Fig. 6: Comparison between deep-sea pollen records and the chronology of the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort technocomplexes. | Communications Earth & Environment

Fig. 6: Comparison between deep-sea pollen records and the chronology of the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort technocomplexes.

From: Climatic variability, vegetation dynamics, and cultural innovation in Southern Africa during the Middle Stone Age

Fig. 6

A Chronomodel estimations of the high probability density intervals (95%) for the group of dates in each technocomplex. B Orbital precession curve (30°S latitude), illustrating the precessional forcing potentially linked to climatic and cultural shifts. C Selected palaeoclimatic proxies from marine cores MD96-2098 (right column)50 and MD96-2048 (left column)24: First row: Poaceae (representing Nama-Karoo and Fine-leaved Savanna) and Podocarpaceae (Afromontane forests). Second row: Asteraceae (Fynbos-like component, MD96-2098) and Cyperaceae (Fynbos-like component, MD96-2048). Third row: Microcharcoal (fire activity, MD96-2098)51 and Fe/Ca ratio (XRF-based precipitation proxy, MD96-2048)55. Fourth row: Fe/Ca ratio (XRF-based precipitation proxy from MD20-3592 and CD154-17-17K)32,34. Coloured vertical bands mark the high probability density intervals of the Still Bay (yellow) and Howiesons Poort (blue) technocomplexes. Arrows indicate ecological preferences for each proxy (dry/wet or temperate/cold). Pollen taxa are grouped into major biomes based on ecological affinities. See Supplementary Data 1 for proxy data sources and details.

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