Revisiting Mwulu’s Cave: new insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome

Abstract

In this paper, we present a revised stratigraphy and results of preliminary analyses of the archaeological material from Mwulu’s Cave. This arises from two excavation campaigns conducted in 2017, 71 years after the site was initially investigated by P.V. Tobias. This cave, located in Limpopo Province (South Africa), preserves one of the few known Middle Stone Age sequences in the northeastern part of the country. Here, we revisit the stratigraphic sequence of the site and provide new analyses of sediments, palynomorphs, phytoliths, ochre and lithics. The renewed excavations and reappraisal of the archaeological material from Mwulu’s Cave form part of a larger research project exploring Middle Stone Age variability in the northeastern part of South Africa, with a specific focus on the so-called Pietersburg industries.