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. 2013:4:1905.
doi: 10.1038/ncomms2897.

Development of Middle Stone Age innovation linked to rapid climate change

Martin Ziegler  1 , Margit H Simon, Ian R Hall, Stephen Barker, Chris Stringer, Rainer Zahn
Affiliations

Development of Middle Stone Age innovation linked to rapid climate change

Martin Ziegler et al. Nat Commun. 2013.

Abstract

The development of modernity in early human populations has been linked to pulsed phases of technological and behavioural innovation within the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. However, the trigger for these intermittent pulses of technological innovation is an enigma. Here we show that, contrary to some previous studies, the occurrence of innovation was tightly linked to abrupt climate change. Major innovational pulses occurred at times when South African climate changed rapidly towards more humid conditions, while northern sub-Saharan Africa experienced widespread droughts, as the Northern Hemisphere entered phases of extreme cooling. These millennial-scale teleconnections resulted from the bipolar seesaw behaviour of the Atlantic Ocean related to changes in the ocean circulation. These conditions led to humid pulses in South Africa and potentially to the creation of favourable environmental conditions. This strongly implies that innovational pulses of early modern human behaviour were climatically influenced and linked to the adoption of refugia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Location of studied sediment core and archaeological sites in South Africa.
Archaeological sites are: Blombos Cave (BBC), Pinnacle Point (PP), Klasies river (KR), Howiesons Poort Shelter (HPS), Sibudu Cave (SC) and Border Cave (BC). Inset shows satellite image of the Great Kei river mouth, with its typical brownish-red river water derived from a high, iron-rich, sediment load.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Modern rainfall variability over Africa.
(a) January and (b) August. Colours indicate days per month with measurable rainfall. The climate over large parts of Africa is characterized by a strong seasonality with summer monsoonal rainfall and the approximate position of the ITCZ (red band) migrating between the north and south of the continent over the course of the year.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Age model construction.
(a) Graphical correlation of G. ruber δ18O record of CD154-17-17K (red) to the EPICA Dome C deuterium record (purple) (EPICA) on speleothem-timescale of ref. . Age control points as dots, red dots are based on radiocarbon dates and blue dots are based on the tuning of the foraminiferal δ18O record. (b) δ18O splice from Chinese speleothems (green) (Hulu and Sanbao Cave). (c) Fe/K ratio of CD154-17-17K on the initial age model. (d) Fe/Ca ratio of CD154-17-17K on the initial age model. Stippled lines show the fine-tuning of the initial age model through graphical correlation of Fe/K ratio of CD154-17-17K to δ18O splice from Chinese speleothems (Hulu and Sanbao Cave).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Climate change during the Middle Stone Age in Southeast Africa.
(a) Ages of Southeast African Middle Stone Age events (error bars indicate 2-sigma ranges), coinciding with Heinrich events 4–6 and cold Greenland stadials 19 and 20. (b) δ18O record from Greenland ice core NGRIP (light blue, Speleo-age model presented in Barker et al.24) displaying abrupt temperature variability in the North Atlantic. Numbers indicate warmer stadials. Underlying bars indicate cold stadials with more extreme Heinrich stadials (HS1–HS6) highlighted (c) δ18O splice from Chinese speleothems (green) (Hulu and Sanbao Cave) showing synchronous variability of the East Asian summer monsoon with climate variability in the North Atlantic and (d) Fe/K of CD154-17-17K (red) indicating higher river discharge and wetter Eastern Cape Province climate during Northern Hemisphere stadials. (e) Planktonic foraminiferal (G. ruber) δ18O record from CD154-17-17K (red), reflecting global ice volume variability and local sea-surface conditions, in comparison with EPICA Dome C deuterium record (blue). Marine isotope stages (MIS) are indicated. (f) Age control points for CD154-17-17K, including radiocarbon dates (black), tuning of the foraminiferal δ18O record.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Calibration of the XRF scanning counts.
Calibration using a set of samples that was analysed for absolute bulk elemental concentrations using ICP-MS. (a) Fe/K XRF scanning counts versus absolute Fe/K ratios. (b) As in a but for Fe/Ca. (c) Fe/K scanning counts and absolute Fe/K versus depth over the calibrations interval. (d) As in c but for Fe/Ca.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Additional XRF scanning profiles from CD154-17-17K.
Ca normalized (Ca/total counts per second), Fe normalized, Mn normalized, K normalized, Fe/Ca and Fe/K ratios.
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