The Last Glacial Maximum and acceleration of technological change in the Lesotho highlands

Abstract

The Between 45,000 and 25,000 years ago, the prepared cores and formally retouched tools of the southern African Middle Stone Age (MSA) were replaced by idiosyncratic, informal and min-iaturised lithic assemblages. This murky period of prehistory, loosely named the ‘ Middle to Later Stone Age Transition ’ (MSA/LSA transition), terminated with the appearance of southern Africa ’ s fi rst true Later Stone Age (LSA) industry, the Robberg, and the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The LGM profoundly impacted southern Africa ’ s human occupants by altering the viability of certain environments and the distribution of bioavailable resources. Despite this, the relationships between the MSA/LSA transition, the beginning of the Robberg and the onset of the LGM are relatively misunderstood. Previous studies have emphasised the di ff erences between fi nal MSA, transitional and Robberg indus-tries, attributing the slow spread of the poorly de fi ned ‘ Early Later Stone Age ’ (ELSA) tech-nocomplex to di ff usion or migration from other parts of the sub-continent and denying the roots of Robberg technology in the MSA. This dissertation tests three hypotheses on the MSA/LSA transition through the analysis of lithic assemblages from Melikane Rockshelter, Lesotho: that the transition was precipitated by population replacement; that it was a conse-quence of changes in mobility and resource distribution due to LGM conditions; and/or that it was prompted by demographic shifts unrelated to large-scale migration. and dated