Prehistoric exchange and interaction in southeastern southern africa: Marine shells and ostrich eggshell

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Ostrich Eggshell

Decoding the Blombos Engravings, Shell Beads and Diepkloof Ostrich Eggshell Patterns

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Shell Beads ◽  
Cognitive Precursors ◽  
Ostrich Eggshell

The debate regarding the status of the Blombos ochre engravings and shell beads for gauging the timeline of when cognitive abilities and symbolic intent appeared has been controversial. This is mainly due to the fact that what is referred to as symbolic is often too loosely defined and is therefore attributed to artefacts in an indiscriminate way. Recent evidence from various concurrent sites in southern Africa, including Blombos, provide the opportunity for a more nuanced analysis of the probable level of symbolic intent and how this relates to neuro-cognitive precursors. In what follows, it will be shown that, although some of the southern African artefacts do indeed demonstrate particular kinds of ‘symbolic’ intent, others need to be approached with caution. Data from the visual brain is presented that provides crucial evidence as to the appropriate level of intent suggested by the engravings and shell beads from the southern Africa context.

Earliest modern humans in southern Africa dated by isoleucine epimerization in ostrich eggshell

1999 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 1537-1548 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.H. Miller ◽  
P.B. Beaumont ◽  
H.J. Deacon ◽  
A.S. Brooks ◽  
P.E. Hare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Ostrich Eggshell

scholarly journals Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa

Nature ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Miller ◽  
Yiming V. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Genetic Analyses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
Exact Timing ◽  
Ostrich Eggshell

AbstractHumans evolved in a patchwork of semi-connected populations across Africa1,2; understanding when and how these groups connected is critical to interpreting our present-day biological and cultural diversity. Genetic analyses reveal that eastern and southern African lineages diverged sometime in the Pleistocene epoch, approximately 350–70 thousand years ago (ka)3,4; however, little is known about the exact timing of these interactions, the cultural context of these exchanges or the mechanisms that drove their separation. Here we compare ostrich eggshell bead variations between eastern and southern Africa to explore population dynamics over the past 50,000 years. We found that ostrich eggshell bead technology probably originated in eastern Africa and spread southward approximately 50–33 ka via a regional network. This connection breaks down approximately 33 ka, with populations remaining isolated until herders entered southern Africa after 2 ka. The timing of this disconnection broadly corresponds with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which caused periodic flooding of the Zambezi River catchment (an area that connects eastern and southern Africa). This suggests that climate exerted some influence in shaping human social contact. Our study implies a later regional divergence than predicted by genetic analyses, identifies an approximately 3,000-kilometre stylistic connection and offers important new insights into the social dimension of ancient interactions.

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