Abstract

Inferences drawn from the study of the variability in sets of stone artefacts are central to the debate on the emergence of modern behaviour in the Middle and Late Pleistocene in Africa. Some argue that the Middle Stone Age demonstrates little variability while others emphasise the clear temporal and regional patterning. These contrary perceptions result from using methodologies that highlight different aspects of the variability. How the methodologies influence the detection and interpretation of variability is discussed with reference to the Klasies River site. This artefact sequence has been assessed as reflecting typological and technological stasis with marked change in the sequence only recognisable in the Howieson's Poort sub-stage. The study reported here suggests that technological variables indicate that the MSA I, MSA II and Howieson's Poort represent distinct technological conventions or technocomplexes aimed at the production of different end-products. In the MSA I, a blade strategy dominates, in the MSA II a Levallois-like production strategy is inferred while the Howieson's Poort again represents a blade reduction strategy with a more extended chaîne opératoire than the other sub-stages. To clarify the differences between the MSA I and MSA II, univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of the continuous variables of the end-products, points and blades were undertaken. This confirmed and quantified that the MSA I can be distinguished from the MSA II in terms of technological characteristics. It is evident that the platform characteristics of the end-products are time-sensitive indicators of differences between the sub-stages. It is important that the changes in the sequence at Klasies River are correlated with other Middle Stone Age occurrences. It is only when regional patterning is clarified that the issue of modern behaviour can be addressed in terms of the variability in Middle Stone Age artefacts.

Résumé

La variabilité des assemblages lithiques est au coeur du débat sur l’émergence des comportements moderne au cours du Pléistocène moyen et supérieur en Afrique. Certains auteurs considèrent que le Middle Stone Age (MSA) se caractérise par une faible variabilité alors que d'autres identifient des différences diachroniques et régionales. Ces visions opposées sont la conséquence des méthodes d'analyse, chacune mettant en évidence certains aspects de la variabilité entre assemblages.