Tag Archives: MSA

Razor sharp

The appearance of Levallois technology (named after a suburb of Paris where it was first described) in Africa and Europe c. 300–250 ka years ago (OIS8) is commonly used to define the Lower-to-Middle Palaleolithic and ESA/MSA boundary (as first proposed … Continue reading

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Bechar / Algeria: Aterian Artifacts and their functional meaning

These are some “Aterian” artifacts from the Algerian Sahara showing the variability of a random sample. The morphological continuum of Aterian tools ranges from pointed and elongated triangular forms to rounded and squat blunt forms, as demonstrated in this post. … Continue reading

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Conformism in prehistoric societies

Some microlithis from the North/West Sahara-traces of a long standing conformism in the production of such artifacts. Prehistoric archaeology is often modeled through the paradigm of the collective. Conformistic collectives adapt to their environment and their decisions are made in … Continue reading

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Quartzite in Prehistory (Post 250)

These are two Quartzite leaf points from Maroc (timeframe: MSA or Neolithic). Quartzite is a metamorphic rock composed primarily of quartz and may include significant amounts of other minerals. The parent rock for quartzite is quartz-rich sandstone. As sandstone becomes … Continue reading

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Artifact from Garba III (Melka Kunture)

This is a patinated flat non-Levallois convergent artifact from Garba III made from obsidian, which is heavily patinated. Melka Kunture is a valley site, which extends for almost 6 km in both Awash River banks, with superimposed terraces whose remains … Continue reading

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Mousterian / MSA Point from Maroc

This is a Middle Paleolithic / MSA Point from Maroc with extraordinary continuous and regular retouches. The projectile function of the artifact displayed here, is obvious. Convergent artifacts in the European Middle Paleolithic and the MSA have been found to … Continue reading

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The Quina Mousterian in the Charente: Mousterian Variability

 These artefacts are from a single site in the Charente, showing characteristic traits of the Quina-Mousterian of the region. In 1953 François Bordes published an Essay of the classification of “industries moustériennes”, in which he proposed a typology for the … Continue reading

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Targeting Prey by Bow and Arrow

An arrow-tip from the Tenerian, where a grand variety of such artifacts can be observed. In the historical and ethnological record, many human groups have added the bow and arrow to their repertoire of hunting technology. Experimental data indicate that … Continue reading

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A Handaxe from Kathu Pan and the chronology of the ESA /MSA in South Africa

Handaxe made of banded ironstone, Kathu Pan, McGregor Museum, Kimberley Photo © Michael Cope This Handaxe was found embedded in an exposed stratigraphic sequence in a sinkhole at Kathu Pan in the Northern Cape, South Africa, and dated by association … Continue reading

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Symbolic Thinking

This is a symbol painted on a tree near the Willendorf site. Shurely an evidence of “Modern Symbolic Thinking” A symbol means something, whose meaning is determined by arbitrary relationship. This relationship is a socially construction, a convention which implied … Continue reading

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