An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa.

There is consensus that the modern human lineage appeared in Africa before 100,000 years ago. But there is debate as to when cultural and cognitive characteristics typical of modern humans first appeared, and the role that these had in the expansion of modern humans out of Africa. Scientists rely on symbolically specific proxies, such as artistic expression, to document the origins of complex cognition.

Taphonomic implications of orientation of plotted finds from Pinnacle Point 13B (Mossel Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa).

An understanding of site taphonomy is crucial to stratigraphic and artifact/ecofact interpretation. Numerous geogenic, biogenic, and anthropogenic activities have the potential to move artifacts after deposition and distort the patterning once present in hominid discarded debris. Taphonomy at a Middle Stone Age cave (Pinnacle Point 13B) near Mossel Bay, South Africa is investigated here using artifact orientation data collected during excavation.

Fire as an engineering tool of early modern humans.

The controlled use of fire was a breakthrough adaptation in human evolution. It first provided heat and light and later allowed the physical properties of materials to be manipulated for the production of ceramics and metals. The analysis of tools at multiple sites shows that the source stone materials were systematically manipulated with fire to improve their flaking properties.

Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene.

Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 thousand years (kyr) ago, and recent evidence indicates symbolic behaviour may have appeared approximately 135-75 kyr ago. From 195-130 kyr ago, the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage (marine isotope stage MIS6); much of Africa was cooler and drier, and dated archaeological sites are rare. Here we show that by approximately 164 kyr ago (+/-12 kyr) at Pinnacle Point (on the south coast of South Africa) humans expanded their diet to include marine resources, perhaps as a response to these harsh environmental conditions.