MICRO-RESIDUE ANALYSIS ON EARLY STONE AGE TOOLS FROM STERKFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA: A METHODOLOGICAL ENQUIRY

I report here on a micro-residue study of Early Stone Age artefacts from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A total of 33 artefacts was analysed. One part of the sample is attributed to the Oldowan and dates to around two million years ago; another part is attributed to the Acheulean industry, dating to ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African archaeological bulletin 2012-12, Vol.67 (196), p.200-213
Main Author: LANGEJANS, GEESKE H.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Antiquities
Archaeological artifacts
Archaeological assemblages
Archaeological excavation
Archaeological methodology
Archaeological research
Bones
Caves
Conservation and restoration
Contaminants
DNA
Excavations (Archaeology)
Historic sites
Humans
Inks
Management
Material culture
Paleolithic period
Plant fibers
Sediments
South Africa
Starches
Stone Age
Stone tools
Study and teaching
World Heritage areas
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Summary:I report here on a micro-residue study of Early Stone Age artefacts from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A total of 33 artefacts was analysed. One part of the sample is attributed to the Oldowan and dates to around two million years ago; another part is attributed to the Acheulean industry, dating to around 1.5 million years ago. Previously, the pieces have been shown to hold micro-residues and ancient DNA. However, due to the great age of the samples, it has been questioned whether the micro-residues were use-related. To investigate this, I conducted a micro-residue study on part of the originally analysed sample and on other artefacts with the same provenance; the tools were analysed with a light microscope. Here, I first review the taphonomic history of the samples and second, report on the results of the micro-residue analysis. The taphonomic history of the artefacts is complex: biological, mechanical and chemical decay of the organic micro-residues would have prevailed in the Sterkfontein setting and it is highly unlikely that micro-residues are preserved. In addition, the recorded micro-residue distributions fail to satisfy a number of basic criteria designed to distinguish use-related residues from micro-contaminants. There is also an obvious contaminant signal in the form of brightly coloured remains, pollen and ink. Based on these multiple lines of evidence, it is concluded that the recorded remains are not use-related and the contaminant micro-residues probably originate from post-excavation handling and curation. The previous study focused on single remains, whereas this analysis includes the full context of the micro-residues. As a result of the different approach used here, the interpretation of the micro-residues differs.
ISSN:0038-1969