate and agent-based models on XSEDE. Our next steps will be to couple these models to the vegetation models to complete the workflow, which will require overcoming multiple theoretical, methodological, and technical challenges.

Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74,000 years ago

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff—ashfall from the Toba eruption—in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region in which there is evidence for early human behavioural complexity. An independently derived dating model supports a date of approximately 74 ka for the sediments containing the Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards. By defining the input of shards at both sites, which are located nine kilometres apart, we are able to establish a close temporal correlation between them. Our high-resolution excavation and sampling technique enable exact comparisons between the input of Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards and the evidence for human occupation. Humans in this region thrived through the Toba event and the ensuing full glacial conditions, perhaps as a combined result of the uniquely rich resource base of the region and fully evolved modern human adaptation.