The context, form and significance of the MSA engraved ostrich eggshell collection from Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa

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Broken ostrich eggshells are commonly found in Middle Stone Age sites of southern Africa, presumablycollected for food consumption, and later used as artefacts. At Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Middle Stone Ageinhabitants used ostrich eggshells as a medium to convey abstract depictions. Since 1998, excavations atDiepkloof have recovered 408 engraved pieces of ostrich eggshells. The study of these shows that Diepkloofinhabitants applied a restricted set of geometric engraving patterns, with the dominance of 2main motifs, one using a hatched band and the other sub-parallel to converging lines. These motifscoexisted, but shifted in frequency toward the latter through time. Together with evidence that ostricheggshells were used as containers, these patterns support the hypothesis that engravings were madewith respect to clear but flexible social conventions and were part of a complex system of visual andsymbolic communication. Since our last report (Texier et al., 2010), a few engraved pieces have beenfound in lower stratigraphic units, expanding substantially the time-range of the engraving practice onostrich eggshells at Diepkloof. The earliest engravings appear at the end of the Early Howiesons Poortphase, but become numerous only during the Intermediate and Late phases of the Howiesons Poort. Thecollection from Diepkloof is presently unique and likely underlines the existence of regional traditionswithin the Howiesons Poort. Interestingly, and significantly in our view, the engraving disappears at thesame time as the Howiesons Poort technology. We argue that this disappearance may reflect a modificationin the way late Middle Stone Age inhabitants interacted with one another.