Characterizing the late MSA sequence at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

本研究项目旨在描述南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔锡布都洞穴晚期的MSA层序。在过去的几十年里，南部非洲的MSA对于研究现代人的行为进化及其迁出非洲变得至关重要。大多数研究都集中在静水湾和豪森的S港(HP)，而忽视了前后时期的研究。该项目旨在通过关注HP之后的岩屑组合来纠正这一研究偏见。四布都洞穴晚期的MSA层序构成了这种调查的完美候选者。该遗址保存了一个高分辨率、测年准确的地层层序，包括一个由30多个单独的层组成的特别厚的“后高压”层序。该遗址还产生了高密度的石器文物和背景信息。因此，Sibuu提供了巨大的潜力，可以在组合内和组合间的基础上分析这一文化单位。岩屑分析将使用多种方法来揭示“后HP”的定义特征及其时间变异性。我们将对石材原料进行表征，调查还原顺序，评估还原方法，并重建技术经济行为。我们的结果将提供有关MIS3在南部非洲的行为记录的新数据，这是人类历史和行为发生重大变化的时期。我们还将使用这些新数据在不同的地理尺度上调查技术和行为的演变。最后，我们的目标是评估晚期MSA在现代人向欧亚大陆最早的扩散方面的进化作用。

This research project aims at characterizing the late MSA sequence of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the last decades, the MSA of southern Africa has become crucial for investigating the behavioral evolution of modern humans and their dispersals out of Africa. Most studies have concentrated on the Still Bay and Howieson´s Poort (HP), but neglected the periods before and after. This project intends to correct this research bias by focusing on lithic assemblages that follow the HP. The late MSA sequence at Sibudu Cave constitutes the perfect candidate for such an investigation. The site preserves a high-resolution, well-dated stratigraphic sequence, including an exceptionally thick "post-HP" sequence that comprises more than 30 individual layers. The site has also yielded high density of stone artifacts and contextual information. Therefore, Sibudu offers enormous potential to analyze this cultural unit on both an intra- and inter-assemblage basis. The lithic analyzes will employ multiple methods to expose the defining features of the "post-HP" and its temporal variability. We will characterize the lithic raw materials, investigate reduction sequences, evaluate the reduction methods and reconstruct techno-economic behavior. Our results will provide new data on the behavioral record of MIS 3 in southern Africa, a time of major changes in human history and behavior. We will also investigate technological and behavioral evolution on various geographic scales with these novel data. Finally, we aim to evaluate the evolutionary role of the late MSA with regard to the earliest dispersals of modern humans to Eurasia.