Date:

Modern culture 44,000 years ago

Sifting of deposits at mouth of Border Cave : Wiki Commons

- Advertisement -

Human behavior, as we know it, emerged earlier than previously thought

An international team of researchers, including scientists from Wits University, have substantially increased the age at which we can trace the emergence of modern culture, all thanks to the San people of Africa.

The research by the team, consisting of scientists from South Africa, France, Italy, Norway, the USA and Britain, will be published in two articles online in the prestigious journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, today at 19:00 South African Standard Time.

The paper titled Early evidence of San material culture represented by organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa was authored by Francesco d’Errico, Lucinda Backwell, Paola Villa, Ilaria Degano, Jeannette Lucejko, Marion Bamford, Thomas Higham, Maria Perla Colombini, and Peter Beaumont.

Doctor Backwell is a senior researcher in palaeoanthropology, and Professor Bamford a palaeobotanist at the Bernard Price Institute for Paleontological Research at Wits University.

“The dating and analysis of archaeological material discovered at Border Cave in South Africa, has allowed us to demonstrate that many elements of material culture that characterise the lifestyle of San hunter-gatherers in southern Africa, were part of the culture and technology of the inhabitants of this site 44,000 years ago,” says Backwell.

- Advertisement -

A key question in human evolution is when in prehistory human cultures similar to ours emerged? Until now, most archaeologists believed that the oldest traces of San hunter-gatherer culture in southern Africa dates back 10,000, or at most 20,000 years.

The international team of researchers, led by Francesco d’Errico, Director of Research at the French National Research Centre, dated and directly analysed objects from archaeological layers at Border Cave.

Located in the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the site has yielded exceptionally well-preserved organic material.

Backwell says their results have shown without a doubt that at around 44,000 years ago the people at Border Cave were using digging sticks weighted with perforated stones, like those traditionally used by the San.

“They adorned themselves with ostrich egg and marine shell beads, and notched bones for notational purposes. They fashioned fine bone points for use as awls and poisoned arrowheads. One point is decorated with a spiral groove filled with red ochre, which closely parallels similar marks that San make to identify their arrowheads when hunting,” says Backwell.

Chemical analysis of residues on a wooden stick decorated with incisions reveals that, like San objects used for the same purpose, it was used to hold and carry a poison containing ricinoleic acid found in castor beans. This represents the earliest evidence for the use of poison.

A lump of beeswax, mixed with the resin of toxic Euphorbia, and possibly egg, was wrapped in vegetal fibres made from the inner bark of a woody plant. “This complex compound used for hafting arrowheads or tools, directly dated to 40,000 years ago, is the oldest known evidence of the use of beeswax,” says Backwell.

Warthog tusks were shaped into awls and possibly spear heads. The use of small pieces of stone to arm hunting weapons is confirmed by the discovery of resin residue still adhering to some of the tools, which chemical analysis has identified as a suberin (waxy substance) produced from the sap of Podocarpus (yellowwood) trees.

The study of stone tools discovered in the same archaeological layers as the organic remains, and from older deposits, shows a gradual evolution in stone tool technology. Organic artifacts, unambiguously reminiscent of San material culture, appear relatively abruptly, highlighting an apparent mismatch in rates of cultural change. This finding supports the view that what we perceive today as “modern behaviour” is the result of non-linear trajectories that may be better understood when documented at a regional scale.

Another paper, titled Border Cave and the Beginning of the Later Stone Age in South Africa will also be published today. The authors are Paola Villa, Sylvain Soriano, Tsenka Tsanova, Ilaria Degano, Thomas Higham, Francesco d’Errico, Lucinda Backwell, Jeannette J. Luceiko, Maria Perla Colombini and Peter Beaumont.

 

Contributing Source: University of the Witwatersrand

HeritageDaily : Archaeology News : Archaeology Press Releases

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is a multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Soldier’s wrist purse discovered at Roman legionary camp

Archaeologists have discovered a fragment of a soldier's wrist purse at the site of a temporary Roman camp in South Moravia, Czech Republic.

Lost equestrian sculpture found buried in Toul

Archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) have discovered an equestrian sculpture during excavations in Toul, France.

Roman-Era settlement unearthed in Alès

A recent excavation led by Inrap has uncovered a remarkably well-preserved Roman-era settlement on the slopes of the Hermitage hill overlooking Alès, southern France.

Excavations in Olympos reveal ancient mosaics and sacred inscriptions

Excavations in Olympos, Antalya province, have uncovered mosaic floors and inscriptions within a 5th-century church, part of a year-round project backed by Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Mammoth bones uncovered during road construction works

The Construction of the S17 Piaski–Hrebenne highway near the Arabunie village in Zamość County has revealed the remains of what is believed to be either a woolly mammoth or a forest elephant.

Hidden Medieval tower unearthed in Lublin reveals forgotten chapter of city’s past

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a previously undocumented medieval tower within the grounds of the former Pobernardine monastery complex, near the Church of the Conversion of Saint Paul on Bernardyńska Street.

Sinkhole reveals lost remains of medieval hospital

A sinkhole that formed outside the York Theatre Royal has led to the discovery of what could be one of England’s largest medieval hospitals.

Chalcolithic cultural treasures unearthed in Caucasus

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have uncovered 13 Chalcolithic-era sites, each yielding a wealth of cultural artefacts and material evidence.