D J Stratford
Biographic Data
| ID | 133075 |
|---|---|
| NAME | D J Stratford |
| GIVEN NAMES | D J |
| FAMILY NAME | Stratford |
| SIGNATURE | STRATFORD D J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9790-8848 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 345 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 33 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
The Holocene Later Stone Age at Charé Rock Shelter, Namibia
Charé rock shelter lies approximately 10 km from the north-eastern corner of the Namib Desert’s Sand Sea. The site was excavated in 1971 by Beatrice Sandelowsky but was never fully published. In 2023, the site was revisited to assess the deposit and its potential for future excavation. This paper presents an updated report on the following: (1) the geological and geomorphological context of Charé; (2) previously recovered material culture; (3) pr…
New microscale insights into plant-based bedding construction and maintenance between 200 000 and 43 000 years ago at Border Cave, South Africa
Micromorphological analysis of Stone Age/Palaeolithic bedding is globally rare. • Samples from ‘grass mats’ include several microfacies with no published equivalents. • Variation in previously reported microfacies may reflect site-specific behaviour. • Microscale properties reflect construction, maintenance and anthropogenic disturbance. • Indications of short intensive occupation events during periods of limited occupation
Revisiting the context and geochronological ages of the Homo sapiens skeletal remains from Border Cave, South Africa
Continuity and Transition from the Early to Mid-Holocene at the Foothills of the Drakensberg: Preliminary Results from the Current Excavations of Strathalan Cave A, North-Eastern Cape, South Africa
The foothills of the Drakensberg are a significant region in understanding the links between environmental conditions and the spread of social networks across southern Africa. Strathalan Cave is an important site in this region yielding an extensive Holocene-aged deposit. Here, we report on the preliminary results from the ongoing excavations of Strathalan Cave A. Radiocarbon dates place the occupations between c. 5500 and 9000 yrs cal. BP with m…
Is the StW 53 cranium (Sterkfontein, South Africa) the earliest evidence of tool-assisted hominin modification? New data from a neotaphonomic experiment and the virtual reconstruction of its linear ma…
First articulating os coxae, femur, and tibia of a small adult Paranthropus robustus from Member 1 (Hanging Remnant) of the Swartkrans Formation, South Africa
Since paleontological work began there in 1948, Swartkrans (South Africa) has yielded hundreds of Early Pleistocene hominin fossils, currently attributed to (in ascending order of quantity) cf. Australopithecus africanus, Homo spp., and Paranthropus robustus. The bulk of that large sample comprises craniodental remains, with (mostly fragmentary) postcranial materials being much less abundant at the site. In that context, our announcement here of …
Butchery activities associated with Member 5 at Sterkfontein, South Africa
The origin of animal tissue consumption within the hominin lineage remains a central question in palaeoanthropology and taphonomy. This question is mostly addressed through the study of bone surface modifications (e.g., butchery marks) observed on fossils from East African sites. Albeit somewhat overlooked compared to East Africa, South Africa provides an additional body of evidence regarding the evolution of hominin behaviours. Here, we provide …
Towards a virtual environment for the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa: Developing a Georeferenced and Optimised Digital Dataset
Accessibility at the Sterkfontein Caves UNESCO World Heritage Site limits public and scientific engagement. The authors digitally visualised part of the cave using laser scans and photogrammetry, geospatially integrating the digital cave and fossil datasets. This enables broader access for learners, educators and scientists and enhances scientific outreach potential
Strathalan Cave revisited: Stone Age networks and environments at the foot of the Drakensberg, South Africa
The broader Drakensberg is an important region for understanding population dynamics and adaptation between the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Here, we announce our campaign to re-excavate Strathalan Cave in the northeastern Cape of South Africa. Strathalan Cave sits at the foothills of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg at the edge of the Great Escarpment of southern Africa. Well-known for its organic preservation, the site is important for understandin…
Olieboomspoort, South Africa
Revisiting the Acheulean at Namib IV in the Namib Desert, Namibia
Namib IV (S23° 44.829’, E14° 19.720’) is frequently cited, as it is one of few Earlier Stone Age sites in the Sand Sea of the Namib Desert. The site was first investigated in 1978 by Myra Shackley, who described 582 artifacts on the surface of a pan as representing an Acheulean butchery site. Descriptions of the artifacts, their number, and area were inconsistently reported. Recently rediscovered, the site of Namib IV is a rare example of a tool-…
Les sinus frontaux au cours de l'évolution humaine
Les sinus frontaux sont des cavités qui se situent à l’intérieur de l’os frontal, à la jonction entre le visage et la voûte crânienne, et à proximité du cerveau. Nous proposons l’étude la plus complète jamais réalisée de ces sinus, grâce à une méthodologie facile à mettre en œuvre et reproductible. La taille des sinus frontaux est corrélée à la taille du crâne, et en lien avec celle des reliefs osseux situés au-dessus des orbites, chez les chimpa…
A new absolute date from Swartkrans Cave for the oldest occurrences of Paranthropus robustus and Oldowan stone tools in South Africa
Introduction to special issue: A 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina
The place beyond the trees: Renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome
Olieboomspoort is one of the few rock shelters in the vast interior of southern Africa documenting pulses of occupation from the Acheulean until the end of the Later Stone Age. Revil Mason excavated the site in 1954 and attributed the large Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblage to his middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg Industry. Recent work at the site has focused on the Holocene layers, but little is known about the earlier phases of s…
Identifying Raw Material Transportation and Reduction Strategies from the Lithic Scatters at Elandsdrift Farm (Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site), South Africa
Hominin vertebrae and upper limb bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations)
The new fossil collection presents a mix of bipedal and climbing features. It is unclear whether this mix indicates that all Sterkfontein hominins of >2.0 Ma were terrestrial bipeds who retained adaptations for climbing or whether the collection samples two differently adapted, coeval hominins, Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus prometheus, both of which are represented at Sterkfontein by skull remains. Regardless, the significant fr…
The endocast of StW 573 ("Little Foot") and hominin brain evolution
A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 'Little Foot' and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions
"The bony labyrinth of StW 573 ("Little Foot): Implications for early hominin evolution and paleobiology
Revisiting Mwulu's Cave: New insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome
New Excavations at Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation c…
Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa
New Excavations at Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation c…
Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age
The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions
A new absolute date from Swartkrans Cave for the oldest occurrences of Paranthropus robustus and Oldowan stone tools in South Africa
"The bony labyrinth of StW 573 ("Little Foot): Implications for early hominin evolution and paleobiology
Revisiting Mwulu's Cave: New insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome
The endocast of StW 573 ("Little Foot") and hominin brain evolution
Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa
The place beyond the trees: Renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome
Olieboomspoort is one of the few rock shelters in the vast interior of southern Africa documenting pulses of occupation from the Acheulean until the end of the Later Stone Age. Revil Mason excavated the site in 1954 and attributed the large Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblage to his middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg Industry. Recent work at the site has focused on the Holocene layers, but little is known about the earlier phases of s…
Identifying Raw Material Transportation and Reduction Strategies from the Lithic Scatters at Elandsdrift Farm (Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site), South Africa
First hominin fossils from Milner Hall, Sterkfontein, South Africa
The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina
A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 'Little Foot' and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations)
Hominin vertebrae and upper limb bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations)
The new fossil collection presents a mix of bipedal and climbing features. It is unclear whether this mix indicates that all Sterkfontein hominins of >2.0 Ma were terrestrial bipeds who retained adaptations for climbing or whether the collection samples two differently adapted, coeval hominins, Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus prometheus, both of which are represented at Sterkfontein by skull remains. Regardless, the significant fr…
The Sterkfontein Caves after Eighty Years of Paleoanthropological Research: The Journey Continues
The Sterkfontein Caves, the richest Australopithecus-bearing site in the world, occupies a crucial position in the history of South African scientific inquiry and has been pivotal to the development of the field of paleoanthropology. The site is physically and culturally embedded in the foundations of Johannesburg and is recognized as being one of the world's most important cultural heritage resources. The year 2016 was the eightieth anniversary …
The development of a new geospatial framework for the palaeoanthropological site of the Sterkfontein Caves, Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide an essential element in modern paleoanthropological inquiry through their ability to integrate a diverse range of data within a multidimensional spatial framework which can be used for data storage, analysis and modeling. One of the challenges of creating such a framework is the integration of legacy and new data (collected with digital technologies) at large sites with a long history of research. Th…
Strathalan Cave revisited: Stone Age networks and environments at the foot of the Drakensberg, South Africa
The broader Drakensberg is an important region for understanding population dynamics and adaptation between the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Here, we announce our campaign to re-excavate Strathalan Cave in the northeastern Cape of South Africa. Strathalan Cave sits at the foothills of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg at the edge of the Great Escarpment of southern Africa. Well-known for its organic preservation, the site is important for understandin…
Introduction to special issue: A 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
Butchery activities associated with Member 5 at Sterkfontein, South Africa
The origin of animal tissue consumption within the hominin lineage remains a central question in palaeoanthropology and taphonomy. This question is mostly addressed through the study of bone surface modifications (e.g., butchery marks) observed on fossils from East African sites. Albeit somewhat overlooked compared to East Africa, South Africa provides an additional body of evidence regarding the evolution of hominin behaviours. Here, we provide …
Revisiting the Acheulean at Namib IV in the Namib Desert, Namibia
Namib IV (S23° 44.829’, E14° 19.720’) is frequently cited, as it is one of few Earlier Stone Age sites in the Sand Sea of the Namib Desert. The site was first investigated in 1978 by Myra Shackley, who described 582 artifacts on the surface of a pan as representing an Acheulean butchery site. Descriptions of the artifacts, their number, and area were inconsistently reported. Recently rediscovered, the site of Namib IV is a rare example of a tool-…
Retracted: The revised stratigraphy of the hominin-bearing site of Kromdraai (Gauteng, South Africa) and associated perspectives
Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age
The Sterkfontein Caves: Geomorphology and Hominin-Bearing Deposits
The development of a new geospatial framework for the palaeoanthropological site of the Sterkfontein Caves, Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide an essential element in modern paleoanthropological inquiry through their ability to integrate a diverse range of data within a multidimensional spatial framework which can be used for data storage, analysis and modeling. One of the challenges of creating such a framework is the integration of legacy and new data (collected with digital technologies) at large sites with a long history of research. Th…
First hominin fossils from Milner Hall, Sterkfontein, South Africa
A Review of the Geomorphological Context and Stratigraphy of the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
Retracted: The revised stratigraphy of the hominin-bearing site of Kromdraai (Gauteng, South Africa) and associated perspectives
New Excavations at Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation c…
Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa
Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations)
The Sterkfontein Caves after Eighty Years of Paleoanthropological Research: The Journey Continues
The Sterkfontein Caves, the richest Australopithecus-bearing site in the world, occupies a crucial position in the history of South African scientific inquiry and has been pivotal to the development of the field of paleoanthropology. The site is physically and culturally embedded in the foundations of Johannesburg and is recognized as being one of the world's most important cultural heritage resources. The year 2016 was the eightieth anniversary …
Identifying Raw Material Transportation and Reduction Strategies from the Lithic Scatters at Elandsdrift Farm (Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site), South Africa
Hominin vertebrae and upper limb bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations)
The new fossil collection presents a mix of bipedal and climbing features. It is unclear whether this mix indicates that all Sterkfontein hominins of >2.0 Ma were terrestrial bipeds who retained adaptations for climbing or whether the collection samples two differently adapted, coeval hominins, Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus prometheus, both of which are represented at Sterkfontein by skull remains. Regardless, the significant fr…
The endocast of StW 573 ("Little Foot") and hominin brain evolution
A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 'Little Foot' and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions
"The bony labyrinth of StW 573 ("Little Foot): Implications for early hominin evolution and paleobiology
Revisiting Mwulu's Cave: New insights into the Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna biome
A new absolute date from Swartkrans Cave for the oldest occurrences of Paranthropus robustus and Oldowan stone tools in South Africa
Introduction to special issue: A 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa
The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina
The place beyond the trees: Renewed excavations of the Middle Stone Age deposits at Olieboomspoort in the Waterberg Mountains of the South African Savanna Biome
Olieboomspoort is one of the few rock shelters in the vast interior of southern Africa documenting pulses of occupation from the Acheulean until the end of the Later Stone Age. Revil Mason excavated the site in 1954 and attributed the large Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblage to his middle phase of the so-called Pietersburg Industry. Recent work at the site has focused on the Holocene layers, but little is known about the earlier phases of s…
Olieboomspoort, South Africa
Revisiting the Acheulean at Namib IV in the Namib Desert, Namibia
Namib IV (S23° 44.829’, E14° 19.720’) is frequently cited, as it is one of few Earlier Stone Age sites in the Sand Sea of the Namib Desert. The site was first investigated in 1978 by Myra Shackley, who described 582 artifacts on the surface of a pan as representing an Acheulean butchery site. Descriptions of the artifacts, their number, and area were inconsistently reported. Recently rediscovered, the site of Namib IV is a rare example of a tool-…
Les sinus frontaux au cours de l'évolution humaine
Les sinus frontaux sont des cavités qui se situent à l’intérieur de l’os frontal, à la jonction entre le visage et la voûte crânienne, et à proximité du cerveau. Nous proposons l’étude la plus complète jamais réalisée de ces sinus, grâce à une méthodologie facile à mettre en œuvre et reproductible. La taille des sinus frontaux est corrélée à la taille du crâne, et en lien avec celle des reliefs osseux situés au-dessus des orbites, chez les chimpa…
Strathalan Cave revisited: Stone Age networks and environments at the foot of the Drakensberg, South Africa
The broader Drakensberg is an important region for understanding population dynamics and adaptation between the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Here, we announce our campaign to re-excavate Strathalan Cave in the northeastern Cape of South Africa. Strathalan Cave sits at the foothills of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg at the edge of the Great Escarpment of southern Africa. Well-known for its organic preservation, the site is important for understandin…
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (30 works) · Archaeology (22 works) · Geography (21 works) · Geology (20 works) · Paleontology (20 works) · Cave (17 works) · Paleontology (17 works) · Geology (16 works) · Evolution and Paleontology Studies (14 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (13 works)