SESSION 12 - Silcrete as a lithic raw material in global context: geology, sourcing and techno-economics
What factors govern the procurement and use of silcrete during the Middle Stone Age of the Western Cape in Southafrica?

Fluctuations in the frequency of silcrete in lithic assemblages has been an important focus of MSA research in southern Africa during the last few decades. Most prominently, many studies in the Southern and Western Cape found a strong increase in the procurement of silcrete and other fine-grained raw materials during the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort industries, associated with many other elements of an early complex material culture. Here, we provide a detailed review of temporal and spatial variation of silcrete use on the Western Cape of South Africa and discuss factors that might drive differential acquisition and treatment of this raw material.