LOBAMBA, ESWATINI—Thousands of years ago, it was so essential that craftspeople in southern Africa had just the right colored stone to make their tools that they regularly traveled long distances to obtain them, according to a statement released by the University of Tübingen. A study recently examined objects from the National Museum in Lobamba, Eswatini, that were made from material such as red jasper, green chalcedony, and black chert. “Colorful and shiny materials seemed attractive to early humans,” said University of Tübingen archaeologist Gregor Bader. “They often used them for their tools.” These bright artifacts, some of which date to as early as 40,000 years ago, were originally discovered at the archaeological sites of Hlalakahle, Siphiso, Sibebe, and Nkambeni. The researchers used neuron activation analysis to determine the stones’ origins, and were surprised to learn that they were sourced in the Mgwayiza Valley, as far as 60 miles away from some of the sites where they were found. Not only did early humans go out of their way to collect perfectly colored lithic materials, the researchers discovered, their preferences changed over time. During the Mesolithic period, between 40,000 and 28,000 years ago, black and white chert and green chalcedony were preferred, while red jasper was more popular from around 30,000 to 2,000 years ago. Since these colored stones all appear close together in the same river deposits in the valley, different preferences over time must have been driven by deliberate choices. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Science. To read about ocher mining 48,000 years ago in the Ngwenya Massif, go to "Around the World: Eswatini."
