100th century BCE
Zimbabwe, especially the Charama plateau and Matopo Hills
The Charaman Industry is an Earlier Middle Stone Age lithic tradition of Zimbabwe, named after surface assemblages on the Charama plateau. It is represented at Bambata and Pomongwe caves in the Matopo Hills and at Khami near Bulawayo. Its assemblages combine heavy-duty tools such as picks, core-axes, and small bifaces with utilized flakes, flake-blades, Levallois and discoid-core products, denticulated and notched retouch, points, and scrapers. The only cited date is older than 42,000 BP at Pomongwe Cave.
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The Story
The Charaman Industry takes its name from surface assemblages on the Charama plateau, situated at about 1,220 metres in open woodland. It is presented as an Earlier Middle Stone Age tradition on the central Zimbabwean plateau, between the Zambezi and Limpopo valleys. The tradition appears less variable than contemporary sequences in South Africa while combining technological characteristics associated with regions north and south of the Limpopo.
Charaman assemblages occur in the lower parts of the Bambata and Pomongwe cave sequences in the Matopo Hills, and at the base of an open-site sequence at Khami near Bulawayo. Heavy-duty equipment is especially prominent at open sites, whereas cave occupations contain more light-duty tools and production waste. The industry includes picks, core-axes, small bifaces, utilized flakes, and flake-blades, some produced from Levallois and discoid cores.
Retouch commonly takes the form of denticulation and notching, producing simple sub-triangular points and several scraper forms. Light-duty implements were generally made from quartz or other fine siliceous stone, while larger tools were usually produced from coarser-grained rocks. The only date cited for the tradition is older than 42,000 BP from Pomongwe Cave; associated fauna place it after the human fossils from Kabwe and suggest comparison with earlier Lupemban industries of the humid tropics.
100th century BCE
Zimbabwe, especially the Charama plateau and Matopo Hills
The Charaman Industry is an Earlier Middle Stone Age lithic tradition of Zimbabwe, named after surface assemblages on the Charama plateau. It is represented at Bambata and Pomongwe caves in the Matopo Hills and at Khami near Bulawayo. Its assemblages combine heavy-duty tools such as picks, core-axes, and small bifaces with utilized flakes, flake-blades, Levallois and discoid-core products, denticulated and notched retouch, points, and scrapers. The only cited date is older than 42,000 BP at Pomongwe Cave.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Charaman Industry takes its name from surface assemblages on the Charama plateau, situated at about 1,220 metres in open woodland. It is presented as an Earlier Middle Stone Age tradition on the central Zimbabwean plateau, between the Zambezi and Limpopo valleys. The tradition appears less variable than contemporary sequences in South Africa while combining technological characteristics associated with regions north and south of the Limpopo.
Charaman assemblages occur in the lower parts of the Bambata and Pomongwe cave sequences in the Matopo Hills, and at the base of an open-site sequence at Khami near Bulawayo. Heavy-duty equipment is especially prominent at open sites, whereas cave occupations contain more light-duty tools and production waste. The industry includes picks, core-axes, small bifaces, utilized flakes, and flake-blades, some produced from Levallois and discoid cores.
Retouch commonly takes the form of denticulation and notching, producing simple sub-triangular points and several scraper forms. Light-duty implements were generally made from quartz or other fine siliceous stone, while larger tools were usually produced from coarser-grained rocks. The only date cited for the tradition is older than 42,000 BP from Pomongwe Cave; associated fauna place it after the human fossils from Kabwe and suggest comparison with earlier Lupemban industries of the humid tropics.