Stillbay
Encyclopedia
The Stillbay industry
is the name given by the archaeologists
Goodwin and van Riet Lowe in 1929 to a mid-Palaeolithic stone tool
manufacturing style after the site of Stilbaai
(also called Still Bay) in South Africa
where it was first described. It may have developed from the earlier Acheulian types. In addition to the Acheulian stone tools, use was also made of bone and antler picks.
Its start and end are calculated at 71.9 ka and 71.0 ka. At present, too few data exist to limit the 95% confidence interval
s of these date to more than 4 to 5 ky. However, available data are consistent with a duration of less than 1 ky.
Sampson in 1974 questioned its existence on the grounds that sites were not properly described and they lacked stratigraphic
integrity However, more recent work from sites such as Blombos Cave
and Sibudu Cave
attest to its existence.
It is broadly analogous to the Mousterian
culture in Europe.
stone out of which they made their stone tools with preheating in human made fire
to increase its workability. Experiments involved slowly heating silcrete stones to ~350°C. Thermoluminescence
confirmed that all stones analysed (limited to 26 in number due this being a destructive process) had been heated to this temperature.
Heat treatment not only increases the length of flakes that can be removed from about a half-inch to 2 inches but makes them thinner, and sharper as they can remove flakes at angles nearly parallel to the stone's surface. Heat treatment allows greater precision of fracture due to increasing the uniformity of the stone's fracture response when hit.
This research identifies this not only with Stillbay sites dated to 72,000 BP but ones that could be as old as 164,000 BP.
Kyle Brown, one of the scientists responsible for this research has been quoted as making a link with the existence of language: "These people were extremely smart ... I don't think you could have passed down these skills from generation to generation without language."
Archaeological industry
An archaeological industry, normally just "industry", is the name given in the study of prehistory to a consistent range of assemblages connected with a single product, such as the Langdale axe industry...
is the name given by the archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
Goodwin and van Riet Lowe in 1929 to a mid-Palaeolithic stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
manufacturing style after the site of Stilbaai
Stilbaai
Stilbaai, also known as the Bay of Sleeping Beauty, is a town along the southern coast of South Africa about four hours by car from Cape Town. It is part of the Hessequa Local Municipality in the Western Cape province...
(also called Still Bay) in 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...
where it was first described. It may have developed from the earlier Acheulian types. In addition to the Acheulian stone tools, use was also made of bone and antler picks.
Its start and end are calculated at 71.9 ka and 71.0 ka. At present, too few data exist to limit the 95% confidence interval
Confidence interval
In statistics, a confidence interval is a particular kind of interval estimate of a population parameter and is used to indicate the reliability of an estimate. It is an observed interval , in principle different from sample to sample, that frequently includes the parameter of interest, if the...
s of these date to more than 4 to 5 ky. However, available data are consistent with a duration of less than 1 ky.
Sampson in 1974 questioned its existence on the grounds that sites were not properly described and they lacked stratigraphic
integrity However, more recent work from sites such as 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...
and Sibudu Cave
Sibudu Cave
Sibudu Cave is a cave in a sandstone cliff in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is an important Middle Stone Age site occupied, with some gaps, from 77,000 years ago to 38,000 years ago...
attest to its existence.
It is broadly analogous to the Mousterian
Mousterian
Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age.-Naming:...
culture in Europe.
Tools and fire
Researchers have concluded that Stillbay people prepared the silcreteSilcrete
Silcrete is an indurated soil duricrust formed when silica is dissolved and resolidifies as a cement. It is a hard and resistant material, and though different in origin and nature, appears similar to quartzite...
stone out of which they made their stone tools with preheating in human made fire
Control of fire by early humans
The control of fire by early humans was a turning point in the cultural aspect of human evolution that allowed humans to cook food and obtain warmth and protection...
to increase its workability. Experiments involved slowly heating silcrete stones to ~350°C. Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence is a form of luminescence that is exhibited by certain crystalline materials, such as some minerals, when previously absorbed energy from electromagnetic radiation or other ionizing radiation is re-emitted as light upon heating of the material...
confirmed that all stones analysed (limited to 26 in number due this being a destructive process) had been heated to this temperature.
Heat treatment not only increases the length of flakes that can be removed from about a half-inch to 2 inches but makes them thinner, and sharper as they can remove flakes at angles nearly parallel to the stone's surface. Heat treatment allows greater precision of fracture due to increasing the uniformity of the stone's fracture response when hit.
This research identifies this not only with Stillbay sites dated to 72,000 BP but ones that could be as old as 164,000 BP.
Kyle Brown, one of the scientists responsible for this research has been quoted as making a link with the existence of language: "These people were extremely smart ... I don't think you could have passed down these skills from generation to generation without language."