A view to a kill

The sophistication of Neanderthal behavioural strategies have been the subject of debate from the moment of their recognition as a separate species of hominin in 1856. This book presents a study on Neanderthal foraging prowess. Novel ethnographic and primatological insights, suggest that increasing dependence on high quality foods, such as meat, caused the brain to evolve to a large size and thus led to highly intelligent hominins. From this baseline, the author studies the Neanderthal archaeological record in order to gain insight into the “knowledge-intensity” of Neanderthal hunting behaviour. In this research, an optimal foraging perspective is applied to Pleistocene bone assemblages. According to this perspective, foraging success is an important factor in an individual’s evolutionary fitness. Therefore foraging is organised as efficiently as possible. The prey species that were selected and hunted by Neanderthals are analysed. The author investigates economic considerations that influenced Neanderthal prey choice. These considerations are based on estimates of the population densities of the available prey species and on estimates of the relative difficulty of hunting those species. The results demonstrate that when Neanderthals operated within poor environments, their prey choice was constrained: they were not able to hunt species living in large herds. In these environments, solitary species were the preferred prey. It is striking that Neanderthals successfully focussed on the largest and most dangerous species in poor environments. However, in richer environments, these constraints were lifted and species living in herds were successfully exploited. In order to assess the accuracy of this approach, bone assemblages formed by cave hyenas are also analysed. The combined results of the Neanderthal and hyena analyses show that an optimal foraging perspective provides a powerful tool to increase our understanding of Pleistocene ecology. The niches of two social carnivores of similar size, which were seemingly similar, are successfully distinguished. This result lends extra credence to the conclusions regarding Neanderthal foraging strategies. This book contributes to the debate surrounding Neanderthal competence and ability. It combines an up-to-date review of current knowledge on Neanderthal biology and archaeology, with novel approaches to the archaeological record. It is thus an important contribution to the current knowledge of this enigmatic species

Foraging for Farmers? An evolutionary perspective on the process of Neolithisation in NW Europe – a case study from the Low Countries

Abstract: Recent studies emphasise the mosaic character of the process of neolithisation in northwestern Europe. However, some overarching motives influencing the uptake of farming can be identified across regions. We model the importance of evolutionary processes underlying neolithisation. We focus on the southern part of the Low Countries, where the uptake of agriculture takes distinct trajectories in different biomes. We analyse the transition in terms of fitness benefits that foraging and agriculture bestow on the actors involved. We suggest that different substrates offer different fitness benefits with regard to the uptake of farming and that these benefits differed between the sexes, leading to differing “optimal” strategies for males and females regarding whether and how to adopt Neolithic novelties

Pleistocene Homo and the updated Stone Age sequence of South Africa

We provide a brief overview of how the rich South African Pleistocene Homo fossil record correlates with the recently revised Stone Age sequence. The overview and correlation of the data is intended to highlight gaps in the record and/or our understanding thereof, and to stimulate interdisciplinary research and debate on the Homo fossil and archaeological records spanning the Pleistocene. As an updated resource we present a complete inventory of known Pleistocene fossil material assigned to the genus Homo, and, where possible, its association with archaeological material. We demonstrate that (1) anatomical changes are not necessarily paralleled by changes in the archaeological sequence currently based on a range of technocomplexes, (2) the early Homo record of South Africa probably differs from that of East Africa, (3) mid-Pleistocene Homo might be associated with the Earlier to Middle Stone Age transitional phase and (4) the fossil record associated with the Middle Stone Age has wide anatomical variation. Also, hiatuses in the fossil record, such as that associated with the appearance of early Khoe-San-like populations, do not show concurrent hiatuses in the archaeological record. Thus, for a broader understanding of the demographic history of South Africa during the Pleistocene, both sources of information should be considered in tandem.publishedVersio

Pleistocene Homo and the updated Stone Age sequence of South Africa

We provide a brief overview of how the rich South African Pleistocene Homo fossil record correlates with the recently revised Stone Age sequence. The overview and correlation of the data is intended to highlight gaps in the record and/or our understanding thereof, and to stimulate interdisciplinary research and debate on the Homo fossil and archaeological records spanning the Pleistocene. As an updated resource we present a complete inventory of known Pleistocene fossil material assigned to the genus Homo, and, where possible, its association with archaeological material. We demonstrate that (1) anatomical changes are not necessarily paralleled by changes in the archaeological sequence currently based on a range of technocomplexes, (2) the early Homo record of South Africa probably differs from that of East Africa, (3) mid-Pleistocene Homo might be associated with the Earlier to Middle Stone Age transitional phase and (4) the fossil record associated with the Middle Stone Age has wide anatomical variation. Also, hiatuses in the fossil record, such as that associated with the appearance of early Khoe-San-like populations, do not show concurrent hiatuses in the archaeological record. Thus, for a broader understanding of the demographic history of South Africa during the Pleistocene, both sources of information should be considered in tandem

Author Correction: An emerging consensus in palaeoanthropology: demography was the main factor responsible for the disappearance of Neanderthals (Scientific Reports, (2021), 11, 1, (4925), 10.1038/s41598-021-84410-7)

The original version of this Article contained an error in discussing the positions of Zilhão, and Wynn and colleagues. The text in the Introduction section, “By way of illustration, consider the exchange between Zilhão39 and Wynn et al.40. The two parties profoundly disagree about the cognitive differences between modern humans and Neanderthals: whereas Wynn and colleagues claim that the cognitive sophistication of modern humans markedly exceeded that of Neanderthals, Zilhão believes that the two species were indistinguishable. It could (!) be the case that, as Zilhão suggests, this difference of opinion has its roots in a difference of opinion about human progress; it could (!) be that, as Zilhão writes, Wynn et al. are afflicted by “a persistent, if subconscious influence … of Victorian-age ideas of evolutionas- progress and ancient-as-primitive” (p. 52). On Zilhão’s account, claims that Neanderthals are not quite like us betray an outdated form of hierarchical thinking.” now reads: “By way of illustration consider the positions of Zilhão39 and Wynn et al.40. The two parties disagree about the cognitive differences between modern humans and Neanderthals: whereas Wynn and colleagues claim that differences in the cognitive abilities of modern humans and Neanderthals were visible to natural selection, Zilhão believes that the two species were indistinguishable. It could be the case that, as Zilhão believes, such a difference of opinion has its roots in a difference of opinion about human progress; it could be that, as Zilhão writes, there exists “a persistent, if subconscious influence in academia of Victorian-age ideas of evolution-asprogress and ancient-as-primitive” (p. 52). On Zilhão’s account, claims that Neanderthals are not quite like us betray an outdated form of hierarchical thinking. On Wynn et al.’s account, claims that Neandertals were indistinguishable are rooted in extreme anti-science versions of contemporary social justice theory. However, whether an archaeologist’s scientific views reflect his or her socio-political views or latent psychological motivations remains to be seen.” This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa

Middle Stone Age (MSA) shellfish remains were studied for indications of changes in subsistence adaptations. Optimal Foraging Theory was applied to the MSA shellfish species from Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa, to model which shellfish would be most profitable to collect in terms of meat yield and handling costs. This ranking is compared to the composition of the archaeological shellfish assemblages. Several developments are considered to be the result of changes in prey choice. It appears that at Klasies River, MSA people mainly collected high ranked mid-intertidal shellfish, and that their foraging strategy was strongly influenced by changes in the coastal environment. At Blombos Cave, when the sea was further from the cave, a revaluation of the prey ranking caused an increase in Perna perna densities in the M2 and M1 phases, compared to the older M3 phase. P. perna was not only selected because, as a bivalve it preserves better during transport, but also because it can easily be mass collected. At Blombos Cave there are changes in species representation and a decrease in average Turbo sarmaticus opercula weight. This tentatively suggests that shellfish collection may have intensified during later phases. In general, MSA collecting trips were optimized according to the available shellfish, taking into account the distance to the resource and their yield

Two methods on one stone: Integrating visual and analytical techniques to clarify lithic raw material utilization in the Middle and Later Stone Age at Umhlatuzana rockshelter (South Africa)

We develop a study protocol to efficiently and accurately identify the raw material categories constituting the lithic assemblages at Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa. We combine visual and analytical methods to establish a raw material database and to provide a more accurate insight into raw material selection during the Pleistocene Middle and Later Stone Age occupational sequence of Umhlatuzana. The protocol combines petrological properties (as studied on micromorphological samples), elemental composition of the specimens (as measured with p-XRF) and visual characterization by lithic analysts. We tested the protocol by applying it to a sample of piece-plotted lithics from four spits across the stratigraphic sequence. We document the intensive use of sandstone accounting for 25% of the tested sample. We also report a larger importance of hornfels and lower proportion of quartz than was reported in previous analyses (Kaplan 1990). The combination of micromorphological and p-XRF analysis of the Umhlatuzana assemblages demonstrates that with only visual inspection, the variability of raw materials used may be misinterpreted. With accurate raw material datasets, we are better equipped to answer techno-economic questions of the southern African Stone Age