Erich Fisher

Arizona State University | ASU · Institue of Human Origins

We present new stable oxygen and carbon isotope composite records (δ18O, δ13C) of speleothems from Sandkraal Cave 1 (SK1) on the South African south coast for the time interval between 104 and 18 ka (with a hiatus between 48 and 41 ka). Statistical comparisons using kernel-based correlation analyses and semblance analyses based on continuous wavele...

Mochena Borago Rockshelter (MB, 6.897° N, 37.755° E) has played a pivotal role in recognizing ecologically rich—but hitherto poorly known—highland tropical SW Ethiopia as an important region for understanding Late Pleistocene and Holocene hunter-gatherer lifeways and population movements in and out of the Horn of Africa. Since 1995, international a...

Waterfall Bluff rock shelter is a recently excavated archaeological site located in the Lambasi region of eastern Mpondoland (Eastern Cape Province) on the east coast of South Africa. Deposits at the site span Marine Isotope Stage 3 to the Middle Holocene. Detailed descriptions of the excavation sequence, chronology, and archaeological remains have...

Archaeomalacological analysis is generally undertaken on recovered macro-remains to characterize the overall composition of faunal remains in a deposit. Given the susceptibility of shell middens to a variety of taphonomic processes, it is assumed that the prior presence of shell in deposits may therefore occasionally be missed. Deteriorated micro-r...

This study utilizes geostatistical modelling of magnetic susceptibility (MS) for geophysical prospection of archaeological stratigraphy at the Middle Stone Age rock shelter site of Pinnacle Point 5‐6 North. These models are overlaid onto high‐resolution photography of the stratigraphic sequence to study the lateral and vertical changes within the m...

Archaeomalacological analysis is generally undertaken on recovered macro-remains to characterize the overall composition of faunal remains in a deposit. Given the susceptibility of shell middens to a variety of taphonomic processes, it is assumed that the prior presence of shell in deposits may therefore occasionally be missed. Deteriorated micro-r...

Waterfall Bluff, in Eastern Mpondoland (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa), is a recently excavated archaeological site with deposits spanning Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 to the Middle Holocene. Here, we present preliminary results of a multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental study combining macro-botanical remains, charcoal, phytoliths, pollen and plan...

Coastal occupation and foraging during the last glacial maximum and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South Africa – Erratum - Erich C. Fisher, Hayley C. Cawthra, Irene Esteban, Antonieta Jerardino, Frank H. Neumann, Annette Oertle, Justin Pargeter, Rosaria B. Saktura, Katherine Szabó, Stephan Winkler, Irit Zohar

Waterfall Bluff is a rock shelter in eastern Pondoland, South Africa, adjacent to a narrow continental shelf that limited coastline movements across glacial/interglacial cycles. The archaeological deposits are characterized by well-preserved stratigra-phy, faunal, and botanical remains alongside abundant stone artifacts and other materials. A compr...

The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain formed an important habitat exploited by Pleistocene hunter-gatherer populations during periods of lower sea level. This productive, grassy habitat would have supported numerous large-bodied ungulates accessible to a population of skilled hunters with the right hunting technology. It also provided a potentially rich locatio...

Given the steep present-day climatic gradients in southern South Africa, comparative studies of its coastal and inland paleoclimate provide important insight into the region's spatial climate dynamics. We present a comparative study of new speleothem stable oxygen (d18O) and carbon (d13C) isotopic composition from Efflux Cave (EC; 113e19 ka, hiatus...

The use of radiogenic strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) has a long and productive history in archaeological science (Bentley, 2006). Provenance analysis of archaeological hard tissues like enamel, bone, and shell relies upon a reference data set of landscape variation in strontium available for incorporation into the skeleton (bioavailable Sr)....

The Msikaba Red Sand Dunes along South Africa's Pondoland coast are a recently discovered open-air site complex that documents Middle Pleistocene lithic technological and morphological change. The deposit comprises ancient dune surfaces stacked over time with repeated sea-level highstand events. Initial excavations and surface collections document...

The Cape south coast presents some of the world's most significant early modern human sites preserving evidence for complex human behaviour during the Middle Stone Age (MSA), and it is centrally located in the megadiverse Greater Cape Floristic Region. The extinct Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP) once abutted this region, forming an important habitat for...

The P5 Project is an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers studying hunter-gatherer adaptations in persistent coastal contexts in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Since 2015, excavations at the site of Waterfall Bluff (A2SE-1) have revealed stratified and well-preserved remains of coastal hunter-gatherer occupations dati...

Waterfall Bluff, located on South Africa’s Pondoland coastline, is a recently excavated archaeological site with deposits dating from ~50 thousand years ago (ka BP), during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, to the Early Holocene, ~11 ka BP. This site provides the first primary evidence of coastal foraging during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in South...

Highly resolved, well-dated paleoclimate records from the southern South African coast are needed to contextualize the evolution of the highly diverse extratropical plant communities of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) and to assess the environmental impacts on early human hunter-gatherers. We present new speleothem stable oxygen and carbon...

The study of plant remains in archaeological sites, along with a better understanding of the use of plants by prehistoric populations, can help us shed light on changes in survival strategies of hunter-gatherers and consequent impacts on modern human cognition, social organization, and technology. The archaeological locality of Pinnacle Point (Moss...

List of the one hundred eighty-three samples analysed from the PP5-6N sequence giving sample location and description, and the main phytolith, relative number of phytoliths per gram of sediment (/g sed) and FT-IR results, Arg, aragonite, Cal, calcite, Cl, clay (b = burned), (nb = not burned), (b? = probably burnt), Dah, dahllite, Nit, nitrate salts...

List of phytolith morphotypes identified, their taxonomic affiliation and their frequencies in samples from the PP5-6N sequence, giving the stratigraphic location and sample information. (XLSX)

Kruskal-Wallis test of rank sums of the distribution of the phytolith assemblages grouped by plant types and plant parts among the different StratAggs at PP5-6N. P-values in bold were detected as significant different among StratAggs. (XLSX)

Results of the Dunn's multiple comparisons test with Bonferroni adjustments for those plant types and plant types identified as significant through the Kruskal-Wallis test. (XLSX)

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka) the Toba Caldera erupted in Sumatra and its impact on climate, environment, and humans has been continually debated. Here we describe the discovery of Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) glass shards in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region with recurrent evidence for early human behavio...

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff-ashfall from the Toba eruption-in two archaeo...

Pleistocene shoreline deposits comprised of calcified shallow marine (palaeobeach) and aeolian (palaeodune) facies found along mid-latitude coastlines can be useful indicators of past sea levels. Here, we describe a succession of such deposits that are presently exposed both above (subaerial) and below (submerged) mean sea level along the southern...

South Africa continues to receive substantial attention from scholars researching modern human origins. The importance of this region lies in the many caves and rock shelters containing well preserved evidence of human activity, cultural material complexity and a growing number of early modern human fossils dating to the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Sou...

To better understand the origins of modern humans, we are developing a paleoscape model that simulates the climatic conditions and distribution of natural resources available to humans during this critical stage of human evolution. Our geographic focus is the southern Cape region of South Africa, which was rich in natural resources for hunter-gathe...

Using fine and coarse resolution geoarchaeological studies at the Middle Stone Age site of PP5-6 at Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, South Africa, we discovered different patterns of anthropogenic input and changes in behavior through time. Through the microfacies approach, we documented the various geogenic and anthropogenic processes that formed the d...

Paleoanthropologists (scientists studying human origins) universally recognize the evolutionary significance of ancient climates and environments for understanding human origins. Even those scientists working in recent phases of human evolution, when modern humans evolved, agree that hunter-gatherer adaptations are tied to the way that climate and...

Species distribution modeling (SDM) is a methodology that has been widely used in the past two decades for developing quantitative, empirical, predictive models of species–environment relationships. SDM methods could be more broadly applied than they currently are to address research questions in archaeology and paleoanthropology. Specifically, SDM...

Cryptotephra has been discovered in the Shelly Ashy Dark Brown Sand unit (SADBS) within the sediment section of a Middle Stone Age (MSA) rock shelter (site PP5-6) at Pinnacle Point, South Africa. This tephra occurs as bubble wall glass shards less than 80 μm in size and has a high probability of being distal ash from the 73.88 +/- 0.32 ka super-eru...

This paper summarizes the results of a recent survey of the South African “Wild Coast” in Pondoland, Eastern Cape Province. The purpose of the survey was to locate and to describe coastal caves and rock shelters that may contain Early and Middle Stone Age archaeological deposits for future study. The study is part of a much larger research design t...

Deposits in sea caves found along the southern coastline of South Africa have produced a rich and detailed archaeological record of early modern humans. There is, however, little evidence for coastal cave deposits and human occupation older than MIS5e (w120 ka). Based on the correlation of four different chronological methods we present evidence fo...

There is consensus that the modern human lineage appeared in Africa before 100,000 years ago. But there is debate as to when cultural and cognitive characteristics typical of modern humans first appeared, and the role that these had in the expansion of modern humans out of Africa. Scientists rely on symbolically specific proxies, such as artistic e...

Between 70 and 50 ka BP, anatomically modern humans dispersed across and out of Africa to eventually populate all inhabitable continents. Knowledge of paleoenvironments and human behavioral patterns in Africa prior to and during these dispersals is crucial for understanding how and why hunter-gatherers were able to adapt rapidly to the new environm...

Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (PP13B) has provided the earliest archaeological evidence for the exploitation of marine shellfish, along with very early evidence for use and modification of pigments and the production of bladelets, all dated to approximately 164 ka (Marean et al., 2007). This makes PP13B a key site in studies of the origins of modern huma...

This paper aims to identify the spatial patterning of burning and occupation within an early Middle Stone Age (MSA) sea cave in the Western Cape Province of South Africa by creating a multidimensional model of archaeomagnetic data recovered from all excavated units. Magnetic susceptibility and other mineral magnetic parameters are shown to provide...

Changing climates, environment, and sea levels during the Middle and Late Pleistocene must have had significant impacts on early modern humans and their behavior. However, many important archaeological sites occur along the current coastline of South Africa where the gradual slope of the offshore Agulhas Bank meant that small changes to sea level h...

Coastal South Africa draws interdisciplinary interests due to the co-occurrence of a rich record for early human behavioral modernity, hyper-diverse vegetation with very high endemism (the Cape Floral Region), and globally influential oceanic and climate systems. High resolution and continuous climate and environmental records are needed to provide...

The south coast of Africa is near the confluence of two oceans (Atlantic and Indian) and two major oceanic systems influential to world climate - the cold Benguela Upwelling on the west coast and the warm Agulhas Current flowing down the east coast. The south coast is also at the juncture of a winter rainfall system to the west and summer to the ea...

Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 thousand years (kyr) ago, and recent evidence indicates symbolic behaviour may have appeared approximately 135-75 kyr ago. From 195-130 kyr ago, the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage (marine isotope stage MIS6); much of Africa was...

Although archaeology is a discipline traditionally associated with shovels, screens, and bags of artifacts, archaeologists are making more effective use of GIS to create precise maps of both small and large-scale landscape features thus bringing better environmental and regional contexts to their research. As archaeologists continually broaden thei...