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Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene

Abstract

Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 thousand years (kyr) ago1,2, and recent evidence indicates symbolic behaviour may have appeared 135–75 kyr ago3,4. From 195–130 kyr ago, the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage (marine isotope stage MIS6)5; much of Africa was cooler and drier, and dated archaeological sites are rare6,7. Here we show that by 164 kyr ago (±12 kyr) at Pinnacle Point (on the south coast of South Africa) humans expanded their diet to include marine resources, perhaps as a response to these harsh environmental conditions. The earliest previous evidence for human use of marine resources and coastal habitats was dated to 125 kyr ago8,9. Coincident with this diet and habitat expansion is an early use and modification of pigment, probably for symbolic behaviour, as well as the production of bladelet stone tool technology, previously dated to post-70 kyr ago10,11,12. Shellfish may have been crucial to the survival of these early humans as they expanded their home ranges to include coastlines and followed the shifting position of the coast when sea level fluctuated over the length of MIS6.

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Figure 1: Contour map of PP13B, photograph of the LC-MSA eastern section, and the frequency of shellfish and ochre.
Figure 2: Ochre and lithics from the LC-MSA Lower.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the ISSR staff at ASU, the MAP staff for their assistance, the Dias Museum for field facilities, SAHRA and HWC for permits, and Waelbroeck for helping with sea level data. This research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (to C.W.M.) and the Hyde Family Foundation (to C.W.M.).

Author Contributions C.W.M. directed the excavations and is the project principal investigator. Authors made contributions in the following areas: M.B.-M., U-series dating; J.B., analysis of orientation and dip; E.F., three-dimensional GIS; P.G. and P.K., micromorphology and geology; A.I.R.H., geology and sediment magnetics; Z.J., OSL dating; A.J., shell analysis; T.M., E.T. and H.M.W., lithics; P.J.N., co-direction of the excavations; and I.W., ochre. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Curtis W. Marean.

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Supplementary Information

The file contains Supplementary Figures 1-13 with Legends, Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Tables 1-6, Supplementary Discussion and additional references. (PDF 2619 kb)

Supplementary Movie

The file contains Supplementary Video 1 which shows 3D model of site and finds. (MOV 65953 kb)

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Marean, C., Bar-Matthews, M., Bernatchez, J. et al. Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene. Nature 449, 905–908 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06204

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