Macro-faunal exploitation in the Cape Floral Region (Fynbos Biome) of the southern Cape, South Africa c. 75-60 ka: case studies from Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter

Date
2016
Authors
Reynard, Jerome Peter
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Abstract
The analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites can reveal much about past behaviour, palaeoenvironments and bone technology. This is especially pertinent for the Middle Stone Age (MSA): a period that corresponds to both the behavioural and anatomical development of Homo sapiens. In this thesis, I examine the faunal remains from Blombos Cave (BBC) and Klipdrift Shelter (KDS), two significant MSA sites about 45 km apart along the present-day southern Cape coast. The focus of the analyses is on the Still Bay (SB) layers (c. 75 – 68 thousand years ago [ka]) at BBC and the Howiesons Poort (HP) layers (c. 65 – 59 ka) at KDS. The aim of this thesis is to explore subsistence behaviour and environmental conditions during the SB and HP in the fynbos region of the southern Cape. I also investigate the effects of trampling on bone and whether trampling and other types of taphonomic modification can be used to infer occupational intensity in cave and rock shelter sites. Taphonomic data indicate that significant differences exist between the SB and HP faunal assemblages at BBC and KDS, respectively. Carnivores and scavengers had a greater effect on the SB than on the KDS assemblage. Furthermore, subsistence activities at KDS focused on marrow extraction while filleting was probably an important strategy at BBC. Taxonomic analyses indicate that the representative fauna from both sites is generally consistent with what is expected in the fynbos biome but with some noticeable differences. Grazers, for example, are significantly more prevalent at KDS than BBC while seal is more common at BBC. Other zooarchaeological data also show differences in prey selection strategies. Diet breadth is more extensive at KDS than at BBC, although bovid mortality profiles at BBC are more juvenile-dominated. I propose that many of these contrasting patterns imply that subsistence intensification is more evident in the HP layers at KDS than in the SB at BBC. Moreover, the taphonomic data suggest that the SB at BBC was a low-intensity, sporadically occupied period in contrast to the high-intensity occupations, particularly during the middle layers of the HP at KDS. The results of the KDS analysis also indicate a shift in environmental conditions during the HP and show links between prey selection, the environment and occupational intensity during this period. Trampling experiments indicate that trampling can generally be distinguished from butcherymarks, although bioturbation in shelly deposits can sometimes result in marks that mimic cutiii marks. More importantly, experiments show that pitting and abrasion are a more significant indicator of trampling than lines that resemble cut-marks. Based on these experiments, I argue that trampling modification can be used to infer occupational intensity at archaeological sites. Trampling marks in the KDS assemblage, for example, correspond well with the high occupational periods as indicated by other taphonomic data. Trampling and taphonomic data support the notion that BBC was a low-intensity, sporadically occupied site during the SB. By incorporating taxonomic, taphonomic and novel methods of skeletal-part analyses, this study contributes to our knowledge of human subsistence and palaeoenvironments during the SB and HP in the southern Cape. This thesis strengthens and adds to other research that has demonstrated variability in subsistence behaviour during the MSA.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2016
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Citation
Reynard, Jerome Peter (2016) Macro-faunal exploitation in the Cape Floral Region (Fynbos Biome) of the southern Cape, South Africa c. 75-60 ka, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21640>
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