Published peer-reviewed papers by Matt Lotter
Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 2023
Several taphonomic processes can alter the surface of archaeological bone in a manner that may ca... more Several taphonomic processes can alter the surface of archaeological bone in a manner that may cause them to superficially resemble bone tools used as digging implements. Under close examination, however, the resultant microwear is usually quite distinct. While many experiments have been done to document the effects of fluvial processes on bone surface alteration, there are many mass soil movement process whose microwear effects have not yet been properly investigated and which could conceivably produce microwear similar to digging imple- ments. One example, which pertains to the Cradle of Humankind landscape, is soil creep. We present the results of an experiment that assesses the resultant microwear on stationary bones occasioned by artificially accelerated soil creep processes. We show that the passage of saturated sediments over stationary bones produces rounding and pitting, and does not resemble microwear occasioned either by fluvial transport or experimental digging in sediments. Although there is room to test additional variables, we conclude that the purported bone tools from the Cradle of Humankind sites were not affected by soil creep processes, at least not to the extent that they caused surface alterations.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2023
With this contribution, we provide a species and edible part list for the foodplant population of... more With this contribution, we provide a species and edible part list for the foodplant population of the Wonderboom landscape at the eastern end of the Magaliesberg range in Gauteng, South Africa, as a current proxy to hypothesise about past foraging behaviours. The greater Magaliesberg region is an ancient, relatively stable ecotone between the Grassland and Savanna Biomes, with its roots in the plateau uplift at ~ 4 Ma. We present the foraging landscape (foraging-scape) in a three-tier model at intervals of ~ 12.5 km, ~ 35 km, and ~ 70 km to assess proportional increases in foodplant species and edible parts when the foraging range is increased. We demonstrate that foraging within a ~ 12.5 km radius from the site provides an exceptionally rich foodplant landscape today. Thus, if the foodplant fitness potential during the Middle Pleistocene was roughly similar, it is reasonable to hypothesise that the Wonderboom foragers may have had little reason—apart from perhaps famine or drought—to go beyond a daily range for collecting plant foods. The Wonderboom ~ 12.5 km radius surface area is broadly similar to the footprint of the Cradle of Humankind ~ 40–70 km to its southwest. Directly comparing their foodplant species inventories shows that currently, 185 more foodplants grow around Wonderboom than in the Cradle. Our results suggest that the ecotone locality of Wonderboom, between the Grassland Biome to the south and the Savanna Biome to the north, may have had adaptive advantages in terms of its foodplant foraging potential.
Southern African Field Archaeology, 2023
The recent identification of kite sites on the Keimoes landscape, in the Northern Cape Province o... more The recent identification of kite sites on the Keimoes landscape, in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, has shed light on how past populations built and utilised low stone structures to funnel and capture game. By strategically identifying and using certain aspects of the surrounding landscape, in conjunction with key design aspects, local groups maximised hunting proficiency. With this contribution, we revisit the Keimoes landscape to continue our search for more funnel sites and to establish whether there is consistency in some of their key design aspects, as identified in earlier publications. We introduce three more kite sites and provide their morphological and landscape details. For the first time, we also demonstrate that some of the kites were purposefully located near rocky outcrops from which construction material could be collected.
Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa, 2023
The lower Sundays River Valley lies roughly 40 km north of the city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Ca... more The lower Sundays River Valley lies roughly 40 km north of the city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa (Fig. 1a). The Sundays River starts along the edge of the Great Escarpment and it then flows in a southerly direction towards the Indian Ocean where it terminates near Colchester. Along this path and roughly 80 km from the coast, the Sundays River intersects the Klein Winterhoek Mountains that form the division between the upper and lower valleys (at Korhaans Drift; Hattingh & Rust, 1999). These mountains represent the easternmost limit of the Cape Fold Belt, and they are composed of quartzites and sandstones of the Palaeozoic Witteberg Group that account for 95% of the clasts found downstream (Hattingh, 1994; Hattingh & Rust, 1999; Ruddock, 1948).
Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa, 2023
Uitdraai 33 (29.56° S, 22.86° E; Figs. 1 and 2) is located 16 km from the town of Prieska in the ... more Uitdraai 33 (29.56° S, 22.86° E; Figs. 1 and 2) is located 16 km from the town of Prieska in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. This site was first visited in August 2007 to assess the archeological potential of a large terrace in a bend of the Orange River. This visit revealed that the terraces are characterized by a large banded ironstone outcropping, situated on top of a Miocene-aged river terrace (Fig. 3). Because the terrace was to be destroyed by mining development, it was decided to perform a limited archaeological investigation of the site to extract assemblage and regional data and to contribute to our understanding of the prov- ince’s Stone Age sequence. Through a systematic surface survey and collection, assemblages were retrieved from three sections of the terrace, comprising samples of prepared and organized cores, points, blades, and bifaces. Three small-scale excavations were also conducted on each of the terrace sections.
Quaternary Geochronology, 2023
Penhill Farm is an Earlier Stone Age (ESA) Acheulean archaeological site located within the south... more Penhill Farm is an Earlier Stone Age (ESA) Acheulean archaeological site located within the southeastern Cape coastal region of South Africa. Although ESA artifacts have been known for this region since the 1950s, limited archaeological work and an inability to date the terrace context sites have prevented understanding the technological progression from the ESA to Middle Stone Age (MSA) and their placement within the Stone Age chronology of South Africa. Here we use cosmogenic 26 Al and 10 Be to reveal a two-stage depositional history for a stone tool assemblage recovered from a debris flow deposit, with artifacts dating to ca. 1.1 Ma (million years) incorporated into a debris flow dating to ca. 0.6 Ma, thereby constraining the Penhill Farm Acheulean occupation to the Early Pleistocene.
PLOS ONE, 2023
The relationship between Earlier Stone Age (ESA) hominins and the southern African coastal enviro... more The relationship between Earlier Stone Age (ESA) hominins and the southern African coastal environment has been poorly investigated, despite the high concentration of open- air sites in marine and fluvial terraces of the coastal plain from c. 1Ma onward during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Southern Africa provides some of the earliest evidence of coastal subsistence strategies since the end of the Middle Pleistocene, during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). These coastal MSA sites showcase the role of coastal environments in the emergence and development of modern human behaviors. Given the high prevalence of coastal ESA sites throughout the region, we seek to question the relationship between hominins and coastal landscapes much earlier in time. In this regard, the +100 m raised beaches of the Benguela Province, Angola, are key areas as they are well-preserved and contain a dense record of prehistoric occupation from the beginning of the Middle Pleisto- cene, including sites like Dungo, Mormolo, Sombreiro, Macaca and Punta das Vacas. Accordingly, this paper provides a critical review of the coastal ESA record of southern Africa and a detailed presentation of the Dungo IV site, through a qualitative technological analysis coupled with a quantitative inter-site comparison with contemporary southern African coastal plain sites. Through our detailed technological analyses, we highlight the influence of coastal lithological resources on the technical behaviors of hominin groups, and we propose the existence of a “regional adaptive strategy” in a coastal landscape more than 600 000 years ago. Finally, we argue for the integration of coastal landscapes into hominins’ territories, suggesting that adaptation to coastal environments is actually a slower process which begins with “territorialization” well before the emergence and devel- opment of Homo sapiens.
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2023
We present the first techno-functional examination of backed knives from the southern African Ach... more We present the first techno-functional examination of backed knives from the southern African Acheulean. Our results suggest that they were opportunistically produced, although they demonstrate a unique ergonomic design that may have increased their efficiency in subsistence activities. Moreover, the frequency of backed knives at Wonderboom may be associated with possible meat harvesting at a nearby gap (Wonderboompoort) in the Magaliesberg range, which formed a bottleneck for animal herds migrating across major biome boundaries in the deep past. The Wonderboom knives might have been made on an ad hoc basis to augment butchery practices.
South African Archaeological Bulletin, 2022
Penhill Farm is one of three newly reported Sundays River Valley Acheulean sites and collectively... more Penhill Farm is one of three newly reported Sundays River Valley Acheulean sites and collectively, with sites Atmar and Bernol Farms, is pushing back our understanding of Earlier Stone Age tool production strategies for this near-coastal region. Over the last few years, a series of papers have described important but minor components of the Penhill Farm assemblage through which several key trends have been identified in the way that formal tools were produced, and how cores were reduced to provide suitable tool blanks. The aim of this paper is to complete the description of the remaining artefacts at Penhill Farm, the majority of which consist of debris and debitage but also include samples of atypical artefacts as well as non-lithic materials. By applying a techno-typological and morphometric-based approach, this paper provides clarity on raw material preferences and variability, lithic reduction schemes and economisation, and on-versus off-site task variation.
Lithic Technology, 2023
Geometric morphometric studies in the Baise Basin in South China have documented unique tongue-li... more Geometric morphometric studies in the Baise Basin in South China have documented unique tongue-like tip morphologies in handaxes sampled from the fourth terrace of the Youjiang River Valley. With this study, we report on a new handaxe assemblage found at the Natang site and present data that further document the prevalence of these rounded tip morphologies in the region. We use experimental replications to recreate the unique morphology of the handaxes, and demonstrate that a specific tip rounding strategy was employed by hominins as an economic and effective way to produce wider, more rounded and thinner distal tips. We suggest that these tongue-like tips indicate a predetermined design, and consequently, reflect a level of shape standardization that is heightened in functional tool portions. Moreover, this study provides further documentation of the regionally unique tool-making preferences that Pleistocene hominins employed when flexibly adapting to local environmental conditions and resource availabilities.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2022
Work on large samples of southern African archaeological lithics, probably used to tip hunting we... more Work on large samples of southern African archaeological lithics, probably used to tip hunting weapons amongst other things, and ethno-historical bone and iron weapon tips of known use exposed limitations in the tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) method's robustness for hypothesising about variation in ancient weapon-delivery systems. Here, we list some of the limitations and discuss a few recently published improvements in tip cross-sectional area ranges and data presentation. Our main contribution is the meaningful enlargement of datasets obtained from hafted weapon tips and/or weapon tips of known use mostly from sub-Saharan Africa. We briefly discuss why this region is relevant for studying trends in the evolution and development of hunting weapons. Our new data are used to strengthen and constrain the different TCSA ranges used as proxies for poisoned arrow tips, un-poisoned arrow tips, javelin tips, stabbing-spear tips, and to suggest a working TCSA range for thrusting-spear tips. We demonstrate that the calibrated TCSA ranges have robust statistical integrity as proxies for the different weapon-delivery systems they represent. Apart from the dart-tip category, the TCSA method has now been improved to accommodate more nuanced and accurate interpretations, while further strengthening hypothesis building about ancient weapon systems.
Southern African Field Archaeology, 2022
We report on a programme of work to remediate Kruger Cave, a Later Stone Age painted rock shelter... more We report on a programme of work to remediate Kruger Cave, a Later Stone Age painted rock shelter in the western Magaliesberg, South Africa. Kruger Cave, excavated in the 1980s and never backfilled or stabilised, has deteriorated through forty years of erosional and quotidian processes that have significantly reduced the extent of the archaeological deposit. The cave is currently occupied by a lay Christian pastor whose activities at the site place the remaining archaeological deposit at further risk. Remedial work was undertaken on what remains of the archaeology-bearing sediment. We also present the preliminary analysis from two small-scale excavations that aimed to document the site's stratigraphy. We explore the ambivalence of Kruger Cave's living heritage status within the context of current heritage management practices and discuss how our remedial work is designed to be responsive and respectful to both the archaeological and living heritage priorities.
Southern African Field Archaeology, 2022
Recent excavations at Penhill Farm and Amanzi Springs have reinvigorated interest in the Acheulea... more Recent excavations at Penhill Farm and Amanzi Springs have reinvigorated interest in the Acheulean archaeological record of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. While this research now provides valuable detail on hominin adaptations in environments that differ from the interior, few Acheulean assemblages in this region have been recorded or thoroughly analysed. Here we compare Acheulean handaxes from Penhill Farm and the Amanzi Springs Area 1 locality to help characterise the expression of this technocomplex in the Eastern Cape. We employ a multivariate analysis of allometry to highlight the relationship between shape variance in relation to the size of handaxes, which further provide perspective on shaping processes. Results demonstrate high levels of techno-morphological variability that may distinguish Acheulean handaxes in the Eastern Cape region from sites elsewhere. We further argue that morphological variation in handaxes from Penhill Farm and Amanzi Springs may have also been influenced by site function, discard behaviours and group mobility patterns. These data refute the notion that the Acheulean technocomplex represents a single, homogenous technological entity, but rather was a flexible tradition that was influenced by region-specific factors.
South African Archaeological Bulletin, 2021
Sites within the lower Sundays River Valley are helping to characterise the Acheulean for the sou... more Sites within the lower Sundays River Valley are helping to characterise the Acheulean for the southeastern Cape coastal region of South Africa, primarily through investigations at three newly reported sites: Penhill, Atmar and Bernol Farms. Penhill Farm preserves a large secondary context assemblage that is rich in Earlier Stone Age materials. In two recent publications, the formal tools have been described which illustrate the production of a range of large cutting tools and smaller retouched artefacts, predominantly on flake blanks. A trend identified in both studies is the clear morphological difference in these formal tools by raw material type although shaping and retouch production trends across the different tool types are largely consistent. No detail has yet been provided on the large sample of cores that occur in a range of raw materials. By employing a techno-typological-based approach to investigate core morphometric characteristics, reduction strategies and reduction intensity, we assess whether the differences in these formal tools are related to unique aspects of the core reduction process, or whether they may relate to preexisting raw material properties.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2022
New research in recent years has enriched our understanding of the spatio-temporal distribution o... more New research in recent years has enriched our understanding of the spatio-temporal distribution of Large Cutting Tool (LCT) technology in Paleolithic China. Yet, few studies have focused on hominid social behaviors, and by analyzing LCTs from the Baise Basin in southern China, this case study aims to clarify some of these strategies for the region. Specifically, by employing two primary lines of evidence that consider both quantitative environmental variables and technological tool attributes, the results suggest that hominids preferred to adopt behavioral strategies associated with short-distance travelling and small-territory ranging. Furthermore, given the low density of stone artifacts and LCTs in all excavated sites, the somewhat homogenous landscape, and the even distribution of plant-dominated resources throughout the basin, site occupation and/or settlement was likely temporary in nature. Overall, the use of ecological simulations and analogous approaches in this study provides a series of new data for understanding lifeways of early humans in the humid subtropical forests of South China, and equally important, promote new research avenues for understanding the dynamics of the Chinese Paleolithic.
Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2021
Contemporary occupation of archaeological sites is fraught with challenges and conflicting priori... more Contemporary occupation of archaeological sites is fraught with challenges and conflicting priorities. While prevailing opinion on heritage management recognises the fluid and continuous nature of archaeological site formation, the role of present-day communities as agents of archaeological palimpsests is often not adequately acknowledged. Contemporary communities, often unrelated to the autochthonous inhabitants of the archaeological sites, occasionally use these sites and landscapes in similar or different ways to how they were used in the past. Their use of these sites, while potentially damaging to the archaeology, simultaneously adds to, and is part of, the life history of the site, of which the excavated material and rock art are but pictures in time. Squatters who appropriate archaeological heritage sites constitute ambiguous communities under current South African heritage legislation. Yet, their role as contributing agents to archaeological sites is no less real. This article presents the case study of Kruger Cave, a Later Stone Age hunter-gatherer rock art site in South Africa, currently occupied by a lay Christian pastor. We document how the pastor is using the site and offer some thoughts around the nuances of negotiating and reconciling archaeological preservation and living heritage management.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
We revisit Wonderboompoort, South Africa, in terms of its potential to have served as a natural g... more We revisit Wonderboompoort, South Africa, in terms of its potential to have served as a natural game funnel during the Pleistocene later Acheulean. The geological and ecological time depth of the Magaliesberg landscape, allows us to use the current setting as suitable proxy for understanding past animal and early human land use. We formulate a set of four criteria for natural game-funnelling landscapes. Testing Wonderboompoort against these criteria, we demonstrate that the Magaliesberg range forms a topographic barrier with the pass or ‘poort’ as a narrow gap with adjacent lookout points across grazing plains and into the valley. Our hydro-analyses demonstrate how the locality provided a permanent, predictable water source and access to wetland zones north and south of the mountain. Quartzite outcrops in a sheltered valley with direct evidence of flake quarrying for later Acheulean tool knapping contributes to the strategic attraction of the Wonderboom landscape for early humans within a diverse and rugged biotope. Our parsimonious interpretation is that the Wonderboom landscape may serve as model example of a natural game-funnel, and that meat harvesting – instead of weapon-assisted hunting – remains plausible until evidence to the contrary is found.
Lithic Technology, 2022
Wonderboom remains largely excluded from discussions about the Earlier Stone Age of southern Afri... more Wonderboom remains largely excluded from discussions about the Earlier Stone Age of southern Africa, despite having one of the largest Acheulean assemblages for the region. With this contribution, we revisit its large cutting tool assemblage (namely the handaxes, cleavers, picks and knives) and investigate some of the tool manufacturing preferences of the hominins who used the site during the Earlier Stone Age. We also provide an inter-site comparison of handaxes with another later and two early Acheulean sites from South Africa, wherein the Wonderboom assemblage clusters with the later Acheulean and is distinguished from the early Acheulean assemblages. This tentatively places Wonderboom within the South African Acheulean chronology and provides the first characterization of later Acheulean LCT production strategies for the region that includes the Cradle of Humankind.
Journal of African Archaeology, 2021
In southern Africa, the use of gravel outcrops has been recorded at a range of Earlier Stone Age ... more In southern Africa, the use of gravel outcrops has been recorded at a range of Earlier Stone Age sites, and this raises questions about the diversity of raw material sourcing practices adopted by hominins. To assess the existence of sourcing strategies, this study details a new morphometric analysis method that investi- gates the influence of pebble and cobble shape at two Acheulean case-study sites: Dungo IV (Benguela Province, Angola) and Penhill Farm (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Since these assemblages present frequent pebble and cobble artefacts, we investigate these to identify raw material blank properties to then establish whether these properties were intentionally selected for. To do so, we analyse each archaeological sample separately via a technological and morphometrical approach and then compare them with geological samples obtained dur- ing fieldwork survey. Overall, these two case studies provide some illustration of variable selection strategies within the southern African coastal plain.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021
Here we present the recently discovered desert kites of South Africa in terms of landscape-based ... more Here we present the recently discovered desert kites of South Africa in terms of landscape-based data derived from LiDAR scanning that enable us to compare the morphometric and topographic characteristics of the individual kite funnels. We report on a least-cost-path analysis, and use both older and younger ethno-historical and ethno-archaeological observations to help understand possible animal and human interaction with the Keimoes kite landscape. Our results highlight the hunters' understanding of animal behaviours and migration patterns, and the minimum requirements for funnel construction. We show that all the sites were constructed within 2 km of seasonal water pans, and that elevation relative to the surrounding landscape was key to the placement of the kites. We further found that the Keimoes kite landscape was probably one of complex inter-connectedness, with dynamic human land-use patterns interlaced with concepts of inheritable custodianship across generations. The Keimoes kite funnels are most similar to those of the Negev Desert in the Levant, and demonstrate (against long-held opinion) that southern African hunter-gatherers in arid regions intentionally modified their landscape to optimise the harvesting of ungulates such as migrating gazelle-in this case the local, desert-adapted Springbok. Our landscape approach provides a nuanced understanding of these features within the southern African context.
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Published peer-reviewed papers by Matt Lotter