All,
Briefly mentioned earlier,
HERE, Sibudu Cave shows signs of becoming a major focal point in discussions surrounding the true nature of MSA. Here is another paper, this one for dedicated taphonomists.
Cain, Chester R. 2005. Using burned animal bone to look at Middle Stone Age occupation and behavior. Journal of Archaeological Science (article in press)
Abstract:
Studies on burned bone have rarely been applied in understanding the human behavior behind the burning of animal remains. The Middle Stone Age faunal assemblage from Sibudu Cave (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) contains a very high proportion of burned bones. Based on previous experimental studies, a system of recording important aspects of burned bone was developed and applied to a sample of contexts from Sibudu Cave. The results produced a picture of the nature of burned bone from hearths, and described the bone from other features and general layers. It is believed that the bone at Sibudu was systematically being discarded into fires and burned, and additional material was burned by buried bones coming into contact with hearths. Additional actualistic work is needed to complete our understanding of archaeological burned bones.
Keywords:
Burned bones; Hearths; Middle Stone Age; South Africa
Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Click
HERE for the full article.
Reference to another paper that I had neglected to mention earlier can also be found
HERE in the Prehistory Board
Jacques Cinq-Mars
