Lithic Miniaturization and Technological Innovation on the Southern Dispersal Route Out of Africa

Abstract Over the past fifteen years, the Dhofar Archaeological Project has mapped 272 Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic sites in southern Oman, each exhibiting some extent of Nubian Levallois technology. This study describes a representative sample of 15 such assemblages and conducts quantitative analyses to explore variability in core reduction strategies, metric proportions, and post-depositional surface modifications. Lithic taphonomy provides insight into assemblage homogeneity and relative chronologies, allowing us to explore diachronic changes on time-averaged surfaces. We identify at least two distinct cultural entities – the earlier “Dhofar Nubian” and later “Mudayyan” industries – distinguished most significantly by a dramatic reduction in size, as well as a shift from preferential to recurrent organizational systems. Our findings highlight the prominence of Nubian Levallois technology in Dhofar within at least two different lithic industries. The later Mudayyan exhibits systematic miniaturization and a shift toward volumetric core configurations, reflecting broader behavioral trends in the Late Pleistocene. Contrary to our expectation, the evidence does not necessarily support cultural continuity between the Dhofar Nubian and Mudayyan industries and may represent multiple dispersal events along the Southern Dispersal Route.