Pinnacle Point Man
Encyclopedia
Pinnacle Point is a small promontory immediately south of Mossel Bay
, a town on the southern coast of South Africa
. Excavations since the year 2000 of a series of caves at Pinnacle Point have revealed occupation by Middle Stone Age
people between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago. The focus of excavations has been at Cave 13B (PP13B), where the earliest evidence for the systematic exploitation of marine resources (shellfish) and symbolic behavior have been documented, and at Pinnacle Point Cave 5-6 (PP5-6), where the oldest evidence for the heat treatment of rock to make stone tools has been documented. The only human remains have been recovered from younger deposits at PP13B which are ≈100,000 years old.
as well as researchers from South Africa (UCT), Australia (UNSW, UoW), Israel, and France.
After debating for decades, paleoanthropologists now agree there is enough genetic and fossil evidence to suggest that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa
ca. 200,000–160,000 years ago. At that time, the world was in an ice age
, and Africa was dry and arid. As archaeological sites dating to that time period are rare in Africa, paleontologist Curtis Marean analyzed geologic formation
s, sea currents, and climate
data to pinpoint likely archeological sites. One of the destinations was Pinnacle Point.
(a naturally occurring bright red rock) that may have been used to form a pigment
for body painting. This is similar to more complex ochre utilization known from Blombos Cave
slightly further to the west at roughly 70,000 years ago. These discoveries contradicts the classical hypothesis that the modern behaviour emerged only 40,000 years ago and was reached through a "large cultural leap". The harsh climate and reduced food resources may have been why people moved to the shore at Pinnacle Point, where they could eat marine creatures like shellfish, whale, and seal.
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...
, a town on the southern coast of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Excavations since the year 2000 of a series of caves at Pinnacle Point have revealed occupation by Middle Stone Age
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age was a period of African Prehistory between Early Stone Age and Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50-25,000 years ago. The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550-500,000...
people between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago. The focus of excavations has been at Cave 13B (PP13B), where the earliest evidence for the systematic exploitation of marine resources (shellfish) and symbolic behavior have been documented, and at Pinnacle Point Cave 5-6 (PP5-6), where the oldest evidence for the heat treatment of rock to make stone tools has been documented. The only human remains have been recovered from younger deposits at PP13B which are ≈100,000 years old.
History of the research
The discoveries at Pinnacle Point have been made by an international team, headed by palaeoanthropologist Curtis Marean from the Institute of Human Origins of the Arizona State UniversityArizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
as well as researchers from South Africa (UCT), Australia (UNSW, UoW), Israel, and France.
After debating for decades, paleoanthropologists now agree there is enough genetic and fossil evidence to suggest that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
ca. 200,000–160,000 years ago. At that time, the world was in an ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, and Africa was dry and arid. As archaeological sites dating to that time period are rare in Africa, paleontologist Curtis Marean analyzed geologic formation
Geologic formation
A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a certain number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology, facies or other similar properties...
s, sea currents, and climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
data to pinpoint likely archeological sites. One of the destinations was Pinnacle Point.
Pinnacle Point 13B and its implications for modern behaviour
At PP13B the evidence for symbolic behavior comes in the form of scrapped and ground ochreOchre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
(a naturally occurring bright red rock) that may have been used to form a pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
for body painting. This is similar to more complex ochre utilization known from Blombos Cave
Blombos Cave
Blombos Cave is a cave in a calcarenite limestone cliff on the Southern Cape coast in South Africa. It is an archaeological site made famous by the discovery of 75,000-year-old pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs and beads made from Nassarius shells, and c. 80,000-year-old bone tools...
slightly further to the west at roughly 70,000 years ago. These discoveries contradicts the classical hypothesis that the modern behaviour emerged only 40,000 years ago and was reached through a "large cultural leap". The harsh climate and reduced food resources may have been why people moved to the shore at Pinnacle Point, where they could eat marine creatures like shellfish, whale, and seal.
See also
- Hominid evolution