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Howieson's Poort
Article By:
Lombard, Marlize Department of Anthropology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Last reviewed:2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB120253
The Howieson's Poort is a stone tool industry of southern Africa (Fig. 1). It is considered a horizon marker within the Middle Stone Age, which refers to the archeological phase in sub-Saharan Africa roughly equivalent in time to the Eurasian Middle Paleolithic between approximately 300,000 and 50,000 years ago. The industry lasted for roughly 5–8 thousand years between approximately 66,000–58,000 years ago. The name Howieson's Poort derives from a pass in the mountains of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. “Poort” is Afrikaans for “gateway” or “portal,” and in this case it was named after Mr. Howison (misspelled in the literature as Howieson), who lived in the area in the early 1900s. It is also the geographical area where the stone tool industry was first identified.
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