Table 1
Comparison of southern African Stone Age site databases.
| DATA SCOPE | SALSA | SARD | ROAD | SASSI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spatial coverage | South Africa Lesotho Eswatini Namibia Botswana Zimbabwe Mozambique | South Africa Lesotho Eswatini Namibia Botswana Zimbabwe Mozambique | Africa Europe Asia | South Africa Lesotho Eswatini Namibia |
| Temporal coverage | ESA, MSA, LSA | Late MSA, LSA (<50 ka) | ESA, MSA, early LSA (3 Ma–20 ka) | ESA, MSA, LSA |
| Chronological resolution | Dated only | Radiocarbon dated only | Dated and undated | Dated and undated |
| Context | Excavated | Excavated | Excavated and surface | Excavated and surface |
| Location coordinates | None | Approximate (~1 km) | Accurate (1 m–1 km) | Accurate (1 m–1 km) |
| Archaeological information | Technocomplex | Technocomplex | Technocomplex, assemblage and non-lithic materials | Technocomplex |
Table 2
Number of sites shared between SASSI and other southern African datasets, by biome (ordered by decreasing area in South Africa).
| BIOME | SALSA | ROAD | SARD | SASSI | SASSI (DATED) | SASSI (UNDATED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savanna | 50 | 37 | 46 | 101 | 77 | 24 |
| Grassland | 49 | 22 | 55 | 93 | 77 | 16 |
| Nama-Karoo | 11 | 6 | 42 | 60 | 47 | 13 |
| Fynbos | 52 | 28 | 77 | 122 | 104 | 18 |
| Albany Thicket | 10 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| Succulent Karoo | 13 | 3 | 61 | 77 | 64 | 13 |
| Forest | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Desert | 9 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Indian Ocean | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 198 | 104 | 306 | 492 | 406 | 86 |
Figure 1
Map of sites in the SASSI database, by present-day biome. Base map: Natural Earth Data.
Figure 2
Map of sites in the SASSI database (focused on South Africa), by time period (ESA, MSA, LSA). Circles denote open sites; triangles denote caves and rock shelters. Base map: Natural Earth Data.
Table 3
Data structure for SASSI (see text and S4. Data dictionary for further details).
| DATA | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Site | Site name (alternative names given in brackets) |
| Site abbreviation | Abbreviated name as a unique code |
| Latitude, Longitude | Decimal degrees (WGS84), given to 5 decimal places (up to 1 m precision) |
| Country, Region | Modern geopolitical names (following the ISO 3166 standard) |
| Modern Rainfall Zone (RFZ) | Location within the present-day Winter, Year-Round or Summer Rainfall Zone (from BIO15 of Worldclim 2.1) |
| Biome | Location within present-day southern African terrestrial biomes |
| Period | Three individual columns to denote attribution (ESA, MSA, LSA) (see Table 5) |
| Technocomplex | Sixteen individual columns to denote attribution (see Table 5), with alternative names indicated where relevant |
| Context | Shelter (i.e. cave/rock shelter), open or karst infill |
| Open context | (Optional) Surface or excavated |
| Site type | (Optional) Rock art, shell midden, ochre mine, depositional setting (especially for open-air sites) |
| References | Listed in date order (see S3. References for full details) |
| SALSA | Technocomplex information for sites listed in SALSA |
| ROAD | Assemblage information for sites listed in ROAD |
| SARD | Sites listed in SARD |
| Dating | Radiometric dating method where not listed in SARD (e.g. TL, OSL, PM, ESR, C14 etc.), or undated |
| Ages ka | Summary of ages (ka, thousand years ago) with corresponding technocomplex/layer for multi-period sites |
Table 4
Number of ESA, MSA and LSA sites recorded in SASSI, by site context and biome. For karst infill sites (n = 6), these are grouped with shelters.
| BIOME | ESA | MSA | LSA | TOTAL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHELTER | OPEN | SHELTER | OPEN | SHELTER | OPEN | SHELTER | OPEN | |
| Savanna | 4 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 56 | 18 | 58 | 42 |
| Grassland | 4 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 60 | 9 | 68 | 25 |
| Nama-Karoo | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 37 | 13 | 47 |
| Fynbos | 1 | 7 | 24 | 16 | 41 | 56 | 50 | 72 |
| Albany Thicket | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Succulent Karoo | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 59 | 12 | 65 |
| Forest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Desert | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Indian Ocean | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 52 | 82 | 81 | 203 | 189 | 226 | 266 |
Table 5
Period and technocomplex definitions applied in SASSI. Technocomplex age ranges are based on [7, 8] and descriptions based on [5], [8], and other cited literature.
| PERIOD | ASSEMBLAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND ALTERNATIVE TERMS | N SITES |
|---|---|---|
| LSA ~40–0.3 ka | Core technology: bipolar, bladelet, single platform; Tools: scrapers (microlithic and macrolithic), backed artefacts (bladelets, geometrics), adzes, other diverse forms; Non-lithic: bone tools, ostrich eggshell beads/flasks; shell ornaments, grinding stones, bored stones, grooved stones, ochre, rock art, ceramics (post-2 ka) | 392 |
| MSA ~300–40 ka | Core technology: prepared cores: preferential Levallois (flake, point, blade), discoidal/radial, volumetric blade; Tools: unifacial points, bifacial points, backed artefacts, scrapers, denticulates; Non-lithic: bone tools, shell beads, (engraved) ochre, engraved ostrich eggshell, grindstones | 163 |
| ESA ~2 Ma–200 ka | Core technology: cobble choppers, platform, discoidal/radial, blade (late ESA); Tools: bifacial large cutting tools (handaxes, cleavers, picks); Non-lithic: flaked/polished bone tools | 61 |
| Technocomplex | ||
| Ceramic LSA <2 ka | Both microlithic and more informal variants occur regionally. Tools can include long end-scrapers and backed microliths, or tools can be rare. Contemporaneous with Final LSA but assemblages with ceramics may be associated with herders or hunter-gatherers. Alternative terms: Smithfield (interior, informal) [4]; Swartkop (Northern Cape/Bushmanland hunter-gatherer, blades, backed blades, grass-tempered ceramics), Doornfontein (Northern Cape/Bushmanland herder, informal flakes, quartz preference, frequent ceramics) [35]; Group 2 (Namaqualand herder?, informal, no bladelets, single platform cores or retouch), Group 3 (Namaqualand hunter-gatherer?, >95% clear quartz, backed tools outnumber scrapers [121] | 208 |
| Final LSA 4–0.1 ka | Both microlithic (similar to Wilton) and more informal variants (Smithfield) occur. Adzes/spokeshaves (concave scrapers) are common. Alternative terms: Springbokoog (Northern Cape/Bushmanland, >2 ka, no ceramics, backed bladelets; described as equivalent to the Wilton but falling within 4.3–2.3 ka) [35]; Group 1 (Namaqualand, <2 ka, Wilton-like microlithic) [121] | 169 |
| Wilton 8–4 ka | Microlithic flake and bladelet tradition with numerous formal tools, including standardised backed microliths and small convex scrapers. Wide range of raw materials. | 104 |
| Oakhurst 12–7 ka | Macrolithic flake-based tradition with informal cores. Tools are mostly medium/large scraper forms (D-shaped, Woodlot, naturally backed knives). High use of hornfels and quartzite. Alternative terms: Lockshoek (interior Karoo, emphasis on hornfels) [38], Albany (southern Cape) [122], Kuruman (Northern Cape) | 77 |
| Robberg 20–12 ka | Systematic unretouched bladelets from single platform or bipolar cores. Bipolar scaled pieces/outils écaillés occur but few retouched tools. High use of fine-grained raw materials and quartz. Alternative terms: Late Pleistocene LSA (Namibia, macrolithic Oakhurst-like with Robberg ages) [123] | 42 |
| Early LSA 40–20 ka | Generally informal, combining some MSA (prepared) and LSA (bipolar technique, microlithic) technological characteristics. Alternative terms: MSA/LSA (Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal where features overlap); generic: MIS 2 | 29 |
| Final MSA 40–30 ka | Late MIS 3 with typical MSA features (e.g. prepared cores, points, blades) but may include bipolar and microlithic technologies. Some regional tool variants (e.g. hollow-based points). Alternative terms: generic: MIS 3 MSA | 19 |
| Late MSA 50–40 ka | Mid-MIS 3 with typical MSA features (e.g. prepared cores, points, blades). May include retouched point forms (unifacial, bifacial). Alternative terms: Orangian (interior Karoo, emphasis on hornfels, points and blades) [37]; generic: MIS 3 MSA | 27 |
| Post-Howiesons Poort 60–45 ka | Early MIS 3 with typical MSA features (e.g. prepared cores, points, blades). Unifacial points, scrapers, rare backed artefacts. High use of silcrete in some regions (e.g. Western Cape). Nubian Levallois point production in the Karoo. Alternative terms: Sibudan (proposed by [7, 124] but low uptake), MSA 3 [125] | 21 |
| Howiesons Poort 70–60 ka | Blade-based technology, prepared blade cores and small blade/bladelets. Standardised backed tools (geometrics, bladelets) in high frequencies, strangulated-notches. Points are rare. High use of silcrete. | 37 |
| Still Bay 80–70 ka | Prepared core (radial/Levallois) flake production, some blades. Bifacial foliate/lanceolate points, may involve heat-treatment, pressure-flaking or serration. High use of silcrete. Alternative terms: pre-Howiesons Poort (interior Free State/Lesotho, lacking typical bifacial points) | 30 |
| Pre-Still Bay 130–80 ka | Prepared core (radial/Levallois) flake, point and blade production. Some incipient Still Bay features (bifacial flaking, serration), scrapers. Alternative terms: Mossel Bay [7, 8]; Pietersburg (interior Limpopo/Gauteng) [112, 126]; MSA 2b [125]; generic: MIS 5 MSA | 26 |
| Early MSA 300–130 ka | Prepared Levallois and discoidal/radial cores, flakes, blades from volumetric cores, points (usually unretouched), denticulates, notches. Alternative terms: MSA 1, MSA 2a [125] | 38 |
| Fauresmith 600–>200 ka | Small, symmetrical handaxes, prepared (Levallois cores), large blades, points. Diverse raw materials, some fine-grained. Alternative terms: Late Acheulean (less emphasis on MSA transitional elements), Victoria West (Northern Cape variant, prepared cores) [127], Sangoan (pan-African term, emphasis on MSA features, picks, denticulates, notched scrapers) [128] | 21 |
| Acheulean 1.5 Ma–300 ka | Bifaces (handaxes and cleavers), scrapers, large flake blanks, some core preparation in late Acheulean. Coarse-grained raw materials, usually local. | 45 |
| Oldowan >2–1.5 Ma | Cobble, core or flake tools, no core preparation and little retouch. Coarse-grained raw materials, usually local. | 5 |
Figure 3
Frequencies of sites in the SASSI database, by technocomplex (see Table 5 for details) and biome. Biomes are ordered by decreasing area covered.