Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorSahle, Yonatan
dc.contributor.advisorWilkins, Jayne
dc.contributor.authorMaenzanise, Precious
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-18T10:28:51Z
dc.date.available2025-09-18T10:28:51Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.date.updated2025-02-27T10:01:05Z
dc.description.abstractThe social transmission of cultural information is widely recognized as a crucial component contributing to the survival and prosperity of our species. This thesis studies lithic technological systems to assess the extent of the transmission of cultural information between different early human groups across the Kalahari Basin and adjoining regions during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 (~130-74 ka), a key time and place for understanding the emergence and expansion of complex behaviors in Africa. It has been proposed that glacial periods (e.g., MIS 4) in southern Africa were characterized by coalescence, while interglacial periods (e.g., MIS 5) were characterized by population fragmentation. While these previous hypotheses represent important examples for testing the degrees of population interconnectedness during MIS 5, they were based primarily on sites outside of the Kalahari Basin and its environs. Therefore, the central inquiry of this thesis is to investigate the presence and extent of cultural transmission among hunter-gatherer populations in and around the Kalahari Basin, assessing whether patterns of population fragmentation observed during MIS 5 are discernible in these regions. This inquiry is achieved by studying lithic assemblages from multiple sites and comparing them using a behavioral approach to cultural transmission. The samples studied are from Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, Kathu Pan 6, Erfkroon, and Florisbad in South Africa, and ≠Gi and White Paintings Rockshelter in Botswana. The results of this study indicate there are many technological similarities across most of the studied sites, including the predominant use of local raw materials, recurrent Levallois methods, hard hammer percussion technique, core maintenance primarily by débordant removals, manufacturing of similar products, mostly with faceted platforms, and a low frequency of formal tools. This homogeneity may reflect technological information exchange and connections between human groups at these sites. The connectivity is inferred to be closely linked to their adaptation to the drier climatic conditions that persisted in the Kalahari Basin and its adjoining regions, in contrast to coastal and other inland areas. The arid and semi-arid environments may have necessitated the formation of social ties to access scarce and potentially unpredictable resources. In contrast to some other regions that show fragmentation during interglacial periods, the Kalahari Basin and adjacent regions did not follow the same pattern.
dc.identifier.apacitationMaenzanise, P. (2024). <i>Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin</i>. (). Universiy of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMaenzanise, Precious. <i>"Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin."</i> ., Universiy of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMaenzanise, P. 2024. Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin. . Universiy of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Maenzanise, Precious AB - The social transmission of cultural information is widely recognized as a crucial component contributing to the survival and prosperity of our species. This thesis studies lithic technological systems to assess the extent of the transmission of cultural information between different early human groups across the Kalahari Basin and adjoining regions during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 (~130-74 ka), a key time and place for understanding the emergence and expansion of complex behaviors in Africa. It has been proposed that glacial periods (e.g., MIS 4) in southern Africa were characterized by coalescence, while interglacial periods (e.g., MIS 5) were characterized by population fragmentation. While these previous hypotheses represent important examples for testing the degrees of population interconnectedness during MIS 5, they were based primarily on sites outside of the Kalahari Basin and its environs. Therefore, the central inquiry of this thesis is to investigate the presence and extent of cultural transmission among hunter-gatherer populations in and around the Kalahari Basin, assessing whether patterns of population fragmentation observed during MIS 5 are discernible in these regions. This inquiry is achieved by studying lithic assemblages from multiple sites and comparing them using a behavioral approach to cultural transmission. The samples studied are from Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, Kathu Pan 6, Erfkroon, and Florisbad in South Africa, and ≠Gi and White Paintings Rockshelter in Botswana. The results of this study indicate there are many technological similarities across most of the studied sites, including the predominant use of local raw materials, recurrent Levallois methods, hard hammer percussion technique, core maintenance primarily by débordant removals, manufacturing of similar products, mostly with faceted platforms, and a low frequency of formal tools. This homogeneity may reflect technological information exchange and connections between human groups at these sites. The connectivity is inferred to be closely linked to their adaptation to the drier climatic conditions that persisted in the Kalahari Basin and its adjoining regions, in contrast to coastal and other inland areas. The arid and semi-arid environments may have necessitated the formation of social ties to access scarce and potentially unpredictable resources. In contrast to some other regions that show fragmentation during interglacial periods, the Kalahari Basin and adjacent regions did not follow the same pattern. DA - 2024 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Kalahari Basin KW - Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 KW - Middle Stone Age KW - lithic technology KW - social transmission LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - Universiy of Cape Town PY - 2024 T1 - Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin TI - Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMaenzanise P. Early human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin. []. Universiy of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology, 2024 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41856en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeology
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.publisher.institutionUniversiy of Cape Town
dc.subjectKalahari Basin
dc.subjectMarine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5
dc.subjectMiddle Stone Age
dc.subjectlithic technology
dc.subjectsocial transmission
dc.titleEarly human social transmission during Marine Isotope Stage 5: a perspective from the Kalahari Basin
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationlevelPhD
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_sci_2024_maenzanise precious.pdf
Size:
5.8 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.72 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
PhD / Doctoral