Middle Stone Age (MSA) point form and function: evidence from the Magubike rock shelter, southern Tanzania

This paper tries to highlight some elements of the technological abilities
and food acquisition strategies employed by early modern humans who
inhabited southern Tanzania and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa during
the Middle Stone Age or MSA. It presents the manufacturing processes and
possible functions of lithic points from the MSA assemblage of Magubike in
southern Tanzania. It also highlights some technological differences between
spearhead and arrowhead projectiles. The analyzed sample suggests the
existence of both spear and arrow weaponry systems at Magubike during the
MSA. The majority of analyzed samples were deliberately modified on their
proximal ends to allow hafting. The mechanisms used to manufacture and
use points suggest that people who made them were skilled and
knowledgeable.