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The risk to surface archaeological sites posed by heavy machinery has grown significantly, and stone-tool assemblages are particularly susceptible to alteration that may be difficult to recognise. Indeed, the impact of industrial machines on surface scatters of lithic material has not yet been explored. Here, an analytical experiment is used to explore the ways in which machine action can affect a test assemblage resembling a typical Stone Age scatter. The results demonstrate that while formal tool types are not easily replicated through machine action, the creation of assemblages that resemble archaeological debitage poses a much greater challenge for archaeologists.Keywords: southern Africa, Stone Age, debitage, taphonomy, IntroductionFor well over a century, archaeologists have recognised the existence of pseudo stone tools-- lithic material, altered by human or natural processes, to resemble, coincidentally, archaeological artefacts (Boule 1905; Bennett [...]

The study of arthropod remains from ardiaeological contexts has the potential to reveal. information about the past thot may not necessarily nonbe readily forthcoming from faunal, botanical or artefact miatyses. Yet, iii southern Africa the field of archaeoentomology is practically non-existent. Here, 1 explore the application of excitation (fluorescence) light microscopy to an experimental sample of cruslied arthropod remains of 14 conimon species. It is shown thrit di#crent lighting pathways can reveal -valitable inforination about arthropod sclerites (pieces of their chitinous exoskeleton). and that liltraviolet light iii particular is itseful for distinguishing certain features, some of which appear to be taxon -specific, mid hence helpful for identifying highly fragmented arthropod remains recovered from archaeological settings. Furthermore, excited light can be used effectively to distinguish arthropod reinains from inert sediments and botanical fibres. While a lot of work remains to be dotte, not least of which includes the establishment of a useful arthropod reference collection and the scouring of sedinient samples. Foin excavated sites that have not had the benefit of an archaeoentomological assessment, I hope tliat this paper highlights the potential of excited light microscopy for arthropod identification and will stimulate further research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higher-level cognitive functioning. How this technology originated and how we identify archaeological evidence for it are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent analysis of the putative bone arrow point from Sibudu Cave in South Africa, dated to 61.7 [+ or -] 1.5kya, has provided important new insights. High-resolution CT scanning revealed heat and impact damage in both the Sibudu point and in experimentally produced arrow points. These features suggest that the Sibudu point was first used as an arrowhead for hunting, and afterwards was deposited in a hearth. Our results support the claim that bone weapon tips were used in South African hunting long before the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic. Keywords: South Africa, Sibudu Cave, projectile technology, bow and arrow, experimental archaeology, Introduction Projectile weaponry, in its broadest terms, is found in all regions and among all human cultures of the world, yet its antiquity and evolution remain incompletely understood (Brooks et [...]

Bone points of two types, the one thin and poisoned and the other robust and not poisoned, are examined in this study of impact fractures. The bone points seem to have had similar experiences to stone points, producing fractures of a similar kind. Most of the fractures in the historical collection examined were caused by impacts. However, this early twentieth-century collection is not thought to be representative of contemporary fracture frequencies that occurred in hunting. Keywords: ethnoarchaeology, bow and arrows, macrofracture analysis, bone tips, Introduction The origin of projectile technology is a hotly debated topic (see Knecht 1997; Brooks et al. 2006; Shea 2006; Villa & Lenoir 2006; Backwell et al. 2008; Lombard & [...]