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

本研究项目旨在对南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省西布杜洞晚MSA层序进行表征。在过去的几十年里，南部非洲的MSA已经成为研究现代人类行为进化和他们向非洲以外扩散的关键。大多数研究集中在斯蒂尔湾和豪伊森港（HP），但忽略了前后的时期。本项目旨在通过关注HP之后的岩芯组合来纠正这种研究偏见。西布都洞晚MSA层序是进行此类研究的最佳候选层序。该遗址保存了一个高分辨率、年代确定的地层序列，包括一个由30多个独立层组成的异常厚的“后hp”层序。该遗址还发现了高密度的石器文物和背景信息。因此，《思布都》提供了巨大的潜力，可以在组合内部和组合内部的基础上分析这一文化单元。岩石分析将采用多种方法来揭示“后hp”的定义特征及其时间变异性。我们将对岩屑原料进行表征，研究还原序列，评估还原方法并重建技术经济行为。我们的研究结果将为南部非洲MIS 3的行为记录提供新的数据，这是人类历史和行为发生重大变化的时期。我们还将利用这些新数据研究不同地理尺度上的技术和行为演变。最后，我们的目标是评估晚期MSA在现代人类最早向欧亚大陆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.