Feinchronologische Differenzierung und absolutchronologische Datierung der Middle-Stone-Age-Schichten der Höhle Apollo 11 in Namibia.
Final Report Abstract
Apollo 11 is one of the archaeological flagship sites in southern Africa, boasting one of the most complete archaeological sequences with all important cultural units known from the regional MSA and LSA. The Apollo 11 cultural complexes correspond to the general sequence of the southern African Middle Stone Age that, however, offers only a very rough subdivision. For Apollo 11, our small re-excavation has demonstrated the potential of the site to produce a refined differentiation of the MSA material, provided suitable excavation methods are used. Apollo 11 is also one of the most comprehensively dated sites in the region. However, the conventional 14C measurements of composite samples from the original excavation entailed the risk of dating mixed-aged materials. The checking of the validity of the conventional 14C ages for the late MSA and early LSA levels by AMS measurements confirmed the previous ages for the early LSA I, but not for the early LSA II. For the late MSA levels three occupation phases can be distinguished at ~30, ~37 and ~43 cal ka BP, respectively. This underlines the need to differentiate the cultural material of the late MSA by future excavations and analysis. In view of the possibility of mixing in the lowermost LSA levels, and the obtainment of infinite 14C ages for the deposits underlying the late MSA complex, single- grain OSL dating of the sediments at Apollo 11 was carried out. Overall, the OSL ages for the MSA levels at Apollo 11 exhibit good stratigraphic consistency, are in agreement with the independent age control at this site and elsewhere (Jacobs et al. 2008a), and suggest that the MSA deposits accumulated in a series of occupation pulses over an interval of at least 40 millennia from ~71 ka to ~29 ka ago. Our results suggest that the earliest LSA deposits contain mixed-age materials, so the antiquity of the early LSA II artefacts can be constrained only to between ~16 and ~30 ka. Samples from the middle and top of the late MSA complex gave ages of 43 ± 3 ka and 29.4 ± 1.4 ka, respectively and correspond to 14C ages for the late MSA I and late MSA III. Consequently, we consider the painted slabs that were found in late MSA I deposits to be reliably dated to ~ 30 ka. At the bottom of the late MSA levels age estimates of 58 ± 3 ka and 57 ± 3 ka are consistent with the start of the post-Howieson’s Poort elsewhere in southern Africa. An age estimate of 71 ± 3 ka was obtained for the Still Bay layer and 63 ± 2 ka for the Howieson’s Poort layer, which were separated by a thin, sterile layer with an age of 67 ± 3 ka. These ages concur with age estimates for the Still Bay and Howieson’s Poort at other sites around southern Africa and with a hiatus of ~7 ka duration between these two industries. It was not possible to obtain age estimates for the MSA deposits pre-dating
Publications
- (2008). Ages for the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa: Implications for Human Behavior and Dispersal. Science 322: 733-735
Z. Jacobs, R.G. Roberts, R.F. Galbraith, H.J. Deacon, R. Grün, A. Mackay, P. Mitchell, R. Vogelsang & L. Wadley
- (2008). The Rock Shelter Apollo 11 – Evidence of Early Modern Humans in South-Western Namibia. In: Limpricht & M. Biesele (eds.) Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia – In-depth Views of the Country. Windhoek 2008
Vogelsang, R.
- (2010). New Excavations of Middle Stone Age Deposits at Apollo 11 Rockshelter, Namibia: Stratigraphy, Archaeology, Chronology and Past Environments. Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 8 (2): 185-218
R. Vogelsang, J. Richter, Z. Jacobs, B. Eichhorn, V. Linseele & R. G. Roberts
