The Oldowan horizon in Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa): archaeological, geological, paleontological and paleoclimatic evidence

Authors

Michael Chazan, University of Toronto
D. Margaret Avery, Iziko South African Museum
Marion K. Bamford, University of Witwatersrand
Francesco Berna, Boston University
James Brink, National Museum, South Africa
Yolanda Fernandez-Jalvo, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid
Paul Goldberg, Boston UniversityFollow
Sharon Holt, National Museum, South Africa
Ari Matmon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Naomi Porat, Geological Survey of Israel
Hagai Ron, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Lloyd Rossouw, University of Free State
Louis Scott, University of Free State
Liora Kolska Horwitz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

RIS ID

102461

Publication Details

Chazan, M., Avery, D., Bamford, M. K., Berna, F., Brink, J., Fernandez-Jalvo, Y., Goldberg, P., Holt, S., Matmon, A., Porat, N., Ron, H., Rossouw, L., Scott, L. & Horwitz, L. (2012). The Oldowan horizon in Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa): archaeological, geological, paleontological and paleoclimatic evidence. Journal of Human Evolution, 63 (6), 859-866.

Abstract

Introduction

In marked contrast to East Africa, where the emergence of stone tool technology (∼2.6 Ma) is well documented at a wide range of sites (Semaw, 2000; Schick and Toth, 2006; Hovers and Braun, 2009), the earliest stages of tool production are known from only a small number of localities in southern Africa, none of which is interpreted as representing primary contexts (Kuman, 1998; Schick and Toth, 2006). Here we provide the first comprehensive description of an in situ Oldowan deposit from basal Stratum 12 inside Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.