MSA Site Report

The goal of this assignment is to give each of you a chance to do a little research on one of the important MSA/MP sites in Africa. This report will be worth 15% of your grade.

Each of you will read about one site (or several small sites in a cluster, or one level within a large site, or one type of evidence within a large site), and summarize answers to several questions about that site in a short (3- 4 pp) report. Your report will be due right after Thanksgiving Break, by Thursday November 30, 5pm. If you work in a site team, you can collaborate for the report, but each student should write a separate component 3-4pp long.

Instead of turning in a paper version of your site report, I will ask you to turn it in to me electronically.

Either:

• Send it to me via e-mail as an attachment (MS-WORD format preferred)
  
• If you don’t know how to send an attachment, PASTE the text of your report into an email text to me, OR
  
• Turn in the WORD file to me on a FLOPPY DISK or Zip disk.
  
  

I will post your electronic site reports (anonymously!) on our class web page on Friday, so that everyone will have access to your reports by the end of that week.

Choose a region of Africa to "specialize" in, and pick one of the sites available from that region to report on. Some sites have a large volume of material, and will be assigned to several students, to "divide the labor" of reporting on different aspects of the site. If you work as a team I recommend that you combine your separate efforts into a joint (longer) site report, with each student writing a section 3-4 pages long on a particular topic or part of the site.

Note that 5-8 students will be reporting on each region. I recommend that each "regional research team" get together during regular class-time on November 14 or 16 and discuss what your sites have in common, and talk about how to interpret the evidence.

While our class will not meet during Thanksgiving week, I will be available to meet with any of you and help you during our regular class time and my regular office hours Nov 21.

IMPORTANT:
If you missed class on Thursday November 9, you missed signing up for a site. The list of the available sites remaining to choose from can be found below. When you choose a site, contact other students in the class who have not signed up for sites to let them know which one you choose and to coordinate work with them. The sites will be first-come, first-served.

Site Report Questions

• SUMMARY: In a brief paragraph for a small site (or several for a large site), summarize the main reason(s) the site you have researched is important for our understanding of the behavior of MSA/MP peoples in Africa. In particular, what evidence do you think this site contains that contributes to the question about whether or not early anatomically modern humans behaved in "modern" ways? In points below, highlight the evidence that supports your suggestions.
  
• EXCAVATION; When was the site excavated and by whom? Was it a large excavation or a small one? Is there anything about the excavation technique that would influence our ability to interpret what was found at the site?
  
• LOCATION: Describe the site’s location (country, region) and ecological context.
  
  • Is it a cave? An open-air site?
    
  • What type of habitat is the site located in today?
    
• DATES: What are the best estimates for the ages of the archaeological remains at the site (or the level you are focusing on), and what methods were used? (refer to textbook chapter 1 for summary of different dating methods). Are the site dates controversial? Why?
  
• PALEO-ENVIRONMENT: What evidence is there for ancient environments at the site? When the site was occupied, was the environment similar to or different from the current ecological zone of the site?
  
• ARTIFACTS: What types of artifacts were found at the site (or the level you are focusing on)?
  
  • MSA/MP industry classification? (affiliation with other MSA/MP stone industries)? Why is the site classified this way?
    
  • Summarize the variety of tool types and anything special or particularly interesting that the excavators mention about the types of artifacts at the site (function, raw materials, special technologies, art, etc)
    
• FOOD REMAINS: What types of animal or plant remains were found at the site? How have they been interpreted as evidence for hominid subsistence at the site?
  
• FEATURES: Was there any evidence for fire hearths, pits, or other structures or cultural features found at the site which could suggest how the site was used?
  
  • SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: describe any spatial variation in tools or bones found at the site which might suggest how the site was used.
    
  • Was the site re-used a lot or occupied only briefly? (stratigraphic sequence)
    

List of student site assignments and references for the report:

Most of these references will be on reserve in the Geography Library, In the Geography Library, you can find the book volumes on the reserve shelf, and the articles will be grouped together by site name.


• References marked with a ** will be available BOTH in the Geography Library, AND in the Main Library research stacks.
  
• The references for the site of Die Kelders are all in a recent issue of the Journal of Human Evolution, which is non-circulating in the Kent Cooper Room of the Main Library.
  
• The references for the site of Rose Cottage Cave are available online, through the Academic Search Elite: EBSCO from our library’s home page http://www.indiana.edu/~libfind/ (see details below).
  
  
  
• Emails of students who have not yet signed up:
  
  BFORTNER
  RHERONEM
  BJLONG
  RMAN
  PAMOFFET
  ERMORENO
  BOSMON
  NPEDERSE
  BRAROBIN
  CRRSHAFF
  ANSIMONS
  PSTUMPNE
  EDEAL
  
  
  SITE NAMES & Students & References
  

  NORTH AFRICA
  

• Bir Tarfawi Chelsea Barker-Switzer (323-2177) & Stephanie Kazmeriak (337-1002)
  
  • Wendorf, Close and Schild 1987 "Recent work on the Middle Palaeolithic of the eastern Sahara" The African Archaeological Review** 5, 49-63.
    
  • Hietala and Applegate (chapter 37) and Wendorf, Schild and Close (chapter 38) from the book Egypt During the Last Interglacial ** (GN772.42.E3.W44 1993)
    
• Bir Sahara Open for 2 students (contact Chelsea and Stephanie above to arrange to share the references)
  Same references as Bir Tarfawi
  

• Haua Fteah Nicholas Hampton (nhampton)& Katie Martin (kaemarti)
  • McBurney 1967 The Haua Fteah, Cyrenaica. (book on reserve)
    
  • Klein and Scott 1986 "re-analysis of faunal assemblages from the Haua Fteah and other Late Quaternary archaeological sites in Cyrenaica Libya" Journal of Archaeological Science 13, 515-514.**
    

• Sites in Libya Stephanie Hendey (shendey)& Beth Trujillo(etrujill) &Mac183;
  • Cremaschi, di Lernia and Garcea 1998 "Some insights on the Aterian in the Libyan Sahara: chronology, environment and archaeology" African Archaeological Review** 15, 261-289
    
    

EAST AFRICA


• Porc Epic Cave Andy Palmer (andpalm) & David Jordan(ddjordan) &Mac183;
  • Clark, Wiliamson, Michels and Marean 1984 "A Middle Stone Age occupation site at Porc Epic cave, Dire Dawa (east-central Ethiopia) The African Archaeological Review** 2, 37-71.
    
• Gademotta Bobby Adkins (rhadkins)
  • Wendorf and Schild 1974 A Middle Stone Age Sequence from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia (book on reserve)
    (Also consult class readings for dates)
• Kulkuletti Open for 1 student (check with Bobby, above, to coordinate) &Mac183;
  • Wendorf and Schild 1974 A Middle Stone Age Sequence from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia (book on reserve)
    
• Muguruk Paul Stumpner (pstumpne)Brad Hagenow (bhagenow)
  • McBrearty 1988 "The Sangoan-Lupemban and Middle Stone Age sequence at the Muguruk site, western Kenya" World Archaeology **19, 388-420
    
  • McBrearty 1991 "Recent research in western Kenya and its implications for the status of the Sangoan industry" from edited volume Cultural Beginnings, pp 159-176
    
• Simbi Open for 1 student
  • McBrearty 1991 "Recent research in western Kenya and its implications for the status of the Sangoan industry" from edited volume Cultural Beginnings, pp 159-176
    
    

• Mumba Cave Tai Embry (tembry) & Miriam Sweeney (mirsween)
  • Mehlman 1991 "Context for the emergence of modern man in eastern Africa: some new Tanzanian evidence" pp 177-196 in edited volume Cultural Beginnings
    
  • Mehlman 1979 "Mumba-Hohle revisited: the relevance of a forgotten excavation to some current issues in East African prehistory" World Archaeology 11, 80-94.
    
• Nasera Rockshelter Open for 1 student
  (check with Tai and Miriam, above, to share reference)
  • Mehlman 1991 "Context for the emergence of modern man in eastern Africa: some new Tanzanian evidence" pp 177-196 in edited volume Cultural Beginnings
    
• Kalambo Falls sites A & C Lindsay Marr (lmarr) & Anita Rau (anrau)
  • Kalambo Falls Prehistoric Site, Vol I site A (Sangoan) and C (Lupemban) (ignore the Acheulian sites)
    
    

SOUTH AFRICA


• Sehonghong Tara Sharer 333-9810 (tsharer)
  Open for 1 more student
  • Carter, Mitchell and Vinnicombe 1988 Sehonghong. The Middle and Late Stone Age industrial sequence at a Lesotho Rock-Shelter
    
• Border Cave Jason Lanker (jlanker) & Sarah Sutor (ssutor)
  • Butzer, Beaumont and Vogel 1978 "Lithostratigraphy of Border Cave, KwaZulu, south Africa: a Middle Stone Age sequence beginning c. 195,000 B.P". Journal of Archaeological Science ** 5:317-341.
  • Grun, Beaumont and Stringer 1990 ESR dating evidence for early modern humans at Border Cave in South Africa Nature 5 April, 1990
    
• Blombos Cave Kelly Mason 336-1720 (kenmason)& Anya Guest 330-2173 (akguest)
  • &Mac183; Hensilwood and Sealy 1997 "Bone artifacts from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa" Current Anthropology 38:890-895.
    
• Duinefontein Brian Schwartz (briaschw) & Joshua Blazier 857-8562 (jblazier) &Mac183;
  • Klein 1978 "A preliminary report on the Middle Stone Age open-air site of Duinefontein 2" S. African Archaeological Bulletin 31: 12-20.
    
• Herold’s Bay Tricia Eichhorn (peichhor)
  • Brink and Deacon1982 "A study of a last Interglacial shell midden and bone accumulation at Herold’s Bay, Cape Province, South Africa. Paleaoecology of Africa ** vol 156: 3139.
    
• Boomplaas Camile Caruso (ccaruso) & Justin Robertson (jurobert)
  • Deacon 1978 "Excavations at Boomplaas Cave – a sequence through the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene in South Africa" World Archaeology ** 10(3) (Plus refer to Deacon textbook)
• Die Kelders Open for 7 students (choose one article)
  • Journal of Human Evolution Volume 38 (2000): the entire issue is non-circulating in the Kent Cooper Room, Main Library ONLY. Pick ONE of the articles to report on:
    
    • Marean et al (stratigraphy)
      
    • Thackery (artifacts)
      
    • Klein and Cruz-Uribe (fauna)
      
    • Marean et al (fauna)
      
    • Goldberg (micro-geology)
      
    • Schwartz and Rink (ESR dating)
      
    • Feathers and Bush (Luminescence dating)
      
• Klasies River Open for 4 students
  • Singer and Wymer 1982 The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa (book on reserve in Geography)
    
• Rose Cottage Cave Open for 4 students
  • Several articles in a special issue of the South African Journal of Science (Oct 1997).These articles are available online from our Library http://www.indiana.edu/~libfind/ through Academic Search Elite:.
    Log-in on campus to EBSCO and SEARCH for "Rose Cottage" and it will link you to the text and images for the papers by Lyn Wadley, et al.