Letaba team
12 Jun 2025
Technology and microwear of worked bone from Letaba
Several worked bone objects have been found at Letaba, which may have been made locally or acquired through exchange with local hunter-gatherers. In this article, we analysed more than 90 worked bone objects using technological and use-wear methods. We also examined how the objects were used and where they were discarded, and compare them with similar objects from two other Early Iron Age sites in South Africa.
It seems that bone-working practices at Letaba were more similar to those at other Iron Age sites than to Later Stone Age traditions, but is also distinct in a number of respects. Overall, we now have a clearer picture of how bone tools were made and used during the Early Iron Age.
Read the full article published in Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences here.