Kathleen Kuman

Early Acheulean technology in the Rietputs Formation, South Africa, dated with cosmogenic nuclides

An absolute dating technique based on the build-up and decay of (26)Al and (10)Be in the mineral quartz provides crucial evidence regarding early Acheulean hominid distribution in South Africa. Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating of an ancient alluvial deposit of the Vaal River (Rietputs Formation) in the western interior of South Africa shows that coarse gravel and sand aggradation there occurred ca 1.57+/-0.22Ma, with individual ages of samples ranging from 1.89+/-0.19 to 1.34+/-0.22Ma. This was followed by aggradation of laminated and cross-bedded fine alluvium at ca 1.26+/-0.10Ma. The Rietputs Formation provides an ideal situation for the use of the cosmogenic nuclide burial dating method, as samples could be obtained from deep mining pits at depths ranging from 7 to 16 meters. Individual dates provide only a minimum age for the stone tool technology preserved within the deposits. Each assemblage represents a time averaged collection. Bifacial tools distributed throughout the coarse gravel and sand unit can be assigned to an early phase of the Acheulean. This is the first absolute radiometric dated evidence for early Acheulean artefacts in South Africa that have been found outside of the early hominid sites of the Gauteng Province. These absolute dates also indicate that handaxe-using hominids inhabited southern Africa as early as their counterparts in East Africa. The simultaneous appearance of the Acheulean in different parts of the continent implies relatively rapid technology development and the widespread use of large cutting tools in the African continent by ca 1.6Ma.

Newly discovered fossil- and artifact-bearing deposits, uranium-series ages, and Plio-Pleistocene hominids at Swartkrans cave, South Africa.

We report on new research at Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, that provides evidence of two previously unrealized artifact- and fossil-bearing deposits. These deposits underlie a speleothem dated by the uranium-thorium disequilibrium technique to 110,000+/-1,980 years old, the first tightly constrained, geochronological date available for the site. Recovered fauna from the two underlying deposits-including, prominently, the dental remains of Paranthropus (Australopithecus) robustus from the uppermost layer (Talus Cone Deposit)-indicate a significantly older, late Pliocene or early Pleistocene age for these units. The lowest unit (LB East Extension) is inferred to be an eastward extension of the well-known Lower Bank of Member 1, the earliest surviving infill represented at the site. The date acquired from the speleothem also sets the maximum age of a rich Middle Stone Age lithic assemblage.

Re-examination of the morphological variability of East Asian handaxes from a comparative perspective

Abstract In this article, we report on a re-examination of the morphological variability of East Asian handaxes through study of handaxes from sites generally considered to be Middle Pleistocene in age and by carrying out detailed small-scale comparisons. In particular, we add data for a new handaxe assemblage found in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region, central China. We begin with an analysis of the range of handaxe morphological variability in different regions (Africa, West Europe and East Asia) and conclude that the variability in the East Asian sites is not significantly different from that found in the western Acheulean. Moreover, the variability present in East Asian handaxes reflects the flexible adaptation strategies of Acheulean hominids. In explaining the morphological variability of East Asian handaxes, we adopt a stepwise approach for a comprehensive analysis, from the most fundamental level factors, such as raw material and reduction intensity, to higher-level factors like cultural tradition and cognitive ability. The results indicate that East Asian handaxe variability was influenced by multiple factors, to be discussed in this article. Also through comparative morphological analysis, we argue that there are specific regional influences that have explanatory value. The analysis of such regional factors is necessary for a better understanding of this subject.

Quantifying the Reduction Intensity of Handaxes with 3D Technology: A Pilot Study on Handaxes in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region, Central China

This paper presents an approach to analyzing the reduction intensity of handaxes with the aid of 3D scanning technology. Two quantitative reduction indices, the Scar Density Index (SDI) and the Flaked Area Index (FAI), are applied to handaxes from the third terrace of the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region (DRR), central China, dated to the Middle Pleistocene. The results show that most of the DRR handaxes in this sample show moderate reduction, which also reflects a least-effort reduction strategy and a generally short use-life for these tools. Detailed examination of the DRR handaxes by sector reveals that the tips generally show the most reduction, while the bases show the least shaping, with cortex often preserved on the base to facilitate handling. While western Acheulean assemblages in this regard are variable, there are many examples of handaxes of varying age with trimming of the bases. We also found no significant differences in the levels of reduction between the two main raw materials, quartz phyllite and trachyte. However, the type of blank used (large flakes versus cobbles) and the type of shaping (bifacial, partly bifacial and unifacial) do play a significant role in the reduction intensity of the DRR handaxes. Finally, a small number of handaxes from the younger (the early Late Pleistocene) second terrace of the DRR was compared with those from the third terrace. The results indicate that there is no technological change in the reduction intensity through time in these two DRR terraces.

The Victoria West : earliest prepared core technology in the Acheulean at Canteen Kopje and implications for the cognitive evolution of early hominids

Prepared core technology illustrates in-depth planning and the presence of a mental template during the core reduction process. This technology is, therefore, a significant indicator in studying the evolution of abstract thought and the cognitive abilities of hominids. Here, we report on Victoria West cores excavated from the Canteen Kopje site in central South Africa, with a preliminary age estimate of approximately 1 Ma (million years ago) for these cores. Technological analysis shows that the Victoria West cores bear similarities to the ‘Volumetric Concept’ as defined for the Levallois, a popular and widely distributed prepared core technology from at least 200 ka (thousand years ago). Although these similarities are present, several notable differences also occur that make the Victoria West a unique and distinctive prepared core technology; these are: elongated and convergent core shapes, consistent blow directions for flake removal, a predominance of large side-struck flakes, and the use of these flakes to make Acheulean large cutting tools. This innovative core reduction strategy at Canteen Kopje extends the roots of prepared core technology to the latter part of the Early Acheulean and clearly demonstrates an increase in the cognitive abilities and complexities of hominids in this time period.

Grain-size characteristics of surface sands and sandstones : indicators of potential sediment sources for the southern Tuli Basin, South Africa

Cover sand is ubiquitous across much of northern South Africa, yet few areas have been geomorphologically investigated. Cover sands at the Hackthorne 1 Stone Age site, southern Tuli Basin, provide an opportunity to investigate the granulometry and geomorphology of artifact-bearing sands overlying weathered, calcretized Miocene alluvial deposits. Cover sands and potential sediment sources are investigated, specifically to understand the nature and origin of the regional sediments. Grain-size characteristics of the sand mantle at the Hackthorne 1 site suggest that the cover sand is eolian in origin. It is further postulated that the sand may represent an outlier of the Kalahari, particularly given its relatively close proximity to the west of the site. However, alluvial sediments contained within the underlying calcrete are being exhumed through dissolution, creating basal lags of alluvial gravels and mixing with the mantling eolian sands. Solution pits in the calcrete (makondos) concentrate these alluvial sediments and artifacts, and form coarse lag deposits at the base of makondos.

Longgudong, an Early Pleistocene site in Jianshi, South China, with stratigraphic association of human teeth and lithics

In this paper we report on Longgudong, an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000, and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the same stratigraphic layer. The age of this site was estimated from faunal comparisons and palaeomagnetism and has been attributed to the Early Pleistocene, most probably the earlier Early Pleistocene. The human teeth from this site have been well studied. However, the stone artifacts are still unknown to most scholars. This paper thus presents an analysis of the lithics as the first firmly demonstrated stone tools associated with Early Pleistocene human fossils in south China.