The archaeological assemblage recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels in Blombos Cave, South Africa, is central to our understanding of the development of early modern humans. Here, we demonstrate that the cultural and technological innovations inferred from the Blombos Cave MSA record also correlate with significant shifts in site use and occupational intensity. Through a comprehensive geoarchaeological investigation of three MSA occupation phases, we identified distinct diachronic trends in the frequency of visits and the modes of occupation. During the earliest phases (ca. 88–82 ka), humans inhabited the cave for more extended periods, but cave visits were not frequent. During the later phases (ca. 77–72 ka), the cave was more regularly visited but for shorter periods each time. We argue that these changes in local occupational intensity, which also coincide with shifts in vegetation, sea levels, and subsistence, can best be explained by broader changes in hunter-gatherer mobility strategies and occupation patterns. Fundamental changes in regional settlement dynamics during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 5b-4 would have significantly affected the nature and frequency of social interaction within and between prehistoric populations living in the southern Cape, a scenario that ultimately may explain some of the social and technological advances that occurred there during this time frame.

中文翻译：

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对南非 Blombos 洞穴占领矿床的地质考古调查表明，在 MIS 5b-4 期间，南开普省的场地使用和沉降动态发生了变化

从南非 Blombos 洞穴的中石器时代 (MSA) 水平恢复的考古组合对于我们了解早期现代人类的发展至关重要。在这里，我们证明了从 Blombos Cave MSA 记录中推断出的文化和技术创新也与场地使用和职业强度的显着变化相关。通过对三个 MSA 占领阶段的全面地质考古调查，我们确定了访问频率和占领模式的明显历时趋势。在最早的阶段（约 88-82 ka），人类在洞穴中居住的时间更长，但洞穴访问并不频繁。在后期阶段（约 77-72 ka），洞穴的访问频率更高，但每次访问的时间更短。我们认为，当地职业强度的这些变化，也与植被、海平面和生计的变化相吻合，最好用狩猎-采集者流动策略和职业模式的更广泛变化来解释。海洋氧同位素阶段 5b-4 期间区域定居动态的根本变化将显着影响生活在南开普敦的史前人群内部和之间社会互动的性质和频率，这种情况最终可能解释了一些社会和技术进步在此期间发生在那里。