Jojosi Project: Landscape Use, Niche Construction, and Cultural Evolution of Early Homo sapiens in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

How did early Homo sapiens use the landscapes of KwaZulu-Natal, actively shape their environment, and foster cultural innovations? These are the questions addressed by the project “Landscape use, niche construction and cultural evolution of early Homo sapiens in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”, led by PD Dr. Manuel Will at the University of Tübingen and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). In collaboration with Dr. Svenja Riedesel from the University of Cologne, the project systematically investigates the complex interrelationships between human behavior, landscape development, and environmental change.

Fieldwork in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Project Objectives

The Jojosi Project examines landscape use, cultural evolution, and the behavior of early Homo sapiens in the eastern region of South Africa, focusing on Middle Stone Age (MSA) occupations in KwaZulu-Natal. Its goal is to reconstruct the dynamics of landscapes, the functional use of open-air environments, and the interactions between humans and their surroundings over the past ~120,000 to 30,000 years.

Methodological Approach

The methodological framework integrates archaeological, geographical, geoarchaeological, geochemical, and chronometric analyses. Particularly relevant to Dr. Svenja Riedesel’s role is the application of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating to sediments from the Jojosi Dongas. Through OSL analyses, both the age of the deposits and the chronological context of the archaeological finds can be determined. Dr. Riedesel contributes her expertise in the precise implementation of this non-destructive dating technique, enabling the reliable chronological placement of archaeological layers and the quantitative reconstruction of landscape development.

References

Will, M., Sommer, C., Möller, G. H. D., Botha, G. A., Blessing, M. A., Msimanga, L., Mazel, A., Val, A., Venditti, F., & Riedesel, S. (2026). Specialised and persistent raw material procurement by humans in the Middle Pleistocene. Nature Communications, 17(1), 2702. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70783-8 

Riedesel, Svenja, et al.  “A direct comparison of single-grain and multi-grain aliquot luminescence dating of feldspars from colluvial deposits in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”, Geochronology, 7.1 (2025): 59–81, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-59-2025.

Möller, Gunter Heinz Dietrich, et al. "Revisited and Revalorised: Technological and Refitting Studies at the Middle Stone Age Open-Air Knapping Site Jojosi 1 (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)." Journal of  Paleolithic Archaeology 8,.5 (2025):5, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-024-00205-y

Will, Manuel, et al. "The Jojosi Dongas: An interdisciplinary project to study the evolution of human behaviour and landscapes in open-air contexts." Southern African Field Archaeology 19 (2024): 1-28, https://doi.org/10.36615/safa.19.3010.2024.