Lithic technological and spatial analysis of the final Pleistocene at Border Cave, South Africa

Abstract

This contribution focuses on the recently excavated lithic assemblage from Border Cave Members 1 RGBS, 3 BS, 2 WA and 2 BS. These members were attributed by Beaumont to the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort Industries of the southern African Middle Stone Age. Here we consider lithics as indicators of cultural behaviour, site formation processes, and occupation intensity. As such, the assemblage is explored in depth through lithic technology attribute analysis, particle size distribution, and spatial analysis. These lines of inquiry follow the new allostratigraphic divisions proposed for the deposits by Stratford and colleagues. Results show that the lower members share a degree of similarity in terms of flaking strategies and raw material selection, whereas the upper members record a dissimilar set of features, with differentiation between them. The technological and spatial analyses suggest the sporadic presence of different groups at the site, each characterized by distinct sets of knapping techniques and methods but employing related knapping strategies and using similar raw materials. The interpretation of these members as a palimpsest of sporadic occupation is supported by the low number of archaeological finds by sediment volume. The evidence at hand does not support a Howiesons Poort attribution for the lowest members. The data show that lithics from part of Member 2 WA and 2 BS are in accordance with those of the recently defined Sibudan technocomplex.