Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
arts and humanities
First molecular identification of a hafting adhesive in the Late Howiesons Poort at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape, South Africa)
Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 40, No. 9, Year 2013
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
The hafting of tools using adhesive is one of the innovative features that characterizes the southern African Middle Stone Age. This technology has mainstream implications but remains insufficiently documented, largely due to unequal organic preservation and non-adapted analytical procedures. A notable exception is provided by the recent results from the site of Sibudu (. Lombard, 2006; Wadley etal., 2009).The excavation at Diepkloof Rock Shelter has revealed several lithic artifacts with a black residue distributed over their surface. Their stratigraphic distribution reveals a strict association with the Howiesons Poort (HP) and suggests a close relationship between the appearance of hafting adhesive and the appearance of blades and geometric backed tools. Macroscopic and microscopic observations attest to a hafting that was exclusively lateralized and preliminary use-wear analysis (. Igreja and Porraz, in this issue) supports the hypothesis that hafted tools were mostly integrated within daily (domestic) activities.In this study, we focused specifically on a chemical study of a thick black residue found on a quartz flake attributable to the Late phase of the HP. We determine, for the first time in a MSA context, the nature of the compound adhesive and reconstruct a picture of the multilevel operations and interactions that comprise the process of hafting. The molecular analysis attests to the exploitation of Podocarpus elongatus (Yellowwood), collected in the form of a resin that was naturally dried or heated at a low temperature and possibly mixed with fragmented bone and quartz grains. Compared to Sibudu where ochre additive is documented, the hafting technology at Diepkloof introduces another level of variability within the HP tradition and suggests the existence of regional expressions and adaptations. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Charrié-Duhaut, Armelle
France, Strasbourg
Université de Strasbourg
Porraz, Guillaume
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Cartwright, Caroline R.
United Kingdom, London
The British Museum
Igreja, Marina
France, Aix-en-provence
Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique
Portugal, Lisbon
Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa
Connan, Jacques
France, Pau
Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Moléculaire
Poggenpoel, Cédric
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Texier, Pierre Jean
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Statistics
Citations: 110
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.jas.2012.12.026
ISSN:
03054403
e-ISSN:
10959238
Study Locations
South Africa