Cultural Developments Between the Final MSA and the Robberg at Umbeli Belli, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract The Early Later Stone Age (ELSA) in southern Africa is one of the most poorly understood periods in the subcontinent. This is due to a lack of sites covering the time between the final MSA and the Robberg, but also due to a lack of agreement on what the ELSA actually is. In this paper, we present the lithic evidence from the site Umbeli Belli (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), covering the period between ~29,000 and 17,000 years ago. We find the changes which happen over the 12,000 years in between the final Middle Stone Age (MSA) and the Robberg at this site to be gradual and identify continuous technological and typological shifts. We compare these results to the lithic assemblages on a regional and supra-regional level, and in doing so, we find the patterns evident at Umbeli Belli to be repeated across southern Africa. Linking this to the research historical development of the term ELSA, we conclude that the MSA/LSA boundary is highly artificial and has become more of a hindrance than a means of structure in current archaeological research.