Thalassa Matthews

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.

An early Pliocene (5.1 Ma) fossil frog community from Langebaanweg, south-western Cape, South Africa

Abstract The 5.1 million year old fossil site of Langebaanweg (LBW) has provided a wealth of information on the evolution of west coast ecosystems along the southern west coast of South Africa and numerous taxa, including small and large mammals, and birds, make a first appearance in the fossil record at the site. Langebaanweg also contains a rich and diverse anuran fauna which derives from the two main fossil-bearing members at the site. This study identified six families, including Hyperoliidae, Brevicipitidae, Pxyicephalidae, Pipidae, Heleophrynidae and Bufonidae, and some 19 taxa have been differentiated. The majority of frog families identified from the LBW fossil material currently contain a high number of species endemic to the southwestern Cape or South Africa. LBW provides an insight into how current patterns of endemism and distribution may have evolved, and illustrates that the frog community in a region may change substantially over time. The progressive aridification of the west coast subsequent to 5.1 Ma has left very little trace of the rich and diverse frog community which existed during the early Pliocene, and diversity and endemnicity are low today. This challenges the generally held assumption that centres of origin may have a bearing on current-day frog distributions.

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.