Amanuel Beyin (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Louisville, USA). Broadly trained in African prehistory, Beyin’s research interests lie in hominin dispersal history out of Africa, the cultural dimensions of human evolution with a focus on stone tool technology, and the role of coastal habitats in hominin survival. He has conducted original archaeological fieldwork in the Red Sea coastal areas of Eritrea and the Sudan, Turkana Basin (Kenya) and the Kilwa coast of Tanzania. Beyin received his B.A. from the University of Asmara (Eritrea), and M.A. and Ph.D. from Stony Brook University (New York, USA).David K. Wright (Professor of Archaeometry in the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Norway). Wright is a geoarchaeologist/environmental archaeologist with a specialty in geochronology and paleoenvironments. He has worked in Tsavo National Park and Lake Turkana, Kenya; the Benoué River Valley, Cameroon; and the Karonga region of northern Malawi. Wright received his B.A. from Wayne State University (Detroit, USA), and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA).Jayne Wilkins (Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Australia, and Research Associate, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa). Wilkins’ research seeks to understand the origins and behavioral innovations of Homo sapiens through archaeological excavation, stone tool analysis, and experimental archaeology. She has excavated at several archaeological sites across southern Africa, including Pinnacle Point on the south coast, and Ga-Mohana Hill and Kathu Pan in the southern Kalahari Basin. Wilkins received her B.Sc degrees and M.A. from the University of Calgary (Canada), and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (Canada).Deborah I. Olszewski (Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and Consulting Scholar, University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA). Olszewski’s research focuses on the Stone Age Archaeology of northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. She has directed field projects in Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco, focusing on sites dating between c. 500,000 and 11,700 years ago, with a particular emphasis on lithic analysis and settlement patterning. She received her B.A. from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Tucson (USA).

• Section 1: Recent methodological advances.- Section 2: North-West Africa.- Section 3: Northeast Africa.- Section 4: Central-East Africa.- Section 5: Southern Africa.- Section 6: What does the future hold for Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa.- Concluding thoughts by editors.

Amanuel Beyin (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Louisville, USA). Broadly trained in African prehistory, Beyin’s research interests lie in hominin dispersal history out of Africa, the cultural dimensions of human evolution with a focus on stone tool technology, and the role of coastal habitats in hominin survival. He has conducted original archaeological fieldwork in the Red Sea coastal areas of Eritrea and the Sudan, Turkana Basin (Kenya) and the Kilwa coast of Tanzania. Beyin received his B.A. from the University of Asmara (Eritrea), and M.A. and Ph.D. from Stony Brook University (New York, USA).David K. Wright (Professor of Archaeometry in the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Norway). Wright is a geoarchaeologist/environmental archaeologist with a specialty in geochronology and paleoenvironments. He has worked in Tsavo National Park and Lake Turkana, Kenya; the Benoué River Valley, Cameroon; and the Karonga region of northern Malawi. Wright received his B.A. from Wayne State University (Detroit, USA), and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA).Jayne Wilkins (Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Australia, and Research Associate, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa). Wilkins’ research seeks to understand the origins and behavioral innovations of Homo sapiens through archaeological excavation, stone tool analysis, and experimental archaeology. She has excavated at several archaeological sites across southern Africa, including Pinnacle Point on the south coast, and Ga-Mohana Hill and Kathu Pan in the southern Kalahari Basin. Wilkins received her B.Sc degrees and M.A. from the University of Calgary (Canada), and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (Canada).Deborah I. Olszewski (Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and Consulting Scholar, University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA). Olszewski’s research focuses on the Stone Age Archaeology of northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. She has directed field projects in Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco, focusing on sites dating between c. 500,000 and 11,700 years ago, with a particular emphasis on lithic analysis and settlement patterning. She received her B.A. from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Tucson (USA).

• Section 1: Recent methodological advances.- Section 2: North-West Africa.- Section 3: Northeast Africa.- Section 4: Central-East Africa.- Section 5: Southern Africa.- Section 6: What does the future hold for Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa.- Concluding thoughts by editors.

Amanuel Beyin (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Louisville, USA). Broadly trained in African prehistory, Beyin’s research interests lie in hominin dispersal history out of Africa, the cultural dimensions of human evolution with a focus on stone tool technology, and the role of coastal habitats in hominin survival. He has conducted original archaeological fieldwork in the Red Sea coastal areas of Eritrea and the Sudan, Turkana Basin (Kenya) and the Kilwa coast of Tanzania. Beyin received his B.A. from the University of Asmara (Eritrea), and M.A. and Ph.D. from Stony Brook University (New York, USA).David K. Wright (Professor of Archaeometry in the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Norway). Wright is a geoarchaeologist/environmental archaeologist with a specialty in geochronology and paleoenvironments. He has worked in Tsavo National Park and Lake Turkana, Kenya; the Benoué River Valley, Cameroon; and the Karonga region of northern Malawi. Wright received his B.A. from Wayne State University (Detroit, USA), and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA).Jayne Wilkins (Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Australia, and Research Associate, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa). Wilkins’ research seeks to understand the origins and behavioral innovations of Homo sapiens through archaeological excavation, stone tool analysis, and experimental archaeology. She has excavated at several archaeological sites across southern Africa, including Pinnacle Point on the south coast, and Ga-Mohana Hill and Kathu Pan in the southern Kalahari Basin. Wilkins received her B.Sc degrees and M.A. from the University of Calgary (Canada), and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (Canada).Deborah I. Olszewski (Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and Consulting Scholar, University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, USA). Olszewski’s research focuses on the Stone Age Archaeology of northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. She has directed field projects in Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco, focusing on sites dating between c. 500,000 and 11,700 years ago, with a particular emphasis on lithic analysis and settlement patterning. She received her B.A. from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Tucson (USA).

• Section 1: Recent methodological advances.- Section 2: North-West Africa.- Section 3: Northeast Africa.- Section 4: Central-East Africa.- Section 5: Southern Africa.- Section 6: What does the future hold for Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa.- Concluding thoughts by editors.