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Dr Matthew V. Caruana
Lecturer
My research interest focus on the excavation and analysis of Earlier Stone Age archaeological sites and assemblages from South Africa. I currently co-direct two field projects at Swartkrans Cave in the UNESCO 'Cradle of
Last reviewed: 2026/07/15
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My research interest focus on the excavation and analysis of Earlier Stone Age archaeological sites and assemblages from South Africa. I currently co-direct two field projects at Swartkrans Cave in the UNESCO 'Cradle of Humankind' World site (Gatuteng Province) and at Amanzi Springs in the Eastern Cape Province. At Swartkrans (~2 Million years old), I focus on the excavation and analysis of fossil and stone tools materials to understand the ecological interaction between early hominin, carnivore and ungulate species within the local landscape. I am currently involved in developing models of how stone tool use gave our early ancestors an advantage to survive in this region. At Amanzi Springs, I am excavating stone tool assemblages from surrounding spring eyes to understand how they were produced. This also involves the recovery of early wood and other plant materials that are critical for reconstructing palaeo-environments approximately 800 to 250 thousand years ago. Publications GoogleScholar ORCID Academia.edu ResearchGate