Before Farming: the archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers

ref: Before Farming 2005/3 article 1

Ochre crayons or waste products? Replications compared with MSA ‘crayons’ from Sibudu Cave , South Africa

Lyn Wadley
School of Geography , Archaeology and Environmental Studies,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg , South Africa
wadleyl@geoarc.wits.ac.za

Keywords: Ochre crayons, replication, microscopy, Middle Stone Age

Abstract

Ochre nodules were ground to produce powder for use in replicated glues for hafting experiments. When ochre is obtained from nodules with a hard stone centre, the powder is most efficiently extracted by rotating the nodules on a coarse piece of stone. This rotation during grinding creates facets and some, though not all, of the nodules develop a crayon-like shape at the stage when they need to be discarded. Microscopic examination of these discards reveals identical striations and polish to those on worked ochre ‘crayons’ that were archaeologically recovered from Middle Stone Age layers of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Thus, so-called ochre ‘crayons’ need careful residue and usewear analysis before any secondary function can be confirmed.

ref: Before Farming 2005/3 article 2

From girls to women: female imagery in the San rock paintings of the Central Limpopo Basin, southern Africa

Edward B Eastwood
Palaeo-Art Field Services. PO Box 168, Makhado 0920, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3,
Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
rockart@mweb.co.za

Keywords: San rock paintings, girls’ puberty, shamanism

Abstract

In southern African San rock art research two approaches to women’s and gender issues have emerged. Broadly speaking, the first of these incorporates women’s issues in a shamanistic framework, and the second treats them as being ‘outside’ a shamanistic understanding. It can be shown that, far from being mutually exclusive, both of these approaches have relevance to the rock paintings of the Central Limpopo Basin (CLB). In this paper certain human female figures from the CLB are examined with reference to age categories, body representation, and grouping. Kalahari ethnography is used to suggest a provisional identification of their ritual context, and this includes supporting evidence from the oral testimonies of women from three Central San groups. As a result, these paintings are thought to have implications for the broader southern African debate around female representation. Finally, the possible function of these paintings is considered with reference to their primary contexts: the rock face and the landscape.

ref: Before Farming 2005/3 article 3

Archaeology and human interaction between coastal and inland settings: the Pampean Atlantic coast, Argentina

Mariano Bonomo
CONICET, Departamento Científico de Arqueología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP, Paseo del bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina
mbonomo@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

Keywords:Hunter-gatherers, coast/inland relations, Pampean coast, Argentina

Abstract

The results of our archaeological research on the coast of the eastern Pampas (Argentina) related to Middle-Late Holocene hunter-gatherers are presented in this paper. Many authors have put forth two alternative hypotheses to explain coastal occupations. Some of them maintained that littoral and inland archaeological records were produced by the same human societies. Other authors have proposed the existence of coastal cultural groups. The aim of this paper is to discuss the aforementioned hypotheses with a model of space use on the coast. Using evidence from surface and stratified sites, as well as from museum collections, it is proposed that the Pampean marine coast was used by the same inland populations.