“Stone Tools at Nelson Bay Cave South Africa”
by Sara Watson, PhD candidate UC Davis
Saturday, May 14, 2022
2:00 p.m.
Looking at material from South Africa, one of the likely places where our species may have developed, Sara Watson in her dissertation is investigating the emergence of new behaviors starting from some 65,000 years ago. She is addressing some of the earliest use of small tools (or microliths) by Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers. Such kind of stone technology is thought to be part of a broader conceptual change in the way humans conceived their hunting weapons. This project has involved field work and study of stone tools from the sites of Knysna Eastern Heads Cave and Montau Cave and Nelson Bay Cave in South Africa.

Sara Watson is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Davis. She received her B.A. (Summa cum Laude) in Anthropology at University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters in Anthropology at University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on human decision-making surrounding stone tool production 50,000 to 20,000 years ago in southern Africa. Her work thus far has resulted in two publications (two as first author), and three manuscripts in preparation (all as first author).