The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts
Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behav...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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UJ Press
2024-05-01
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| Series: | Southern African Field Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/safa/article/view/3010 |
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| author | Manuel Will Matthias Blessing Gunther H.D. Möller Lawrence Msimanga Hanna Pehnert Svenja Riedesel Greg A. Botha Christian Sommer |
| author_facet | Manuel Will Matthias Blessing Gunther H.D. Möller Lawrence Msimanga Hanna Pehnert Svenja Riedesel Greg A. Botha Christian Sommer |
| author_sort | Manuel Will |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behaviour. The Stone Age record in southern Africa remains best-known from sheltered sites. A paucity of stratified open-air localities precludes understanding the full spectrum of past hominin activities. Here we introduce an interdisciplinary project in KwaZulu-Natal to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscape dynamics during the Pleistocene in the open-air context of a stratified hillslope with sediments exposed in so-called dongas, a landform created by gully erosion. The project encompasses field and laboratory approaches, combining archaeological, geographical, geological, chronometric, and palaeoenvironmental data. After reviewing relevant open-air research in archaeology and geography, we identify the Jojosi Dongas as a promising research area. Our fieldwork results from 2022-2023 demonstrate the high archaeological, geographical, and geological potential of this landscape. Foot surveys found abundant MSA artefacts spread throughout the dongas, one area with ESA tools, but little to no traces of LSA or later material. Most finds lie on the surface with rarer stratified material occurring in exposed profiles. The surface MSA material is characterised by almost exclusive hornfels use, frequent cortical pieces, many large blanks and cores, and rare retouched tools. These features differ markedly from lithic trends observed in well-known shelter sites, likely the result of differences in site function. Based on the nature of the surface assemblages and the presence of a large outcrop of high-quality hornfels, we hypothesise that the Jojosi Dongas may have been a specialised quarry and workshop area. The stratified MSA occupations are the focus of ongoing excavations and further studies will aim to test our preliminary interpretations provided here.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbcce0fdece9462195e9a0da393b1849 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1019-5785 2789-1844 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | UJ Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Southern African Field Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-dbcce0fdece9462195e9a0da393b18492025-08-20T03:14:47ZengUJ PressSouthern African Field Archaeology1019-57852789-18442024-05-011910.36615/safa.19.3010.2024The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contextsManuel Will0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8116-2543Matthias Blessing1Gunther H.D. Möller2Lawrence Msimanga3Hanna Pehnert4Svenja Riedesel5Greg A. Botha6Christian Sommer7University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Tübingen, GermanyUniversity of Connecticut, Department of Anthropology, Deep History Lab, Storrs, CT, USAUniversity of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Tübingen, Germany ArcheoTask, Carl-Benz Straße 7, Engen, GermanyUniversity of Tübingen, Department of Geosciences, Institute of Geography, GermanyDepartment of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde/Lyngby, DenmarkUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, South AfricaThe Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Tübingen, Germany Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behaviour. The Stone Age record in southern Africa remains best-known from sheltered sites. A paucity of stratified open-air localities precludes understanding the full spectrum of past hominin activities. Here we introduce an interdisciplinary project in KwaZulu-Natal to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscape dynamics during the Pleistocene in the open-air context of a stratified hillslope with sediments exposed in so-called dongas, a landform created by gully erosion. The project encompasses field and laboratory approaches, combining archaeological, geographical, geological, chronometric, and palaeoenvironmental data. After reviewing relevant open-air research in archaeology and geography, we identify the Jojosi Dongas as a promising research area. Our fieldwork results from 2022-2023 demonstrate the high archaeological, geographical, and geological potential of this landscape. Foot surveys found abundant MSA artefacts spread throughout the dongas, one area with ESA tools, but little to no traces of LSA or later material. Most finds lie on the surface with rarer stratified material occurring in exposed profiles. The surface MSA material is characterised by almost exclusive hornfels use, frequent cortical pieces, many large blanks and cores, and rare retouched tools. These features differ markedly from lithic trends observed in well-known shelter sites, likely the result of differences in site function. Based on the nature of the surface assemblages and the presence of a large outcrop of high-quality hornfels, we hypothesise that the Jojosi Dongas may have been a specialised quarry and workshop area. The stratified MSA occupations are the focus of ongoing excavations and further studies will aim to test our preliminary interpretations provided here. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/safa/article/view/3010Middle Stone AgeEarlier Stone Age open-air archaeologygeomorphologysurvey |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Will Matthias Blessing Gunther H.D. Möller Lawrence Msimanga Hanna Pehnert Svenja Riedesel Greg A. Botha Christian Sommer The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts Southern African Field Archaeology Middle Stone Age Earlier Stone Age open-air archaeology geomorphology survey |
| title | The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts |
| title_full | The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts |
| title_fullStr | The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts |
| title_short | The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts |
| title_sort | jojosi dongas an interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open air contexts |
| topic | Middle Stone Age Earlier Stone Age open-air archaeology geomorphology survey |
| url | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/safa/article/view/3010 |
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