forms and repeated searches of the slope connect-
ing them as well as the gully between them failed
to identify any differences, although this will
require confirmation by geological trenching and
chronometric dating on both spurs. The tapho-
nomic data summarized above are more consist-
ent with this hypothesis, although they will also
require further refinement and confirmation.

Does the possible chronology of artifact types aid
in assessing these hypotheses? Using artifacts consid-
ered to be chronologically diagnostic (Table 1) to date,
the Sitwe aggregates is problematic. It has long been
recognized that stone tool types deemed diagnostic
of specific industrial complexes may be time trans-
gressive (Shea, 2020). The established culture-chron-
ological sequence in Zambia is based on Kalambo
Falls, where a sequential but discontinuous change
from handaxes to core-axes and picks to Levallois
technology was present (Barham et al., 2015; Clark
et al., 2001). However, the temporal distribution of
ESA (Gilbert et al., 2016) and MSA tool forms such
as the ones identified as SW23 varies across Africa.
Handaxes and cleavers first appear more than 1.7 Ma
(Beyene et al., 2013) and continue to be reasonably
common in some assemblages identified as Sangoan
(Clark et al., 2001). In Zambia, they effectively disap-
pear by the Lupemban and are absent in the LMSA
(Barham, 2000). The heavy-duty tool types consid-
ered “index fossils” of the Sangoan occur in ESA
as well as occasional LMSA assemblages (Tryon,
2006). Levallois technique is widely considered to
be a defining characteristic of the MSA (Lombard,
2012 and references therein) but it extends back into
the late Acheulian in both eastern and southern Africa
(Clark, 2001; Lahr & Foley, 2016; McBrearty, 2001;
Wilkins et al., 2010). Acheulean Levallois technique
was sometimes employed to produce large blanks
for LCTs (Sharon et al., 2009), but smaller Levallois
flakes also occur in Acheulean contexts (Van Riet
Lowe, 1945). Assemblages attributed to the Acheu-
lean, Sangoan, and MSA are known to interstratify in
Northern Sudan, (Van Peer et al., 2003), East Africa
(McBrearty, 2005; McBrearty & Tryon, 2006) and
Republic of South Africa (Kuman et al., 2020 and ref-
erences therein). This may also be the case at SW23 if
hypothesis 3 is correct.

The handaxes from SW23 include specimens
made by Acheulean giant flake and cobble-opening

techniques (Sharon et al., 2009). Although handaxes
persist until ~160 ka in Ethiopia (Clark et al., 2003),
in Kenya and Tanzania they disappear before ~250 ka
if only securely dated sites are considered. In East
Africa, the known temporal ranges of handaxes,
crude core-axes, picks, and Levallois technology pro-
ducing both flakes and points overlap from ~320 ka
to 200 ka (Deino et al., 2018; McBrearty & Tryon,
2006), a timeframe within the latter half of the Chiba-
nian. In the absence of OSL dates, linking the SW23
aggregates to this specific span is speculative. Iden-
tification of this possible temporal window does not
necessarily imply that the SW23 deposits formed
during the entire period, only that their formation
may fall within those boundaries. In addition, it does
not resolve the important question of whether the
“diagnostic” artifacts were deposited in the expected
chronological order, as proposed in hypotheses 1 and
2, or not. A depositional sequence of Upper Acheu-
lean, Sangoan, and MSA could fit within this span.
Only new dating and extensive geoarchaeological
research at SW23 and surrounding areas can resolve
these issues.

## Behavioral Implications of the Sitwe 23 Aggregates

Although there are significant typological and tech-
nological differences between SW23A and B, the two
aggregates share several features suggesting that they
represent similar behavior patterns in tool manufac-
ture, site or landscape-use and provisioning strate-
gies. The morphology of cores, frequency of small
chipping debris on a site, degree to which cortex is
present on detached pieces, and the characteristics
of striking platforms have all been cited as indica-
tive of the stage of lithic reduction represented by an
assemblage (Magne, 1985; Reher, 1991; Dibble et al.,
2005). At SW23, core type frequencies (SI Appen-
dix 3, Table 7) did not differ significantly between
the two aggregates (x² 9.599, df 10, p=0.476). A
majority of both, 56.5% in each case, are simple and
lightly reduced forms (informal and single platform),
and core types involving more extensive preparation
and reduction (radial pyramidal, Levallois, multiple
platform) are less common, 13% in SW23A, 14.1% in
SW23B. The ratio of cores to whole products (flakes,
blades, and points) is low, 2.83 for SW23A, 3.77 for
SW23B. This compares to 6.58 for the Upper Acheu-
lean, and an unusually high 75.85 for the channel
deposit Sangoan aggregate at Kalambo Falls (Clark
et al., 2001). In LMSA probable base camp sites such
as Mwanganda's Village, Karonga, Malawi, the prod-
ucts to core ratio is 28.71 (Wright et al., 2014), and
12.6 in the LMSA Horizon G at Kalemba Rock-shel-
ter, southeastern Zambia (Phillipson, 1976). In open-
air sites like SW23, the low ratios for both aggregates
could be a consequence of not only the degree of core
reduction, but also hominin mobility and provision-
ing behavior, as well as post-discard taphonomic pro-
cesses such as fluvial winnowing (Fanning & Holda-
way, 2001). In the central Luangwa Valley, in sites
known to have been subject to extensive fluvial trans-
port and winnowing the core to product ratio is likely
to be reduced, and this is the case of the ESA layers
(flake/core ratio of 3.79) and LMSA layers (ratio of
2.50) at Manzi (Barham et al., 2011) and LMSA lay-
ers at site SL8 (ratio 1.22) (Colton et al., 2021).

The number of striking platform facets may be bet-
ter predictors of the stage of reduction represented
by a collection, with simple platforms (cortical and
single facet) resulting from early stages of reduction
(Magne, 1985; Wilson & Andrefsky, 2008). Cortical
and single facet platforms are large proportions of
both Sitwe aggregates (SI Appendix 3, Table 8). In
SW23A, they total 80.4%. In the surface sample from
SW23B, they are 77.6% and in the excavated sample
they total 90.4%.

The percentage of detached pieces bearing cor-
tex is frequently used to estimate the degree of core
reduction (Dibble et al., 2005 and references therein).
The collections from SW23A and B had high fre-
quencies of this variable on both whole detached
pieces (SI Appendix 3, Table 5) and cores. There are
statistically significant differences between the two
surface collections for this variable (x² 8.391, df. 3,
p=0.039), and pieces bearing cortex are more com-
mon in SW23A, but at both spurs artifacts with cor-
tex exceeded 63%. This suggests that similar behav-
ioral patterns were operating in both cases. Common
interpretations of high cortex frequencies as well as
the product to core ratios and simple striking platform
types summarized above are that they represent early
stages of lithic reduction, often associated with quar-
rying or nodule resource locations (Odell, 1989), with
finished tools, preforms and/or prepared cores trans-
ported elsewhere for subsequent use (Reher, 1991) in

a provisioning of individuals strategy employed by
mobile hunter-foragers (Kuhn, 1995). The high cor-
tex percentages in the Sitwe aggregates combined
with the number of cores bearing cortex (95.5% at
SW23A, 88.0% at SW23B) shows that short, expedi-
ent reduction sequences were the norm. Because most
artifacts probably derived from a horizon stratigraphi-
cally close to the cobble layer, it is possible that the
cobbles were exposed in a nearby riverbed and were
being sporadically exploited, resulting in the dis-
persed distribution of artifacts across the landscape
observed in surveys of the region (Burke et al., 2023).

If base camps can be identified by high densi-
ties of artifacts (Riel-Salvatore & Barton, 2004;
Schodville et al., 2022 and references therein), then
by the traditionally used criteria (Bicho & Cascal-
heira, 2020), the SW23 aggregates do not appear
to qualify as long-term or intensive occupations.
We did not find evidence for a single occupational
surface at either SW23 A or B and artifacts are too
dispersed throughout the sediments. Even the hori-
zon immediately above Unit 3, where artifacts were
most common, does not yield more than a few arti-
facts per m². The aggregates found on the terraces
are palimpsests concentrating what were ephem-
eral and low-density activity episodes involving
the occasional production of flakes and minimally
reduced heavy-duty tools from locally available riv-
erine clasts. Some artifacts produced elsewhere such
as the handaxes at SW23A and possibly the Leval-
lois flakes at SW23B were occasionally discarded.
It is possible that the shortage of Levallois cores
relative to finished products at SW23B represents
the export of Levallois cores from the site, but the
more intensive reduction required to make Leval-
lois cores would probably leave greater amounts of
medium to small debris than were recovered. More-
over, transport of cores across the landscape was
not observed in the LMSA in northwestern Malawi
(Thompson et al., 2014). To date, no high-density
artifact concentrations such as those that occur in
at Karonga, Malawi (Thompson et al., 2021 and
references therein) have been located in the Sitwe
region (Burke et al., 2023). The most likely inter-
pretation of these data is that the Sitwe 23 locality
was produced by mobile hunter-foragers employing
individual provisioning strategies. Although pro-
visioning of individuals is usually associated with
larger amounts of retouch on tools, this may have
SW23B. This compares to 6.58 for the Upper Acheu-
lean, and an unusually high 75.85 for the channel
deposit Sangoan aggregate at Kalambo Falls (Clark
et al., 2001). In LMSA probable base camp sites such
as Mwanganda's Village, Karonga, Malawi, the prod-
ucts to core ratio is 28.71 (Wright et al., 2014), and
12.6 in the LMSA Horizon G at Kalemba Rock-shel-
ter, southeastern Zambia (Phillipson, 1976). In open-
air sites like SW23, the low ratios for both aggregates
could be a consequence of not only the degree of core
reduction, but also hominin mobility and provision-
ing behavior, as well as post-discard taphonomic pro-
cesses such as fluvial winnowing (Fanning & Holda-
way, 2001). In the central Luangwa Valley, in sites
known to have been subject to extensive fluvial trans-
port and winnowing the core to product ratio is likely
to be reduced, and this is the case of the ESA layers
(flake/core ratio of 3.79) and LMSA layers (ratio of
2.50) at Manzi (Barham et al., 2011) and LMSA lay-
ers at site SL8 (ratio 1.22) (Colton et al., 2021).

The number of striking platform facets may be bet-
ter predictors of the stage of reduction represented
by a collection, with simple platforms (cortical and
single facet) resulting from early stages of reduction
(Magne, 1985; Wilson & Andrefsky, 2008). Cortical
and single facet platforms are large proportions of
both Sitwe aggregates (SI Appendix 3, Table 8). In
SW23A, they total 80.4%. In the surface sample from
SW23B, they are 77.6% and in the excavated sample
they total 90.4%.

The percentage of detached pieces bearing cor-
tex is frequently used to estimate the degree of core
reduction (Dibble et al., 2005 and references therein).
The collections from SW23A and B had high fre-
quencies of this variable on both whole detached
pieces (SI Appendix 3, Table 5) and cores. There are
statistically significant differences between the two
surface collections for this variable (x² 8.391, df. 3,
p=0.039), and pieces bearing cortex are more com-
mon in SW23A, but at both spurs artifacts with cor-
tex exceeded 63%. This suggests that similar behav-
ioral patterns were operating in both cases. Common
interpretations of high cortex frequencies as well as
the product to core ratios and simple striking platform
types summarized above are that they represent early
stages of lithic reduction, often associated with quar-
rying or nodule resource locations (Odell, 1989), with
finished tools, preforms and/or prepared cores trans-
ported elsewhere for subsequent use (Reher, 1991) in

a provisioning of individuals strategy employed by
mobile hunter-foragers (Kuhn, 1995). The high cor-
tex percentages in the Sitwe aggregates combined
with the number of cores bearing cortex (95.5% at
SW23A, 88.0% at SW23B) shows that short, expedi-
ent reduction sequences were the norm. Because most
artifacts probably derived from a horizon stratigraphi-
cally close to the cobble layer, it is possible that the
cobbles were exposed in a nearby riverbed and were
being sporadically exploited, resulting in the dis-
persed distribution of artifacts across the landscape
observed in surveys of the region (Burke et al., 2023).

If base camps can be identified by high densi-
ties of artifacts (Riel-Salvatore & Barton, 2004;
Schodville et al., 2022 and references therein), then
by the traditionally used criteria (Bicho & Cascal-
heira, 2020), the SW23 aggregates do not appear
to qualify as long-term or intensive occupations.
We did not find evidence for a single occupational
surface at either SW23 A or B and artifacts are too
dispersed throughout the sediments. Even the hori-
zon immediately above Unit 3, where artifacts were
most common, does not yield more than a few arti-
facts per m². The aggregates found on the terraces
are palimpsests concentrating what were ephem-
eral and low-density activity episodes involving
the occasional production of flakes and minimally
reduced heavy-duty tools from locally available riv-
erine clasts. Some artifacts produced elsewhere such
as the handaxes at SW23A and possibly the Leval-
lois flakes at SW23B were occasionally discarded.
It is possible that the shortage of Levallois cores
relative to finished products at SW23B represents
the export of Levallois cores from the site, but the
more intensive reduction required to make Leval-
lois cores would probably leave greater amounts of
medium to small debris than were recovered. More-
over, transport of cores across the landscape was
not observed in the LMSA in northwestern Malawi
(Thompson et al., 2014). To date, no high-density
artifact concentrations such as those that occur in
at Karonga, Malawi (Thompson et al., 2021 and
references therein) have been located in the Sitwe
region (Burke et al., 2023). The most likely inter-
pretation of these data is that the Sitwe 23 locality
was produced by mobile hunter-foragers employing
individual provisioning strategies. Although pro-
visioning of individuals is usually associated with
larger amounts of retouch on tools, this may have
been mitigated by the local abundance of lithic raw materials (Riel-Salvatore & Barton, 2004; Schoville et al., 2022; Varoner et al., 2022).

Much work remains to be done to test the hypoth-
eses presented here. More extensive excavation data
are needed from SW23 and other sites throughout
the region. A better understanding of Pleistocene
landscape evolution in the region is also essential
and can only come from extensive geoarchaeological
fieldwork.

Sitwe 23 in the Regional ESA to MSA Context

To place the Sitwe 23 aggregates within the regional
archaeological context, technological and typologi-
cal comparisons were made to the only other exca-
vated open-air sites in the Luangwa Valley and to
sites near Karonga, Malawi, in the western Lake
Malawi Rift. Dated Early and Later MSA cave and
rock-shelter sites in Eastern, Central, and Lusaka
Provinces are also included. Previous archaeologi-
cal research in the Luangwa basin was restricted to
the central part of the valley 300 km southwest of
SW23 (Barham et al., 2011; Colton et al., 2021).
Excavations at a natural exposure on the Manzi
River tributary of the Luangwa sampled a ~4.5 m
sediment column consisting of fluvial cobble lay-
ers containing artifacts separated by sterile sands.
The top of the sequence produced an OSL date
of ~78 ka and paleomagnetic correlation placed
the bottom of the sequence below an unconformity
at slightly over 1 ma (million years ago). Artifacts
excavated above the unconformity are attributed
to the LMSA, and those recovered below it to an
ESA facies characterized by large flakes rather than
bifaces (Barham et al., 2011). A systematic geoar-
chaeological survey of 224 km² in the same area
(Colton, 2009) followed by excavations above the
Luangwa floodplain (Colton et al., 2021) revealed a
coherent archaeological sequence ranging from the
LSA through possibly the ESA preserved in alluvial
fans. The best-preserved site, SL8, yielded abun-
dant microlithic quartz LSA in the top 10–15 cm
of the ~1 m sequence, underlain by larger quartzite
artifacts attributed to the LMSA (levels 3–8) and
possible ESA (levels 9–10) based on typological
traits, and greater degree of abrasive wear. The ESA
component rests on Karoo bedrock. An OSL date

from the LMSA layers was 77 ± 7.9 ka, almost iden-
tical to the LMSA date from Manzi.

The Karonga region, Malawi, 130 km northeast of SW23 has been systematically investigated (Thompson et al., 2018 and references therein). Prior archaeological surveys reported possible ESA artifacts (Clark, 1966), and one excavated site was incorrectly attributed to the EMSA Sangoan (Clark & Haynes, 1970; Wright et al., 2014). Subsequent research has established that the many sites within the Upper Pleistocene portion of the Chitimwe Formation are LMSA (Thompson et al., 2018). These sites also contain abundant LSA artifacts, which are always confined to the top few cm of deposits. The Karonga LMSA dates to ~92 to 20 ka and is characterized by quartzite and quartz lithics manufactured from locally available cobbles (Thompson et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2014, 2017). LSA artifacts are much smaller and predominantly quartz. Sites discussed here occur near Lake Malawi rather than on the rift escarpment. In the following comparisons, three of the largest late MSA excavated assemblages are here combined into a time-averaged aggregate; Chaminade I, 43 ka (Nightingale et al., 2019), Chaminade II, 51–29 ka (Wright et al., 2017), and Mwanganda’s Village 1, 46–20 ka (Wright et al., 2014).

The sheltered samples employed here include
Twin Rivers Hill A Block in Lusaka province. This
was a narrow, enclosed passage that filled with brec-
cia including both artifacts and bone. The A Block
deposits produced a Lupemban assemblage includ-
ing backed tools and evidence of pigment use. The
date of ~266–170 ka makes it the earliest and one
of the only securely dated Lupemban sites. The sec-
ond sample is Mumbwa Caves Unit VII. This was
the richest of the Mumbwa MSA levels and dated
to > 120–107 ka, just after the transition from the
EMSA to the LMSA (Barham, 2000). The final sam-
ple is from Horizon G in Kalemba Rock-shelter in
Eastern Province. This was the bottom of the deepest
sounding at the site where less than one square meter
yielded over 7700 artifacts over a depth of ~40 cm.
A radiocarbon sample exceeded the effective range
of the technique at the time making the date > 35 ka
(Phillipson, 1976).

The central Luangwa Valley and Karonga sites are
noteworthy for the scarcity, or in some cases complete
absence, of shaped tools conventionally considered
temporally or behaviorally diagnostic. Therefore, the
been mitigated by the local abundance of lithic raw materials (Riel-Salvatore & Barton, 2004; Schoville et al., 2022; Varoner et al., 2022).

Much work remains to be done to test the hypoth-
eses presented here. More extensive excavation data
are needed from SW23 and other sites throughout
the region. A better understanding of Pleistocene
landscape evolution in the region is also essential
and can only come from extensive geoarchaeological
fieldwork.

Sitwe 23 in the Regional ESA to MSA Context

To place the Sitwe 23 aggregates within the regional
archaeological context, technological and typologi-
cal comparisons were made to the only other exca-
vated open-air sites in the Luangwa Valley and to
sites near Karonga, Malawi, in the western Lake
Malawi Rift. Dated Early and Later MSA cave and
rock-shelter sites in Eastern, Central, and Lusaka
Provinces are also included. Previous archaeologi-
cal research in the Luangwa basin was restricted to
the central part of the valley 300 km southwest of
SW23 (Barham et al., 2011; Colton et al., 2021).
Excavations at a natural exposure on the Manzi
River tributary of the Luangwa sampled a ~4.5 m
sediment column consisting of fluvial cobble lay-
ers containing artifacts separated by sterile sands.
The top of the sequence produced an OSL date
of ~78 ka and paleomagnetic correlation placed
the bottom of the sequence below an unconformity
at slightly over 1 ma (million years ago). Artifacts
excavated above the unconformity are attributed
to the LMSA, and those recovered below it to an
ESA facies characterized by large flakes rather than
bifaces (Barham et al., 2011). A systematic geoar-
chaeological survey of 224 km² in the same area
(Colton, 2009) followed by excavations above the
Luangwa floodplain (Colton et al., 2021) revealed a
coherent archaeological sequence ranging from the
LSA through possibly the ESA preserved in alluvial
fans. The best-preserved site, SL8, yielded abun-
dant microlithic quartz LSA in the top 10–15 cm
of the ~1 m sequence, underlain by larger quartzite
artifacts attributed to the LMSA (levels 3–8) and
possible ESA (levels 9–10) based on typological
traits, and greater degree of abrasive wear. The ESA
component rests on Karoo bedrock. An OSL date

from the LMSA layers was 77 ± 7.9 ka, almost iden-
tical to the LMSA date from Manzi.

The Karonga region, Malawi, 130 km northeast of SW23 has been systematically investigated (Thompson et al., 2018 and references therein). Prior archaeological surveys reported possible ESA artifacts (Clark, 1966), and one excavated site was incorrectly attributed to the EMSA Sangoan (Clark & Haynes, 1970; Wright et al., 2014). Subsequent research has established that the many sites within the Upper Pleistocene portion of the Chitimwe Formation are LMSA (Thompson et al., 2018). These sites also contain abundant LSA artifacts, which are always confined to the top few cm of deposits. The Karonga LMSA dates to ~92 to 20 ka and is characterized by quartzite and quartz lithics manufactured from locally available cobbles (Thompson et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2014, 2017). LSA artifacts are much smaller and predominantly quartz. Sites discussed here occur near Lake Malawi rather than on the rift escarpment. In the following comparisons, three of the largest late MSA excavated assemblages are here combined into a time-averaged aggregate; Chaminade I, 43 ka (Nightingale et al., 2019), Chaminade II, 51–29 ka (Wright et al., 2017), and Mwanganda’s Village 1, 46–20 ka (Wright et al., 2014).

The sheltered samples employed here include
Twin Rivers Hill A Block in Lusaka province. This
was a narrow, enclosed passage that filled with brec-
cia including both artifacts and bone. The A Block
deposits produced a Lupemban assemblage includ-
ing backed tools and evidence of pigment use. The
date of ~266–170 ka makes it the earliest and one
of the only securely dated Lupemban sites. The sec-
ond sample is Mumbwa Caves Unit VII. This was
the richest of the Mumbwa MSA levels and dated
to > 120–107 ka, just after the transition from the
EMSA to the LMSA (Barham, 2000). The final sam-
ple is from Horizon G in Kalemba Rock-shelter in
Eastern Province. This was the bottom of the deepest
sounding at the site where less than one square meter
yielded over 7700 artifacts over a depth of ~40 cm.
A radiocarbon sample exceeded the effective range
of the technique at the time making the date > 35 ka
(Phillipson, 1976).

The central Luangwa Valley and Karonga sites are
noteworthy for the scarcity, or in some cases complete
absence, of shaped tools conventionally considered
temporally or behaviorally diagnostic. Therefore, the
numerical comparison presented here is restricted to core types, which are the best indicators of the lithic technologies employed at each site (Barham et al., 2011; Thompson et al., 2018). Table 5 illustrates core type frequencies from the sites arranged in probable chronological order, with the SL8 and Manzi collections being divided into LMSA and possible ESA components as defined by the respective authors. Because of subtle differences in core type definitions between these studies, some types have been condensed into more inclusive categories. Informal/Platform includes all cores defined by their number of platforms (Tryon, 2006) combined with all cores with less than five flake removals. Radial/Disc includes all cores with centripetal removals except Levallois cores as defined by Boëda (1994) which are listed here as prepared cores.

These data reveal a clear pattern. In all samples except Kalemba Horizon H, informal/platform cores constitute a majority or plurality, but are more common in the four potentially earliest samples. Radial/discoid cores vary, but the highest frequencies are in the most recent LMSA samples, the aggregate from Karonga and Kalemba Horizon H. Prepared (Levallois) cores are more numerous in the LMSA collections but present in small numbers in the proposed EMSA component of SL8 and at SW23. Among other core types, bipolar cores are common (19.4%) in Twin Rivers A Block and present in the LMSA components

of Mumbwa Caves VII, SL8, Manzi and Mwanganda's Village I. None of these core types are present in the 2019 sample at SW23B, although two bipolar cores were recorded in the 2016 sample. Other core types were core-on-flake (Twin Rivers A Block, Mumbwa VII, Manzi ESA and SW23A and B), micro-flake cores that were identified at SW23B in 2016, and split cobbles flaked peripherally which only occur at SL8 LMSA and contribute to the high frequency of other core types in that collection. One Karonga assemblage, the possibly terminal MSA of Mwanganda's Village I, includes a distinctive variant of the radial reduction strategy using deliberately selected small (<3 cm) split crystal quartz pebbles as raw materials (Wright et al., 2014). Farther south, the Mozambiquan MSA sites of Mvumu and Ngalve Cave on the eastern side of Lake Malawi (Niassa) have more varied core technologies almost exclusively employing quartz rather than quartzite as well as much higher frequencies of retouched formal tools (Bicho et al., 2018; Mercader et al., 2009, 2012) than do the Karonga sites, suggesting that the lake was a barrier to hominin interaction during the Upper Pleistocene (Wright et al., 2014).

The picture that emerges from the cores is one of a broadly similar technology characterized by a moderate increase in the use of more specialized core reduction strategies in the most recent assemblages. Levallois strategies, which are present at both SL8 and SW23B, may have a long history in the region, however. This

<table><caption>**Table 5** Core type percentages for selected sites in Central, Lusaka, Eastern, and Muchinga Provinces of Zambia including the Luangwa Valley and Karonga District, Malawi</caption><thead><tr><th>Site and Age<br>Sites in possible chron. order</th><th>Informal/platform</th><th>Core<br>Radial/disc</th><th>Type<br>Prepared/<br>Levallois</th><th>Other types</th><th>N</th><th>Abrasion<br>% Abraded<br>(sample n)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Karonga-LMSA<sup>1</sup></td><td>44.1</td><td>39.2</td><td>7.7</td><td>9.0</td><td>365</td><td>9.3% to 17.0%</td></tr><tr><td>Kalemba G-LMSA<sup>2</sup></td><td>36.2</td><td>55.3</td><td>2.1</td><td>4.3</td><td>47</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>Mumbwa VII-LMSA<sup>3</sup></td><td>65.0</td><td>20.1</td><td>5.9</td><td>9.0</td><td>680</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>SL8-LMSA<sup>4</sup></td><td>50.0</td><td>23.5</td><td>3.0</td><td>23.5</td><td>34</td><td>65.5% (107)</td></tr><tr><td>Manzi-LMSA<sup>5</sup></td><td>53.8</td><td>7.7</td><td>23.1</td><td>15.4</td><td>13</td><td>31.3% (48)</td></tr><tr><td>Twin Rivers-EMSA<sup>3</sup></td><td>50.0</td><td>10.1</td><td>6.3</td><td>33.5</td><td>158</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>SW23B- (EMSA?)</td><td>84.1</td><td>12.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>1.0</td><td>88</td><td>11.2% (928)</td></tr><tr><td>SL8-ESA<sup>4</sup></td><td>71.0</td><td>22.6</td><td>0.2</td><td>0</td><td>31</td><td>58.3% (126)</td></tr><tr><td>SW23A-(ESA?)</td><td>69.6</td><td>21.7</td><td>0</td><td>8.7</td><td>23</td><td>24.9% (209)</td></tr><tr><td>Manzi-ESA<sup>5</sup></td><td>66.7</td><td>20.8</td><td>0</td><td>12.5</td><td>24</td><td>61.0% (77)</td></tr></tbody></table>

The order is based on published chronometric dates. The SW23 figures are the core samples from the 2019 collections, and their positions are estimates based on their techno-typological characteristics as discussed above. Sources: 1. Thompson et al., 2018; 2. Phillipson, 1976; 3. Barham, 2000; 4. Colton et al., 2021; 5. Barham et al., 2011). na not available
numerical comparison presented here is restricted to core types, which are the best indicators of the lithic technologies employed at each site (Barham et al., 2011; Thompson et al., 2018). Table 5 illustrates core type frequencies from the sites arranged in probable chronological order, with the SL8 and Manzi collections being divided into LMSA and possible ESA components as defined by the respective authors. Because of subtle differences in core type definitions between these studies, some types have been condensed into more inclusive categories. Informal/Platform includes all cores defined by their number of platforms (Tryon, 2006) combined with all cores with less than five flake removals. Radial/Disc includes all cores with centripetal removals except Levallois cores as defined by Boëda (1994) which are listed here as prepared cores.

These data reveal a clear pattern. In all samples except Kalemba Horizon H, informal/platform cores constitute a majority or plurality, but are more common in the four potentially earliest samples. Radial/discoid cores vary, but the highest frequencies are in the most recent LMSA samples, the aggregate from Karonga and Kalemba Horizon H. Prepared (Levallois) cores are more numerous in the LMSA collections but present in small numbers in the proposed EMSA component of SL8 and at SW23. Among other core types, bipolar cores are common (19.4%) in Twin Rivers A Block and present in the LMSA components

of Mumbwa Caves VII, SL8, Manzi and Mwanganda's Village I. None of these core types are present in the 2019 sample at SW23B, although two bipolar cores were recorded in the 2016 sample. Other core types were core-on-flake (Twin Rivers A Block, Mumbwa VII, Manzi ESA and SW23A and B), micro-flake cores that were identified at SW23B in 2016, and split cobbles flaked peripherally which only occur at SL8 LMSA and contribute to the high frequency of other core types in that collection. One Karonga assemblage, the possibly terminal MSA of Mwanganda's Village I, includes a distinctive variant of the radial reduction strategy using deliberately selected small (<3 cm) split crystal quartz pebbles as raw materials (Wright et al., 2014). Farther south, the Mozambiquan MSA sites of Mvumu and Ngalve Cave on the eastern side of Lake Malawi (Niassa) have more varied core technologies almost exclusively employing quartz rather than quartzite as well as much higher frequencies of retouched formal tools (Bicho et al., 2018; Mercader et al., 2009, 2012) than do the Karonga sites, suggesting that the lake was a barrier to hominin interaction during the Upper Pleistocene (Wright et al., 2014).

The picture that emerges from the cores is one of a broadly similar technology characterized by a moderate increase in the use of more specialized core reduction strategies in the most recent assemblages. Levallois strategies, which are present at both SL8 and SW23B, may have a long history in the region, however. This

<table><caption>**Table 5** Core type percentages for selected sites in Central, Lusaka, Eastern, and Muchinga Provinces of Zambia including the Luangwa Valley and Karonga District, Malawi</caption><thead><tr><th>Site and Age<br>Sites in possible chron. order</th><th>Informal/platform</th><th>Core<br>Radial/disc</th><th>Type<br>Prepared/<br>Levallois</th><th>Other types</th><th>N</th><th>Abrasion<br>% Abraded<br>(sample n)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Karonga-LMSA<sup>1</sup></td><td>44.1</td><td>39.2</td><td>7.7</td><td>9.0</td><td>365</td><td>9.3% to 17.0%</td></tr><tr><td>Kalemba G-LMSA<sup>2</sup></td><td>36.2</td><td>55.3</td><td>2.1</td><td>4.3</td><td>47</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>Mumbwa VII-LMSA<sup>3</sup></td><td>65.0</td><td>20.1</td><td>5.9</td><td>9.0</td><td>680</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>SL8-LMSA<sup>4</sup></td><td>50.0</td><td>23.5</td><td>3.0</td><td>23.5</td><td>34</td><td>65.5% (107)</td></tr><tr><td>Manzi-LMSA<sup>5</sup></td><td>53.8</td><td>7.7</td><td>23.1</td><td>15.4</td><td>13</td><td>31.3% (48)</td></tr><tr><td>Twin Rivers-EMSA<sup>3</sup></td><td>50.0</td><td>10.1</td><td>6.3</td><td>33.5</td><td>158</td><td>na</td></tr><tr><td>SW23B- (EMSA?)</td><td>84.1</td><td>12.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>1.0</td><td>88</td><td>11.2% (928)</td></tr><tr><td>SL8-ESA<sup>4</sup></td><td>71.0</td><td>22.6</td><td>0.2</td><td>0</td><td>31</td><td>58.3% (126)</td></tr><tr><td>SW23A-(ESA?)</td><td>69.6</td><td>21.7</td><td>0</td><td>8.7</td><td>23</td><td>24.9% (209)</td></tr><tr><td>Manzi-ESA<sup>5</sup></td><td>66.7</td><td>20.8</td><td>0</td><td>12.5</td><td>24</td><td>61.0% (77)</td></tr></tbody></table>

The order is based on published chronometric dates. The SW23 figures are the core samples from the 2019 collections, and their positions are estimates based on their techno-typological characteristics as discussed above. Sources: 1. Thompson et al., 2018; 2. Phillipson, 1976; 3. Barham, 2000; 4. Colton et al., 2021; 5. Barham et al., 2011). na not available
would match the pattern of technological continuity between the Late Acheulean and the EMSA at Kalambo Falls (Clark et al., 2001), where a small number of Levallois cores occur in the Acheulean component (Sheppard & Kleindienst, 1996). The Manzi LMSA data are also consistent with the overall technological simplicity identified in the LMSA core technology near Karonga, Malawi. One pattern shared by all these sites is the preferential use of readily available water-worn clasts of fine-grained quartzite and quartz and the lack of evidence of the transport of un-worked lithic raw material across the landscape (Barham et al., 2011; Colton et al., 2021; Nightingale et al., 2019; Thompson et al., 2014, 2018).

The major difference between SW23A and B and the central Luangwa Valley and Karonga sites is the presence and greater variety of larger tools at SW23. LCTs including both bifacial and unifacial handaxes as well as a cleaver and Levallois cleaver flake are present at SW23A and B but absent at Manzi and SL8. LCTs were not found in the extensive survey near Manzi (Colton, 2009) and are either rare or absent in central Luangwa Valley surface sites recognized during paleontological reconnaissance (Barham et al., 2011). In addition, Levallois products (flakes & points) were present in appreciable numbers at SW23B but rarer in Manzi and SL8. However, heavy-duty tools are present in both areas. Core-axes and picks were some of the most common shaped artifacts in both SW23 aggregates. The LMSA levels at SL8 yielded two picks, and a core-axe was recovered on the adjacent hillslope (Colton et al., 2021). At Manzi, the ESA cobble layers produced two specimens described as pick-like cores (Barham et al., 2011). In the case of Manzi, the difference in the incidence of shaped tools may be partly due to sample size, as that collection totaled 205 artifacts compared to the 1180 at SW23B. This is not the case for the combined MSA and ESA samples from SL8, which total 1218. In sharp contrast, all these artifact categories were completely absent in the large assemblages from the Karonga sites (Thompson et al., 2018).

The very limited evidence we now have for the ESA through MSA in the Luangwa Valley and the western Malawi rift suggests a continuing reliance on simple and expedient core-reduction techniques employing informal/platform and radial/discoid cores to produce flakes that were often used without subsequent retouch. More complex core reduction strategies like Levallois are documented in a few cases in the ESA but increase

in frequency in the MSA. Regional differences do exist, primarily in the extent to which large shaped tools were employed. At SW23 and two smaller sites surveyed in 2016, SW37 and SW60 (Burke et al., 2023), we have evidence that, in the northern Luangwa Valley, the full range of LCTs and heavy-duty tools occur with Levallois technology but not blade technology in collections tentatively assigned to the Acheulean and EMSA. At present, the record from the northern Luangwa Valley resembles that of East Africa (McBrearty & Tryon, 2006 and references therein), while the central Luangwa valley sites resemble the record in the rest of Zambia (Barham, 2000) and the western Lake Malawi basin (Thompson et al., 2018 and references therein). Further research throughout the Luangwa Valley is needed to assess these tentative conclusions.

## Conclusion and Prospects

Our primary goal was to investigate a new Stone Age locality in the Northern Luangwa Basin, a region whose archaeological potential remains largely unexplored. After two seasons of fieldwork at this remote location, we have been able to reconstruct site formation processes at SW23, characterize the paleoenvironmental context and provide evidence for a hominin presence possibly within the second half of the Chibanian.

The locality consists of parallel spurs on the border of a deeply incised piedmont zone where terraces formed because of the stabilisation of erosion by an underlying cobble layer. The erosion of sediments overlying the terraces has resulted in the formation of a deflation horizon containing concentrations of lithic artifacts. The analysis of the lithic aggregates, which are time-averaged, provides the first detailed typological description of what we tentatively attribute to the Acheulean at SW23A and possibly EMSA at the SW23B. Chronometric dating is not yet available, and artifact types and technologies thought to be temporally significant produced ambiguous age estimates. The aggregates are either the product of a sequential presence in the area by makers of separate Acheulean, Sangoan and/or MSA industries, or episodes of activity by hominins capable of producing any of those technologies simultaneously. For the moment, we lack the chronostratigraphic evidence required to test these hypotheses. Resolving this issue can only be achieved
would match the pattern of technological continuity between the Late Acheulean and the EMSA at Kalambo Falls (Clark et al., 2001), where a small number of Levallois cores occur in the Acheulean component (Sheppard & Kleindienst, 1996). The Manzi LMSA data are also consistent with the overall technological simplicity identified in the LMSA core technology near Karonga, Malawi. One pattern shared by all these sites is the preferential use of readily available water-worn clasts of fine-grained quartzite and quartz and the lack of evidence of the transport of un-worked lithic raw material across the landscape (Barham et al., 2011; Colton et al., 2021; Nightingale et al., 2019; Thompson et al., 2014, 2018).

The major difference between SW23A and B and the central Luangwa Valley and Karonga sites is the presence and greater variety of larger tools at SW23. LCTs including both bifacial and unifacial handaxes as well as a cleaver and Levallois cleaver flake are present at SW23A and B but absent at Manzi and SL8. LCTs were not found in the extensive survey near Manzi (Colton, 2009) and are either rare or absent in central Luangwa Valley surface sites recognized during paleontological reconnaissance (Barham et al., 2011). In addition, Levallois products (flakes & points) were present in appreciable numbers at SW23B but rarer in Manzi and SL8. However, heavy-duty tools are present in both areas. Core-axes and picks were some of the most common shaped artifacts in both SW23 aggregates. The LMSA levels at SL8 yielded two picks, and a core-axe was recovered on the adjacent hillslope (Colton et al., 2021). At Manzi, the ESA cobble layers produced two specimens described as pick-like cores (Barham et al., 2011). In the case of Manzi, the difference in the incidence of shaped tools may be partly due to sample size, as that collection totaled 205 artifacts compared to the 1180 at SW23B. This is not the case for the combined MSA and ESA samples from SL8, which total 1218. In sharp contrast, all these artifact categories were completely absent in the large assemblages from the Karonga sites (Thompson et al., 2018).

The very limited evidence we now have for the ESA through MSA in the Luangwa Valley and the western Malawi rift suggests a continuing reliance on simple and expedient core-reduction techniques employing informal/platform and radial/discoid cores to produce flakes that were often used without subsequent retouch. More complex core reduction strategies like Levallois are documented in a few cases in the ESA but increase

in frequency in the MSA. Regional differences do exist, primarily in the extent to which large shaped tools were employed. At SW23 and two smaller sites surveyed in 2016, SW37 and SW60 (Burke et al., 2023), we have evidence that, in the northern Luangwa Valley, the full range of LCTs and heavy-duty tools occur with Levallois technology but not blade technology in collections tentatively assigned to the Acheulean and EMSA. At present, the record from the northern Luangwa Valley resembles that of East Africa (McBrearty & Tryon, 2006 and references therein), while the central Luangwa valley sites resemble the record in the rest of Zambia (Barham, 2000) and the western Lake Malawi basin (Thompson et al., 2018 and references therein). Further research throughout the Luangwa Valley is needed to assess these tentative conclusions.

## Conclusion and Prospects

Our primary goal was to investigate a new Stone Age locality in the Northern Luangwa Basin, a region whose archaeological potential remains largely unexplored. After two seasons of fieldwork at this remote location, we have been able to reconstruct site formation processes at SW23, characterize the paleoenvironmental context and provide evidence for a hominin presence possibly within the second half of the Chibanian.

The locality consists of parallel spurs on the border of a deeply incised piedmont zone where terraces formed because of the stabilisation of erosion by an underlying cobble layer. The erosion of sediments overlying the terraces has resulted in the formation of a deflation horizon containing concentrations of lithic artifacts. The analysis of the lithic aggregates, which are time-averaged, provides the first detailed typological description of what we tentatively attribute to the Acheulean at SW23A and possibly EMSA at the SW23B. Chronometric dating is not yet available, and artifact types and technologies thought to be temporally significant produced ambiguous age estimates. The aggregates are either the product of a sequential presence in the area by makers of separate Acheulean, Sangoan and/or MSA industries, or episodes of activity by hominins capable of producing any of those technologies simultaneously. For the moment, we lack the chronostratigraphic evidence required to test these hypotheses. Resolving this issue can only be achieved
by further geological and archaeological research
in the area combined with accurate absolute dating.
Gaining more evidence from in situ archaeological
deposits is essential. The preliminary results presented
here show that the region has archaeological potential
and that it could yield critical information relevant to
understanding a key period in hominin evolution in an
area that may be an important biogeographic corridor
for hominin dispersals.

**Acknowledgements** Funding was provided by the National Geographic Society (NGS-54699R-18) to A. Burke, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec Société et Culture—subvention équipe (2019-SE3-254686) to A. Burke. https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/societe-et-culture and the McGill University SSHRC Institutional Grant (Internal Fund: 242854) to M. Bisson. The authors thank the National Museum of Zambia, Livingstone, and the Chipembele Wildlife Education Center, Mfuwe, for logistical support. We are grateful to Executive Director Collins Chipote of the National Heritage Conservation Commission, Zambia for research permits for both the 2016 and 2019 seasons and for permission to export samples for dating, paleoenvironmental and sediment analysis. Mr. Andrew Simukonda, Director, Dept. of National Parks and Wildlife also permitted excavation at SW23, which is in a Game Management Area. The people of Sitwe Village helped transport heavy loads both to and from the site and Simon Mutale and Sylvester Muklama participated in excavation and data gathering during both seasons. Marilyn Steely aided the cataloging and analysis of lithics. The author (MB) drew the artifacts and Ms. Jennifer Bracewell prepared the artifact figures. Mr. Nicolas Cadieux and Mr. Noah Springer processed some site maps. Any errors or omissions are solely the responsibility of the authors.

**Author Contribution** Conceptualization: Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke; methodology: Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke, formal analysis and investigation; Michael Bisson (field strategy and lithic analysis), Ariane Burke (field survey and spatial analysis), Flora Schilt (field strategy and field and laboratory geoarchaeological analysis; Michelle Drapeau (field strategy and data acquisition), Mathew Peros (sediment analysis), Julie Aleman (phytolith analysis), Joseph Museba (field data acquisition), Martha Nchimunya Kayuni (field data acquisition), Margaret Katongo (field data acquisition), Steven Tolan (field survey, site discovery); writing—original draft preparation; Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke; writing—review and editing, Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke, Michelle Drapeau, Flora Schilt; funding acquisition, Ariane Burke, Michael Bisson.

**Data Availability** All data used in this analysis are presented in the appendices. Additional information may be obtained from the corresponding author.

**Declarations**

**Competing Interest** The authors declare no competing interests regarding the data published here.

**Open Access** This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

**References**

Aleman, J. C., Saint-Jean, A., Leys, B., Carcaillet, C., Favier, C., & Bremond, L. (2013). Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments. *Quaternary Research, 80*(2), 341-347.

Bailey, G. (2007). Time perspectives, palimpsests and the archaeology of time. *Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 26*(2), 198-223.

Barham, L. (2000). *The middle stone age of Zambia, South Central Africa*. Centre for Human Evolutionary Research, University of Bristol.

Barham, L. (2002). Backed tools in Middle Pleistocene central Africa and their evolutionary significance. *Journal of Human Evolution, 43*(5), 585-603.

Barham, L. (2013). *From hand to handle: The first industrial revolution*. University Press.

Barham, L., Phillips, W. M., Maher, B. A., Karloukovski, V., Duller, G. A., Jain, M., & Wintle, A. G. (2011). The dating and interpretation of a Mode 1 site in the Luangwa Valley Zambia. *Journal of Human Evolution, 60*(5), 549-570.

Barham, L., Tooth, S., Duller, G. A., Plater, A. J., & Turner, S. (2015). Excavations at site C North, Kalambo Falls, Zambia: New insights into the mode 2/3 transition in South-Central Africa. *Journal of African Archaeology, 13*(2), 187-214.

Beyene, Y., Katoh, S., WoldeGabriel, G., Hart, W. K., Uto, K., Sudo, M., Kondo, M., Hyodo, M., Renne, P. R., Suwa, G., & Asfaw, B. (2013). The characteristics and chronology of the earliest Acheulean at Konso, Ethiopia. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110*(5), 1584-1591.

Biberson, P. (1961). *Le Paléolithique inférieur du Maroc Atlantique*. Rabat: Servicedes Antiquités du Maroc.

Bicho, N., & Cascalheira, J. (2020). Use of lithic assemblages for the definition of short-term occupations in hunter-gatherer prehistory. In J. Cascalheira, & A. Picin (Eds.), *Short-term occupations in paleolithic archaeology*. Definition and Interpretation (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). (pp. 19-38). Springer.

Bicho, N., Cascalheira, J., Haws, J., & Gonçalves, C. (2018). Middle stone age technologies in Mozambique: A
by further geological and archaeological research
in the area combined with accurate absolute dating.
Gaining more evidence from in situ archaeological
deposits is essential. The preliminary results presented
here show that the region has archaeological potential
and that it could yield critical information relevant to
understanding a key period in hominin evolution in an
area that may be an important biogeographic corridor
for hominin dispersals.

**Acknowledgements** Funding was provided by the National Geographic Society (NGS-54699R-18) to A. Burke, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec Société et Culture—subvention équipe (2019-SE3-254686) to A. Burke. https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/societe-et-culture and the McGill University SSHRC Institutional Grant (Internal Fund: 242854) to M. Bisson. The authors thank the National Museum of Zambia, Livingstone, and the Chipembele Wildlife Education Center, Mfuwe, for logistical support. We are grateful to Executive Director Collins Chipote of the National Heritage Conservation Commission, Zambia for research permits for both the 2016 and 2019 seasons and for permission to export samples for dating, paleoenvironmental and sediment analysis. Mr. Andrew Simukonda, Director, Dept. of National Parks and Wildlife also permitted excavation at SW23, which is in a Game Management Area. The people of Sitwe Village helped transport heavy loads both to and from the site and Simon Mutale and Sylvester Muklama participated in excavation and data gathering during both seasons. Marilyn Steely aided the cataloging and analysis of lithics. The author (MB) drew the artifacts and Ms. Jennifer Bracewell prepared the artifact figures. Mr. Nicolas Cadieux and Mr. Noah Springer processed some site maps. Any errors or omissions are solely the responsibility of the authors.

**Author Contribution** Conceptualization: Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke; methodology: Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke, formal analysis and investigation; Michael Bisson (field strategy and lithic analysis), Ariane Burke (field survey and spatial analysis), Flora Schilt (field strategy and field and laboratory geoarchaeological analysis; Michelle Drapeau (field strategy and data acquisition), Mathew Peros (sediment analysis), Julie Aleman (phytolith analysis), Joseph Museba (field data acquisition), Martha Nchimunya Kayuni (field data acquisition), Margaret Katongo (field data acquisition), Steven Tolan (field survey, site discovery); writing—original draft preparation; Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke; writing—review and editing, Michael Bisson, Ariane Burke, Michelle Drapeau, Flora Schilt; funding acquisition, Ariane Burke, Michael Bisson.

**Data Availability** All data used in this analysis are presented in the appendices. Additional information may be obtained from the corresponding author.

**Declarations**

**Competing Interest** The authors declare no competing interests regarding the data published here.

**Open Access** This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

**References**

Aleman, J. C., Saint-Jean, A., Leys, B., Carcaillet, C., Favier, C., & Bremond, L. (2013). Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments. *Quaternary Research, 80*(2), 341-347.

Bailey, G. (2007). Time perspectives, palimpsests and the archaeology of time. *Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 26*(2), 198-223.

Barham, L. (2000). *The middle stone age of Zambia, South Central Africa*. Centre for Human Evolutionary Research, University of Bristol.

Barham, L. (2002). Backed tools in Middle Pleistocene central Africa and their evolutionary significance. *Journal of Human Evolution, 43*(5), 585-603.

Barham, L. (2013). *From hand to handle: The first industrial revolution*. University Press.

Barham, L., Phillips, W. M., Maher, B. A., Karloukovski, V., Duller, G. A., Jain, M., & Wintle, A. G. (2011). The dating and interpretation of a Mode 1 site in the Luangwa Valley Zambia. *Journal of Human Evolution, 60*(5), 549-570.

Barham, L., Tooth, S., Duller, G. A., Plater, A. J., & Turner, S. (2015). Excavations at site C North, Kalambo Falls, Zambia: New insights into the mode 2/3 transition in South-Central Africa. *Journal of African Archaeology, 13*(2), 187-214.

Beyene, Y., Katoh, S., WoldeGabriel, G., Hart, W. K., Uto, K., Sudo, M., Kondo, M., Hyodo, M., Renne, P. R., Suwa, G., & Asfaw, B. (2013). The characteristics and chronology of the earliest Acheulean at Konso, Ethiopia. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110*(5), 1584-1591.

Biberson, P. (1961). *Le Paléolithique inférieur du Maroc Atlantique*. Rabat: Servicedes Antiquités du Maroc.

Bicho, N., & Cascalheira, J. (2020). Use of lithic assemblages for the definition of short-term occupations in hunter-gatherer prehistory. In J. Cascalheira, & A. Picin (Eds.), *Short-term occupations in paleolithic archaeology*. Definition and Interpretation (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). (pp. 19-38). Springer.

Bicho, N., Cascalheira, J., Haws, J., & Gonçalves, C. (2018). Middle stone age technologies in Mozambique: A
preliminary study of the Niassa and Massingir regions. *Journal of African Archaeology*, **16**(1), 60–82.

Boëda, E. (1994). *Le concept Levallois : Variabilité des méthodes*. CNRS Editions.

Bordes, F. (1961). *Typologie du Paléolithique ancien et moyen* (Vol. 2). Mémoires de l'Institut Préhistorique de l'Université de Bordeaux I, Delmas.

Bräuer, G. (2012). Middle Pleistocene diversity in Africa and the origin of modern humans. In J. J. Hublin & S. McPherron (Eds.), *Modern origins: a North African perspective* (pp. 221–240). Springer.

Breuil, H. (1944). Le paléolithique au congo belge d'après les recherches de Docteur Cabu. *Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa*, **30**(2), 143-174.

Brooks, A. S., Yellen, J. E., Potts, R., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Deino, A. L., Leslie, D. E., Ambrose, S. H., Ferguson, J. R., d'Errico, F., Zipkin, A. M., & Whittaker, S. (2018). Long-distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age. *Science*, **360**(6384), 90–94.

Burke, A., Bisson, M., Schilt, F., Tolan, S., Museba, J., Drapeau, M. S. M., & Peros, M. C. (2023). The archaeological potential of the northern Luangwa Valley, Zambia: The Luwumbu basin. *Plos One*, **18**(3), e0269209.

Cahen, D., & Moeyersons, J. (1977). Subsurface movements of stone artefacts and their implications for the prehistory of Central Africa. *Nature*, **266**, 812–815.

Chidumayo, E. (1999). Using natural fertilizers in Miombo woodlands. *Issues in African Biodiversity*, 2, 1–7.

Clark, J. D. (1950). *The stone age cultures of Northern Rhodesia*. South African Archaeological Society.

Clark, J. D. (1966). Initial investigation of the archeology of Karonga District, Malawi. *American Anthropologist*, **68**(2), 67–87.

Clark, J. D. (1967). *Atlas of African prehistory*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1969). *Kalambo Falls prehistoric site. Volume I: The geology, Palaeoecology and detailed stratigraphy of the excavations*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1970). The prehistory of Africa (Vol. 302). G. Aumassip, & F. Mori (Eds.). Thames and Hudson.

Clark, J. D. (1971). Problems of archaeological nomenclature and definition in the Congo basin. *The South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **26**, 67–78.

Clark, J. D. (1974). *Kalambo falls prehistoric site. Volume II: The later prehistoric cultures*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1988). The middle stone age of East Africa and the beginnings of regional identity. *Journal of World Prehistory*, **2**(3), 235–305.

Clark, J. D. (2001). Variability in primary and secondary technologies of the Later Acheulian in Africa. In S. Milliken & J. Cook (Eds.), *A very remote period indeed: Papers on the Paleolithic presented to Derek Roe* (pp. 1–18). Oxbow Books.

Clark, J. D., Beyene, Y., WoldeGabriel, G., & Hart, W. K. (2003). Stratigraphic, chronological and behavioural contexts of Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia. *Nature*, **423**(6941), 747–752.

Clark, J. D., & Brown, K. S. (2001). The Twin Rivers Kopje, Zambia: Stratigraphy, fauna, and artefact assemblages from the 1954 and 1956 excavations. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **28**(3), 305–330.

Clark, J. D., Cormack, J., & Chin, S. (2001). *Kalambo Falls prehistoric site: Volume 3, the earlier cultures: Middle and earlier stone age* (Vol. 3). University Press.

Clark, J. D., & Haynes, C. V. (1970). An elephant butchery site at Mwanganda's Village, Karonga, Malawi, and its relevance for Paleolithic archaeology. *World Archaeology*, **1**(3), 390–407.

Clark, J. D., & Kleindienst, M. R. (1974). The Stone Age cultural sequence; terminology, typology and raw material. In J. D. Clark (Ed.), *Kalambo Falls Prehistoric Site. Volume II: The Later Prehistoric Cultures* (pp. 71–106). University Press.

Clément, S. (2022). Soft-hammer percussion during the Acheulean: Barking up the wrong tree of technical change? *Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology*, 5(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-021-00104-6

Clarkson, C., Vinicius, L., & Lahr, M. M. (2006). Quantifying flake scar patterning on cores using 3D recording techniques. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **33**(1), 132–142.

Colton, D. (2009). *An archaeological and geomorphological survey of the Luangwa Valley, Zambia*. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 78, BAR S2022. BAR Publishing.

Colton, D., Whitfield, E., Plater, A. J., Duller, G. A. T., Jain, M., & Barham, L. (2021). New geomorphological and archaeological evidence for drainage evolution in the Luangwa Valley (Zambia) during the Late Pleistocene. *Geomorphology*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j geomorph.2021.107923

Conolly, J., & Lake, M. (2006). *Geographical information systems in archaeology*. University Press.

Cooke, C. K. (1962). The Sangoan Industries of Southern Rhodesia. *South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **17**(68), 212–30.

Cornelissen, E. (1992). *Site GnJh-17 and its implications for the archaeology of the middle Kaphurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya*. Koninklijk Museum voor Midden Afrika.

Cottrell, B., & Kamminga, J. (1990). *Mechanics of pre-industrial technology*. University Press.

Crossley, R. (1986). Sedimentation by termites in the Malawi Rift Valley. *Geological Society, London, Special Publications*, **25**(1), 191–199.

Daly, M. C., Green, P., Watts, A. B., Davies, O., Chibesakunda, F., & Walker, R. (2020). Tectonics and landscape of the central African Plateau and their implications for a propagating Southwestern Rift in Africa. *Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems*, **21**(6), e2019GC008746.

Deacon, H. J. (2001). Modern human emergence: An African archaeological perspective. In P. V. Tobias, M. A. Raath, J. Moggi-Cecchi, & G. A. Doyle (Eds.), *Humanity from African naissance to coming millennia* (pp. 1000–1010). University Press.

Debénath, A., & Dibble, H. (1994). *Handbook of paleolithic typology volume one: The lower and middle paleolithic of Europe*. University of Pennsylvania Museum Press.

Deino, A. L., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Brooks, A. S., Yellen, J. E., Sharp, W. D., & Potts, R. (2018). Chronology of the acheulean to middle stone age transition in eastern Africa. *Science*, **360**(6384), 95–98.
preliminary study of the Niassa and Massingir regions. *Journal of African Archaeology*, **16**(1), 60–82.

Boëda, E. (1994). *Le concept Levallois : Variabilité des méthodes*. CNRS Editions.

Bordes, F. (1961). *Typologie du Paléolithique ancien et moyen* (Vol. 2). Mémoires de l'Institut Préhistorique de l'Université de Bordeaux I, Delmas.

Bräuer, G. (2012). Middle Pleistocene diversity in Africa and the origin of modern humans. In J. J. Hublin & S. McPherron (Eds.), *Modern origins: a North African perspective* (pp. 221–240). Springer.

Breuil, H. (1944). Le paléolithique au congo belge d'après les recherches de Docteur Cabu. *Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa*, **30**(2), 143–174.

Brooks, A. S., Yellen, J. E., Potts, R., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Deino, A. L., Leslie, D. E., Ambrose, S. H., Ferguson, J. R., d'Errico, F., Zipkin, A. M., & Whittaker, S. (2018). Long-distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age. *Science*, **360**(6384), 90–94.

Burke, A., Bisson, M., Schilt, F., Tolan, S., Museba, J., Drapeau, M. S. M., & Peros, M. C. (2023). The archaeological potential of the northern Luangwa Valley, Zambia: The Luwumbu basin. *Plos One*, **18**(3), e0269209.

Cahen, D., & Moeyersons, J. (1977). Subsurface movements of stone artefacts and their implications for the prehistory of Central Africa. *Nature*, **266**, 812–815.

Chidumayo, E. (1999). Using natural fertilizers in Miombo woodlands. *Issues in African Biodiversity*, **2**, 1–7.

Clark, J. D. (1950). *The stone age cultures of Northern Rhodesia*. South African Archaeological Society.

Clark, J. D. (1966). Initial investigation of the archeology of Karonga District, Malawi. *American Anthropologist*, **68**(2), 67–87.

Clark, J. D. (1967). *Atlas of African prehistory*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1969). *Kalambo Falls prehistoric site. Volume I: The geology, Palaeoecology and detailed stratigraphy of the excavations*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1970). The prehistory of Africa (Vol. 302). G. Aumassip, & F. Mori (Eds.). Thames and Hudson.

Clark, J. D. (1971). Problems of archaeological nomenclature and definition in the Congo basin. *The South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **26**, 67–78.

Clark, J. D. (1974). *Kalambo falls prehistoric site. Volume II: The later prehistoric cultures*. University Press.

Clark, J. D. (1988). The middle stone age of East Africa and the beginnings of regional identity. *Journal of World Prehistory*, **2**(3), 235–305.

Clark, J. D. (2001). Variability in primary and secondary technologies of the Later Acheulian in Africa. In S. Milliken & J. Cook (Eds.), *A very remote period indeed: Papers on the Paleolithic presented to Derek Roe* (pp. 1–18). Oxbow Books.

Clark, J. D., Beyene, Y., WoldeGabriel, G., & Hart, W. K. (2003). Stratigraphic, chronological and behavioural contexts of Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia. *Nature*, **423**(6941), 747–752.

Clark, J. D., & Brown, K. S. (2001). The Twin Rivers Kopje, Zambia: Stratigraphy, fauna, and artefact assemblages from the 1954 and 1956 excavations. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **28**(3), 305–330.

Clark, J. D., Cormack, J., & Chin, S. (2001). *Kalambo Falls prehistoric site: Volume 3, the earlier cultures: Middle and earlier stone age* (Vol. 3). University Press.

Clark, J. D., & Haynes, C. V. (1970). An elephant butchery site at Mwanganda's Village, Karonga, Malawi, and its relevance for Paleolithic archaeology. *World Archaeology*, **1**(3), 390–407.

Clark, J. D., & Kleindienst, M. R. (1974). The Stone Age cultural sequence; terminology, typology and raw material. In J. D. Clark (Ed.), *Kalambo Falls Prehistoric Site. Volume II: The Later Prehistoric Cultures* (pp. 71–106). University Press.

Clément, S. (2022). Soft-hammer percussion during the Acheulean: Barking up the wrong tree of technical change? *Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology*, **5**(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-021-00104-6

Clarkson, C., Vinicius, L., & Lahr, M. M. (2006). Quantifying flake scar patterning on cores using 3D recording techniques. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **33**(1), 132–142.

Colton, D. (2009). *An archaeological and geomorphological survey of the Luangwa Valley, Zambia*. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 78, BAR S2022. BAR Publishing.

Colton, D., Whitfield, E., Plater, A. J., Duller, G. A. T., Jain, M., & Barham, L. (2021). New geomorphological and archaeological evidence for drainage evolution in the Luangwa Valley (Zambia) during the Late Pleistocene. *Geomorphology*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j geomorph.2021.107923

Conolly, J., & Lake, M. (2006). *Geographical information systems in archaeology*. University Press.

Cooke, C. K. (1962). The Sangoan Industries of Southern Rhodesia. *South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **17**(68), 212–30.

Cornelissen, E. (1992). *Site GnJh-17 and its implications for the archaeology of the middle Kaphurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya*. Koninklijk Museum voor Midden Afrika.

Cottrell, B., & Kamminga, J. (1990). *Mechanics of pre-industrial technology*. University Press.

Crossley, R. (1986). Sedimentation by termites in the Malawi Rift Valley. *Geological Society, London, Special Publications*, **25**(1), 191–199.

Daly, M. C., Green, P., Watts, A. B., Davies, O., Chibesakunda, F., & Walker, R. (2020). Tectonics and landscape of the central African Plateau and their implications for a propagating Southwestern Rift in Africa. *Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems*, **21**(6), e2019GC008746.

Deacon, H. J. (2001). Modern human emergence: An African archaeological perspective. In P. V. Tobias, M. A. Raath, J. Moggi-Cecchi, & G. A. Doyle (Eds.), *Humanity from African naissance to coming millennia* (pp. 1000–1010). University Press.

Debénath, A., & Dibble, H. (1994). *Handbook of paleolithic typology volume one: The lower and middle paleolithic of Europe*. University of Pennsylvania Museum Press.

Deino, A. L., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Brooks, A. S., Yellen, J. E., Sharp, W. D., & Potts, R. (2018). Chronology of the acheulean to middle stone age transition in eastern Africa. *Science*, **360**(6384), 95–98.
De la Torre, I. (2011). The early stone age lithic assemblages of Gadeb (Ethiopia) and the developed Oldowan/early Acheulean in East Africa. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **60**(6), 768–812.

Dibble, H. L., Schurmans, U. A., Iovita, R. P., & McLaughlin, M. V. (2005). The measurement and interpretation of cortex in lithic assemblages. *American Antiquity*, **70**(3), 545–560.

Dixey, F. (1937). The geology of part of the Upper Luangwa Valley, north-eastern Rhodesia. *Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society*, **93**, 52–76.

Driscoll, K., & García-Rojas, M. (2014). Their lips are sealed: Identifying hard stone, soft stone, and antler hammer direct percussion in Palaeolithic prismatic blade production. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **47**, 134–141.

Drysdall, A. R., & Kitching, J. W. (1963). A re-examination of the Karroo succession and fossil localities of part of the Upper Luangwa Valley. *Memoir of the Geological Survey of Northern Rhodesia*, 1, 1–62.

Duller, G. A., Tooth, S., Barham, L., & Tsukamoto, S. (2015). New investigations at Kalambo Falls, Zambia: Luminescence chronology, site formation, and archaeological significance. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **85**, 111–125.

Dusseldorp, G., Lombard, M. & Wurz, S. (2013). Pleistocene homo and the updated stone age sequence of South Africa. *South African Journal of Science*, **109**(5–6), 1–7

Faegri, K., J. Iversen, J. (4th ed. By K. Faegri, P. E. Kaland, K. Krzywinski). (1989). *Textbook of pollen analysis*. John Wiley and Sons.

Fanning, P., & Holdaway, S. (2001). Stone artifact scatters in western NSW, Australia: Geomorphic controls on artifact size and distribution. *Geoarchaeology: An International Journal*, **16**(6), 667–686.

Gilbert, W. H., Doronichev, V. B., Golovanova, L. V., Morgan, L. E., Nunez, L., & Renne, P. (2016). Archaeology and context of Hugub, an important new late acheulean locality in Ethiopia’s Northern rift. *PaleoAnthropology*, **2016**, 58–99.

Herries, A. I. (2011). A chronological perspective on the Acheulian and its transition to the middle stone age in southern Africa: The question of the Fauresmith. *International Journal of Evolutionary Biology*, **2011**, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.4061/2011/961401

Hornyak, T. (2020). Japan puts its mark on geologic time with the Chibanian age. *Eos*, **101**, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EO139453

Hublin, J. J., Ben-Ncer, A., Bailey, S. E., Freidline, S. E., Neubauer, S., Skinner, M. M., Bergmann, I., Le Cabec, A., Benazzi, S., Harvati, K., & Gunz, P. (2017). New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens. *Nature*, **546**(7657), 289–292.

Ivory, S. J., Lézine, A. M., Vincens, A., & Cohen, A. S. (2018). Waxing and waning of forests: Late quaternary biogeography of southeast Africa. *Global Change Biology*, **24**(7), 2939–2951.

Johnson, C. R., & McBrearty, S. (2010). 500,000 year old blades from the Kapthurin formation Kenya. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **58**(2), 193–200.

Keay-Bright, J., & Boardman, J. (2009). Evidence from field-based studies of rates of soil erosion on degraded land

in the Central Karoo, South Africa. *Geomorphology*, **103**(3), 455–465.

Klein, R. G. (2000). The earlier stone age of southern Africa. *The South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **55**, 107–122.

Kleindienst, M. R. (1962). Components of the East African Acheulian assemblage: An analytic approach. *Actes Du Iveme Congres Pan africain De Préhistoire Et De L'étude Du Quaternaire*, **40**, 81–105.

Kleindienst, M. R. (2006). On naming things. In E. Hovers & S. Kuhn (Eds.), *Transitions before the transition* (pp. 13–28). Springer.

Kuhn, S. L. (1995). *Mousterian lithic technology: An ecological perspective*. University Press.

Kuman, K., Lotter, M. G., & Leader, G. M. (2020). The Fauresmith of South Africa: A new assemblage from Canteen Kopje and significance of the technology in human and cultural evolution. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **148**, 102884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102884

Lahr, M. M., & Foley, R. A. (2016). Human evolution in late quaternary eastern Africa. In S. C. Jones & B. A. Stewart (Eds.), *Africa from MIS 6–2* (pp. 215–231). Springer.

Leakey, M., Tobias, P. V., Martyn, J. E., & Leakey, R. E. (1970). An Acheulean industry with prepared core technique and the discovery of a contemporary hominid mandible at Lake Baringo, Kenya. *In Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society*, **35**, 48–76.

Leakey, M. D. (1971). *Olduvai Gorge excavations in Beds I and II, 1960–63* (Vol. 3). University Press.

Li, H., Kuman, K., Leader, G. M., & Couzens, R. (2016). Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean. *Quaternary International*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.025

Lombard, M. (2012). Thinking through the Middle Stone Age of sub-Saharan Africa. *Quaternary International*, **270**, 140–155.

Luedtke, B. E. (1992). *An archaeologist's guide to chert and flint*. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Lyons, R. P., Scholz, C. A., Cohen, A. S., King, J. W., Brown, E. T., Ivory, S. J., Johnson, T. C., Deino, A. L., Reinthal, P. N., McGlue, M. M., & Blome, M. W. (2015). Continuous 1.3-million-year record of East African hydroclimate, and implications for patterns of evolution and biodiversity. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, **112**(51), 15568–15573.

MacRae, F. B., & Lancaster, D. G. (1937). Stone age sites in Northern Rhodesia. *Man*, **XXXVII**(73–74), 62–64.

Madella, M., Alexandre, A., & Ball, T. (2005). International code for phytolith nomenclature 1.0. *Annals of Botany*, **96**(2), 253–260.

Magne, M. P. R. (1985). *Lithics and livelihood: Stone tool technologies of central and southern interior BC*. Archaeological Survey of Canada. Mercury Series No 133.

Marean, C. W. (2015). An evolutionary anthropological perspective on modern human origins. *Annual Review of Anthropology*, **44**, 533–556.

Marean, C. W., Bar-Matthews, M., Bernatchez, J., Fisher, E., Goldberg, P., Herries, A. I., Jacobs, Z., Jerardino, A., Karkanas, P., Minichillo, T., & Nilssen, P. J. (2007). Early human use of marine resources and pigment in
De la Torre, I. (2011). The early stone age lithic assemblages of Gadeb (Ethiopia) and the developed Oldowan/early Acheulean in East Africa. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **60**(6), 768–812.

Dibble, H. L., Schurmans, U. A., Iovita, R. P., & McLaughlin, M. V. (2005). The measurement and interpretation of cortex in lithic assemblages. *American Antiquity*, **70**(3), 545–560.

Dixey, F. (1937). The geology of part of the Upper Luangwa Valley, north-eastern Rhodesia. *Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society*, **93**, 52–76.

Driscoll, K., & García-Rojas, M. (2014). Their lips are sealed: Identifying hard stone, soft stone, and antler hammer direct percussion in Palaeolithic prismatic blade production. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **47**, 134–141.

Drysdall, A. R., & Kitching, J. W. (1963). A re-examination of the Karroo succession and fossil localities of part of the Upper Luangwa Valley. *Memoir of the Geological Survey of Northern Rhodesia*, 1, 1–62.

Duller, G. A., Tooth, S., Barham, L., & Tsukamoto, S. (2015). New investigations at Kalambo Falls, Zambia: Luminescence chronology, site formation, and archaeological significance. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **85**, 111–125.

Dusseldorp, G., Lombard, M. & Wurz, S. (2013). Pleistocene homo and the updated stone age sequence of South Africa. *South African Journal of Science*, **109**(5–6), 1–7

Faegri, K., J. Iversen, J. (4th ed. By K. Faegri, P. E. Kaland, K. Krzywinski). (1989). *Textbook of pollen analysis*. John Wiley and Sons.

Fanning, P., & Holdaway, S. (2001). Stone artifact scatters in western NSW, Australia: Geomorphic controls on artifact size and distribution. *Geoarchaeology: An International Journal*, **16**(6), 667–686.

Gilbert, W. H., Doronichev, V. B., Golovanova, L. V., Morgan, L. E., Nunez, L., & Renne, P. (2016). Archaeology and context of Hugub, an important new late acheulean locality in Ethiopia’s Northern rift. *PaleoAnthropology*, **2016**, 58–99.

Herries, A. I. (2011). A chronological perspective on the Acheulian and its transition to the middle stone age in southern Africa: The question of the Fauresmith. *International Journal of Evolutionary Biology*, **2011**, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.4061/2011/961401

Hornyak, T. (2020). Japan puts its mark on geologic time with the Chibanian age. *Eos*, **101**, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EO139453

Hublin, J. J., Ben-Ncer, A., Bailey, S. E., Freidline, S. E., Neubauer, S., Skinner, M. M., Bergmann, I., Le Cabec, A., Benazzi, S., Harvati, K., & Gunz, P. (2017). New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens. *Nature*, **546**(7657), 289–292.

Ivory, S. J., Lézine, A. M., Vincens, A., & Cohen, A. S. (2018). Waxing and waning of forests: Late quaternary biogeography of southeast Africa. *Global Change Biology*, **24**(7), 2939–2951.

Johnson, C. R., & McBrearty, S. (2010). 500,000 year old blades from the Kapthurin formation Kenya. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **58**(2), 193–200.

Keay-Bright, J., & Boardman, J. (2009). Evidence from field-based studies of rates of soil erosion on degraded land

in the Central Karoo, South Africa. *Geomorphology*, **103**(3), 455–465.

Klein, R. G. (2000). The earlier stone age of southern Africa. *The South African Archaeological Bulletin*, **55**, 107–122.

Kleindienst, M. R. (1962). Components of the East African Acheulian assemblage: An analytic approach. *Actes Du Iveme Congres Pan africain De Préhistoire Et De L'étude Du Quaternaire*, **40**, 81–105.

Kleindienst, M. R. (2006). On naming things. In E. Hovers & S. Kuhn (Eds.), *Transitions before the transition* (pp. 13–28). Springer.

Kuhn, S. L. (1995). *Mousterian lithic technology: An ecological perspective*. University Press.

Kuman, K., Lotter, M. G., & Leader, G. M. (2020). The Fauresmith of South Africa: A new assemblage from Canteen Kopje and significance of the technology in human and cultural evolution. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **148**, 102884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102884

Lahr, M. M., & Foley, R. A. (2016). Human evolution in late quaternary eastern Africa. In S. C. Jones & B. A. Stewart (Eds.), *Africa from MIS 6–2* (pp. 215–231). Springer.

Leakey, M., Tobias, P. V., Martyn, J. E., & Leakey, R. E. (1970). An Acheulean industry with prepared core technique and the discovery of a contemporary hominid mandible at Lake Baringo, Kenya. *In Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society*, **35**, 48–76.

Leakey, M. D. (1971). *Olduvai Gorge excavations in Beds I and II, 1960–63* (Vol. 3). University Press.

Li, H., Kuman, K., Leader, G. M., & Couzens, R. (2016). Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean. *Quaternary International*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.025

Lombard, M. (2012). Thinking through the Middle Stone Age of sub-Saharan Africa. *Quaternary International*, **270**, 140–155.

Luedtke, B. E. (1992). *An archaeologist's guide to chert and flint*. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Lyons, R. P., Scholz, C. A., Cohen, A. S., King, J. W., Brown, E. T., Ivory, S. J., Johnson, T. C., Deino, A. L., Reinthal, P. N., McGlue, M. M., & Blome, M. W. (2015). Continuous 1.3-million-year record of East African hydroclimate, and implications for patterns of evolution and biodiversity. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, **112**(51), 15568–15573.

MacRae, F. B., & Lancaster, D. G. (1937). Stone age sites in Northern Rhodesia. *Man*, **XXXVII**(73–74), 62–64.

Madella, M., Alexandre, A., & Ball, T. (2005). International code for phytolith nomenclature 1.0. *Annals of Botany*, **96**(2), 253–260.

Magne, M. P. R. (1985). *Lithics and livelihood: Stone tool technologies of central and southern interior BC*. Archaeological Survey of Canada. Mercury Series No 133.

Marean, C. W. (2015). An evolutionary anthropological perspective on modern human origins. *Annual Review of Anthropology*, **44**, 533–556.

Marean, C. W., Bar-Matthews, M., Bernatchez, J., Fisher, E., Goldberg, P., Herries, A. I., Jacobs, Z., Jerardino, A., Karkanas, P., Minichillo, T., & Nilssen, P. J. (2007). Early human use of marine resources and pigment in
South Africa during the middle Pleistocene. *Nature*, **449**(7164), 905–908.

Mayaux, P., Bartholomé, E., Fritz, S., & Belward, A. (2004). A new land-cover map of Africa for the year 2000. *Journal of Biogeography*, **31**(6), 861–877.

McBrearty, S. (1990). Consider the humble termite: Termites as agents of post-depositional disturbance at African archaeological sites. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **17**(2), 111–143.

McBrearty, S. (2001). The Middle Pleistocene of East Africa. In L. S. Barham & K. A. Robson Brown (Eds.), *Human Roots: Africa and Asia in the Middle Pleistocene* (pp. 81–97). Western Academic & Specialist Press Ltd.

McBrearty, S. (2005). The Kapthurin Formation: What we know now that we didn't know then. In D. E. Lieberman, R. Smith, & J. Kelley (Eds.), *Interpreting the past: Essays on human, primate, and mammal evolution* (pp. 263–274). Brill Academic Publishers.

McBrearty, S., & Brooks, A. S. (2000). The revolution that wasn't: A new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **39**(5), 453–563.

McBrearty, S., & Tryon, C. (2006). From Acheulean to middle stone age in the Kapthurin formation, Kenya. In E. Hovlers & S. Kuhn (Eds.), *Transitions before the transition: Evolution and stability in the middle paleolithic and middle stone age* (pp. 257–277). Springer.

Mercader, J., Asmerom, Y., Bennett, T., Raja, M., & Skinner, A. (2009). Initial excavation and dating of Ngalue Cave: A middle stone age site along the Niassa rift, Mozambique. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **57**(1), 63–74.

Mercader, J., Gosse, J. C., Bennett, T., Hidy, A. J., & Rood, D. H. (2012). Cosmogenic nuclide age constraints on middle stone age lithics from Niassa, Mozambique. *Quaternary Science Reviews*, **47**, 116–130.

Moeyersons, J. (1978). The behaviour of stones and stone implements buried in consolidating and creeping Kalahari sands. *Earth Surface Processes and Landforms*, **3**(2), 115–128.

Nightingale, S., Schilt, F., Thompson, J. C., Wright, D. K.,FORMAN, S., Mercader, J., Moss, P., Clarke, S., Itambu, M., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., & Welling, M. (2019). Late middle stone age behavior and environments at Chaminade I (Karonga, Malawi). *Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology*, **2**(3), 258–297.

Odell, G. H. (1989). Experiments in lithic reduction. *Experiments in lithic technology*, (pp. 163–198) BAR International Series 528. British Archaeological Reports.

Odell, G. H. (2004). *Lithic Analysis*. Plenum.

Petraglia, M. D., & Nash, D. T. (1987). The impact of fluvial processes on experimental sites. In *Natural formation processes and the archaeological record* (pp. 108–130). BAR International Series 352. British Archaeological Reports.

Peecook, B. R., Steyer, J. S., Tabor, N. J., & Smith, R. M. (2017). Updated geology and vertebrate paleontology of the Triassic Ntawere Formation of northeastern Zambia, with special emphasis on the archosauromorphs. *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*, **37**(sup1), 8–38.

Phillipson, D. W. (1976). *The Prehistory of Eastern Zambia*. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. Memoir number 6.

Poesen, J. W., Torri, D., & Bunte, K. (1994). Effects of rock fragments on soil erosion by water at different spatial scales: A review. *CATENA*, **23**(1–2), 141–166.

Potts, R., & Faith, J. T. (2015). Alternating high and low climate variability: The context of natural selection and speciation in Plio-Pleistocene hominin evolution. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **87**, 5–20.

Premo, L. S. (2014). Cultural transmission and diversity in time-averaged assemblages. *Current Anthropology*, **55**(1), 105–114.

Reher, C. A. (1991). Large scale lithic quarries and regional transport systems on the high plains of eastern Wyoming: Spanish Diggings revisited. *Raw Material Economies among Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers*, *19*, 251–284.

Rezek, Z., Holdaway, S. J., Olszewski, D. I., Lin, S. C., Douglass, M., McPherron, S. P., Iovita, R., Braun, D., & Sandgathe, D. (2020). Aggregates, formational emergence, and the focus on practice in stone artifact archaeology. *Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory*, **27**, 887–928.

Riel-Salvatore, J., & Barton, C. M. (2004). Late Pleistocene technology, economic behavior, and land-use dynamics in southern Italy. *American Antiquity*, **69**(2), 257–274.

Sala, I. L. (1986). Use wear and post-depositional surface modification: A word of caution. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **13**(3), 229–244.

Sahle, Y., Morgan, L. E., Braun, D. R., Atnafu, B., & Hutchings, W. K. (2014). Chronological and behavioral contexts of the earliest Middle Stone Age in the Gademotta formation, main Ethiopian rift. *Quaternary International*, **331**, 6–19.

Scerri, E. M. (2017). The North African middle stone age and its place in recent human evolution. *Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews*, **26**(3), 119–135.

Scerri, E. M., Thomas, M. G., Manica, A., Gunz, P., Stock, J. T., Stringer, C., Grove, M., Groucutt, H. S., Timmermann, A., Rightmire, G. P., & d'Errico, F. (2018). Did our species evolve in subdivided populations across Africa, and why does it matter? *Trends in Ecology & Evolution Tree*, **2399**, 1–13.

Schick, K. D. (1987). Experimentally-derived criteria for assessing hydrologic disturbance of archaeological sites. *Natural formation processes and the archaeological record*, **352** (pp. 86–107). BAR International Series 352. British Archaeological Reports.

Schoville, B. J., Brown, K. S., & Wilkins, J. (2022). A lithic provisioning model as a proxy for landscape mobility in the Southern and Middle Kalahari. *Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory*, **29**(1), 162–187.

Sharon, G., Barkai, R., Gowlett, J. A. J., Hodgson, D., Kuman, K., Petraglia, M. D., de la Torre, I., & Sharon, G. (2009). Acheulian giant-core technology: A worldwide perspective. *Current Anthropology*, **50**(3), 335–367.

Shea, J. J. (2011). Homo sapiens is as Homo sapiens was: Behavioral variability versus “behavioral modernity” in Paleolithic archaeology. *Current Anthropology*, **52**(1), 1–33.
South Africa during the middle Pleistocene. *Nature*, **449**(7164), 905–908.

Mayaux, P., Bartholomé, E., Fritz, S., & Belward, A. (2004). A new land-cover map of Africa for the year 2000. *Journal of Biogeography*, **31**(6), 861–877.

McBrearty, S. (1990). Consider the humble termite: Termites as agents of post-depositional disturbance at African archaeological sites. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **17**(2), 111–143.

McBrearty, S. (2001). The Middle Pleistocene of East Africa. In L. S. Barham & K. A. Robson Brown (Eds.), *Human Roots: Africa and Asia in the Middle Pleistocene* (pp. 81–97). Western Academic & Specialist Press Ltd.

McBrearty, S. (2005). The Kapthurin Formation: What we know now that we didn't know then. In D. E. Lieberman, R. Smith, & J. Kelley (Eds.), *Interpreting the past: Essays on human, primate, and mammal evolution* (pp. 263–274). Brill Academic Publishers.

McBrearty, S., & Brooks, A. S. (2000). The revolution that wasn't: A new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **39**(5), 453–563.

McBrearty, S., & Tryon, C. (2006). From Acheulean to middle stone age in the Kapthurin formation, Kenya. In E. Hovlers & S. Kuhn (Eds.), *Transitions before the transition: Evolution and stability in the middle paleolithic and middle stone age* (pp. 257–277). Springer.

Mercader, J., Asmerom, Y., Bennett, T., Raja, M., & Skinner, A. (2009). Initial excavation and dating of Ngalue Cave: A middle stone age site along the Niassa rift, Mozambique. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **57**(1), 63–74.

Mercader, J., Gosse, J. C., Bennett, T., Hidy, A. J., & Rood, D. H. (2012). Cosmogenic nuclide age constraints on middle stone age lithics from Niassa, Mozambique. *Quaternary Science Reviews*, **47**, 116–130.

Moeyersons, J. (1978). The behaviour of stones and stone implements buried in consolidating and creeping Kalahari sands. *Earth Surface Processes and Landforms*, **3**(2), 115–128.

Nightingale, S., Schilt, F., Thompson, J. C., Wright, D. K.,FORMAN, S., Mercader, J., Moss, P., Clarke, S., Itambu, M., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., & Welling, M. (2019). Late middle stone age behavior and environments at Chaminade I (Karonga, Malawi). *Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology*, **2**(3), 258–297.

Odell, G. H. (1989). Experiments in lithic reduction. *Experiments in lithic technology*, (pp. 163–198) BAR International Series 528. British Archaeological Reports.

Odell, G. H. (2004). *Lithic Analysis*. Plenum.

Petraglia, M. D., & Nash, D. T. (1987). The impact of fluvial processes on experimental sites. In *Natural formation processes and the archaeological record* (pp. 108–130). BAR International Series 352. British Archaeological Reports.

Peecook, B. R., Steyer, J. S., Tabor, N. J., & Smith, R. M. (2017). Updated geology and vertebrate paleontology of the Triassic Ntawere Formation of northeastern Zambia, with special emphasis on the archosauromorphs. *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*, **37**(sup1), 8–38.

Phillipson, D. W. (1976). *The Prehistory of Eastern Zambia*. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. Memoir number 6.

Poesen, J. W., Torri, D., & Bunte, K. (1994). Effects of rock fragments on soil erosion by water at different spatial scales: A review. *CATENA*, **23**(1–2), 141–166.

Potts, R., & Faith, J. T. (2015). Alternating high and low climate variability: The context of natural selection and speciation in Plio-Pleistocene hominin evolution. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **87**, 5–20.

Premo, L. S. (2014). Cultural transmission and diversity in time-averaged assemblages. *Current Anthropology*, **55**(1), 105–114.

Reher, C. A. (1991). Large scale lithic quarries and regional transport systems on the high plains of eastern Wyoming: Spanish Diggings revisited. *Raw Material Economies among Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers*, *19*, 251–284.

Rezek, Z., Holdaway, S. J., Olszewski, D. I., Lin, S. C., Douglass, M., McPherron, S. P., Iovita, R., Braun, D., & Sandgathe, D. (2020). Aggregates, formational emergence, and the focus on practice in stone artifact archaeology. *Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory*, **27**, 887–928.

Riel-Salvatore, J., & Barton, C. M. (2004). Late Pleistocene technology, economic behavior, and land-use dynamics in southern Italy. *American Antiquity*, **69**(2), 257–274.

Sala, I. L. (1986). Use wear and post-depositional surface modification: A word of caution. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **13**(3), 229–244.

Sahle, Y., Morgan, L. E., Braun, D. R., Atnafu, B., & Hutchings, W. K. (2014). Chronological and behavioral contexts of the earliest Middle Stone Age in the Gademotta formation, main Ethiopian rift. *Quaternary International*, **331**, 6–19.

Scerri, E. M. (2017). The North African middle stone age and its place in recent human evolution. *Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews*, 26(3), 119–135.

Scerri, E. M., Thomas, M. G., Manica, A., Gunz, P., Stock, J. T., Stringer, C., Grove, M., Groucutt, H. S., Timmermann, A., Rightmire, G. P., & d'Errico, F. (2018). Did our species evolve in subdivided populations across Africa, and why does it matter? *Trends in Ecology & Evolution Tree*, 2399, 1–13.

Schick, K. D. (1987). Experimentally-derived criteria for assessing hydrologic disturbance of archaeological sites. *Natural formation processes and the archaeological record*, 352 (pp. 86–107). BAR International Series 352. British Archaeological Reports.

Schoville, B. J., Brown, K. S., & Wilkins, J. (2022). A lithic provisioning model as a proxy for landscape mobility in the Southern and Middle Kalahari. *Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory*, 29(1), 162–187.

Sharon, G., Barkai, R., Gowlett, J. A. J., Hodgson, D., Kuman, K., Petraglia, M. D., de la Torre, I., & Sharon, G. (2009). Acheulian giant-core technology: A worldwide perspective. *Current Anthropology*, **50**(3), 335–367.

Shea, J. J. (2011). Homo sapiens is as Homo sapiens was: Behavioral variability versus “behavioral modernity” in Paleolithic archaeology. *Current Anthropology*, **52**(1), 1–33.
Shea, J. J. (2014). Sink the Mousterian? Named stone tool industries (NASTIES) as obstacles to investigating hominin evolutionary relationships in the later middle paleolithic levant. *Quaternary International*, **350**, 169–179.

Shea, J. J. (2020). *Prehistoric stone tools of Eastern Africa: A guide*. University Press.

Sheppard, P. J., & Kleindienst, M. R. (1996). Technological change in the earlier and middle stone age of Kalambo falls (Zambia). *African Archaeological Review*, **13**(3), 171–196.

Shimelmitz, R., & Kuhn, S. L. (2017). Shifting understandings of the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex and the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition at Tabun Cave. In M Otte (Ed.), *Vocation préhistoire hommage à Jean-Marie Le Tensorer*, (pp. 343–53). ERAUL. No. 148.

Siefert, A.V., Vrana, S., & Kiebek, B. (Eds.) (2001). *Geology of the Muyombe and Luwumbu River Areas: explanation of degree sheets 1033 SW and 1033 SE*. Report No. 113. Geological Survey Department.

Speth, J. D. (1972). The mechanical basis of percussion flaking. *American Antiquity*, **37**, 34–60.

Stoffel, M., Corona, C., Ballesteros-Cánovas, J. A., & Bodoque, J. M. (2013). Dating and quantification of erosion processes based on exposed roots. *Earth-Science Reviews*, **123**, 18–34.

Stringer, C. (2016). The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences*, **371**(1698), 20150237.

Taylor, N. (2014). Central and West African middle stone age: Geography and culture. *Historical Archaeology*, **43**(1), 65–80.

Taylor, N. (2016). Across rainforests and woodlands: A systematic reappraisal of the lupemban middle stone age in Central Africa. In S. C. Jones & B. A. Stewart (Eds.), *Africa from MIS 6–2* (pp. 273–299). Springer.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., Wright, D. K., Welling, M., Greaves, A., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., & Simengwa, D. (2012). Renewed investigations into the middle stone age of Northern Malawi. *Quaternary International*, **270**, 129–139.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., de Moor, V., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2014). Catchment survey in the Karonga District: A landscape-scale analysis of provisioning and core reduction strategies during the middle stone age of Northern Malawi. *African Archaeological Review*, **31**, 447–478.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., Nightingale, S., Wright, D., Choi, J. H., Welling, M., Blackmore, H., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2018). Ecological risk, demography, and technological complexity in the late Pleistocene of northern Malawi: Implications for geographical patterning in the Middle Stone Age. *Journal of Quaternary Science*, **33**(3), 261–284.

Thompson, J. C., Wright, D. K., Ivory, S. J., Choi, J. H., Nightingale, S., Mackay, A., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2021). Early human impacts and ecosystem reorganization in southern-central Africa. *Science Advances*, **7**(19), eabf9776.

Toth, N. (1985). The Oldowan reassessed: A close look at early stone artifacts. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **12**(1), 101–120.

Tryon, C. A. (2006). “Early” middle stone age lithic technology of the Kapthurin formation (Kenya). *Current Anthropology*, **47**(2), 367–375.

Tryon, C. A., & Faith, J. T. (2013). Variability in the middle stone age of Eastern Africa. *Current Anthropology*, **54**(S8), S234–S254.

Tryon, C. A., & McBrearty, S. (2006). Tephrostratigraphy of the bedded tuff member (Kapthurin Formation, Kenya) and the nature of archaeological change in the later Middle Pleistocene. *Quaternary Research*, **65**(3), 492–507.

Vallverdu, J., Saladié, P., Rosas, A., Huguet, R., Cáceres, I., Mosquera, M., Garcia-Tabernero, A., Estalrrich, A., Lozano-Fernández, I., Pineda-Alcalá, A., & Carrancho, Á. (2014). Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain). *PLoS ONE*, **9**(7), e103634.

Van Peer, P., Fullagar, R., Stokes, S., Bailey, R. M., Moeyersons, J., Steenhoudt, F., Geerts, A., Vanderbeken, T., De Dapper, M., & Geus, F. (2003). The early to middle stone age transition and the emergence of modern human behaviour at site 8-B-11, Sai Island Sudan. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **45**(2), 187–193.

Van Riet Lowe, C. (1945). The evolution of Levallois technique in South Africa. *Man*, **45**, 49–59.

Varoner, O., Marder, O., Orbach, M., Yeshurun, R., & Zaidner, Y. (2022). Lithic provisioning strategies at the middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel: A case study from the upper sequence. *Quaternary International*, **624**, 19–33.

Wendorf, F., & Schild, R. (1974). *A middle stone age sequence from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia*. Institute of the History of Material Culture, Polska Akademia Nauk.

White, F. (1983). *The vegetation of Africa*. UNESCO natural resources research report (Vol. 20). UNESCO.

Wilkins, J. (2020). Is it time to retire NASTIES in Southern Africa? Moving beyond the culture-historical framework for middle stone age lithic assemblage variability. *Lithic Technology*, **45**(4), 295–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2020.1802848

Wilkins, J., Pollarolo, L., & Kuman, K. (2010). Prepared core reduction at the site of Kudu Koppie in northern South Africa: Temporal patterns across the earlier and middle stone age boundary. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **37**(6), 1279–1292.

Williams, M. A. (2019). Termites and stone lines-traps for the unwary archaeologist. *Quaternary Science Reviews*, **226**, 106028.

Wilson, J., & Andrefsky, W. (2008). Unpacking production, resharpening and hammer type. In W. Andrefsky (Ed.), *Lithic technology: Measures of production, use and cura tion* (pp. 86–105). University Press.

Wright, D. K., Thompson, J., Mackay, A., Welling, M., Forman, S. L., Price, G., Zhao, J. X., Cohen, A. S., Malijani, O., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2014). Renewed Geoarchaeological investigations of Mwanganda’s village (elephant butchery site), Karonga, Malawi. *Geoarchaeology*, **29**(2), 98–120.

Wright, D. K., Thompson, J. C., Schilt, F., Cohen, A. S., Choi, J. H., Mercader, J., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2017). Approaches to middle stone age landscape archaeology in tropical Africa. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **77**, 64–77.
Shea, J. J. (2014). Sink the Mousterian? Named stone tool industries (NASTIES) as obstacles to investigating hominin evolutionary relationships in the later middle paleolithic levant. *Quaternary International*, **350**, 169–179.

Shea, J. J. (2020). *Prehistoric stone tools of Eastern Africa: A guide*. University Press.

Sheppard, P. J., & Kleindienst, M. R. (1996). Technological change in the earlier and middle stone age of Kalambo falls (Zambia). *African Archaeological Review*, **13**(3), 171–196.

Shimelmitz, R., & Kuhn, S. L. (2017). Shifting understandings of the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex and the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition at Tabun Cave. In M Otte (Ed.), *Vocation préhistoire hommage à Jean-Marie Le Tensorer*, (pp. 343–53). ERAUL. No. 148.

Siefert, A.V., Vrana, S., & Kiebek, B. (Eds.) (2001). *Geology of the Muyombe and Luwumbu River Areas: explanation of degree sheets 1033 SW and 1033 SE*. Report No. 113. Geological Survey Department.

Speth, J. D. (1972). The mechanical basis of percussion flaking. *American Antiquity*, **37**, 34–60.

Stoffel, M., Corona, C., Ballesteros-Cánovas, J. A., & Bodoque, J. M. (2013). Dating and quantification of erosion processes based on exposed roots. *Earth-Science Reviews*, **123**, 18–34.

Stringer, C. (2016). The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences*, **371**(1698), 20150237.

Taylor, N. (2014). Central and West African middle stone age: Geography and culture. *Historical Archaeology*, **43**(1), 65–80.

Taylor, N. (2016). Across rainforests and woodlands: A systematic reappraisal of the lupemban middle stone age in Central Africa. In S. C. Jones & B. A. Stewart (Eds.), *Africa from MIS 6–2* (pp. 273–299). Springer.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., Wright, D. K., Welling, M., Greaves, A., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., & Simengwa, D. (2012). Renewed investigations into the middle stone age of Northern Malawi. *Quaternary International*, **270**, 129–139.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., de Moor, V., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2014). Catchment survey in the Karonga District: A landscape-scale analysis of provisioning and core reduction strategies during the middle stone age of Northern Malawi. *African Archaeological Review*, **31**, 447–478.

Thompson, J. C., Mackay, A., Nightingale, S., Wright, D., Choi, J. H., Welling, M., Blackmore, H., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2018). Ecological risk, demography, and technological complexity in the late Pleistocene of northern Malawi: Implications for geographical patterning in the Middle Stone Age. *Journal of Quaternary Science*, **33**(3), 261–284.

Thompson, J. C., Wright, D. K., Ivory, S. J., Choi, J. H., Nightingale, S., Mackay, A., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2021). Early human impacts and ecosystem reorganization in southern-central Africa. *Science Advances*, **7**(19), eabf9776.

Toth, N. (1985). The Oldowan reassessed: A close look at early stone artifacts. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **12**(1), 101–120.

Tryon, C. A. (2006). “Early” middle stone age lithic technology of the Kapthurin formation (Kenya). *Current Anthropology*, **47**(2), 367–375.

Tryon, C. A., & Faith, J. T. (2013). Variability in the middle stone age of Eastern Africa. *Current Anthropology*, **54**(S8), S234–S254.

Tryon, C. A., & McBrearty, S. (2006). Tephrostratigraphy of the bedded tuff member (Kapthurin Formation, Kenya) and the nature of archaeological change in the later Middle Pleistocene. *Quaternary Research*, **65**(3), 492–507.

Vallverdu, J., Saladié, P., Rosas, A., Huguet, R., Cáceres, I., Mosquera, M., Garcia-Tabernero, A., Estalrrich, A., Lozano-Fernández, I., Pineda-Alcalá, A., & Carrancho, Á. (2014). Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain). *PLoS ONE*, **9**(7), e103634.

Van Peer, P., Fullagar, R., Stokes, S., Bailey, R. M., Moeyersons, J., Steenhoudt, F., Geerts, A., Vanderbeken, T., De Dapper, M., & Geus, F. (2003). The early to middle stone age transition and the emergence of modern human behaviour at site 8-B-11, Sai Island Sudan. *Journal of Human Evolution*, **45**(2), 187–193.

Van Riet Lowe, C. (1945). The evolution of Levallois technique in South Africa. *Man*, **45**, 49–59.

Varoner, O., Marder, O., Orbach, M., Yeshurun, R., & Zaidner, Y. (2022). Lithic provisioning strategies at the middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel: A case study from the upper sequence. *Quaternary International*, **624**, 19–33.

Wendorf, F., & Schild, R. (1974). *A middle stone age sequence from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia*. Institute of the History of Material Culture, Polska Akademia Nauk.

White, F. (1983). *The vegetation of Africa*. UNESCO natural resources research report (Vol. 20). UNESCO.

Wilkins, J. (2020). Is it time to retire NASTIES in Southern Africa? Moving beyond the culture-historical framework for middle stone age lithic assemblage variability. *Lithic Technology*, **45**(4), 295–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2020.1802848

Wilkins, J., Pollarolo, L., & Kuman, K. (2010). Prepared core reduction at the site of Kudu Koppie in northern South Africa: Temporal patterns across the earlier and middle stone age boundary. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **37**(6), 1279–1292.

Williams, M. A. (2019). Termites and stone lines-traps for the unwary archaeologist. *Quaternary Science Reviews*, **226**, 106028.

Wilson, J., & Andrefsky, W. (2008). Unpacking production, resharpening and hammer type. In W. Andrefsky (Ed.), *Lithic technology: Measures of production, use and cura tion* (pp. 86–105). University Press.

Wright, D. K., Thompson, J., Mackay, A., Welling, M., Forman, S. L., Price, G., Zhao, J. X., Cohen, A. S., Malijani, O., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2014). Renewed Geoarchaeological investigations of Mwanganda’s village (elephant butchery site), Karonga, Malawi. *Geoarchaeology*, **29**(2), 98–120.

Wright, D. K., Thompson, J. C., Schilt, F., Cohen, A. S., Choi, J. H., Mercader, J., & Gomani-Chindebvu, E. (2017). Approaches to middle stone age landscape archaeology in tropical Africa. *Journal of Archaeological Science*, **77**, 64–77.
Yellen, J., Brooks, A., Helgren, D., Tappen, M., Ambrose, S., Bonnefille, R., Feathers, J., Goodfriend, G., Ludwig, K., Renne, P., & Stewart, K. (2005). The archaeology of Aduma Middle Stone age sites in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia. *PaleoAnthropology, 10*, 25–100.

Zabenskie, S., Peros, M., & Gajewski, K. (2006). The use of heavy-liquid in the separation of pollen from Arctic lake sediments. *CAP [Canadian Association of Palynologists] Newsletter*, 29, 5–7.

**Publisher's Note** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Yellen, J., Brooks, A., Helgren, D., Tappen, M., Ambrose, S., Bonnefille, R., Feathers, J., Goodfriend, G., Ludwig, K., Renne, P., & Stewart, K. (2005). The archaeology of Aduma Middle Stone age sites in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia. *PaleoAnthropology, 10*, 25–100.

Zabenskie, S., Peros, M., & Gajewski, K. (2006). The use of heavy-liquid in the separation of pollen from Arctic lake sediments. *CAP [Canadian Association of Palynologists] Newsletter*, 29, 5–7.

**Publisher's Note** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.