I am interested in the Middle Palaeolithic of the mid-latitude arid belt, with particular reference to North Africa, the Sahel and the Arabian Peninsula. My research focuses on the Palaeolithic demography of this biogeographic zone and its articulation with dispersals, cultural diversification and evolution. My involvement in this research extends to being one of the conference organisers of the 'Middle Palaeolithic in the Desert' series.
I am also interested in Middle Palaeolithic technology and its analysis. I am involved in new methods of analysis through the development of statistical applications for attribute analyses, bridging theory and perspectives developed from technological analysis through refits and geometric morphometrics. In addition to this, I use these data in conjunction with other variables (e.g. environmental) to model parameters of demographic change and its effects on evolution.
I am also the principal investigator of the British Academy funded Senegal Prehistory Project which is a field project investigating the Palaeolithic past of West Africa.
For more information, please visti my website www.eleanorscerri.com
The past half century has seen a move from a multiregionalist view of human origins to widespread... more The past half century has seen a move from a multiregionalist view of human origins to widespread acceptance that modern humans emerged in Africa. Here the authors argue that a simple out-of-Africa model is also outdated, and that the current state of the evidence favours a structured African metapopulation model of human origins. F or decades, polarized debates about human origins have swung between two major models. Classic multiregionalism viewed the majority of our ancestry as being spread across the Old World over the past one to two million years, and emphasized regional continuity. The recent and simple out-of-Africa (SOA) model proposed an expansion out of Africa in the past 100,000 yr from a single region in Africa. Testing these models has undoubtedly improved our understanding of recent human origins, but with ever-richer archaeological, anthropological, genetic and palaeoecological data available, are they still useful? We argue that these formulations now constrain progress in human evolutionary studies and call for a shift to structured metapopulation models.
North Africa features some of the earliest manifestations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossi... more North Africa features some of the earliest manifestations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, as well as early examples of complex culture and the long distance transfer of exotic raw materials. As they are elsewhere, lithics (i.e., stone tools) present by far the most abundant source of information on this cultural period. Given the importance of North Africa in human origins, understanding the character and distribution of MSA lithics is therefore crucial, as they shed light on early human behaviour and culture. However, the lithics of the North African MSA are poorly understood, and their technological variability is frequently obfuscated by regionally specific nomenclatures, often repeated without criticism, and diverse methods of analysis that are often incompatible. Characterising dynamic technological innovations as well as apparent technological stasis remains challenging, and many narratives have not been tested quantitatively. This significantly problematizes hypotheses of human evolution and dispersals invoking these data that extend beyond North Africa. This paper therefore presents a description of the lithics of the North African MSA, including their technological characteristics, chronology, spatial distribution and associated research traditions. A range of interpretations concerning early H. sapiens demography in North Africa are then re-evaluated in the light of this review, and the role and power of lithic data to contribute to such debates is critically assessed.
The Acheulean is the longest lasting cultural–technological tradition in human evolutionary histo... more The Acheulean is the longest lasting cultural–technological tradition in human evolutionary history. However, considerable gaps remain in understanding the chronology and geographical distribution of Acheulean hominins. We present the first chronometrically dated Acheulean site from the Arabian Peninsula, a vast and poorly known region that forms more than half of Southwest Asia. Results show that Acheulean hominin occupation expanded along hydrological networks into the heart of Arabia from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 until at least ~190 ka ̶ the youngest documented Acheulean in Southwest Asia. The site of Saffaqah features Acheulean technology, characterized by large flakes, handaxes and cleavers, similar to Acheulean assemblages in Africa. These findings reveal a climatically mediated later Acheulean expansion into a poorly known region, amplifying the documented diversity of Middle Pleistocene hominin behaviour across the Old World and elaborating the terminal archaic landscape encountered by our species as they dispersed out of Africa.
We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or r... more We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or region of Africa. The chronology and physical diversity of Pleistocene human fossils suggest that morphologically varied populations pertaining to the H. sapiens clade lived throughout Africa. Similarly, the African archaeological record demonstrates the polycentric origin and persistence of regionally distinct Pleistocene material culture in a variety of paleoecological settings. Genetic studies also indicate that present-day population structure within Africa extends to deep times, paralleling a paleoenvironmental record of shifting and fractured habitable zones. We argue that these fields support an emerging view of a highly structured African prehistory that should be considered in human evolutionary inferences, prompting new interpretations, questions , and interdisciplinary research directions.
The Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh have been interpreted as indicating an early, short and u... more The Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh have been interpreted as indicating an early, short and unsuccessful expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa. Chronometric age estimates, however, indicate a history of prolonged occupation, and suggest that Skhul (~130e100 thousand years ago [ka]) may have been occupied earlier than Qafzeh (beginning ~110e90 ka). Morphologically, the Skhul individuals can be described as somewhat more primitive in comparison to the Qafzeh fossils. Though the lithic assemblages of sites such as Skhul and Qafzeh are often described as being technologically similar, as part of the 'Tabun C' phase/industry, limited detailed information on the Skhul lithic assemblage has been published, and little comparative work has been conducted. Here, we present an analysis of the Skhul stone tool assemblage to describe its characteristics, to evaluate the lithic results against the fossil and chronological data, and for inter-site regional comparison. Our findings indicate that the Skhul lithic assemblage differs from other Levantine Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 sites, such as Qafzeh. For example, there was more of an emphasis on diverse methods of point production at Skhul, and the available samples indicate a greater emphasis on preferential rather than recurrent Levallois reduction at Skhul. The current findings suggest that neither the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic in general, nor MIS 5 assemblages in particular, were technologically homogeneous. These data are consistent with either a long occupation of the Levant by Homo sapiens in MIS 5, or at least two phases of occupation (early MIS 5 and mid to late MIS). Whatever the fate of the Skhul and Qafzeh population(s), their occupation of the Levant was neither short nor culturally uniform. Our findings add to the growing pool of evidence that the dispersal of our species 'Out of Africa' was more complex than hitherto thought. Further work on MIS 5e contexts in the Levant and elsewhere in Southwest Asia should be a research priority.
In the early 21st century, understanding West Africa’s Stone Age past has increasingly transcende... more In the early 21st century, understanding West Africa’s Stone Age past has increasingly transcended its colonial legacy to become central to research on human origins. Part of this process has included shedding the methodologies and nomenclatures of narrative approaches to focus on more quantified, scientific descriptions of artifact variability and context. Together with a growing number of chronometric age estimates and environmental information, understanding the West African Stone Age is contributing evolutionary and demographic insights relevant to the entire continent. Undated Acheulean artifacts are abundant across the region, attesting to the presence of archaic Homo. The emerging chronometric record of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) indicates that core and flake technologies have been present in West Africa since at least the Middle Pleistocene (~780–126 thousand years ago or ka) and that they persisted until the Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (~12ka)—the youngest examples of such technology anywhere in Africa. Although the presence of MSA populations in forests remains an open question, technological differences may correlate with various ecological zones. Later Stone Age (LSA) populations evidence significant technological diversification, including both microlithic and macrolithic traditions. The limited biological evidence also demonstrates that at least some of these populations manifested a unique mixture of modern and archaic morphological features, drawing West Africa into debates about possible admixture events between late-surviving archaic populations and Homo sapiens. As in other regions of Africa, it is possible that population movements throughout the Stone Age were influenced by ecological bridges and barriers. West Africa evidences a number of refugia and ecological bottlenecks that may have played such a role in human prehistory in the region. By the end of the Stone Age, West African groups became increasingly sedentary, engaging in the construction of durable monuments and intensifying wild food exploitation.
Abstract
The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features w... more Abstract The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features what may be the oldest fossils of our species as well as extremely early examples of technological region- alization and ‘symbolic’ material culture (d’Errico et al., 2009; Scerri, 2013a; Richter et al., 2017). The geographic situation of North Africa and an increased understanding of the wet-dry climatic pulses of the Sahara Desert also show that North Africa played a strategic role in continental-scale evolutionary processes by modulating human dispersal and demographic structure (Drake et al., 2011; Blome et al., 2012). However, current understanding of the NAMSA remains patchy and subject to a bewildering array of industrial nomenclatures that mask underlying variability. These issues are compounded by a geographic research bias skewed toward non-desert regions. As a result, it has been difficult to test long-established narratives of behavioral and evolutionary change in North Africa and to resolve debates on their wider significance. In order to evaluate existing data and identify future research directions, this paper provides a critical overview of the component elements of the NAMSA and shows that the timing of many key behaviors has close parallels with others in sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia.
Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflec... more Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflecting human responses to past climate changes. Currently arid, but episodically wetter in the past, the Nefud desert of northern Saudi Arabia provides numerous examples of human-environment interactions and population movements in the desert belt. Here we describe results from interdisciplinary surveys in the western Nefud that targeted palaeolake deposits identified using satellite imagery. Surveys indicate the presence of thousands of discrete palaeolakes and palaeowetlands, providing valuable palaeoenvironmental records, and numerous archaeological and palaeontological assemblages. Geomorphological investigations suggest that many further deposits remain buried. Forty-six prehistoric archaeological sites have been identified in association with freshwater deposits, spanning the Lower Palaeolithic to the pre-Islamic Holocene. Lower Palaeolithic sites appear concentrated close to raw material sources near the Nefud fringe, despite the presence of freshwater and fauna deeper in the dune field. Middle Palaeolithic occupations extend more broadly, and by the early Holocene humans were at least periodically occupying areas deep in the desert. We present the first records of Neolithic sites in this dune field, including substantial hearth complexes distributed relatively deep within the dunes, potentially indicating increased mobility during this period. Later Holocene sites with stone structures are present around the dune fringes. Our results indicate that, during wet periods of the Pleistocene and Holocene, water in the western Nefud may have been more readily available than elsewhere in northern Arabia due to the high density of depressions where wetlands can form. The high frequency of lakes or marshes appears to have facilitated human occupations and dispersal through the region.
Déterminer l’organisation génétique et culturelle des premières populations d’Homo sapiens en Afr... more Déterminer l’organisation génétique et culturelle des premières populations d’Homo sapiens en Afrique est une question centrale en paléoanthropologie, afin d’expliquer les origines de la diversification culturelle et la colonisation globale (de la planète) des humains modernes. Dénouer l’histoire des populations du Middle Stone Age de l’Afrique du Nord (MSA , ~260-30 ka) est un pas fondamental pour comprendre le processus de la dispersion des humains. L’émergence en l’MSA de cette région des diversifications technologiques régionales, de la culture matérielle symbolique, et des réseaux sociaux, spécialement, a suggéré en Afrique du Nord une longue histoire d’échanges entre populations et de dispersions. Toutefois, ces données ont été souvent étudiées en un isolement relatif, et les comparaisons à l’échelle des macro-régions sont restées rares, ayant comme conséquence la difficulté d’évaluer globalement les processus évolutifs que caractérisent l’MSA d’Afrique du Nord et également ses relations avec les dispersions humaines. Cet article résume les récentes contributions sur l’MSA d’Afrique du Nord et considère leur importance pour la compréhension du contexte démographique des dispersions humaines en Afrique et à partir de l’Afrique.
Several hundred Middle Palaeolithic (MP) archaeological sites have now been identified in the Ara... more Several hundred Middle Palaeolithic (MP) archaeological sites have now been identified in the Arabian Peninsula. However, the study of lithic raw material properties and related procurement behaviours is still in its infancy. Here we describe raw material procurement and early stage lithic reduction at MP sites in the Jubbah palaeolake basin, in the Nefud Desert, northern Saudi Arabia. We describe the sites identified during our surveys, and we use petrographic studies to demonstrate that MP assemblages were mostly produced from differing forms of ferru-ginous quartzite. These raw materials do not substantially vary in composition, although they are not identical in terms of factors such as grain size and the proportion of iron oxide. We then describe the lithic technology at these sites, with a particular focus on the largest assemblage identified, Jebel Katefeh-12 (JKF-12), which provides detailed information on lithic reduction at a quartzite source. Analyses from this site are then considered together with data from other MP sites in the Jubbah basin, where similar raw material was used. The results indicate that factors such as initial clast size/shape and reduction intensity play important roles in influencing aspects of morphological and technological variability. Our results suggest that incursions of MP populations into northern Arabia were probably temporally limited, as might be expected in a marginal and generally arid region. MP raw material procurement sites provide a highly visible signal of these ephemeral incursions, providing information on the ways that human populations adapted to the challenging conditions of the Saharo-Arabian arid belt.
The evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens and associated behavioural changes are increasingly seen... more The evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens and associated behavioural changes are increasingly seen as complex processes, involving multiple regions of Africa. In West Africa, Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene aged human fossils, demonstrating the late continuity of archaic morphological features in the region have been linked to models of surprisingly recent admixture processes between late archaic hominins and H. sapiens. However, the limited chronological resolution of the archaeological record has prevented evaluation of how these biological records relate to patterns of behaviour. Here, we provide a preliminary report of the first excavated and dated Stone Age site in northern Senegal which features the youngest Middle Stone Age (MSA) technology yet documented in Africa. Ndiayène Pendao features classic MSA core axes, basally thinned flakes, Levallois points and denticu-lates mostly made from chert. Similar technological features characterise several, larger surface sites in the vicinity. From this, it is postulated that populations using 'anachronistic' technologies in the Lower Senegal Valley around the transition to the Holocene may have been widespread, in sharp contrast to other areas of Senegal and West Africa. The chronology and technology of Ndiayène Pendao provides the first cultural evidence to support a complex evolutionary history in West Africa. This is consistent with a persistently high degree of Pleisto-cene population substructure in Africa and the spatially and temporally complex character of behavioural and biological evolution.
The current paucity of Pleistocene vertebrate records from the Arabian Peninsula e a landmass of ... more The current paucity of Pleistocene vertebrate records from the Arabian Peninsula e a landmass of over 3 million km 2 e is a significant gap in our knowledge of the Quaternary. Such data are critical lines of contextual evidence for considering animal and hominin dispersals between Africa and Eurasia generally, and hominin palaeoecology in the Pleistocene landscapes of the Arabian interior specifically. Here, we describe an important contribution to the record and report stratigraphically-constrained fossils of mammals, birds and reptiles from recent excavations at Ti's al Ghadah in the southwestern Nefud Desert. Combined U-series and ESR analyses of Oryx sp. teeth indicate that the assemblage is Middle Pleistocene in age and dates to ca. 500 ka. The identified fauna is a biogeographical admixture that consists of likely endemics and taxa of African and Eurasian affinity and includes extinct and extant (or related Pleistocene forms of) mammals (. alba) and reptiles (Varanidae/Uromastyx sp.). We infer that the assemblage reflects mortality in populations of herbivorous animals and their predators and scavengers that were attracted to freshwater and plant resources in the inter-dune basin. At present, there is no evidence to suggest hominin agency in the accumulation of the bone assemblages. The inferred ecological characteristics of the taxa recovered indicate the presence, at least periodically, of substantial water-bodies and open grassland habitats.
The importance of Africa in human origins is widely recognised, yet knowledge remains strongly bi... more The importance of Africa in human origins is widely recognised, yet knowledge remains strongly biased towards certain regions of the continent at the expense of others. West Africa in particular is a vast area with extremely limited archaeological, environmental and fossil records. In this paper, we contribute towards redressing this imbalance though a summary of the state of knowledge of the West African Middle Stone Age (MSA), and the presentation of preliminary analyses of ten newly discovered MSA archaeological sites situated along the Senegal River. Archaeological, fossil and genetic data relevant to the West African MSA, a period currently thought to span from at least ~150 thousand years ago (ka) until the Terminal Pleistocene, are first discussed. Technological analyses of newly discovered MSA assemblages in Senegal are then presented and contextualised with the ecology and environmental evolution of West Africa. Our preliminary findings suggest an overall high level of technological diversity along the Senegal River, but identify common technological features between assemblages in northern Senegal. These include an emphasis on centripetal methods of Levallois reduction (both preferential and recurrent). The discovery of tools in northern Senegal with basal modifications consistent with tanging may also suggest some form of connection with North African assemblages and is commensurate with the role of Senegal as a transitional zone between sub-Saharan and Saharan Africa. Although preliminary, the emerging results demonstrate the potential of the region to contribute to debates on intra-African dispersals, including population persistence and turnovers.
Current fossil, genetic, and archeological data indicate that Homo sapiens originated in Africa i... more Current fossil, genetic, and archeological data indicate that Homo sapiens originated in Africa in the late Middle Pleistocene. By the end of the Late Pleistocene, our species was distributed across every continent except Antarctica, setting the foundations for the subsequent demographic and cultural changes of the Holocene. The intervening processes remain intensely debated and a key theme in hominin evolutionary studies. We review archeological, fossil, environmental, and genetic data to evaluate the current state of knowledge on the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa. The emerging picture of the dispersal process suggests dynamic behavioral variability, complex interactions between populations, and an intricate genetic and cultural legacy. This evolutionary and historical complexity challenges simple narratives and suggests that hybrid models and the testing of explicit hypotheses are required to understand the expansion of Homo sapiens into Eurasia.
Understanding the structure and variation of Homo sapiens populations in Africa is critical for i... more Understanding the structure and variation of Homo sapiens populations in Africa is critical for interpreting multiproxy evidence of their subsequent dispersals into Eurasia. However, there is no consensus on early Homo sapiens demographic structure, or its effects on intra-African dispersals. Here, we show how a patchwork of ecological corridors and bottlenecks triggered a successive budding of populations across the Sahara. Using a temporally and spatially explicit palaeoenvironmental model, we found that the Sahara was not uniformly ameliorated between ~130-75 thousand years ago (ka), as has been stated. Model integration with multivariate analyses of corresponding stone tools then revealed several spatially defined technological clusters which correlated with distinct palaeobiomes. Similarities between technological clusters were such that they decreased with distance except where connected by palaeohydrological networks. These results indicate that populations at the Eurasian gateway were strongly structured, which has implications for refining the demographic parameters of dispersals out of Africa.
Quantitative, attribute based analyses of stone tools (lithics) have been frequently used to faci... more Quantitative, attribute based analyses of stone tools (lithics) have been frequently used to facilitate large-scale comparative studies, attempt to mitigate problems of assemblage completeness and address interpretations of the co-occurrence of unrelated technological processes. However, a major barrier to the widespread acceptance of such methods has been the lack of quantified experiments that can be externally validated by theoretically distinct approaches in order to guide analysis and confidence in results. Given that quantitative, attribute-based studies now underpin several major interpretations of the archaeological record, the requirement to test the accuracy of such methods has become critical. In this paper, we test the utility of 31 commonly used flake attribute measurements for identifying discrete reduction trajectories through three refitted lithic sets from the Middle Palaeolithic open-air site of Le Pucheuil, in northern France. The experiment had three aims, 1) to determine which, if any, attribute measurements could be used to separate individual refitted sets, and 2) to determine whether variability inherent in the assemblage was primarily driven by different reduction trajectories, as represented by the refitted sets, or other factors, and 3) to determine which multivariate tests were most suitable for these analyses. In order to test the sensitivity of the sample, we ran all analyses twice, the first time with all the available lithics pertaining to each refitted set and the second time with randomly generated 75% sub-samples of each set. All results revealed the consistent accuracy of sixteen attribute measurements in Quadratic and Linear Discriminant Analyses, Principal Components Analyses and Dissimilarity Matrices. These results therefore provide the first quantified attribute formula for comparative lithic analyses of Levallois reduction methods and a basis from which further experiments testing core and retouch attributes may be conducted.
The Empty Quarter (or Rub' al Khali) of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest continuous sandy des... more The Empty Quarter (or Rub' al Khali) of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest continuous sandy desert in the world. It has been known for several decades that Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, representing phases of wetter climate, are preserved there. These sequences have yielded palaeontological evidence in the form of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and have been dated using various radiometric techniques. However, evidence for human presence during these wetter phases has until now been ephemeral. Here, we report on the first stratified and dated archaeology from the Empty Quarter, recovered from the site of Mundafan Al-Buhayrah (MDF-61). Human occupation at the site, represented by stone tools, has been dated to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 using multiple luminescence dating techniques (multigrain and single grain OSL, TT-OSL). The sequence consists primarily of lacustrine and palustrine sediments, from which evidence for changing local environmental conditions has been obtained through analysis of fossil assemblages (phytoliths and nonmarine molluscs and ostracods). The discovery of securely-dated archaeological material at ~100 to 80 ka in the Empty Quarter has important implications for hypotheses concerning the timing and routes of dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, which have been much debated. Consequently, the data presented here fill a crucial gap in palaeoenvironmental and archaeological understanding of the southern Arabian interior. Fossils of H. sapiens in the Levant, also dated to MIS 5, together with Middle Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Arabia and India are thought to represent the earliest dispersal of our species out of Africa. We suggest that the widespread occurrence of similar lithic technologies across southern Asia, coupled with a growing body of evidence for environmental amelioration across the Saharo-Arabian belt, indicates that occupation of the Levant by H. sapiens during MIS 5 may not have been a brief, localized ‘failed dispersal’, but part of a wider demographic expansion.
The dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa has been extensively researched across several discip... more The dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa has been extensively researched across several disciplines. Here we review the evidence for spatial and temporal variability in lithic (stone tool) technologies relative to the predictions of two major hypotheses: 1) that a single successful dispersal occurred 60–50 thousand years ago (ka), marked by a trail of geometric/microlithic technologies, and 2) that multiple dispersals occurred, beginning much earlier (probably in Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5), associated with Middle Palaeolithic technology in its early phase. Our results show that Late Pleistocene geometric/microlithic technologies exhibit significant temporal and regional differences between each other. These differences suggest independent, convergent origins for these technologies, which are likely to have been repeatedly re-invented. In contrast, we identify similarities between East African lithic technologies from MIS 8 onwards and Middle Palaeolithic assemblages as far east as India by MIS 5. That this constellation of technological features – particularly an emphasis on centripetal Levallois reduction reflecting interchangeable preferential and recurrent methods, along with particular retouched forms such as points – transcends ecologies and raw material types suggests that it is unlikely to entirely reflect technological convergence (analogy). Our results indicate an early onset of multiple dispersals out of Africa. The hypothesis of an early onset to successful dispersal is entirely consistent with the possibility of further subsequent (post-MIS 5) dispersals out of Africa. Testing such hypotheses through quantified comparative lithic studies and interdisciplinary research is therefore likely to significantly advance understanding of the earliest H. sapiens dispersals.
Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt rep... more Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during MideLate Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresh- olding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palae- olake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological re- constructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields.
The past half century has seen a move from a multiregionalist view of human origins to widespread... more The past half century has seen a move from a multiregionalist view of human origins to widespread acceptance that modern humans emerged in Africa. Here the authors argue that a simple out-of-Africa model is also outdated, and that the current state of the evidence favours a structured African metapopulation model of human origins. F or decades, polarized debates about human origins have swung between two major models. Classic multiregionalism viewed the majority of our ancestry as being spread across the Old World over the past one to two million years, and emphasized regional continuity. The recent and simple out-of-Africa (SOA) model proposed an expansion out of Africa in the past 100,000 yr from a single region in Africa. Testing these models has undoubtedly improved our understanding of recent human origins, but with ever-richer archaeological, anthropological, genetic and palaeoecological data available, are they still useful? We argue that these formulations now constrain progress in human evolutionary studies and call for a shift to structured metapopulation models.
North Africa features some of the earliest manifestations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossi... more North Africa features some of the earliest manifestations of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, as well as early examples of complex culture and the long distance transfer of exotic raw materials. As they are elsewhere, lithics (i.e., stone tools) present by far the most abundant source of information on this cultural period. Given the importance of North Africa in human origins, understanding the character and distribution of MSA lithics is therefore crucial, as they shed light on early human behaviour and culture. However, the lithics of the North African MSA are poorly understood, and their technological variability is frequently obfuscated by regionally specific nomenclatures, often repeated without criticism, and diverse methods of analysis that are often incompatible. Characterising dynamic technological innovations as well as apparent technological stasis remains challenging, and many narratives have not been tested quantitatively. This significantly problematizes hypotheses of human evolution and dispersals invoking these data that extend beyond North Africa. This paper therefore presents a description of the lithics of the North African MSA, including their technological characteristics, chronology, spatial distribution and associated research traditions. A range of interpretations concerning early H. sapiens demography in North Africa are then re-evaluated in the light of this review, and the role and power of lithic data to contribute to such debates is critically assessed.
The Acheulean is the longest lasting cultural–technological tradition in human evolutionary histo... more The Acheulean is the longest lasting cultural–technological tradition in human evolutionary history. However, considerable gaps remain in understanding the chronology and geographical distribution of Acheulean hominins. We present the first chronometrically dated Acheulean site from the Arabian Peninsula, a vast and poorly known region that forms more than half of Southwest Asia. Results show that Acheulean hominin occupation expanded along hydrological networks into the heart of Arabia from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 until at least ~190 ka ̶ the youngest documented Acheulean in Southwest Asia. The site of Saffaqah features Acheulean technology, characterized by large flakes, handaxes and cleavers, similar to Acheulean assemblages in Africa. These findings reveal a climatically mediated later Acheulean expansion into a poorly known region, amplifying the documented diversity of Middle Pleistocene hominin behaviour across the Old World and elaborating the terminal archaic landscape encountered by our species as they dispersed out of Africa.
We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or r... more We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or region of Africa. The chronology and physical diversity of Pleistocene human fossils suggest that morphologically varied populations pertaining to the H. sapiens clade lived throughout Africa. Similarly, the African archaeological record demonstrates the polycentric origin and persistence of regionally distinct Pleistocene material culture in a variety of paleoecological settings. Genetic studies also indicate that present-day population structure within Africa extends to deep times, paralleling a paleoenvironmental record of shifting and fractured habitable zones. We argue that these fields support an emerging view of a highly structured African prehistory that should be considered in human evolutionary inferences, prompting new interpretations, questions , and interdisciplinary research directions.
The Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh have been interpreted as indicating an early, short and u... more The Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh have been interpreted as indicating an early, short and unsuccessful expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa. Chronometric age estimates, however, indicate a history of prolonged occupation, and suggest that Skhul (~130e100 thousand years ago [ka]) may have been occupied earlier than Qafzeh (beginning ~110e90 ka). Morphologically, the Skhul individuals can be described as somewhat more primitive in comparison to the Qafzeh fossils. Though the lithic assemblages of sites such as Skhul and Qafzeh are often described as being technologically similar, as part of the 'Tabun C' phase/industry, limited detailed information on the Skhul lithic assemblage has been published, and little comparative work has been conducted. Here, we present an analysis of the Skhul stone tool assemblage to describe its characteristics, to evaluate the lithic results against the fossil and chronological data, and for inter-site regional comparison. Our findings indicate that the Skhul lithic assemblage differs from other Levantine Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 sites, such as Qafzeh. For example, there was more of an emphasis on diverse methods of point production at Skhul, and the available samples indicate a greater emphasis on preferential rather than recurrent Levallois reduction at Skhul. The current findings suggest that neither the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic in general, nor MIS 5 assemblages in particular, were technologically homogeneous. These data are consistent with either a long occupation of the Levant by Homo sapiens in MIS 5, or at least two phases of occupation (early MIS 5 and mid to late MIS). Whatever the fate of the Skhul and Qafzeh population(s), their occupation of the Levant was neither short nor culturally uniform. Our findings add to the growing pool of evidence that the dispersal of our species 'Out of Africa' was more complex than hitherto thought. Further work on MIS 5e contexts in the Levant and elsewhere in Southwest Asia should be a research priority.
In the early 21st century, understanding West Africa’s Stone Age past has increasingly transcende... more In the early 21st century, understanding West Africa’s Stone Age past has increasingly transcended its colonial legacy to become central to research on human origins. Part of this process has included shedding the methodologies and nomenclatures of narrative approaches to focus on more quantified, scientific descriptions of artifact variability and context. Together with a growing number of chronometric age estimates and environmental information, understanding the West African Stone Age is contributing evolutionary and demographic insights relevant to the entire continent. Undated Acheulean artifacts are abundant across the region, attesting to the presence of archaic Homo. The emerging chronometric record of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) indicates that core and flake technologies have been present in West Africa since at least the Middle Pleistocene (~780–126 thousand years ago or ka) and that they persisted until the Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (~12ka)—the youngest examples of such technology anywhere in Africa. Although the presence of MSA populations in forests remains an open question, technological differences may correlate with various ecological zones. Later Stone Age (LSA) populations evidence significant technological diversification, including both microlithic and macrolithic traditions. The limited biological evidence also demonstrates that at least some of these populations manifested a unique mixture of modern and archaic morphological features, drawing West Africa into debates about possible admixture events between late-surviving archaic populations and Homo sapiens. As in other regions of Africa, it is possible that population movements throughout the Stone Age were influenced by ecological bridges and barriers. West Africa evidences a number of refugia and ecological bottlenecks that may have played such a role in human prehistory in the region. By the end of the Stone Age, West African groups became increasingly sedentary, engaging in the construction of durable monuments and intensifying wild food exploitation.
Abstract
The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features w... more Abstract The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features what may be the oldest fossils of our species as well as extremely early examples of technological region- alization and ‘symbolic’ material culture (d’Errico et al., 2009; Scerri, 2013a; Richter et al., 2017). The geographic situation of North Africa and an increased understanding of the wet-dry climatic pulses of the Sahara Desert also show that North Africa played a strategic role in continental-scale evolutionary processes by modulating human dispersal and demographic structure (Drake et al., 2011; Blome et al., 2012). However, current understanding of the NAMSA remains patchy and subject to a bewildering array of industrial nomenclatures that mask underlying variability. These issues are compounded by a geographic research bias skewed toward non-desert regions. As a result, it has been difficult to test long-established narratives of behavioral and evolutionary change in North Africa and to resolve debates on their wider significance. In order to evaluate existing data and identify future research directions, this paper provides a critical overview of the component elements of the NAMSA and shows that the timing of many key behaviors has close parallels with others in sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia.
Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflec... more Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflecting human responses to past climate changes. Currently arid, but episodically wetter in the past, the Nefud desert of northern Saudi Arabia provides numerous examples of human-environment interactions and population movements in the desert belt. Here we describe results from interdisciplinary surveys in the western Nefud that targeted palaeolake deposits identified using satellite imagery. Surveys indicate the presence of thousands of discrete palaeolakes and palaeowetlands, providing valuable palaeoenvironmental records, and numerous archaeological and palaeontological assemblages. Geomorphological investigations suggest that many further deposits remain buried. Forty-six prehistoric archaeological sites have been identified in association with freshwater deposits, spanning the Lower Palaeolithic to the pre-Islamic Holocene. Lower Palaeolithic sites appear concentrated close to raw material sources near the Nefud fringe, despite the presence of freshwater and fauna deeper in the dune field. Middle Palaeolithic occupations extend more broadly, and by the early Holocene humans were at least periodically occupying areas deep in the desert. We present the first records of Neolithic sites in this dune field, including substantial hearth complexes distributed relatively deep within the dunes, potentially indicating increased mobility during this period. Later Holocene sites with stone structures are present around the dune fringes. Our results indicate that, during wet periods of the Pleistocene and Holocene, water in the western Nefud may have been more readily available than elsewhere in northern Arabia due to the high density of depressions where wetlands can form. The high frequency of lakes or marshes appears to have facilitated human occupations and dispersal through the region.
Déterminer l’organisation génétique et culturelle des premières populations d’Homo sapiens en Afr... more Déterminer l’organisation génétique et culturelle des premières populations d’Homo sapiens en Afrique est une question centrale en paléoanthropologie, afin d’expliquer les origines de la diversification culturelle et la colonisation globale (de la planète) des humains modernes. Dénouer l’histoire des populations du Middle Stone Age de l’Afrique du Nord (MSA , ~260-30 ka) est un pas fondamental pour comprendre le processus de la dispersion des humains. L’émergence en l’MSA de cette région des diversifications technologiques régionales, de la culture matérielle symbolique, et des réseaux sociaux, spécialement, a suggéré en Afrique du Nord une longue histoire d’échanges entre populations et de dispersions. Toutefois, ces données ont été souvent étudiées en un isolement relatif, et les comparaisons à l’échelle des macro-régions sont restées rares, ayant comme conséquence la difficulté d’évaluer globalement les processus évolutifs que caractérisent l’MSA d’Afrique du Nord et également ses relations avec les dispersions humaines. Cet article résume les récentes contributions sur l’MSA d’Afrique du Nord et considère leur importance pour la compréhension du contexte démographique des dispersions humaines en Afrique et à partir de l’Afrique.
Several hundred Middle Palaeolithic (MP) archaeological sites have now been identified in the Ara... more Several hundred Middle Palaeolithic (MP) archaeological sites have now been identified in the Arabian Peninsula. However, the study of lithic raw material properties and related procurement behaviours is still in its infancy. Here we describe raw material procurement and early stage lithic reduction at MP sites in the Jubbah palaeolake basin, in the Nefud Desert, northern Saudi Arabia. We describe the sites identified during our surveys, and we use petrographic studies to demonstrate that MP assemblages were mostly produced from differing forms of ferru-ginous quartzite. These raw materials do not substantially vary in composition, although they are not identical in terms of factors such as grain size and the proportion of iron oxide. We then describe the lithic technology at these sites, with a particular focus on the largest assemblage identified, Jebel Katefeh-12 (JKF-12), which provides detailed information on lithic reduction at a quartzite source. Analyses from this site are then considered together with data from other MP sites in the Jubbah basin, where similar raw material was used. The results indicate that factors such as initial clast size/shape and reduction intensity play important roles in influencing aspects of morphological and technological variability. Our results suggest that incursions of MP populations into northern Arabia were probably temporally limited, as might be expected in a marginal and generally arid region. MP raw material procurement sites provide a highly visible signal of these ephemeral incursions, providing information on the ways that human populations adapted to the challenging conditions of the Saharo-Arabian arid belt.
The evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens and associated behavioural changes are increasingly seen... more The evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens and associated behavioural changes are increasingly seen as complex processes, involving multiple regions of Africa. In West Africa, Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene aged human fossils, demonstrating the late continuity of archaic morphological features in the region have been linked to models of surprisingly recent admixture processes between late archaic hominins and H. sapiens. However, the limited chronological resolution of the archaeological record has prevented evaluation of how these biological records relate to patterns of behaviour. Here, we provide a preliminary report of the first excavated and dated Stone Age site in northern Senegal which features the youngest Middle Stone Age (MSA) technology yet documented in Africa. Ndiayène Pendao features classic MSA core axes, basally thinned flakes, Levallois points and denticu-lates mostly made from chert. Similar technological features characterise several, larger surface sites in the vicinity. From this, it is postulated that populations using 'anachronistic' technologies in the Lower Senegal Valley around the transition to the Holocene may have been widespread, in sharp contrast to other areas of Senegal and West Africa. The chronology and technology of Ndiayène Pendao provides the first cultural evidence to support a complex evolutionary history in West Africa. This is consistent with a persistently high degree of Pleisto-cene population substructure in Africa and the spatially and temporally complex character of behavioural and biological evolution.
The current paucity of Pleistocene vertebrate records from the Arabian Peninsula e a landmass of ... more The current paucity of Pleistocene vertebrate records from the Arabian Peninsula e a landmass of over 3 million km 2 e is a significant gap in our knowledge of the Quaternary. Such data are critical lines of contextual evidence for considering animal and hominin dispersals between Africa and Eurasia generally, and hominin palaeoecology in the Pleistocene landscapes of the Arabian interior specifically. Here, we describe an important contribution to the record and report stratigraphically-constrained fossils of mammals, birds and reptiles from recent excavations at Ti's al Ghadah in the southwestern Nefud Desert. Combined U-series and ESR analyses of Oryx sp. teeth indicate that the assemblage is Middle Pleistocene in age and dates to ca. 500 ka. The identified fauna is a biogeographical admixture that consists of likely endemics and taxa of African and Eurasian affinity and includes extinct and extant (or related Pleistocene forms of) mammals (. alba) and reptiles (Varanidae/Uromastyx sp.). We infer that the assemblage reflects mortality in populations of herbivorous animals and their predators and scavengers that were attracted to freshwater and plant resources in the inter-dune basin. At present, there is no evidence to suggest hominin agency in the accumulation of the bone assemblages. The inferred ecological characteristics of the taxa recovered indicate the presence, at least periodically, of substantial water-bodies and open grassland habitats.
The importance of Africa in human origins is widely recognised, yet knowledge remains strongly bi... more The importance of Africa in human origins is widely recognised, yet knowledge remains strongly biased towards certain regions of the continent at the expense of others. West Africa in particular is a vast area with extremely limited archaeological, environmental and fossil records. In this paper, we contribute towards redressing this imbalance though a summary of the state of knowledge of the West African Middle Stone Age (MSA), and the presentation of preliminary analyses of ten newly discovered MSA archaeological sites situated along the Senegal River. Archaeological, fossil and genetic data relevant to the West African MSA, a period currently thought to span from at least ~150 thousand years ago (ka) until the Terminal Pleistocene, are first discussed. Technological analyses of newly discovered MSA assemblages in Senegal are then presented and contextualised with the ecology and environmental evolution of West Africa. Our preliminary findings suggest an overall high level of technological diversity along the Senegal River, but identify common technological features between assemblages in northern Senegal. These include an emphasis on centripetal methods of Levallois reduction (both preferential and recurrent). The discovery of tools in northern Senegal with basal modifications consistent with tanging may also suggest some form of connection with North African assemblages and is commensurate with the role of Senegal as a transitional zone between sub-Saharan and Saharan Africa. Although preliminary, the emerging results demonstrate the potential of the region to contribute to debates on intra-African dispersals, including population persistence and turnovers.
Current fossil, genetic, and archeological data indicate that Homo sapiens originated in Africa i... more Current fossil, genetic, and archeological data indicate that Homo sapiens originated in Africa in the late Middle Pleistocene. By the end of the Late Pleistocene, our species was distributed across every continent except Antarctica, setting the foundations for the subsequent demographic and cultural changes of the Holocene. The intervening processes remain intensely debated and a key theme in hominin evolutionary studies. We review archeological, fossil, environmental, and genetic data to evaluate the current state of knowledge on the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa. The emerging picture of the dispersal process suggests dynamic behavioral variability, complex interactions between populations, and an intricate genetic and cultural legacy. This evolutionary and historical complexity challenges simple narratives and suggests that hybrid models and the testing of explicit hypotheses are required to understand the expansion of Homo sapiens into Eurasia.
Understanding the structure and variation of Homo sapiens populations in Africa is critical for i... more Understanding the structure and variation of Homo sapiens populations in Africa is critical for interpreting multiproxy evidence of their subsequent dispersals into Eurasia. However, there is no consensus on early Homo sapiens demographic structure, or its effects on intra-African dispersals. Here, we show how a patchwork of ecological corridors and bottlenecks triggered a successive budding of populations across the Sahara. Using a temporally and spatially explicit palaeoenvironmental model, we found that the Sahara was not uniformly ameliorated between ~130-75 thousand years ago (ka), as has been stated. Model integration with multivariate analyses of corresponding stone tools then revealed several spatially defined technological clusters which correlated with distinct palaeobiomes. Similarities between technological clusters were such that they decreased with distance except where connected by palaeohydrological networks. These results indicate that populations at the Eurasian gateway were strongly structured, which has implications for refining the demographic parameters of dispersals out of Africa.
Quantitative, attribute based analyses of stone tools (lithics) have been frequently used to faci... more Quantitative, attribute based analyses of stone tools (lithics) have been frequently used to facilitate large-scale comparative studies, attempt to mitigate problems of assemblage completeness and address interpretations of the co-occurrence of unrelated technological processes. However, a major barrier to the widespread acceptance of such methods has been the lack of quantified experiments that can be externally validated by theoretically distinct approaches in order to guide analysis and confidence in results. Given that quantitative, attribute-based studies now underpin several major interpretations of the archaeological record, the requirement to test the accuracy of such methods has become critical. In this paper, we test the utility of 31 commonly used flake attribute measurements for identifying discrete reduction trajectories through three refitted lithic sets from the Middle Palaeolithic open-air site of Le Pucheuil, in northern France. The experiment had three aims, 1) to determine which, if any, attribute measurements could be used to separate individual refitted sets, and 2) to determine whether variability inherent in the assemblage was primarily driven by different reduction trajectories, as represented by the refitted sets, or other factors, and 3) to determine which multivariate tests were most suitable for these analyses. In order to test the sensitivity of the sample, we ran all analyses twice, the first time with all the available lithics pertaining to each refitted set and the second time with randomly generated 75% sub-samples of each set. All results revealed the consistent accuracy of sixteen attribute measurements in Quadratic and Linear Discriminant Analyses, Principal Components Analyses and Dissimilarity Matrices. These results therefore provide the first quantified attribute formula for comparative lithic analyses of Levallois reduction methods and a basis from which further experiments testing core and retouch attributes may be conducted.
The Empty Quarter (or Rub' al Khali) of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest continuous sandy des... more The Empty Quarter (or Rub' al Khali) of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest continuous sandy desert in the world. It has been known for several decades that Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, representing phases of wetter climate, are preserved there. These sequences have yielded palaeontological evidence in the form of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and have been dated using various radiometric techniques. However, evidence for human presence during these wetter phases has until now been ephemeral. Here, we report on the first stratified and dated archaeology from the Empty Quarter, recovered from the site of Mundafan Al-Buhayrah (MDF-61). Human occupation at the site, represented by stone tools, has been dated to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 using multiple luminescence dating techniques (multigrain and single grain OSL, TT-OSL). The sequence consists primarily of lacustrine and palustrine sediments, from which evidence for changing local environmental conditions has been obtained through analysis of fossil assemblages (phytoliths and nonmarine molluscs and ostracods). The discovery of securely-dated archaeological material at ~100 to 80 ka in the Empty Quarter has important implications for hypotheses concerning the timing and routes of dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, which have been much debated. Consequently, the data presented here fill a crucial gap in palaeoenvironmental and archaeological understanding of the southern Arabian interior. Fossils of H. sapiens in the Levant, also dated to MIS 5, together with Middle Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Arabia and India are thought to represent the earliest dispersal of our species out of Africa. We suggest that the widespread occurrence of similar lithic technologies across southern Asia, coupled with a growing body of evidence for environmental amelioration across the Saharo-Arabian belt, indicates that occupation of the Levant by H. sapiens during MIS 5 may not have been a brief, localized ‘failed dispersal’, but part of a wider demographic expansion.
The dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa has been extensively researched across several discip... more The dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa has been extensively researched across several disciplines. Here we review the evidence for spatial and temporal variability in lithic (stone tool) technologies relative to the predictions of two major hypotheses: 1) that a single successful dispersal occurred 60–50 thousand years ago (ka), marked by a trail of geometric/microlithic technologies, and 2) that multiple dispersals occurred, beginning much earlier (probably in Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5), associated with Middle Palaeolithic technology in its early phase. Our results show that Late Pleistocene geometric/microlithic technologies exhibit significant temporal and regional differences between each other. These differences suggest independent, convergent origins for these technologies, which are likely to have been repeatedly re-invented. In contrast, we identify similarities between East African lithic technologies from MIS 8 onwards and Middle Palaeolithic assemblages as far east as India by MIS 5. That this constellation of technological features – particularly an emphasis on centripetal Levallois reduction reflecting interchangeable preferential and recurrent methods, along with particular retouched forms such as points – transcends ecologies and raw material types suggests that it is unlikely to entirely reflect technological convergence (analogy). Our results indicate an early onset of multiple dispersals out of Africa. The hypothesis of an early onset to successful dispersal is entirely consistent with the possibility of further subsequent (post-MIS 5) dispersals out of Africa. Testing such hypotheses through quantified comparative lithic studies and interdisciplinary research is therefore likely to significantly advance understanding of the earliest H. sapiens dispersals.
Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt rep... more Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during MideLate Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresh- olding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palae- olake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological re- constructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields.
North Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ~130-75 thousand years ago) is linked with the... more North Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ~130-75 thousand years ago) is linked with the emergence of regionally distinctive stone tool (lithic) industries and complex material culture. However, the structure and variation of these lithic industries remains unclear and their articulation with human dispersals, while debated, is not well understood. Here, we present the results of an integrated multivariate analysis of 300,000 attribute measurements of ‘Aterian’, ‘Nubian Complex’ and ‘Mousterian’ assemblages from across North Africa. We first compared discrete stages of stone tool manufacture while accounting for the effects of differential raw materials, site function and mobility strategies. We then integrated these results with a palaeoclimate model of North Africa during MIS 5. The results of our multivariate analyses first revealed the presence of a number of distinct, spatially defined technological clusters, which did not correlate with traditional industrial nomenclatures. Similarly, our climate model showed that the Sahara was not uniformly green during MIS 5, as has been stated. Instead, variable environmental and hydrological resource gradients structured a patchwork of ecological bottlenecks and corridors, which we were able to link with the distribution of arid/wet palaeofauna. Final integration of the multivariate results with the climate model demonstrated that the spatial organization of the technological clusters correlated with the modelled palaeobiomes. The degrees of similarity between technological clusters were such that they decreased with distance except where connected by palaeohydrological networks. These results provide a new framework for understanding the lithic technology of North Africa during the Late Pleistocene and indicate for the first time how dispersal may have taken place across the Sahara during periods of environmental amelioration in MIS 5.
Anglo-American and French approaches to lithic analysis have dominated technological studies but ... more Anglo-American and French approaches to lithic analysis have dominated technological studies but continue to remain epistemologically separate, underpinned by very different research histories. French approaches have largely emphasised qualitative analyses supported by experimental archaeology and refitting studies, a methodology refined through long-term engagement with the rich cave sequences of the French Palaeolithic. This approach highlights the conceptual and technological domains of analysis. Anglo-American approaches have instead focused on quantitative attribute-based analyses with investigations of fracture mechanics in which refitting artefacts can be lacking. This approach highlights measurable and comparative domains of analysis. Owing to their differences, the equivalence and applicability of these two approaches has been the subject of intense debate amongst lithic analysts (e.g. Bar-Yosef and Van Peer, 2009; Tostevin, 2011). In this paper, we test the extent to which the two approaches are complementary to each other and investigate what unique information regarding lithic technology each method provides. We first conducted multivariate attribute analyses of several lithic chaines operatoires from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Le Pucheuil in France. We then compared the goodness-of-fit between the results of the attribute analysis and the known sequence of the same refitted cores. The results permit the first comparative evaluation of these approaches and show how the different schools of analysis articulate with a range of research questions and types of data.
The degree to which lithic technological features ‘stand’ for populations, or are convergent deve... more The degree to which lithic technological features ‘stand’ for populations, or are convergent developments in similar environments is critical for understanding hominin dispersals. In particular, the Upper Pleistocene archaeology of the Saharo-Arabian arid belt is key for understanding modern human dispersals out of Africa and features a striking number of technological attributes shared between African and non-African assemblages. However, the relationships between these assemblages are still poorly understood - an issue that significantly problematizes dispersal hypotheses invoking these data. This paper determines the degree to which similarities between Saharo-Arabian assemblages were structured by different processes. The results of these novel technological analyses are then considered against several dispersal scenarios.
North Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ~130-70,000 years ago or ka) is linked with mo... more North Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ~130-70,000 years ago or ka) is linked with modern human dispersal out of sub-Saharan Africa, the emergence of regional technologies such as the Aterian and some of the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in Africa (d’Errico et al. 2009). These key features have led North Africa to be described as the ‘launch pad’ for modern human dispersals (Balter, 2011), and typically northeast African MIS 5 ‘Nubian Complex’ stone tool technology has now been located in Arabia (Rose et al. 2011). However, little is known about how these key features are rooted within the demographic processes of the North African Middle Stone Age (MSA). The stone tool technology of MIS 5 North Africa remains poorly understood, and no large-scale comprehensive assessment of its variation across North Africa has ever been made. This paper will present the key findings of a four year research project investigating the technology of the North African MSA during MIS 5. Aterian, Nubian Complex and ‘Mousterian’/MSA technologies from nineteen spatially and temporally representative assemblages were analysed. The results indicate that these industrial nomenclatures are obfuscating finer-grained patterns of regional variation. Multivariate analysis of stone tool attributes instead revealed a number of geographically structured technological clusters, which may correlate with the spatial distribution of riparian corridors during MIS 5. By understanding these technologies within their wider North African MSA context and their ecological background within the Saharo-Arabian arid belt, these results are building a more nuanced understanding of modern human demography and reconceptualising the idea of ‘out of Africa’.
The Aterian is the major manifestation of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in North Africa and is frequ... more The Aterian is the major manifestation of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in North Africa and is frequently framed in terms of the first anatomically modern human dispersals into the North of Africa (McBrearty and Brooks, 2000). The Aterian is traditionally defined by distinctive pedunculated tools on a variety of forms and as such is perceived to meet the lithic signatures of modernity behaviour (McBrearty and Brooks, 2000; Willoughby, 2007; D’Errico et al., 2009). This paper argues that the perception of the Aterian as a discrete culture of tanging has been uncritically absorbed into the suite of models attempting to reconstruct the early late Pleistocene population history of the region (eg. Ferring, 1975; Tillet, 1989; Debenath et al., 2000). On this basis, the preliminary results of a comprehensive reanalysis of the Aterian using interregional primary data are presented. This considers both Aterian variability and its relationships with concurrent local demographic processes on a North African scale in order to robustly test the standard interpretation versus the alternative conceptualisation of the Aterian as a manifestation of wider cultural and historic networks of the North African MSA.
The Chaine Operatoire or reduction sequence technique is commonly used by palaeolithic archaeolog... more The Chaine Operatoire or reduction sequence technique is commonly used by palaeolithic archaeologists wishing to reconstruct the decisions of prehistoric artisans – whether as part of cognitive schemes or the unconscious and situational contexts of production. Ethnographic accounts of tool making, use and culture have however consistently highlighted problems in the goodness-of-fit between anthropological reality and these analytical techniques (Gould and Saggers, 1985; Andrevsky, 1994; Weedman, 2002; Hiscock, 2004; Holdaway and Douglass, 2011) challenging the epistemological validity of reductionist taxonomies. At odds with this approach are semantically linked ontologies – formal classifications representing object, concept or action descriptions linked to the hierarchical or nested domains which they reflect. This adds a new dimension to what traditional taxonomies of action allow: the creation of new domains of inference through semantically linked data. This is extremely relevant for lithic analysis both because technology is the locus where different hierarchies of domain-specific information come together and because the inferencing capabilities of reasoners can be used to extract implicit knowledge and contribute to existing knowledge bases to complete fragmentary data. We present the first reconstruction of the stone tool chaine operatoire using semantically linked data from a range of Aterian sites in North Africa.
The Aterian has recently been the focus of considerable attention both as an important proxy for ... more The Aterian has recently been the focus of considerable attention both as an important proxy for modern human dispersals (McBrearty and Brooks, 2000) and as one of the earliest expressions of identity and ethnicity (Ferring, 1975; Clarke, 1980; D’Errico et al., 2009). Despite this, since Caton-Thompson’s seminal study of 1946, there has been no comprehensive inter-regional study addressing either Aterian variability or its role in the social landscape of early late Pleistocene North Africa. As an outcome of an ongoing study addressing this research gap, I consider the Aterian’s role beyond classic issues of modernity behaviour and its dispersal out of Africa, instead focusing on its potential to address culture diversification and the evolutionary function of boundaries.
Abstract/Poster submission deadline is on the 15th of September, registration deadline 15th of No... more Abstract/Poster submission deadline is on the 15th of September, registration deadline 15th of November 2014. The conference will be held at the University of Bordeaux on the 1tth and 12th of December. For more details please check our website: http://sites.google.com/site/middlepalaeolithicdesert
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Papers by Eleanor Scerri
Please click here to read entire article: http://africanhistory.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-137
The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features what may be the oldest fossils of our species as well as extremely early examples of technological region- alization and ‘symbolic’ material culture (d’Errico et al., 2009; Scerri, 2013a; Richter et al., 2017). The geographic situation of North Africa and an increased understanding of the wet-dry climatic pulses of the Sahara Desert also show that North Africa played a strategic role in continental-scale evolutionary processes by modulating human dispersal and demographic structure (Drake et al., 2011; Blome et al., 2012). However, current understanding of the NAMSA remains patchy and subject to a bewildering array of industrial nomenclatures that mask underlying variability. These issues are compounded by a geographic research bias skewed toward non-desert regions. As a result, it has been difficult to test long-established narratives of behavioral and evolutionary change in North Africa and to resolve debates on their wider significance. In order to evaluate existing data and identify future research directions, this paper provides a critical overview of the component elements of the NAMSA and shows that the timing of many key behaviors has close parallels with others in sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia.
the world. It has been known for several decades that Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, representing
phases of wetter climate, are preserved there. These sequences have yielded palaeontological
evidence in the form of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and have been dated using various
radiometric techniques. However, evidence for human presence during these wetter phases has until
now been ephemeral. Here, we report on the first stratified and dated archaeology from the Empty
Quarter, recovered from the site of Mundafan Al-Buhayrah (MDF-61). Human occupation at the site,
represented by stone tools, has been dated to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 using
multiple luminescence dating techniques (multigrain and single grain OSL, TT-OSL). The sequence consists
primarily of lacustrine and palustrine sediments, from which evidence for changing local environmental
conditions has been obtained through analysis of fossil assemblages (phytoliths and nonmarine
molluscs and ostracods). The discovery of securely-dated archaeological material at ~100 to
80 ka in the Empty Quarter has important implications for hypotheses concerning the timing and routes
of dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, which have been much debated. Consequently, the data
presented here fill a crucial gap in palaeoenvironmental and archaeological understanding of the
southern Arabian interior. Fossils of H. sapiens in the Levant, also dated to MIS 5, together with Middle
Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Arabia and India are thought to represent the earliest dispersal of our
species out of Africa. We suggest that the widespread occurrence of similar lithic technologies across
southern Asia, coupled with a growing body of evidence for environmental amelioration across the
Saharo-Arabian belt, indicates that occupation of the Levant by H. sapiens during MIS 5 may not have
been a brief, localized ‘failed dispersal’, but part of a wider demographic expansion.
Please click here to read entire article: http://africanhistory.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-137
The North African Middle Stone Age (NAMSA, ~300-24 thousand years ago, or ka) features what may be the oldest fossils of our species as well as extremely early examples of technological region- alization and ‘symbolic’ material culture (d’Errico et al., 2009; Scerri, 2013a; Richter et al., 2017). The geographic situation of North Africa and an increased understanding of the wet-dry climatic pulses of the Sahara Desert also show that North Africa played a strategic role in continental-scale evolutionary processes by modulating human dispersal and demographic structure (Drake et al., 2011; Blome et al., 2012). However, current understanding of the NAMSA remains patchy and subject to a bewildering array of industrial nomenclatures that mask underlying variability. These issues are compounded by a geographic research bias skewed toward non-desert regions. As a result, it has been difficult to test long-established narratives of behavioral and evolutionary change in North Africa and to resolve debates on their wider significance. In order to evaluate existing data and identify future research directions, this paper provides a critical overview of the component elements of the NAMSA and shows that the timing of many key behaviors has close parallels with others in sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia.
the world. It has been known for several decades that Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, representing
phases of wetter climate, are preserved there. These sequences have yielded palaeontological
evidence in the form of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and have been dated using various
radiometric techniques. However, evidence for human presence during these wetter phases has until
now been ephemeral. Here, we report on the first stratified and dated archaeology from the Empty
Quarter, recovered from the site of Mundafan Al-Buhayrah (MDF-61). Human occupation at the site,
represented by stone tools, has been dated to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 using
multiple luminescence dating techniques (multigrain and single grain OSL, TT-OSL). The sequence consists
primarily of lacustrine and palustrine sediments, from which evidence for changing local environmental
conditions has been obtained through analysis of fossil assemblages (phytoliths and nonmarine
molluscs and ostracods). The discovery of securely-dated archaeological material at ~100 to
80 ka in the Empty Quarter has important implications for hypotheses concerning the timing and routes
of dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, which have been much debated. Consequently, the data
presented here fill a crucial gap in palaeoenvironmental and archaeological understanding of the
southern Arabian interior. Fossils of H. sapiens in the Levant, also dated to MIS 5, together with Middle
Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Arabia and India are thought to represent the earliest dispersal of our
species out of Africa. We suggest that the widespread occurrence of similar lithic technologies across
southern Asia, coupled with a growing body of evidence for environmental amelioration across the
Saharo-Arabian belt, indicates that occupation of the Levant by H. sapiens during MIS 5 may not have
been a brief, localized ‘failed dispersal’, but part of a wider demographic expansion.
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