The Still Bay is a key technocomplex within the Middle Stone Age (MSA), and Sibudu, in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, provides one of the longest and richest pre-Still Bay to Still Bay sequences. It has been hypothesised that the Still Bay industry emerged through technological revolution or alternatively through gradual change. In this paper we conduct a geometric morphometric (GM) assessment of the shape differences between the pre-Still Bay and Still Bay points at Sibudu to assess their implication for technological evolution. Pre-Still Bay points are often thought of as unifacial and single-pointed, and Still Bay points as bifacial and double-pointed. Our analysis reveals a more complex and evolving pattern, lending support for the gradual change hypothesis. When the earliest pre-Still Bay points are compared with the Still Bay points, a significant difference in shape is seen. However, intermediate units provide evidence of an evolutionary continuum between those distinct ends of the continuum.

Still Bay 是中石器时代 (MSA) 内的一个关键技术综合体，位于南非夸祖鲁纳塔尔省的 Sibudu 提供了最长和最丰富的前斯蒂尔湾到斯蒂尔湾序列之一。据推测，Still Bay 产业是通过技术革命或逐渐变化而出现的。在本文中，我们对 Sibudu 的 Pre-Still Bay 和 Still Bay 点之间的形状差异进行了几何形态测量 (GM) 评估，以评估它们对技术发展的影响。Pre-Still Bay 点通常被认为是单面和单点，而 Still Bay 点通常被认为是双面和双点。我们的分析揭示了一种更复杂和不断发展的模式，为渐变假设提供了支持。当最早的前 Still Bay 点与 Still Bay 点进行比较时，可以看到形状的显着差异。然而，中间单元提供了连续体的那些不同端之间进化连续体的证据。