The evolution of Still Bay points at Sibudu

The Still Bay is a key technocomplex within the Middle Stone Age (MSA), and Sibudu, in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, provides one of the longest and richest pre-Still Bay to Still Bay sequences. It has been hypothesised that the Still Bay industry emerged through technological revolution or alternatively through gradual change. In this paper we conduct a geometric morphometric (GM) assessment of the shape differences between the pre-Still Bay and Still Bay points at Sibudu to assess their implication for technological evolution. Pre-Still Bay points are often thought of as unifacial and single-pointed, and Still Bay points as bifacial and double-pointed. Our analysis reveals a more complex and evolving pattern, lending support for the gradual change hypothesis. When the earliest pre-Still Bay points are compared with the Still Bay points, a significant difference in shape is seen. However, intermediate units provide evidence of an evolutionary continuum between those distinct ends of the continuum.