Olieboomspoort lithic raw material sourcing

Olieboomspoort is a rock shelter in the Waterberg Mountains of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The site preserves thick Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits, which contain abundant fossils, ochre pieces and lithic artefacts. The lithic assemblage offers the possibility to explore technological choices and exploitation of raw materials by MSA groups, as well as to investigate their mobility patterns and use of local resources. We intend to subject the samples to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and X-ray Fluorescent Spectrometry to characterize the petrography of the artefacts. This will be coupled with geological prospection and petrographic analysis around the site to identify possible sources of raw material.