THE TRANSITION FROM HOWIESON'S POORT TO POST-HOWIESON'S POORT INDUSTRIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

摘要

The transition from Howieson's Poort to post-Howieson's Poort industries is a rare example of a striking discontinuity in the southern African Middle Stone Age record. The Howieson's Poort Industry has usually been interpreted as a cultural adaptation to harsh environmental conditions and the transition as a consequence of climatic amelioration. The fine-grained stratigraphic and chronological resolution of archaeological deposits at Sibudu Cave that span this period enables closer examination of this interpretation and the theoretical assumptions that underpin it. This evidence suggests that the transition preceded the climatic amelioration and marks a period of systemic collapse and reformation rather than systemic adjustment. Cultural changes occurred over varying timeframes and involved varying levels of human consciousness. The competing theoretical frameworks of Darwinian archaeologists generally fail to accommodate this variability.