Noora Taipale, an FNRS postdoctoral researcher at TraceoLab, has just returned from a field investigation in southern Africa. She participated in an international mission led by Dr. Viola Schmid of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. This team aimed to map the sources of raw materials for stone tools in the region surrounding the archaeological site Rose Cottage Cave, located on the border of Lesotho and the Free State province of South Africa. This campaign is part of a broader study by TraceoLab on the customs and practices of hunter-gatherers who lived more than 40,000 years ago.
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The main objective of this investigation was to locate potential raw material outcrops for the stone tools used by the occupants of Rose Cottage Cave—a site located on the border of Lesotho and the Free State province of South Africa—during the Middle Stone Age," explains Noora Taipale. "We successfully identified several promising outcrops and collected scientifically significant geological samples." These samples are currently being analyzed and compared to archaeological artifacts using various laboratory methods at the University of Vienna and at TraceoLab. The goal is to determine whether these raw materials correspond to those used to manufacture the stone tools found at the site.
The results of this study will deepen our understanding of how hunter-gatherers moved through the landscape. They will provide valuable information on the raw materials preferred by these prehistoric populations. Thanks to the expertise of Noora Taipale and her colleagues at TraceoLab, along with the specialized research facilities at the University of Liège (ULiège), the Rose Cottage Cave project will benefit from advanced analyses.
TraceoLab's involvement in this project is crucial. The laboratory offers its expertise and cutting-edge technologies to determine how the stone tools were used and how functional considerations influenced the raw material choices of prehistoric toolmakers. "This research provides a new perspective on the practices of prehistoric toolmakers who shaped tools approximately 65,000 to 40,000 years ago," the researcher says with enthusiasm.
This field investigation in southern Africa, conducted by an international team, represents a significant advancement in the study of prehistoric hunter-gatherer behavior. The anticipated results will improve our understanding of their mobility dynamics and material preferences, thereby enriching our knowledge of human history.
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