The locality known as Kathu Pan 1 has Earlier Stone Age deposits (Stratum 4b) characterised by well-made handaxes.
The stone artifact assemblage from Stratum 4a is characterized by a prepared core technology that produced both blades and points, and has been attributed to the Fauresmith industry.
[4] In a paper published in Science in November 2012, Jayne Wilkins and colleagues reveal evidence of 500 000 year-old stone points (excavated by Peter Beaumont in 1979-1982), argued to represent the earliest stone-tipped spears yet found.
[5] This conclusion, based partly on experimental comparison of use wear, is taken to indicate that human ancestors used stone-tipped weapons for hunting 200 000 years earlier than previously thought.
Modern foragers use such tools to take down large game as part of cooperative, strategic hunts.