Time, the Middle Stone Age and lithic analyses following the Third Science Revolution

This paper is a response to the conference session ‘Generic MSA: fact or fiction?’ held as part of the PanAfrican Association Conference in 2022 in Unguja, Tanzania. It questions the validity of the concept of a ‘generic Middle Stone Age’ and goes beyond the simple debate of terminology that has persisted for nearly 75 years. Instead, it uses this as a starting point to discuss the past, present and future of lithic analyses, including the history of terminology in the African Stone Age, the current topics of lithic enquiry and the role of lithic analysis following the Third Science Revolution. It highlights the effect of tensions between science versus humanities approaches and provides suggestions for future lithic analysts. Lithic studies remain of great importance but are only one source of evidence in modern interdisciplinary human origins research. The paper contends that there is not a single approach suitable for all sites or regions since analyses are contingent upon the questions being asked. Instead, it emphasises opportunities for multivocality and suggests that despite the focus here on the Middle Stone Age the conclusions reached are more widely applicable to other times and places.