texascavers Digest 14 Jun 2011 17:09:13 -0000 Issue 1335
Topics (messages 18047 through 18050):
Re: Headlamp question
18047 by: Stefan Creaser
18048 by: SGentry177.aol.com
18050 by: Don Cooper
South African Cave Slowly Shares Secrets of Human Culture
18049 by: TJ Tidwell
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A true caver doesn't know the bottom of the pit ;-)
(Does that make this on topic?)
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 11:41 AM
To: Stefan Creaser; Bill Bentley; [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
I was going to go there, but, thought better of it, Stefan!
I guess degenerate minds do think alike!
Mark
From: Stefan Creaser [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 11:40 AM
To: Bill Bentley; [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
For the wrestling pit?
From: Bill Bentley [mailto:[email protected]]
Do I need to bring free tubes of Dialectirc Silicone Grease to TCR?
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--- Begin Message ---
I've sent an Apex & a Yukon both back. I went to their web site and
emailed from there. They sent me a return number. I sent them in and had new
lights in less than a month.
Steve
across the creek in KY
I GoodSearch for American Cave Conservation Association. Raise money for
your favorite charity or school just by searching the Internet with
GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo!
_http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=908162_
(http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=842245)
Take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time, leave nothing but
footprints
In a message dated 6/14/2011 12:41:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
I’m in love with the Scurion, Mallory, since Bill Steele so generously let
me borrow Michael Cicherski’s at Jester Cave earlier this year.
But, alas, I don’t have $700 laying around for one.
Talk about a nice, rugged light!
I have the Princeton Apex Tec, as well as having bought three for my
kids.
We’ve had good luck, for the most part, but mine did start acting up where
I couldn’t turn it off. I took out the batteries, and put them back in.
Now it won’t come on.
I have sent them an email on getting it repaired (they have a lifetime
warranty), but haven’t heard back.
Suggestions?
Mark
From: Mallory Mayeux [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 11:35 AM
To: caverarch
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
Thanks everyone! It's nice to see lively discussion on Cavetex...it's been
eerily quiet since David left.
I currently have a Princeton Apex Tec, which is nice, especially for the
price, but I think it's time for a brighter light. Roger Moore has very
generously offered to loan me his new Sten until I upgrade, but I wanted to
start getting opinions because discussing gear is so fun. :) I've seen several
cavers with the Duo, so thanks for the insight. Waterproof is important
for me, since I don't want to have to switch out lights between water and dry
caves.
I think my current plan is to go ahead and save up for a Sten, unless I
see a Petzl Duo on some sort of super-sale somewhere.
-Mallory
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Can the same grease be used on silicone o-rings and seals?
(ie. things not necessarily needing to conduct electricity)
-WaV
On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 12:28 PM, Bill Bentley <[email protected]> wrote:
> Do I need to bring free tubes of Dialectirc Silicone Grease to TCR?
>
> ----- Original Message ----- t*From:* Andy
> Gluesenkamp<[email protected]>
> *To:* Mark Minton <[email protected]> ; [email protected]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 14, 2011 7:25 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
>
> I second everything that Mark said below about the StenLight. A dab of
> dielectric grease on the connector seems to do the trick. Exceptional
> customer service. They sent me a waterproof battery pack at one point but
> the thing is pretty bulky compared to the standard pack and won't stay on
> the helmet using the velcro they provide. I just strap it down like every
> other battery pack.
>
> Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D.
> 700 Billie Brooks Drive
> Driftwood, Texas 78619
> (512) 799-1095
> [email protected]
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Mark Minton <[email protected]>
> *To:* [email protected]
> *Sent:* Mon, June 13, 2011 8:37:40 PM
> *Subject:* RE: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
>
> Whatever kind of light you get, you'll definitely want to go with
> LEDs. Incandescent just can't compete when it comes to brightness and
> battery life. And for batteries, you can't beat lithium ion. They are
> small, lightweight, long-lasting, very reliable and much cheaper in the long
> run over disposable types. I dislike waist-mounted battery packs with their
> respective cords, but with lithium ion you can easily mount the battery on
> the helmet.
> For my money, the Sten Light is the best available for general
> caving. It is not a diving light, but it is definitely waterproof enough to
> use on any normal trip, even in a wet cave like Honey Creek. According to
> their web site it is waterproof to 8 meters, which is enough for anything
> most cavers will encounter. I've worn mine on free dives a couple of meters
> deep with no problem. The cord connector, while definitely not watertight,
> has never been a problem for me. They're not cheap, but a very worthwhile
> investment. They also have excellent customer service and will usually
> repair any problem short of actual abuse for free.
>
> Mark
>
> At 04:54 PM 6/13/2011, Stefan Creaser wrote:
> > I second the durability of FX-2's; I've had mine for more than 15yrs and
> it's still going strong. It's outlasted numerous helmet mounted lights,
> though it is more robustly made (for caving).
> >
> > Looks like you can still get old ones:
> >
> >
> http://www.thecavingandclimbingshop.com/epages/BT3421.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3421/Categories/Caving_Equipment/Lighting%5B1%5D/SpeleoTechnics
> >
> > http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300555317667
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Stefan
> >
> > From: Josh Rubinstein [mailto:[email protected]]
> > Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 3:26 PM
> > To: Allan B. Cobb
> > Cc: Tim Stich; Don Arburn; Mallory Mayeux; [email protected]
> > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
> >
> > Allan,
> >
> > I like my Sten Light too. It is not NOT a good waterproof light. The
> battery contains circuitry. The plug connection between the battery and the
> light is a portal for water. Not a good combination. The risk can be lessen
> by coating the connection with dielectric grease.
> >
> > The light I use for exploring water caves is no longer available. Speleo
> Technic FX2 was the brightest, least bulky and most robust light of its
> day. Now the incandescent light powered by a NiCd battery on a belt is
> still one of the most robust. Mine is a twenty plus years old. If I have
> not killed, it is not for lack of trying. I have surveyed with the head
> piece half filled with water with no ill effect. But in this era of retina
> burning lasers, it is no longer the bright light.
> >
> > Josh
> > On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 12:45 PM, Allan B. Cobb <[email protected]> wrote:
> > I am really fond of my Sten light. It is not cheap but it is dependable,
> robust, and fairly water resistant.
> >
> > In answer to Malory's original question, I used to use a Duo and it
> worked well for me. I highly recommend the LED version. For casual caving,
> it will work just fine.
> >
> > Allan
> >
> > From: Tim Stich
> > Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 12:40 PM
> > To: Allan B. Cobb
> > Cc: Don Arburn ; Mallory Mayeux ; [email protected]
> > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
> >
> > I'm kind of curious as well about the best waterproof headlamp for the
> money out there. For what I used them for these days, the cheap ones work
> fine. But for caving I would want a much tougher light.
> > On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 11:35 AM, Allan B. Cobb <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Autolite Carbide Lamp!
> >
> > -----Original Message----- From: Don Arburn
> > Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 12:15 PM
> > To: Mallory Mayeux
> > Cc: [email protected]
> > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Headlamp question
> >
> > Wheatlamp!
> >
> > Don's iPhone.
> >
> > On Jun 13, 2011, at 12:15 PM, Mallory Mayeux <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hello Cavers!
> >
> > I am toying with the idea of purchasing a new headlamp and wanted some
> opinions--is anyone using the Petzl Duo? If so, how do you like it? For the
> money, is there something else you would recommend?
> >
> > Mallory
>
> Please reply to [email protected]
> Permanent email address is [email protected]
>
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http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6035/1260.full
Science 10 June 2011:
Vol. 332 no. 6035 pp. 1260-1261
DOI: 10.1126/science.332.6035.1260
News Focus
Archaeology
South African Cave Slowly Shares Secrets of Human Culture
Michael Balter
In the hands of a skilled archaeologist, a South African site serves as a
laboratory for testing ideas about early human culture and cognition.
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Prime location.
Sibudu is a “perfect place” to study very early human culture.
CREDIT: LYN WADLEY
SIBUDU CAVE, SOUTH AFRICA—“Did you remember to put your insect repellent on?”
It's a question archaeologist Lyn Wadley asks of every visitor to her
excavations at Sibudu Cave, chiseled into a cliff face high above the Tongati
River in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. To get to Sibudu, Wadley and
her team members have to drive down a dusty dirt road, wade across the
knee-deep, swiftly flowing river, hike through tick-infested brush along the
river bank, and scramble up a steep slope strewn with loose rocks to the ledge
of this rock shelter, located about 40 kilometers north of Durban.
There on a broad, flat rock shelf, under the shade of a towering Natal elm
tree, lies what has kept Wadley coming back to Sibudu for the past 12 years: an
8-meter-thick mound, a record of prehistoric human occupation that extends back
at least 77,000 years and probably much longer. These multilayered, human-made
sediments, which cover most of the 55-by-19-meter cave floor, are crammed with
thousands of artifacts left behind by Homo sapiens during our species'
formative years, culturally speaking. There are sophisticated stone tools,
skillfully made bone implements, deep hearths, and the charred bones of large
and small mammals; there are swatches of bedding made of sedges and grass,
chunks of red ochre, and sparkling ornamental beads made from the shells of sea
snails.
Under Wadley's trowel, this site has become a powerful tool for testing
hypotheses about the cognitive prowess of early modern humans. The excavations
“have provided a powerful database,” says archaeologist Paola Villa of the
University of Colorado, Boulder. For example, Wadley, of the University of the
Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, and her team have pushed back the first
signposts for what she calls “complex cognition,” producing evidence for the
earliest known bows and arrows as well as the precocious use of snares and
traps to catch small animals, both of which require the ability to plan ahead.
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CREDIT: M. TWOMBLY/SCIENCE
A stream of papers from Wadley's team about early H. sapiens' activities at
Sibudu has made her one of archaeology's most influential theorists and thrust
Sibudu into the archaeological limelight. “Sibudu is probably the most
important site in southern Africa at the moment,” says archaeologist Alex
MacKay of Australian National University in Acton.
And yet the next chapter in the site's history won't include Wadley: She
retired from fieldwork at the end of the spring field season. But given
Sibudu's importance—and the fact that Wadley has dug through only 3 of 8
meters of human occupation—the dig will go on. Wadley has passed the torch to a
new crew chief, Nicholas Conard of the University of Tübingen in Germany, to
uncover the rest of Sibudu's riches, which may stretch back to 100,000 years
ago or more. Wadley could have taken a peek at those earlier layers; other
archaeologists urged her to dig a small, deep test pit to see what was there.
But she decided against this shortcut, because then she wouldn't have context
for the oldest layers. “How would I make sense of it without knowing what was
in between?”
The road to Sibudu
The hominins who repeatedly visited Sibudu may have been drawn by its
protective setting and an abundance of flowing water, fruit trees, and animals.
But for Wadley, 64, the road to Sibudu was long and winding. She grew up in a
small town in what is now Zimbabwe, an only child who loved to read, write, and
paint, and she attended a teacher's college in Bulawayo. There she was inspired
to become an archaeologist, but she spent many years teaching before finally
earning a Ph.D. in archaeology from Wits.
Wadley began to explore the Middle Stone Age (MSA), which ranges from about
300,000 to 40,000 years ago and includes Sibudu and other well-known South
African cave sites such as Blombos. She started out working at Rose Cottage
Cave, an MSA site on South Africa's Caledon River, where she began to formulate
her ideas about “complex cognition.” This concept, Wadley insists, “is a lot
more empirical” and testable than the more commonly used notion of “modern
human behavior,” because complex cognition focuses on actual cognitive tasks,
such as toolmaking or hunting strategies, rather than on vague notions of
modernity and symbolism.
After 11 years working at Rose Cottage Cave, Wadley had an “extremely large and
excellent” stone tool collection but no organic preservation of animal bones or
plant materials that could tell her more about how the people lived.
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Making it stick.
Traces of red ochre on stone tools like this one may have been used to haft the
tools to handles.
CREDIT: LYN WADLEY
So she began looking for a site that could better test her ideas about the
technological abilities of early modern humans. Tipped off by another
archaeologist who had briefly excavated the top layers of Sibudu, Wadley
visited the rock shelter in 1998 and saw its thick MSA layers and excellent
organic preservation. “I knew this was going to be good even before I put my
trowel into the earth for the first time.”
Wadley and her team headed to Sibudu that same season, and as the years went
by, they encountered, as she puts it, one “pleasant surprise” after another. So
far, the team has determined that Sibudu was occupied intermittently between
38,000 and at least 77,000 years ago. “It's a long and very complete sequence
of occupation,” says new dig leader Conard. “No other site has a better record
of human activity.”
This extremely long occupation record includes two sophisticated stone tool
industries found across southern Africa, called the Still Bay and the
Howieson's Poort and dated to about 71,000 to 72,000 years ago and 60,000 to
65,000 years ago, respectively (Science, 6 May, p. 658). Wadley and her team
have microscopically analyzed residues on the Howieson's Poort tools and
uncovered important clues about how they were used. Archaeologist Marlize
Lombard of the University of Johannesburg found traces of tree gum and wood on
the tools. That, along with patterns of wear that suggest the tools were not
used for cutting or scraping, led her to conclude that they had been hafted to
handles of wood or bone and probably used for hunting.
And in a paper published last year in the journal Antiquity, Lombard went even
further, suggesting from the wear patterns and other evidence that some tools
from layers dated to 64,000 years ago might have been used as arrowheads.
That's the earliest claim for bow-and-arrow hunting, which other archaeologists
have argued was key to the success of our species, because it allows humans to
take down large animals from a distance with less risk to themselves. “I find
their paper quite convincing,” says anthropologist Alison Brooks of George
Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Making art, or making glue?
Meanwhile, Wadley had been noticing that some Howieson's Poort segments had
traces of ochre on the edges that apparently had been hafted into wood or bone
handles. She launched a series of experiments in which she mixed Acacia tree
gums, beeswax, and ochre—which is also known to have good adhesive
properties—in various combinations. She found that when she got the recipe
right, the mixture had all the properties needed to tightly haft tools to
handles.
In a widely read 2009 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, Wadley and her colleagues detailed the multiple steps involved in
this procedure: getting the ingredients ready ahead of time, heating them to
the right temperature, and holding the entire hafting plan in one's mind while
carrying it out over time. They argued that this was better evidence for
abstract reasoning and advanced cognition than some other indications of
symbolic behavior, such as the mere presence of ochre itself. “Lyn did a great
job discovering and describing the steps involved in hafting [segments] onto
shafts,” says archaeologist Thomas Wynn of the University of Colorado, Colorado
Springs, who agrees that this process is a sign of advanced cognition. “But
this needs to be weighed against the evidence that ochre probably had other
roles,” he adds, citing abstract designs etched onto ochre pieces at Blombos
75,000 years ago.
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A woman and her cave.
Lyn Wadley has spent 12 years excavating at Sibudu.
CREDIT: MARLIZE LOMBARD
Wynn says he is even more convinced by Wadley's contention that the hominins at
Sibudu probably used snares and traps to catch small animals at least 65,000
years ago. In a 2010 paper in the Journal of Human Evolution, Wadley argued
that archaeological sites containing a high proportion of animals that are
difficult to capture in any other way present circumstantial evidence of the
use of snares and traps, which do not preserve well.
Indeed, the faunal record at Sibudu is dominated by small, forest-dwelling
mammals such as a tiny antelope called the blue duiker and the very aggressive
bushpig, animals not easily hunted but vulnerable to falling into human-laid
traps. Wadley notes that recent hunter-gatherer populations in Africa use
snares and traps to catch similar animals. If early H. sapiens at Sibudu were
using snares and traps, Wynn says, “this would be strong evidence” for advanced
cognition, because it would require planning over a span of several days and
inhibiting the impulse to grab whatever food was immediately at hand.
Yet despite the progress Wadley and her team have made at Sibudu, there are
many unanswered questions. Why did early humans return again and again to the
site, leaving behind such a thick mound of evidence for their presence? What
was so special about this place? The team has uncovered strong evidence that
the hominins who frequented the cave stayed for extended periods, including
traces of bedding made from sedges and grass. “They even ate breakfast in bed,”
Wadley says, citing the numerous animal bones found among the plant remains.
It will now fall to Conard to answer those questions, if he can. Conard says
“it was hard to say no” when Wadley asked him to take over the site: “Sibudu is
a perfect place to study how human behavior evolved during the MSA.”
Even when retired, Wadley says she will never stop thinking about the hominins
who returned repeatedly to Sibudu. Perhaps the artist in her is speaking when
she says: “I like to imagine that they would stand here and look at the river
and the lovely forest around it and think this was a very beautiful place. And
since they had language, they would say to each other, ‘When the fruits next
appear on the trees, let's meet here again.’ ”
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites
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