Fig 1.
Location of Sibudu in KwaZulu-Natal (left; after [21]); view on the excavation area (right) (The individuals in this picture have given their written informed consent).
Fig 2.
Stratigraphic main section of the deep sounding (east profile) of Sibudu including ages of the archaeological phases and indication of the presence of bifacial or serrated pieces.
(* lower Sibudan (Will and Conard 2016), ** Howiesons Poort (de la Peña et al. 2013), ***Still Bay (Soriano et al. 2015) (left); Orthophotography of the east profile (right).
Table 1.
Sibudu Cave, all basal layers.
Table 2.
Sibudu Cave, basal layers under study.
Fig 3.
Sibudu basal deposits—Assemblage composition.
Blades (1–3); Laminar cores (4–6).
Table 3.
Sibudu Cave, all basal layers.
Table 4.
Sibudu, basal layers under study.
Table 5.
Sibudu, basal layers under study.
Fig 4.
Sibudu basal deposits—Overview of all serrated pieces.
Analysed serrated pieces (rows 1–4); Unused and unanalysed serrated pieces (rows 5–7).
Fig 5.
A—scatter plot of widths and lengths of all complete serrated pieces (red cross–quartz, blue squares–dolerite and hornfels); B—Box plot of maximal width of all serrated pieces in comparison to the used points exclusively; C—Box plot of maximal thickness of all serrated pieces in comparison to the used points exclusively.
Table 6.
Sibudu, basal layers under study.
Table 7.
Analytical protocol as applied to the serrated points.
Fig 6.
Examples of contamination and residues from associated sediment.
a) abundant skin tissue from post excavation handling on the ventral left proximal edge of 665 (x500, bright field); b) plasticine contamination on the dorsal left proximal end of 1170 (x500, dark field); c) elongate phytoliths, articulated plant tissue cf. Commelinidae, charred palynofacies and other sedimentary particles in sediment sample from layer Bea (x400, transmitted light); d) pleochroic particles of CaCO3 from sediment sample from layer Casper (x400, transmitted polarised light); e) spores, sclereid and lobed CaCO3 crystal from hyrax faecal sample (the crystal is typically found in urine) (x400, transmitted light); f) other pleochroic crystals, spores and fibre from hyrax faecal sample (x400, transmitted light).
Table 8.
Summary of residues found in sediment samples.
Fig 7.
a) hafted experimental projectiles before the experiment; b) experimental set-up including target used on the right (The individual in this picture has given his written informed consent); c) hafted experimental projectiles after the experiment showing fractured projectile tips, cut bindings, as well as points that inserted into the shaft upon impact.
Table 9.
Experimental data for the projectile experiments including all ballistic information.
Fig 8.
Examples of damage caused by impact as recorded on the experimental reference sample.
a) step-terminating bending fracture on the apex of Exp. 82/135 (dolerite; x26.5); b) lateral step-terminating scarring on the ventral apex of Exp. 84/10 (x30.5); c) step-terminating spin-off initiated from the apex fracture on the dorsal distal tip of Exp. 84/10 (x23.5) (also lateral scarring is visible); d) elongated bending initiated and step-terminating scars on the lateral edge of the dorsal distal tip of Exp. 84/10 (x23.5); e) superposing step-terminating scars on the ventral distal tip of Exp. 84/7 (x40.5); f) superposing step-terminating scars on the right lateral edge of the dorsal distal tip of Exp. 84/7 (x26).
Fig 9.
a) point 535 (x12.4); b) point 546 (x12.4); c) point 1021 (x11.2); d) 1055 (x12.4)
Table 10.
Summary of residues on the serrated pieces.
Fig 10.
Examples of residues related to pressure flaking with bone.
Retouch residues on: a) the dorsal left distal edge of 551 (x500, dark field); b) the dorsal left distal edge of 1021 (x500, bright field); c) the dorsal right medial-proximal edge of 1803 (x500, bright field); d) the ventral left medial edge of 875 (x500, dark field); e) and f) examples of bone retouch using pressure flaking from comparative reference material (f after washing) (x200, dark field).
Fig 11.
Sibudu basal deposits—Serration flakes.
Fig 12.
Bone tool A5-690-3 from layer Casper.
Wear traces on tip from a use as compressor in pressure flaking.
Fig 13.
a) archaeological examples of flakes that possibly detached from a bone compressor during its use in pressure flaking; b) experimental bone flakes detached from a bone compressor during its use in pressure flaking; c) damage on the tip of experimental bone compressors from use in pressure flaking.
Fig 14.
Bone percussion tool A5-598 from layer Casper with encrusted quartzite flake fragment.
Table 11.
Conclusions of the functional analysis.
Table 12.
Summary of the main wear features as observed on the used serrated points.
Fig 15.
Functional evidence on point 1170 showing examples of impact wear, MLIT and residues.
a) proteinaceous residue with animal tissue fragments and possibly blood (x500, bright field); b) MLIT’s associated with the termination of a scar caused by impact on the left lateral edge (x500, bright field); c) step-terminating bending initiated scar on the apex attributed to impact (x52); d) large sheet of sinew-like tissue on edge possibly use-related or from retouch or binding (x500, dark field); e) step-terminating bending initiated scar on apex attributed to impact (x92); f) residue compacted in the termination of the scar depicted in (e) (x500, bright field); g) small bone fragment (x400, transmitted light); h) abrasion on the termination of the scar depicted in (e) and attributed to friction upon impact (x200, bright field); i) linear surface feature close to but not associated with the termination of the scar depicted in (e) and due to the structural properties of the raw material (not use-related) (x200); j) detail of the linear surface feature (due to structural properties of quartz crystal and not use-related) (x500); k) animal tissue fragments probably from retouch but may also be from binding or use (x500, bright field); l) resinous-like adhesive residue (x500, dark field); m) friction striation on medial surface, possibly due to hafting (x100); n) cracked superposing step terminations of bending initiated scars (x35); o) articulated fibres associated with stellate trichome cf. Pavonia sp. (x400, transmitted light); (scale bar on residue images 20 μm).
Fig 16.
Examples of wear traces and residues on tip fragment 1075–1.
a) small burination associated with small bending initiated hinge-terminating tip fracture (x58); b) small step-terminating spin-off associated with tip fracture (x77); c) medial fracture, complex fracture plane with multiple combined initiations (x21); d) compressed fibre with birefringent lipid inclusions (x500, bright field, polarisation)
Fig 17.
Examples of wear traces, MLIT’s and residues on basal fragment 877.
a-c) MLIT’s associated with damaged fracture edge (a: x200; b: x100; c: x500, bright field); d) transversal bending initiated fracture terminating in a steep step (x11,2); e) fatty red-orange residue, possibly adhesive (x1000 dark field); f) secondary removal associated with transversal fracture (x11,6); g) obliquely initiated edge damage on fracture edge (x200, bright field); h) small elongated removal (cf. “burination”) with associated spin-off (x22,5); i) step-terminating bending initiated scar cross-cutting shaping retouch (x17,6); j) connective tissue wrapped around the edge (x1000, bright field).
Fig 18.
Examples of wear traces on point 1021.
a) MLIT on ventral distal point (x100, DIC); b) striations (MLIT’s) associated with edge damage, both attributed to counter-pressure within haft upon impact (x100, DIC); c) MLIT’s on ventral distal point (x100, DIC).
Fig 19.
Examples of use-related animal residues.
a) blood-like residue and bone on the dorsal medial surface of 1136 (x500, dark field); b) animal tissue embedded in proteinaceous residue on the ventral distal tip of 551 (x500, dark field); c) sinew on the dorsal right distal edge of 1804 (x500, dark field); d) torn animal tissue from the distal surface of 1804 (x400, transmitted light); e) adipose skin tissue on the dorsal left medial surface of 1804 (x200, dark field); f) fat globules in tissue from the dorsal medial edge of 875 (x400, transmitted light); g) hair fragment from the dorsal distal surface of 875 (x400, transmitted polarised light); h) hair fragment from the dorsal distal surface of 1075.1 (x400, transmitted light); i) torn animal tissue from the dorsal distal to medial margin of 1889 (x400, transmitted light).
Fig 20.
Wear traces and residues on point 665.
a) multiple step-terminating scars on lateral edge of tip (x13.6); b) bending initiated scar with red residue (x84); c) bending initiated step-terminating scar with blood residue (x37); d) detail of (e) (150x); e) blood residues and tissue fragments (x500, bright field, polarisation); f) tissue, fibre and proteinaceous residue (x500, dark field); g) black residue within bending initiated step-terminating scar (x27.5); h) proteinaceous residue and smeared connective tissue (x500, dark field); i) abundant proteinaceous residue and tissue (x500, dark field); j) bending initiated hinge-terminating fracture on proximal extremity (x8.4); k) large amount of blood residue and animal tissue (x200, dark field); l) proteinaceous residue including blood (x500, dark field); m) proteinaceous residue with blood (x500, dark field).
Fig 21.
a-b) SEM images of cracked residue cf. blood on the dorsal distal tip (a) and on the dorsal left distal margin (b); c) EDS characterisation of the cracked residue showing elemental composition of the distal margin residue with high levels of oxygen and carbon and levels of iron, phosphorus, sodium and chlorine which concur with blood; d) table with EDS analytical results; e) cracked blood residue from modern comparative reference material.
Fig 22.
a) cf. white blood cells (leukocytes) from the dorsal distal surface of 875 (x400, transmitted light); b) leukocytes from rock hyrax reference material stained with Eosin (x400, transmitted light); c) arrow points to RBC-like inclusions in residue on the ventral left distal to medial edge of 875 (x500, bright field); d) hyrax blood sample stained with Eosin (x400, transmitted light).
Fig 23.
a) abundant small starch granules with centric hila extracted from the dorsal distal tip of 1075.1 (x400, transmitted light). These were possibly derived from a plant extract used for poison; b) boxplot with minimum and maximum dimensions showing the general roundness of starch granules.
Fig 24.
a–c) film of cracked compound adhesive residue on the dorsal distal to medial surface of 1804 with sheets of sinew covering the adhesive residue (b) and fat (c) (x500, dark field); d) fatty red-orange pigment on the dorsal proximal surface of 1021 (x500, dark field, polarisation); e) red/orange lineal residue on the ventral left medial edge of 551 is possibly associated with binding material (x50, bright field); f) cracked red-brown resin on the dorsal medial surface of 632 (x1000, bright field, polarisation); g) fibre from the medial surface of 1803 possibly derived from binding (x400, transmitted light); h) example of a large vessel element phytolith from the proximal surface of 877 and possibly derived from a wooden shaft (x400, transmitted light); i) stellate trichome cf. Pavonia sp. from the proximal surface of 1170 (x400, transmitted light).
Fig 25.
Residues on serrated point 1021.
a) distribution of red-orange residue, possibly adhesive residue on the dorsal right proximal edge (x180); b) fatty residue with red-orange residue (possibly adhesive) on the dorsal left proximal to medial surface (x180); c) hair fragment in pipette sample taken from the ventral and dorsal surface of the distal tip fractures (x400, transmitted light); d) fatty proteinaceous residue on the dorsal distal tip (x500, bright field); e) curled fibre embedded in residue on the dorsal distal surface (x500, bright field); f) oblique lineation with fatty and red-orange residues on the dorsal distal surface (x200, bright field); g) red-orange residue possibly blood on the dorsal left medial surface (x200, bright field); h) articulated connective tissue with fat globules on the dorsal central distal to medial surface (x500, dark field, polarisation); i) connective tissue with red-orange residue on the dorsal central medial surface (x500, dark field, polarisation); j) lineal striations associated with fatty proteinaceous residue on the dorsal right distal tip (x500, bright field); k) twisted animal fibre on the ventral central distal to medial surface (x1000, dark field); l) sinew-like fibre in red-orange residue on the ventral right medial surface (x1000, dark field).
Fig 26.
a and b) SEM images of adhesive residue on the dorsal medial surface of 1804 clearly show iron-rich particulates probably derived from ground ochre; c and d) SEM images of resinous lump on the dorsal right medial edge of 551 showing distribution and concentration of carbon and other elements including iron; e and f) SEM image and EDS spectra of resinous wood on the ventral medial to proximal surface of 535; g and h) SEM image and EDS characterization of the black carbon-rich residue found distributed over the surface of 551.
Fig 27.
Examples of Podocarpus residues and comparative plant material.
a and b) cf. Podocarpus sp. tissue recovered from the medial and proximal surfaces of 1136; c–f) an example of a polygonal starch granule from the proximal surface of 1170 (c) in comparison to articulated fibres (d), granular tissue (e) and starch granules (f) from Podocarpus falcatus stem reference material (x400, transmitted light).
Fig 28.
Cobble with ochre staining (layer Chantal).