Multidisciplinary research suggests that Marine Isotope Stage 5 (~130–74 ka) was an important evolutionary stage in African deep history. Population expansion and growth spurred changes in material culture as well as the exploration of previously unoccupied regions and ecosystems. The archaeological sequence at Melikane Rockshelter (1860 masl) in the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains of highland Lesotho, southern Africa, stretches from the late Holocene back to sub-stage 5a, ~80 ka. The site's earliest strata represent one of the earliest known examples of a sustained human presence in high mountain systems worldwide. This paper deals with the lithic assemblages from those levels, which are currently the oldest radiometrically dated archaeology in Lesotho and one of the few stratified assemblages of Last Interglacial age in the southern African interior. The results of a typo-technological analysis of the assemblages are presented. They suggest that the afromontane foragers who resided at Melikane employed both blade-focussed and bipolar flaking systems, curated a maintainable toolkit suited to frequent residential moves, and used a hybrid provisioning system adapted to their immediate environment. Comparisons with other late Last Interglacial assemblages across the subcontinent suggest that highland populations at this time were largely disconnected from their lowland counterparts. This implies that as Last Interglacial populations in southern Africa expanded into new environments, they also fragmented, adapting to local conditions rather than adhering to a universal technological system.

多学科研究表明，海洋同位素第 5 阶段（~130-74 ka）是非洲深层历史的一个重要进化阶段。人口扩张和增长刺激了物质文化的变化以及对以前无人居住的地区和生态系统的探索。位于非洲南部莱索托高原马洛蒂-德拉肯斯堡山脉的 Melikane Rockshelter (1860 masl) 的考古序列从全新世晚期一直延伸到亚阶段 5a，~80 ka。该遗址最早的地层代表了人类在全球高山系统中持续存在的最早已知例子之一。本文从这些层面处理石器组合，这是目前莱索托最古老的放射性测年考古学，也是南部非洲内陆末次间冰期为数不多的分层组合之一。介绍了组合的印刷技术分析结果。他们建议居住在 Melikane 的非洲山地觅食者采用了叶片聚焦和双极剥落系统，策划了一个适合频繁住宅移动的可维护工具包，并使用了一个适合他们直接环境的混合供应系统。与整个次大陆其他末次间冰期晚期组合的比较表明，此时的高地人口与低地人口在很大程度上是脱节的。这意味着随着南部非洲的末次间冰期人口扩展到新的环境中，他们也支离破碎，