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  • E-postkaren.niekerk@uib.no
  • Telefon+47 55 58 38 14
  • Besøksadresse
    Øysteins gate 3
    5007 Bergen
  • Postadresse
    Postboks 7805
    5020 Bergen

Tracing the origins of behaviourally modern Homo sapiens in southern Africa

Our project focuses explicitly on the period between 100-50 ka (thousand years ago), a time of remarkable technological and behavioural expansion amongst ancestral modern humans. This project is unique and innovative in taking a macro and micro-scale approach to examine the links between material culture, innovation, subsistence and micro-environments. Currently we have only episodic views or ‘snapshots’ of early human behaviour. Also existing ages of occupations at post-100 ka archaeological sites in southern Africa are queried and need review, as does the reliance on environmental proxies disconnected from the human record. Focusing on the southern Cape, a key locus for early human occupation, our research teams analysed materials excavated from three Middle Stone Age archaeological sites Blombos Cave, Klipdrift Shelter, Klipdrift  Cave Lower and one Later Stone Age site, Klipdrift Cave. Our 2015-2016 published results about these sites have demonstrated their unequalled richness and integrity, and highlights their ground-breaking contribution to our understanding of modern humans in this region, indeed for Africa as a whole. The benefits of our team using precision excavation and recording techniques, innovative analytical and dating methods, and new theoretical approaches are demonstrated in our publications that highlight the behavioural innovations and subsistence practices that emerged in this region after 100 ka. Additionally our publications have directly linked these cultural records to changing environmental conditions observed in site-based archives. Our integrated macro- and microscale approach is defining a new paradigm in international archaeological research. With our inter-disciplinary team of archaeologists, dating specialists and climatologists, we believe that our research group will continue to establish a new scientific standard for assessing the relationships between human culture and the natural world in which it operates.

Utvalgte publikasjoner
  • Coutinho, Alexandra; Malmström, Helena; Edlund, Hanna; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Lombard, Marlize; Schlebusch, Carina; Jakobsson, Mattias. 2021. Later Stone Age human hair from Vaalkrans Shelter, Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, reveals genetic affinity to Khoe groups. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 174: 701-713. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24236
  • Badenhorst, Shaw; Ezeimo, Joel; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2021. Differential accumulation of large mammal remains by carnivores and humans during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 35. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102752
  • Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Strauss, André M.; Velliky, Elizabeth; Mentzer, Susan M; Miller, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2020. Hidden in plain sight: A microanalytical study of a Middle Stone Age ochre piece trapped inside a micromorphological block sample. Geoarchaeology. 31 sider. doi: 10.1002/gea.21830
  • Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Unhammer, Ole Fredrik; Reynard, Jerome P.; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Ligouis, Bertrand; Mentzer, Susan M; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2020. Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4. Quaternary Research. 1-54. doi: 10.1017/qua.2020.75
  • Discamps, Emmanuel; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise. 2020. Large mammal exploitation during the c. 14-11 ka Oakhurst techno-complex at Klipdrift Cave, South Africa. South African Journal of Science. 116. 7 sider. doi: 10.17159/sajs.2020/6754
  • Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2019. Shellfish exploitation during the Oakhurst at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. South African Journal of Science. 115. 8 sider. doi: 10.17159/sajs.2019/5578
  • Henshilwood, Christopher; d'Errico, Francesco; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Dayet, Laure; Queffelec, Alain; Pollarolo, Luca. 2018. An abstract drawing from the 73,000-year-old levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Nature. 562: 115-118. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0514-3
  • Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah. 2018. Shellfishing at Klipdrift Cave during the Oakhurst, ca. 12–10 ka, in the southern Cape coast, South Africa: human predation pressure, dietary and climatic implications.
  • d'Errico, Francesco; Banks, William E.; Warren, Dan L.; Sgubin, Giovanni; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher; Daniau, A; Goñi, María Fernanda Sánchez. 2017. Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114: 7869-7876. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1620752114
  • Badenhorst, Shaw; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2016. Large mammal remains from the 100 ka Middle Stone Age layers of Blombos Cave, South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin. 71: 46-52.
  • Roberts, Patrick; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Keene, Petro; Gledhill, Andrew; Reynard, Jerome; Badenhorst, Shaw; Lee-thorp, Julia. 2016. Climate, environment and early human innovation: Stable isotope and faunal proxy evidence from archaeological sites (98-59ka) in the southern Cape, South Africa. PLOS ONE. 11:e0157408. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157408
  • Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2017. The Technology of the Early Oakhurst Lithic Techno-Complex from Klipdrift Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa. African Archaeological Review. 34: 93-119. doi: 10.1007/s10437-017-9246-2
  • Reynard, Jerome; Discamps, Emmanuel; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Badenhorst, Shaw; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2016. Occupational intensity and environmental changes during the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 449: 349-364. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.02.035
  • Moyo, Stanley; Mphuti, Dikeledi; Cukrowska, Ewa; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Chimuka, Luke. 2016. Blombos Cave: Middle Stone Age ochre differentiation through FTIR, ICP OES, ED XRF and XRD. Quaternary International. 404: 20-29. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.09.041
  • Reynard, Jerome; Discamps, Emmanuel; Badenhorst, Shaw; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2016. Subsistence strategies in the southern Cape during the Howiesons Poort: Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. Quaternary International. 404: 2-19. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.041
  • Harvati, Katerina; Bauer, Catherine C.; Grine, Frederick E.; Benazzi, Stefano; Ackerman, Rebecca Rogers; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2015. A human deciduous molar from the Middle Stone Age (Howiesons Poort) of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution. 82: 190-196. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.001
  • Badenhorst, Shaw; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher. 2014. Rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) from Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. African Archaeological Review. 31: 25-43. doi: 10.1007/s10437-014-9154-7
  • Vanhaeren, Marian; d'Errico, Francesco; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher; Erasmus, Rudolph M. 2013. Thinking strings: Additional evidence for personal ornament use in the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution. 64: 500-517. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.02.001
  • Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Delagnes, Anne; Armitage, Simon; Rifkin, Riaan; Douze, Katja; Keene, Petro; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Reynard, Jerome; Discamps, Emmanuel; Mienies, Samantha. 2014. Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa: preliminary report on the Howiesons Poort layers. Journal of Archaeological Science. 45: 284-303. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.01.033
  • Henshilwood, Christopher; d'Errico, Francesco; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Coquinot, Yvan; Jacobs, Zenobia; Lauritzen, Stein-Erik; Menu, Michel; Garcia-Moreno, Renata. 2011. A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science. 334: 219-222. doi: 10.1126/science.1211535
  • Langejans, Geeske H.J.; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Dusseldorp, Gerrit L.; Thackeray, J. Francis. 2012. Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa. Quaternary International. 270: 80-94. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.09.003
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2024). Shellfish gathering during MIS 5c-d at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: an inter-assemblage comparison. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2023). Peptide mass fingerprinting as a tool to assess micromammal biodiversity in Pleistocene South Africa: The case of Klipdrift Shelter. Quaternary Science Reviews.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2023). New Blombos Cave evidence supports a multi-step evolutionary scenario for the culturalization of the human body. Journal of Human Evolution.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2023). Behaviourally modern humans in coastal southern Africa experienced an increasingly continental climate during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage 5 to 4. Frontiers in Earth Science.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2022). Variability in hunting behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 7 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2022). Shellfish remains as proxy for human behaviour and past environments during MSA II lower at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2022). An initial assessment of zooarchaeological assemblage sizes from South Africa. Revue de Paléobiologie. 1-10.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2021). Rhinoceros from the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. Pachyderm. 53-62.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2021). Later Stone Age human hair from Vaalkrans Shelter, Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, reveals genetic affinity to Khoe groups. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 701-713.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2021). Effects of prehistoric fire events on the mineralogical and stable oxygen isotope composition of Turbo sarmaticus opercula.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2021). Differential accumulation of large mammal remains by carnivores and humans during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2021). Characterizing microscopic ochre fragments at Middle Stone Age sites: implications for evaluating prehistoric ochre use and deposition.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2020). The Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour 'Mother Africa - Welcome Home'.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2020). Large mammal exploitation during the c. 14-11 ka Oakhurst techno-complex at Klipdrift Cave, South Africa. . South African Journal of Science. 7 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2020). Hidden in plain sight: A microanalytical study of a Middle Stone Age ochre piece trapped inside a micromorphological block sample. Geoarchaeology. 31 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2020). Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4. Quaternary Research. 1-54.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2020). 230Th/U Burial Dating of Ostrich Eggshell: A New Geochronometer for Pleistocene Archaeological Sites.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Shellfish exploitation during the Oakhurst at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. South African Journal of Science. 8 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Patterns of U uptake and implications for diagenesis and trace element records in biomineral eggshell.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). MIS 5c-d at Klasies River: An analysis of microfossils to infe paleoenvironmental conditions.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Local environmental context of the Howiesons Poort sequence at Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa .
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Excavation and analysis from Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). Evaluating the temporal range of 230Th/U burial dating of ostrich eggshell, a new chronometer for Pleistocene terrestrial strata .
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). A reassessment of the luminescence chronology for Blombos Cave, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2019). 'Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour - Mother Africa - Welcome Home'.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). The 3D-reconstruction of a modified ochre fragment trapped inside a micromorphological block sample from the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). South Africa’s Blombos cave is home to the earliest drawing by a human. The Conversation.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). Shellfishing at Klipdrift Cave during the Oakhurst, ca. 12–10 ka, in the southern Cape coast, South Africa: human predation pressure, dietary and climatic implications.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). Les premières utilisations du rouge en Afrique.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). Investigation of Middle Stone Age occupation deposits in Blombos Cave, South Africa: evidence for changes in site-use and settlement dynamics in the Southern Cape during the MIS 5b-4 (94 – 72 ka).
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour exhibition.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). An abstract drawing from the 73,000-year-old levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Nature. 115-118.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2018). #L13 - The earliest drawing sheds light on the origin of symbolism.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). U-TH BURIAL DATING OF OSTRICH EGGSHELLS: A NOVEL APPROACH TO DATING AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEQUENCES BEYOND THE 14C LIMIT.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). The Technology of the Early Oakhurst Lithic Techno-Complex from Klipdrift Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa. African Archaeological Review. 93-119.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). Shellfish and tortoise exploitation during the Oakhurst at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: human predation pressure and climatic implications.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). Middle Stone Age ochre contexts in Blombos Cave, South-Africa: a macro- and micro-contextual background.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 7869-7876.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2017). Evaluating the nature and behavioral implications of laterally extensive occupation deposits in the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). What excavated beads tell us about the when and where of human evolution. The Conversation.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). The habitual heat treatment of silcrete by the Howiesons Poort groups from southern Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Subsistence strategies in the southern Cape during the Howiesons Poort: Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. Quaternary International. 2-19.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Occupational intensity and environmental changes during the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 349-364.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Large mammal remains from the 100 ka Middle Stone Age layers of Blombos Cave, South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin. 46-52.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Homo sapiens: Blombos Cave. 4 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Early evidence for the extensive heat treatment of silcrete in the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter (layer PBD, 65 ka), South Africa. PLOS ONE.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Climate, environment and early human innovation: Stable isotope and faunal proxy evidence from archaeological sites (98-59ka) in the southern Cape, South Africa. PLOS ONE.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Blombos Cave: Middle Stone Age ochre differentiation through FTIR, ICP OES, ED XRF and XRD. Quaternary International. 20-29.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2016). Blombos.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). Tracing the behavioural evolution of Homo sapiens in southern Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). The engraved ostrich eggshell from the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). Single-grain OSL dating of the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, Southern Cape, South Africa. AFQUA, Inaugural Conference and Workshops, 30 Jan - 7 Feb, 2015, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). New archaeological excavations of Later and Middle Stone Age deposits at the Klipdrift Complex, southern Cape, South Africa: 2010-2013.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). Heating silcrete: innovation, invention or simple opportunistic behavior for the MSA groups?
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). Diachronic change within the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, South Africa. PLOS ONE.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). Assessing the accidental versus deliberate color modification of shell beads. A case study on perforated Nassarius kraussianus from Blombos Cave Middle Stone Age levels. Archaeometry. 51-76.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2015). A human deciduous molar from the Middle Stone Age (Howiesons Poort) of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution. 190-196.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of ostrich eggshell provides evidence for climatic change during the emergence of the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort technocomplexes on the southern Cape coast of South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Single-grain OSL dating of the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) from Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. African Archaeological Review. 25-43.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Patterns of changes over the Howiesons Poort sequence at Klipdrift Shelter (South Africa).
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). New archaeological excavations of Later and Middle Stone Age deposits at the Klipdrift Complex, southern Cape, South Africa: 2010-2013.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Middle Stone Age fauna from Blombos Cave.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa: preliminary report on the Howiesons Poort layers. Journal of Archaeological Science. 284-303.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Il y a 100 000 ans, un atelier pour la préparation et le stockage de mélanges pigmentés. Paleo. 117-124.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Heat treatment of silcrete in the southern African MSA: the heating procedure and its implications for the chaine operatoire.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Engraved ostrich eggshells from the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). ED-XRF and FTIR Differentiation of ochre from the Middle Stone Age Layers of Blombos Cave, South Africa-A Preliminary study.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2014). Blombos Cave: The Middle Stone Age Levels.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2013). Thinking strings: Additional evidence for personal ornament use in the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution. 500-517.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2013). Preliminary report on the shellfish remains from the Mesolithic layers at Olsteinhelleren (5.6 – 4.7ka BC) and Sævarhelleren (7-5.8ka BC) (presented in absentia).
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2013). A hazy shade of winter: Late Pleistocene environments and behavioural adaptations at Blombos Cave, South Africa. 33 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2012). Trekking the Shore. Changing Coastlines and the Antiquity of Coastal Settlement. Bicho, N.F., Haws, J.A. & Davis, L.G. (editors) 2011. New York: Springer. I–XXX 496 pp. ISBN 978-1- 4419-8218-6 (hardback). South African Archaeological Bulletin. 150-151.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2012). Preliminary report on Klipdrift Shelter.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2012). Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa. Quaternary International. 80-94.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2012). Middle Stone Age Chemists - a 100 000-year-old pigment processing workshop at Blombos Cave. The Digging Stick. 1-5.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2012). Analytical techniques: Deciphering a 100,000 Year Old Ochre Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2011). Marine fish exploitation during the Middle and Later Stone Age of South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2011). A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science. 219-222.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2009). From the origin of language to the diversification of languages: What can archaeology and palaeoanthropology say? 56 sider.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2008). The > 100 ka levels at Blombos Cave, southern Cape: an update on recent and older excavations at the site.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2005). The Archaeology of Fishing: Establishing a Comparative Collection and Subsequent Analysis of Marine Fish Bone from Holocene levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2005). Nassarius kraussianus shell beads from Blombos Cave: evidence for symbolic behaviour in the Middle Stone Age. Journal of Human Evolution. 3-24.
  • Vis forfatter(e) (2001). Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: Preliminary report on the 1992 – 1999 excavations of the Middle Stone Age levels. Journal of Archaeological Science. 421-448.

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