Emergence of Modern Human Behavior: Middle Stone Age Engravings from South Africa.

Christopher S. Henshilwood (1) , Francesco d'Errico (2) , Royden Yates (1) , Zenobia Jacobs (3) , Chantal Tribolo (4, 5) , Geoff A. T. Duller (3) , Norbert Mercier (4, 5) , Judith C. Sealy (6) , Helene Valladas (4, 5) , Ian Watts (1) , Ann G. Wintle (3)

1 Iziko Museum of Cape Town
2 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie
3 Luminescence Dating Laboratory
4 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
5 GEOTRAC - Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
6 Department of Archaeology

In the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic after about 35,000 years ago, abstract or depictional images provide evidence for cognitive abilities considered integral to modern human behavior. Here we report on two abstract representations engraved on pieces of red ochre recovered from the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave in South Africa. A mean date of 77,000 years was obtained for the layers containing the engraved ochres by thermoluminescence dating of burnt lithics, and the stratigraphic integrity was confirmed by an optically stimulated luminescence age of 70,000 years on an overlying dune. These engravings support the emergence of modern human behavior in Africa at least 35,000 years before the start of the Upper Paleolithic.

Mots clés: ochre; South Africa; Blombos Cave; Middle Stone Age; engraved representations

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Christopher S. Henshilwood, Francesco d'Errico, Royden Yates, Zenobia Jacobs, Chantal Tribolo, et al.. Emergence of Modern Human Behavior: Middle Stone Age Engravings from South Africa.. Science, 2002, 295, pp.1278-1280. ⟨10.1126/science.1067575⟩. ⟨halshs-00445308⟩