Chronological and cultural patterns among British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts

The presence of cultural patterns among artefact types has been a key topic among Palaeolithic archaeologists. Schemes based on typology and linear progression are now generally abandoned, in favor of process-driven explanations, incorporating raw material, tool use and resharpening. This is also the case for the British record, where especially river gravels have delivered a…

Technological trends in the South African MSA?

Sarah Wurz gives an excellent overview of the technological diversity in the South African MSA in the latest issue of Current Anthropology. She provides a detailed account of the archaeological record, starting with the badly understood transition between the ESA and MSA (e.g. the Fauresmith industry) estimated to have occurred between 500 and 280ka BP.…