Scerri, E.M.L., Blinkhorn, J., Niang, K. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Persistence of Middle Stone Age technology to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition supports a complex hominin evolutionary scenario in West Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 11. pp. 639-646. ISSN 2352-409X
Abstract
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 denticulates 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 Pleistocene population substructure in Africa and the spatially and temporally complex character of behavioural and biological evolution.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Elsevier. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | West Africa; Middle Stone Age archaeology; Lithic technology; Pleistocene-Holocene transition; Human evolution |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 04 Apr 2018 14:32 |
Last Modified: | 04 Apr 2018 14:32 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.01.003 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.01.003 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:129212 |