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Use-Wear Analysis Brings “Vanished Technologies” to Light

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Abstract

I review five “vanished technologies” from southern Africa that have been brought to light through use-wear studies of bone tools. Most of the examples discussed here represent the first recognition of these technologies in the region and provide unique insights into the technological and behavioral repertoires of past humans and hominins. Hominin foraging and subsistence practices are inferred from the use-wear patterns on modified bones from four sites in the Cradle of Humankind. Early evidence for bow-and-arrow technology comes from Sibudu Cave and Klasies River Main site, with the evidence from the latter site extending the known distribution of this technology farther south. Use-wear has shown that modified bones, thought to have been pendants, were used in a manner more consistent with the production of sound and likely represent early musical instruments. In a similar vein, use-wear has shown that several bone points, conventionally interpreted as arrowheads, were used for domestic activities, such as making reed mats or baskets. Among some of the earliest state-level societies in southern Africa, the presence of bone hoes attests to the practice of small-scale garden agriculture, placing greater emphasis on individual agency within these complex societies. Use-wear studies continue to highlight the absurdity of attributing function based on shape.

Résumé

Je propose une revue de cinq « technologies disparues » d’Afrique australe qui ont été mises en lumière grâce aux études tracéologiques des outils en os. Dans la plupart des cas, les exemples discutés ici représentent la première identification de ces technologies dans la région et donnent un aperçu unique des répertoires technologiques et comportementaux des hommes et homininés passés. Les stratégies de subsistance des homininés sont déduites des traces d’usure observées sur des os modifiés provenant de quatre sites du « Cradle of Humankind ». Des preuves anciennes de la technologie de l’arc proviennent de Sibudu Cave et du site principal à Klasies River, celles de ce dernier étendant la distribution connue de cette technologie encore plus au sud. La tracéologie a montré que les os modifiés, considérés comme des pendentifs, étaient utilisés d’une manière plus cohérente avec la production de sons et représentent probablement des instruments de musique anciens. Dans la même veine, la tracéologie a montré que plusieurs pointes en os, traditionnellement interprétées comme des pointes de flèches, étaient en fait utilisées pour des activités domestiques, comme la confection de matelas de roseaux ou de paniers. Parmi certaines des sociétés étatiques les plus anciennes en Afrique australe, la présence de houes en os atteste de la pratique de l’horticulture à petite échelle, mettant davantage l’accent sur l’action individuelle au sein de ces sociétés complexes. Les études tracéologiques continuent de souligner l’absurdité

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Acknowledgments

I thank Lucinda Backwell, Tim Forssman, and Francesco d’Errico for permission to reproduce some of their images. I also thank Aurore Val for translating the abstract.

Funding

I acknowledge the support of the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 115198) in funding some of the research presented here.

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  1. Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa

    Justin Bradfield

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Correspondence to Justin Bradfield.

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Bradfield, J. Use-Wear Analysis Brings “Vanished Technologies” to Light. Afr Archaeol Rev 37, 615–626 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-020-09412-8

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