Economy and Technology in the Late Stone Age of Southern Natal 9780860542582, 9781407335469

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Economy and Technology in the Late Stone Age of Southern Natal Charles Cable

Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 9

BAR International Series 201 '1984

-B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 OES, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R Walker, M.A.

B.A.R.-S201, 1984: 'Economy and Technology in the Late Stone Age of Southern Natal'

© Charles

Cable, 1984

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860542582 paperback ISBN 9781407335469 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860542582 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C AMBRIDGE M ONOGRAPHS I N A FRICAN A RCHAEOLOGY G eneral E ditor J ohn A lexander , M .A., P h .D., F .S.A. D ept. A rchaeology, D owning S treet C ambridge C B2 3 DZ, E ngland M anuscripts s hould b e s ubmitted t o D r. A lexander i n t he f irst i nstance. T itles a lready p ublished : 1 .

' The N iger D elta : N wanna N zewunwa.

2 .

A spects B AR-S75.

o f

i ts P rehistoric E conomy a nd C ulutre'

' Prehistoric I nvestigations i n t he R egion o f J enne , M ali' b y S usan K eech M cIntosh a nd R oderick J . M cIntosh.

3 .

B AR-S89.

P rice £ 20.00 p ost f ree.

' Off-Site A rchaeology a nd H uman A daptation i n E astern A frica: A nalysis o f R egional A rtefact D ensity i n t he A mboseli, b y R obert F oley.

4 .

5 .

B ARS-897.

' Later P leistocene C ultural A daptations i n S udanese M ukhtar e l A min. B AR-S114. P rice £ 10.00 p ost f ree. ' SeLtlement P atterns i n t he I ron

7 .

B AR-S139.

c .

Z ululand:

N ubia '

b y

Y ousif_

An E cological

P rice £ 10.00 p ost f ree.

6 000 - 2 500 B .C.'

b y A bbas

S .

P rice £ 12.r '^ p ost f ree.

' History a nd E thnoarchaeology i n E astren N igeria : A S tudy o f I gbo-Igala r elations w ith s pecial r eference t o t he A nambra V alley' b y P hilip A digwe O guagha a nd A lex I kechukwu O kpoko.

8 .

i ge o f

B AR-S119.

' The N eolithic P eriod i n t he S udan , M o :

An

S outhern K enya '

P rice £ 10.00 p ost f ree.

I nterprteation ' b y M artin H all. 6 .

b y

P rice £ 10.00 p ost f ree.

B AR-S195.

' Meroitic S ettlement i n t he C entral S udan : N ile V alley a nd t he W estern B utana ' S 197.

P rice £ 14.00 p ost f ree.

P rice £ 15.00 p ost f ree.

A n A nalysis o f

S ites i n t he

b y K hidir A bdelkarim A hmed.

B AR-

F or Y sabel, a nd

f or m y p arents

1 11

C ONTENTS

P age A cknowledgements

v i

L ist o f F igures

v iii

L ist o f P lates L ist o f T ables

v ii

C HAPTER 1 1 . I ntroduction : O bjectives a nd Theoretical B asis 2 . H ypotheses a nd A ssumptions 3 . M ethodology 4 . D efinitions

1 3 7 1 1

C HAPTER 2 : T HE R ESEARCH A REA 1 . I ntroduction 2 . G eology 3 . G eomorphology 4 . S oils 5 . C limate a . I nsolation

1 9 1 9 2 4 2 7 2 7 2 8

b . c .

6 .

T emperature P recipitation a nd E vaporation

d . W ind e . D iscussion V g ec rPta -. ion

2 8 3 2 3 5 3 5 3 5

C HAPTER 3 : NATURAL R ESOURCES 1 . I ntroduction

4 3

2 .

E dible p lants

4 3

3 . 4 . 5 .

M ammalian f auna N on-mammalian f auna N on-dietary r esources

5 2 5 4 5 5

6 .

D iscussion

5 7

C HAPTER 4 :

P REVIOUS W ORK

1 . 2 .

A rchaeology H istory a . I ron A ge p opulations b . E uropean s ettlement c . E thno-historic o bservations

5 9 7 4 7 4 7 7 7 9

3 .

R ock a rt

8 0

C HAPTER 5 : T HE F IELD W ORK 1 . U mbeli B elli S helter a . I ntroduction b . c .

8 3 8 3

E xcavation D ates

8 3 8 6

d .

S tone a rtefacts

9 0

e . f .

N on-lithic a rtefacts F auna

9 7 9 7

g .

D iscussion

1 02

i v

P age 2 .

B orchers

S helter

1 04

3 .

a . I ntroduction b . E xcavation c . D ates d . S tone a rtefacts e . N on-lithic a rtefacts f . F auna B orchers S helter A nnexe

1 04 1 06 1 10 1 10 1 15 1 21 1 23

4 . T he B orchers S ite C omplex 5 . T he F alls 6 . B ottoms U p S helter 7 . G rindstone S helter

1 33 1 39 1 43 1 51

C HAPTER 6 : P UBLISHED D ATA 1 . G ood H ope S helter 2 .

1 59

G iant's C astle

1 61

3 . K arkloof 4 . C oastal S hell M idden S ites 5 . E astern L esotho E xcavated S ites a . S ehonghong

6 .

1 64 1 64 1 68 1 68

b . M oshebi's S helter c . B elleview B ored S tones

1 72 1 75 1 78

C HAPTER 7 : P ATTERNS 1 . S tone a rtefacts 2 . T he H ighland S ites 3 . T he M idlands C HAPTER 8 : 1 .

2 .

3 .

1 83 1 99 2 02

E XPLOITATION

S easonality a . T he H ighland Z one

2 07 2 07

b . T he C oastal B elt c . T he M idlands S ubsistence

2 08 2 08 2 09

a . P lant f oods b . M ammalian f auna c . O ther r esources

2 09 2 10 2 13

S ocial o rganisation

2 15

C HAPTER 9 : O VERVIEW 1 . N atal a s a w hole:

N orth-South c ontrasts

2 .

T ime d epth

3 .

H unter-gatherer s tudies

2 21 2 23

i n s outhern A frica

2 25

A PPENDICES 1 .

A c heck-list o f s ome s outhern N atal

2 .

C omputer a nalyses o f a ssemblage v ariability

2 41

3 .

N atal a nd E astern L esotho :

2 50

B ibliography

i ndigenous e dible p lants

f rom 2 29

C 14 d ates a nd s ite l ist

2 53

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

M any p eople b oth i n E ngland a nd i n N atal h ave p rovided h elp a nd h ospitality d uring t he c ourse o f t his w ork, a nd w hile i t i s n ot p oss ible t o m ention t hem a ll b y n ame, m y t hanks, t heir o mission, a re d ue t o a ll o f t hem.

a nd m y a pologies

f or

b een

T he f ieldwork o n w hich t his v olume i s b ased w ould n ever h ave f easible w ithout t he g enerous a ssistance a nd b acking I r eceived

f rom

t he N atal M useum,

P ietermaritzburg.

T o

i ts d irector,

D r.

B .R.

S tuckenberg, a nd a ll h is s taff I e xtend m y s incere t hanks, a nd p art icularly t o t he m embers o f t he A rchaeology D epartment, D r. T im M aggs, D r. M artin H all, P rof. O liver D avies, A ron M azel, V al W ard a nd K athy M ack. T heir e nthusiastic e ncouragement a nd a ctive s upport c ont ributed a g reat d eal t o t he s uccess o f m y f ieldwork i n s outhern N atal. D uring t hat f ieldwork p ermission t o e xcavate a t U mbeli B elli w as g iven b y C rookes B ros., t he l andowners, a nd t he h elp a nd w arm h ospit ality o f I an a nd F ran w as g reatly a ppreciated. D iggers a t U mbeli B elli w ere O tto B engu, W esley Z ama, N icholas S ievekinit, P atrick S mythe, L es K valsvig, A ron M azel a nd T im M aggs. E xcavations a nd s urface c ollections a t B orchers S helter w ere b y k ind p ermission o f t he l andowner, M r. V an Z yl, w hom I t hank f or h is h elp. S hedrack N yawose

a ssisted

t hroughout t he e xcavation,

a nd o ther d iggers

w ere

V al W ard, J ohn P assmore, A nne W yatt-Goodall, A ron M azel, L ydia a nd J .J. L evin, M r. ad M rs. C oates, M r. a nd M rs. H amilton a nd M r. a nd M rs. M acDonald. T hanks f or h is h elp a t G rindstone S helter a re d ue t o M ick H arkett. A ssistance a nd h ospitality d uring f ieldwork f rom f arm ers a nd l andowners t oo n umerous t o m ention i ndividually i s g ratef ully a cknowledged. S pecialist

i dentifications

a nd a dvice w ere p rovided b y a n umber

o f p eople d uring t his p roject : t he r adiocarbon d ates w ere p rocessed b y D r. J .C. V ogel o f t he N ational P hysical R esearch L aboratory, C .S.I.R ., P retoria ; t he a nalysis o f t he m ammalian f auna f rom U mbeli B elli w as u ndertaken b y P rof.

R .G.

K lein o f

t he U niversity o f

C hi-

c ago, o f t he f ish m aterial b y M r. C . P oggenpoel o f t he U niversity o f C ape T own, a nd t he m ollusca w ere i dentified b y D r. R .N. K ilburn a nd M rs. R . F regona o f t he N atal M useum ; t he m ammalian f auna f rom B orc hers S helter w as i dentified b y K ate S cott o f t he U niversity o f C ambridge; D r. W ilson o f t he G eology D epartment, U niversity o f N atal ( Pietermaritzburg), p rovided a dvice o n l ithic r aw m aterial i dentific ation; t he p hotographs w ere p rinted b y M r. D . M anning o f t he A udio-Visual A ids U nit, U niversity o f C ambridge; N eil H arris Y sabel C able p rovided a ssistance w ith p hoto-copying a nd t yping;

a nd a nd

t he c omputer a nalyses i n A ppendix 2 w ere u ndertaken b y J ohn H utcheson o f t he I nstitute o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f L ondon. I w ould l ike t o e xpress m y

t hanks

t o a ll o f

t hem f or

t heir h elp.

F inancial s upport f or f ieldwork i n N atal w as S wan F und o f

t he U niversity o f O xford;

r eceived f rom :

t he E mslie H orniman A nthropo-

l ogical S cholarship F und o f t he R oyal A nthropological I nstitute; S ir H enry S trackosch M emorial T rust; t he S muts M emorial F und o f U niversity o f C ambridge;

a nd

t he t he t he

t he D epartment o f E ducation a nd S cience. v i

M y t ality

t hanks g o a nd

a dvice

t o a n umber o f

p eople w hose

v aried

Ih ave a ppreciated g reatly o ver

h elp, t he

l ast

h ospif our

y ears. T im a nd V al M aggs h ave b een a s ource o f c onstant a nd g enerous s upport f rom t he f irst, a nd p articular t hanks a re d ue t o T im M aggs f or h is g uidance a nd s upervision d uring m y t ime i n N atal. I h ave b enefited f rom d iscussions w ith M artin H all, J ohn P arkington, L iora H orowitz, V al W ard a nd e specially A ron M azel, f rom w hose p ractical a nd m oral s upport I h ave d rawn g reat e ncouragement a nd f rom w hose c omments a nd i deas g reat i nspiration. F inally, I s hould l ike t o t hank m y s upervisor, P at C arter, w ho o riginally e ncouraged m e t o u ndertake t his w ork, a nd f or w hose o bjective a dvice, p ositive c ritic ism a nd o ccasional p ushing I a m m ost g rateful. N otwithstanding t he h elp p rovided b y t hose l isted a bove a nd a ll o thers, r esponsibility f or a ny f aults o r d eficiences i n t his w ork r emains e ntirely m y o wn.

v ii

L IST O F P LATES 1 .

U mbeli B elli S helter

2 .

U mbeli B elli:

3 .

B orchers

S helter:

4 .

B orchers

S helter A nnexe

5 .

B orchers

S helter :

6 .

A l ower g rindstone f rom G rindstone S helter

7 .

B ottoms U p S helter

8 .

G rindstone S helter

n orth-south s ection s outh-north s ection

b one

t ools

L IST O F F IGURES 1 .1

S outhern A frica s howing p osition o f r esearch a rea

1 .2

E ndscraper r etouch m easuring p ositions

2 .1

N atal

2 .2

S outhern N atal:

G eology

2 .3

S outhern N atal:

T opographical

2 .4

N atal s tations:

M ean t emperature

2 .5

N atal s tations:

M ean t emperature x r ainfall 1 0

2 .6

S outhern N atal:

V egetation

3 .1

A r ock p ainting f rom t he D rakensberg

3 .2

P lant r esources:

4 .1

S outhern N atal:

a rchaeological s ites

4 .2

S outhern N atal:

s ites b y c ultural d esignation

4 .3

S pread o f I ron A ge i n s outhern A frica

5 .1

U mbeli B elli:

P lan

5 .2

U mbeli B elli:

E ast-West s ection

5 .3

U mbeli B elli:

N orth-South s ection

5 .4

U mbeli B elli:

A rtefacts

5 .5

B orchers

S helter:

s easonal a vailability

P lan v iii

5 .6

B orchers

S helter:

S outh—North s ection

5 .7

B orchers

S helter:

W est—East s ection

5 .8

B orchers

S helter:

L ayer 2 s tone

5 .9

B orchers

S helter:

L ayer 3 s tone t ools

5 .10

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

P lan

5 .11

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

S tone

5 .12

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

E ndscrapers

5 .13

S outhern N atal a ssemblages:

Whole f lake m eans

5 .14

S outhern N atal a ssemblages:

W hole f lake s ize c lasses

5 .15

B ottoms U p S helter:

S tone

t ools

5 .16

G rindstone S helter:

S tone

t ools

6 .1

S outhern N atal:

7 .1

T ripolar g raph o f

7 .2

S outhern N atal a ssemblages:

7 .3

N otc l ied s crapers:

8 .1

C oastal B elt s ites:

B ored s tones:

t ools

t ools

f ind s pots

s outhern N atal a ssemblages e ndscraper m eans

n otch b readths H ypothesised

p atterns

i x

s ite

t erritorial e xploitation

L IST O F TABLES 1 .

N atal

s tations:

t emperature d ata

2 .

N atal

s tations:

s evere

3 .

N atal

r ainfall:

m eans

4 .

S easonality o f

5 .

P lant

r esources:

H ighland S ourveld:

6 .

P lant

r esources:

C oastal B elt:

7 .

M ammalian f auna

8 .

P ublished N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites

9 .

U mbeli

1 0.

U mbeli B elli:

W hole

1 1.

U mbeli

Whole f lakes:

1 2.

U mbeli B elli:

S tone a rtefacts

1 3.

U mbeli

B elli:

M ammalian f auna

1 4.

U mbeli

B elli:

M ollusca

1 5.

U mbeli B elli:

1 6.

B orchers

S helter:

R aw material c ounts

1 7.

B orchers

S helter:

Whole

f lakes:

m ean d imensdons

1 8.

B orchers

S helter:

Whole

f lakes:

maximum d imensions

1 9.

B orchers

S helter:

S tone a rtefacts

2 0.

B orchers

S helter:

E ndscrapers

2 1.

B orchers

S helter:

B one a rtefacts

2 2.

B orchers

S helter:

F auna

2 3.

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

R aw m aterial c ounts

2 4.

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

Whole

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

S tone a rtefacts

B orchers

S helter A nnexe:

E ndscrapers

B elli:

B elli:

f rost d ata a nd e xtremes

p recipitation

R aw material

s easonal a vailability

c ounts

f lakes:

m ean d imensions maximum d imensions

F ish b one

S outhern N atal a ssemblages: p ercentage o f

s easonal a vailability

f lakes

C ores,

t otal s tone a rtefacts

c ore

t rimmers a nd C hunks a s

a

2 8.

S outhern N atal a ssemblages:

2 9.

T he F alls:

R aw m aterial c ounts

3 0.

T he F alls:

S tone a rtefacts

3 1.

T he F alls:

E ndscrapers

3 2.

T he F alls:

W hole f lakes

3 3.

B ottoms U p S helter:

R aw m aterial c ounts

3 4.

B ottoms U p S helter:

S tone a rtefacts

3 5.

B ottoms U p S helter:

Whole f lakes

3 6.

B ottoms U p S helter:

E ndscrapers

3 7.

G rindstone S helter:

R aw m aterial c ounts

3 8.

G rindstone S helter:

S tone a rtefacts

3 9.

G rindstone S helter:

E ndscrapers

4 0.

G rindstone

Whole

4 1.

G ood H ope:

4 2.

G iant's

4 3.

K arkloof:

4 4.

M uden s ites:

4 5.

T ongaat A :

4 6.

S ehonghong:

T ool c ounts

4 7.

S ehonghong:

F auna

4 8.

S ehonghong:

P lant r emains

4 9.

M oshebi's

S helter:

T ool c ounts

5 0.

M oshebi's

S helter:

F auna

5 1.

B elleview :

T ool c ounts

5 2.

B elleview:

F auna

5 3.

N atal:

5 4.

S outhern N atal:

5

S outhern N atal a ssemblages:

5 (, .

N atal a nd E astern L esotho s ites:

S helter:

Whole

f lake s ize c lasses

f lakes

Whole f lakes

C astle:

T ool c ounts

T ool c ounts T ool

c ounts

T ool c ounts

B ored

s tones A ssemblage c ompositions E ndscraper m eans A rrow p oints

5 7.

S outhern N atal

:M idlands

a rchaeological s ites

5 8.

N atal a nd E astern L esotho s ites:

5 9.

S outhern N atal:

M ammalian f auna

E xploitation P atterns

C HAPTER O NE 1 .

I NTRODUCTION :

O BJECTIVES A ND T HEORETICAL B ASIS

W hile i t c ould b e r egarded a s a p re-requisite o f aw ork o f t his n ature t hat i t s hould a im t o e xtend o ur k nowledge, i n o ne w ay o r a nother, o f p rehistoric h uman s ocieties, i t i s t rue t hat t he c urrent s tate o f k nowledge o f t he L ate S tone A ge a rchaeology o f N atal i s p oor, p articularly when v iewed i n t he c ontext o f t he s tate o f S tone A ge s tudies e lsewhere i n s outhern A frica ( e.g. D eacon, J . 1 972; D eacon, H .J. 1 976; P arkington 1 976, 1 980; M azel & P arkington 1 981). A s i s d emonstrated i n t he t ext, n o p revious a ttempt a t a m ajor o verv iew o f t he L ate S tone A ge a rchaeology o f t his r egion h as b een m ade. T hus, a b asic o bject o f t his w ork h as b een t o g enerate i nformation a nd t o p ropose i nterpretation i n a b road c ontext, t hat m ay e ncourage a nd p rovide a b asis f or t he f uture d evelopment o f L ate s tudies i n a r elatively n eglected a rea. T he

g eneral

a pproach o r p aradigm u nderlying

S tone

t his w ork

m ay

A ge

b e

s ummarised a s ' ecological', w hile t he m ain o bject o f t he r esearch h as b een t he s tudy a nd m odelling o f t he s ystems o f e conomic o rganisation e mployed b y h unter-gatherers i n s outhern N atal d uring t he l ate H oloc ene. A u seful d efinition o f t he e cological p aradigm o r a pproach i n a rchaeology i s ..the

p rovided b y J ochim : m ost

i mportant f actors c onditioning

t he

e conomic

b ehaviour o f h unter-gatherers a re s een t o i nvolve t heir r elationships w ith e lements i n t he n atural e nvironment, a nd a c onsideration o f t hese r elationships i n a s ystemic f ramew ork c onstitutes a n e cological a pproach..." ( 1976:9) C ertainly i t h as b een i n i ts a pplication t o t he s tudy o f h unterg atherL i s ocieties t hat e cologically-orient ' w ork h as b een m ost c ommon a nd m ost s uccessful: " In t erms o f a ctual r esearch,

t he a lmost i ncredible n umber

o f h unter-gatherer s tudies c arried o ut f rom a n e cological p erspective a re a mple e vidence t hat t his b ias i s o f g reat u tility a s

a n i nvestigative

t ool".

( Bettinger 1 980:191-2)

W ithin t he g eneral f ramework o f a n e cological a pproach, t he p rimary c oncern o f t his w ork i s w ith e conomics, w ith t he o rganisation o f s ubsistence a ctivity a mong t he L ate S tone A ge i nhabitants o f s outhern N atal. W hile t he s tudy o f s ettlement l ocation a nd d emog raphic o rganisation, f or e xample, h ave a lso b een a pproached f rom a n e cological v iewpoint ( e.g. W obst 1 974, 1 976; G amble 1 978; F oley 1 981; H all 1 981), t he m ajor f ocus i n e cological s tudies o f h unter-gatherers h as b een

t heir e conomy :

" ...predictive m odels f requently

a ttempted

o f

s ettlement l ocation h ave b een l ess

t han s ubsistence

m odels

- p robably

b ecause f or h unter-gatherers t he d eterminants o f s ite l ocat ion a re s trongly d ependant o n s ubsistence a dantation..." ( Bettinger 1 980:222)

1

w hile t he a ssumption t hat: " ...sites a re o ccupied b ecause o f t he s et o f r esources w hich a re a vailable w ithin e asy r each o f t hem a nd t hat m ovement b etween s ites i s r elated t o d ifferences i n r es ource a vailabilities f rom p lace t o p lace a nd f rom t ime t o ( Parkington 1 981:341)

t ime"...

i s c haracteristic b oth o f t his w ork a nd s tudies b ased i n t he e cological p aradigm.

o f

m any

h unter-gatherer

M ore s pecifically , t he c ontribution o f t he w ork o f P arkington ( 1976, 1 980) a nd M azel ( Mazel & P arkington 1 978, 1 981) t o t he t heor etical a nd m ethodological b asis o f t his r esearch s hould b e a cknowle dged. P arkington's w ork h as p rovided n ot o nly a s ignificant c ontrib ution t o h unter-gatherer s tudies i n g eneral, b ut i nfluenced t he d evelopment o f t he c urrent m odel t hrough h is a nalysis o f r esource d istribution , s easonal m obility, a ctivity s cheduling a nd a ssemblage v ariability i n t he L ate S tone A ge o f t he s outh w estern C ape. I n p articular h is d emonstration o f t he r elevance o f r esource a vaila bility a nd t he s cheduling o f e xtractive a ctivities t o t he e xplanat ion o f a ssemblage v ariability a mong c ontemporary s ites h as c learly i nfluenced t he d evelopment o f t he m odel p roposed f or s outhern N atal i n t his w ork . A rtefact

d ata

h as

am ore c entral r ole i n t his

w ork

t han

i s

p erhaps c ommon i n r esearch w ith a n o vertly e cological b ent. I t i s f elt t hat t he u se m ade o f a rtefact e vidence i s o f d irect r elevance t o t he e xamination o f p rehistoric e xploitation p atterns i n s outhern N atal.

" Since t ools a re t he t echnical a ids u sed i n t he p erformance o f w ork , i n t he l iteral s ense o f t he w ord, w e s hold e xpect t hat, o ther t hings b eing e qual, t he c omposition o f t ool a ssemblages w ould v ary d irectly i n a ccordance w ith t he t asks p erformed. T he d ifferential d istribution o f a ssembl ages i n s pace s hould e xhibit c ompositional d ifferences i n d irect r elation t o t he c haracter o f c arried o ut". " Where

a

t he l ogistic s trategies ( Binford 1 972:132-3)

m obile g roup o ccupies o ver t he y ear a n umber

o f

s ites w ithin i ts a nnual t erritory , i t i s n ot t o b e e xpected t hat d ifferent f unctions w ill b e c arried o ut i n s imilar p roportions a t d ifferent s ites, a nd i ndeed s uch d ifferences m ay b e e xpected t o r eflect i n t he p roportions o f t he d iff erent a rtefacts p resent". ( Higgs & V ita-Finzi 1 972:30) T he f unction o f t ools w as t he e xtraction, d irectly o r i ndirectly , o f r esources f rom t he e nvironment, a nd t he e xtraction o f r esources, t hat i s e xploitation, i s t he b asic t heme o f t his r esearch . T he o bject i n u sing l ithic a rtefact d ata c learly a ffects t he m ethods a ppropriate i n t he a nalysis a nd p resentation o f t hat d ata. T hus d etailed m etrical i nformation o n a rtefact a ttributes a nd m orphology d oes n ot f eature p rominently, s ince i t w as n ot f elt t hat s uch d ata w ould c ontribute s ignificantly t o t hat b asic o bjective - s pecifically, t he r elation o f 2

v ariability t ool t ypes, a ctivities

i n

t he r epresentation i n a ssemblages o f

s everal

m ajor

t o v ariability i n t he i mportance o f d ifferent e xtractive a t s ites w ith d ifferent r oles i n t he a nnual e xploitation

s trategy. T his i s n ot t o s uggest t hat d etailed a nalyses c ould n ot s hed l ight o n t he m atter, m erely t o r ecognise t hat i n t he c urrent s tate o f k nowledge o f t he s ignificance o f d etailed a ttribute f eatures f or t ool f unctions, t he u se o f t ool c lasses s uch a s c onvex s crapers a nd p rojectile p oints ( see b elow p . 1 7), i s a p ractical a nd e ffecti ve m eans o f e xamining i nter-assemblage v ariability a nd t o r esource e xploitation s cheduling. A nother s pecific o bject o f

t he r esearch,

a nd o ne

i ts

r elation

t hat s tems

f rom

t he g eneral a im o f p roviding a n o verview o f t he L ate H olocene p reh istory o f s outhern N atal, a nd m ore i mportantly w as e ssential i n t he a ttempt t o m odel e xploitation p atterns, w as t he c oncentration o f f ield-work i n t he l ower-lying r egions o f t he r esearch a rea. A s c an b e s een f rom C hapter 4 a s erious i mbalance e xisted i n o ur k nowledge o f t he L ate S tone A ge i n N atal, w ith t he g reat m ajority o f e xcavated s ites b eing l ocated i n t he h ighland z one o f t he p rovince. H ow f ar t his d istribution p attern c an b e s een a s m erely r eflecting t he c onc entration o f p revious a rchaeological w ork a nd h ow f ar i t m ay r epres ent a r eal d ifference i n t he i ntensity a nd c haracter o f o ccupation i n v arious 9 . T o e xtend N atal.

z ones

i s a q uestion a ddressed

s ummarise,

t hen,

t he

i n p articular i n C hapters 7 -

f undamental a im o f

t his w ork

i s

t o

o ur k nowledge o f t he L ate S tone A ge a rchaeology o f s outhern D ue t o t he p hilosophical s tandpoint o f t he w riter i ts s peci-

f ic o bjective, t he e xamination a nd m odelling o f L ate H olocene e xploit ation p atterns, i n t urn d etermines t he m ethods o f t he r esearch s trategy ( see b elow) a nd t he c hoice o f t hose c ategories o f i nformat ion p uts

t hat a re

r egarded a s

' relevant'

o r

' interesting'.

A s

C larke

i t : " The t ypes o f s tudy a nd m odel t hat a re r egarded a s s atisf actory a t a ny g iven t ime a re, t hen, a f unction o f t he i ndividual's c ontrolling m odels a nd t he p revailing p arad igms. T here f ollows a n u navoidably p owerful c hain o f i nterdependence b etween t he p aradigm h eld, t he a ims o f a p articular s tudy, t he n ature o f t he a ppropriate s ample, t he m odels a nd a nalyses s uitable t o t hese, t he s cale u sed, t he p atterns d etectable g iven t he s cale a nd t he m ethods o f a nalysis,

a nd

t he p rocesses

t hat s cale". 2 .

r elevant f or e xplanations

a t

( Clarke 1 972:9)

H YPOTHESES A ND A SSUMPTIONS

M ost a rchaeological w orks d o, o r a t l east s hould, i nvolve g eneration o f h ypotheses w hich a re t hen p rogressively t ested

t he a nd

m odified a gainst t he a ctual d ata. I n m ost c ases t hese h ypotheses a re b ased o n m ore o r l ess c learly s tated a ssumptions w hich , a lthough t heir s ubstantiation m ay b e b eyond t he s cope o f a p articular p roject, s hould b e s usceptible t o t he s ame p rocess o f t esting a nd m odificat ion. P arkington p rovides a u seful i llustration o f t he w ay i n w hich t his p rocess c an f unction w ithin a n e cological a pproach :

3

" ...excavated o n-site d ata i s t he b est a vailable i ndication o f w hat p rehistoric g roups a ctually d id a t s ites, w hilst i ndependent o ff-site d ata r elating t o t he l ocal e nvironment i s p erhaps t he b ackground f rom w hich p rehistoric b ehaviour m ay b e p redicted. I deally, t he p redictions b ased o n t he p otential o f t he l ocal r esource d istribution s hould b e t ested a gainst t he a nalysis o f p lant, a nimal a nd a rte f actual r emains f rom s ites i n s pecific l ocations". ( Parkington 1 976:9)

T his w ork w as o riginally s timulated b y a h ypothesis p ut f orward b y C arter ( 1970) which w as b ased o n d ata r elating t o t he d istribution o f g razing i n N atal t hrough t he y ear, a nd w hich h ad n ot a t t hat s tage b een t ested a gainst a rchaeological d ata. N aturally, d uring t he c ourse o f r esearch t hat o riginal m odel h as b een m odified, b oth a s a r esult o f am ore d etailed s tudy o f t he r esource p otentials o f t he a rea a nd t hrough i ts a pplication t o a rchaeological d ata. H owever, t he i mportant c ontribution o f C arter's 1 970 p aper t o t he d evelopment o f t he c urrent m odel s hould b e a cknowledged. T he b asic h ypothesis p ut f orward i n t his w ork, a gainst w hich t he e vidence p resented i n l ater C hapters i s v iewed, i s t hat l ate H olocene p opulations i n s outhern N atal e xploited t he r esources o f t he a rea b y m oving s easonally a cross t he m ajor e cological z ones, s cheduling t heir o ccupation o f v arious z ones t o c oincide w ith f luctuations i n t he a vailability a nd p roductivity o f s taple r esources. S pecifically, t hat h unter-gatherers o ccupied t he H ighland S ourveld o f t he D rakensb erg m ountains a nd t heir f oothills d uring i ts s ummer p eak i n p roducti vity a nd m oved d own t hrough t he i ntervening m idlands t o t he C oastal B elt, t hus s cheduling t heir o ccupation o f t he c oast a nd i ts h interl and, w ith i ts a ll-year-round r esource p otential, f or w inter, a p eriod o f r elative s carcity i nland. S uch a m odel c learly i nvolves a n umber o f a ssumptions, e vidence f or t he s upport o f w hich i s p resented i n t he b ody o f t he t ext. S ome o f t he m ore g eneral a ssumptions, h owever, a re m ade l argely o n t he b asis o f o bserved g eneralities i n h unter-gatherer b ehaviour a nd o rganisation w orld-wide, b oth e thnographic, h istoric a nd a rchaeol ogical i n o rigin . T he u se o f t he t erm " hunter-gatherer" i s m ade i n t he a wareness t hat i t m ay i tself b e s een a s a n a ssumption, b egging t he q uestion , i n t hat i t p resupposes t he v ery w ay o f l ife w hich i s u nder e xamination. B ut i n t he l ight o f b oth e thno-historic o bservat ion o f t he s outhern S an , t heir c lose c ultural r elationship t o e xtant h unter-gatherer g roups i n s outhern A frica, a nd t he a bsence o f e vid ence f or a s edentary w ay o f l ife ( e.g. c ultigens, c onstruction, e xtensive m aterial c ulture) t he a ssumption t hat t hey w ere i ndeed h unter-gatherers i s f elt t o b e m ore t han r easonable. A ssociated w ith t he a bove i s t he a ssumption t hat t he S an o f s outhern N atal w ere o rganised i n a n e ssentially m obile s ociety. I t i s s urely n o l onger a m atter o f s erious d ispute t hat m obility i s a p roductive a nd r ealistic c oncept t o a pply t o h unter-gatherers. C ertainly i t h as b een d emong trated i n n umerous e thnographic s tudies a nd h as b een a pplied s ucc essfully b y a rchaeologists b oth i n s outhern A frica ( e.g. P arkington 1 972, 1 976; D eacon, H .J. 1 976; C arter 1 978) a nd e lsewhere ( e.g. H iggs & V ita-Finzi 1 972;

J ochim 1 976;

B ailey 1 975; 4

G amble 1 978).

F or m any y ears t he h unter-gatherer w ay o f l ife w as r egarded a s b eing " nasty, b rutish a nd s hort"; r ecent o pinion h as, m ainly a s a r esult o f t he d etailed s tudy o f t he s ubsistence o f c ontemporary g roups, s wung a way, p erhaps t oo r adically, t o a n a ppreciation o f t his a daptation a s t he " original a ffluent s ociety" o f S ahlins ( 1968:85). O F p articular i mportance i n t his w ork i s t he a ssumption t hat t he 5 outhern S an w ere w ell a ware o f, a nd g eared t heir l ives t o, f luctuat ions i n t he a vailability a nd a bundance o f i mportant n atural r es ources. L ee, d escribing t he ! Kung S an o f B otswana, p rovides a c lear s tatement o f t heir e fficiency a nd p ractical k nowledge o f t he e nvironm ent : " The

h unting

a nd g athering D obe b ushmen h ave

a

r eliable

s ubsistence b ased o n a s ystematic s trategy o f e xploitation o f a bundant f ood r esources. V ery l ittle o f t heir f oodg etting i s l eft t o c hance. T heir k nowledge o f t he l ocal e nvironment, o f t he h abits o f g ame, a nd o f t he g rowth p hases o f f ood p lants i s v irtually e xhaustive.. . The p eople k now w here t o g et i t." S imilarly

t he f ood

S ilberbauer ( 1972)

a ny" o f t he G /wi S an, N yae N yae: " People T he

i s a t e ach s eason o f

s peaks o f

w hile M arshall

t he y ear a nd h ow ( Lee 1 972:342)

t he " expertise i n f ield

( 1976)

o bserves o f

t he

d o n ot w ander a bout h opefully s earching f or

p lant f oods

t hat s ustain

t heir l ives g row

i n

b ot-

! Kung o f

f ood. c ertain

p roductive a reas i n p atches, c lumps, c ommunities a nd g roves, l arge a nd s mall. T he ! Kung k now a ll t he p roductive a reas i n t heir t erritories, a nd t hey k now a ll a bout t he p lant f oods w ithin t hem , w here t he p lants g row , w hen t hey r ipen, w hat q uantities t o e xpect. T he p eople p lan t heir l ives I t

i s

N atal

a round

f elt

t hose f oods."

t o b e m ost l ikely

( 1976:103) t hat

t he p rehistoric S an o ccupants

h ad a s imilar p roficiency a nd e njoyed a n a ccurate a nd

h ensive k nowledge o f G iven t his a wareness

t he n atural r esources i t i s f urther a ssumed

o f

c ompre-

i n t heir e nvironment. t hat t he k nown a vail-

a bility a nd a bundance o f r esources, a nd i n p articular o f p redictable r esources, w as t he m ajor d eterminant o f s easonal m ovement a nd s ite l ocation.

A s P arkington p uts

i t

:

..faunal a nd p lant r emains r eflect t he r easons f or a nd t iming o f s ite o ccupation a nd t hat s ites a nd t heir a ssemblages a re b ut s egments o f a n o verall s ettlement p attern

r elated

t o

r egional

r esource

a vailabilities." ( 1981 : 3 41)

T his e mphasis o n t he p redictability o f r esources s uch a s p lants s hellfish, i n c ontrast t o t he r iskier p rocurement o f g ame, i n e conomic

o rganization

o f

h unter-gatherers

a nd t he

i s s trongly s upported

w orld-wide e vidence f rom c ontemporary s ocieties. L ee ( 1968) t hat o f h unter-gatherer g roups l iving 0 °-39° f rom t he e quator

b y

s hows ( thus

e xcluding t hose s ocieties w hose " particular h abitats o ffer n o v iable a lternative s ubsistence s trategy" t o m eat d ependence) 2 5 o ut o f 2 8 h ave g athered f oods a s t heir p rimary s ubsistence s ource, t wo o f t he e xceptions

e mphasing f ishing.

I t s hould 5

b e

r emembered,

h owever,

t hat: " ...it n ature

i s n ot s o m uch t he g atherable a s o f f oods w hich c an m ake t hem

t he r eliable s taples..."

( Parkington H unting r emains a s ignificant, m ost h unter-gatherer s ocieties,

i f n ot d ominant, a nd L ee o bserves

..with a s ingle e xception,

a ll s ocieties

d erive a t l east 2 0 p er c ent o f o f m ammals." H e

p oints o ut

t hat

p art o f t hat:

t he d iet

i n

a t a ll l atitudes

t heir d iet f rom t he

t he a verage f igures f or

1 976:50)

h unting ( 1968:42)

t he c ontribution o f

m eat

i n t he d iet a ll c onverge o n a bout 3 5 p er c ent, a f igure t hat s upports h is a ssertion t hat t he ! Kung, f or w hom m eat p rovides 3 7 p er c ent o f t he d iet, S o

a re f ar f rom b eing a typical h unter-gatherers. i t

i s

f elt

t hat

t he

' high-yield,

l ow-risk'

a ctivity

o f

g athering p redictable r esources, p articularly p lant f oods, m ay h ave b een t he m ajor d etermining f actor i n t he c hoice o f s eason a nd d urat ion

o f o ccupation o f s ites

r esearch a rea.

i n t he v arious e cological z ones

W hile a nimal r emains

t end

o f

t he

t o d ominate a rchaeological

e vidence o f f ood r esources, i t i s r ecognised t hat o n-site d ata n eed n ot p rovide a n a ccurate r eflection o f t his e conomic b alance: " Certainly

t he a bsence o f

p lant r emains o n

a rchaeological

s ites i s b y i tself n ot s ufficient e vidence f or t he a bsence o f g athering. R ecently a bandoned B ushman c ampsites s how a s imilar a bsence o f v egetable r emains, a lthough t his p aper h as s hown t hat a ctual d iet."

p lant f oods

c omprise o ver 6 0 p er c ent o f t he ( Lee 1 968:43)

T hus i , i s a rgued t hat i n m odelling p rehistoric e xploitation p att erns, e vidence o f s easonal a nd g eographical f luctuations i n r esourc es c an b e s een a s h ighly s ignificant i n o rdering t he m ovement o f h uman g roups b etween a nd w ithin e cological z ones, s ince i t i s a ssumed t hat : " ...hunter-gatherers e nvironments

a nd

p ossess

u se

i t

d etailed k nowledge o f

t o e xploit t hem i n

f ashion." T his

n on-randomness

a

( Gamble i s

a ssumed

g athered r esources b ut a lso t ainly s uccessful a ctivity,

t o a pply n ot o nly

t heir

n on-random 1 978:154)

t o

p redictable,

t o t he p rocurement o f g ame, a l ess c erb ut o ne, a s f or e xample M arks ( 1977) h as

s hown, t ions

t hat i s l ikely t o i nvolve m ore o r l ess d efinite p rey s elecd etermined b y s pecies a vailability a nd l ocal e nvironment a nd

w hich

a lso

r eflects d eliberate p atterning

W here a ssumptions a s t o r esources, a re m ade,

i n

e conomic

d ecisions.

t he i nfluence o f r esources, o r r ather s ets o f t hey m ay b e m ade i n t he a bsence o f d irect

a rchaeological e vidence f or t he e xploitation o f a p articular r esource a t a ny g iven s ite. I ndirect e vidence f rom h istoric o bservation a nd e thnographic d ata m ay i nstead b e e mployed t o s upport a p rediction b ased t he p otentials o f t he l ocal e nvironment. T he o bject o f s uch a n a pproach , i s

w hile r aising

t o d evelope a m odel

i n s ome w ays t hat w ill 6

a s m any q uestions

b e a menable

t o d irect

a s

i t a nswers,

t esting s hould

c onditions o f I n

p reservation a llow i t.

s hort

t hen,

i t

i s

a ssumed

t hat p rehistoric h unter-gatherers

i n s outhern N atal w ere h ighly m obile,

w ell a ware o f

t he p otential o f

t heir e nvironment a nd o rdered t heir m ovements a ccording t o s easonal a nd g eographic v ariations i n t he a vailability a nd a bundance o f s taple, p redictable r esources. I t i s f elt t hat t he s tudy o f p atterns i n t he d istribution a nd a vailability o f t hese r esources p rovides t he b asis

f or a p redictive m odel o f e xploitation p atterns.

T he e xamina-

t ion a nd i dentification o f o rganic r esidues a t s ites i n s pecific e cological n iches c learly p rovides t he m ost d irect m eans o f t esting s uch a m odel, a lthough c onditions o f p reservation m ay r esult i n a n i ncomplete p icture o f s ubsistence a t a p articular s ite, a nd i ndirect m ethods o f t esting s uch a s t he e xamination o f e vidence f or a ctivity v ariations i n d ifferent e cological z ones m ay b e e mployed.

3 .

M ETHODOLOGY

• T he i nitial e mphasis o f t he r esearch, t hen, i s o n t he r esources a vailable i n v arious e cological z ones o f N atal t o h uman g roups p ract ising a s ystem o f e conomic o rganisation t hat m ay i nvolve s easonal m ovement c ross-cutting t hese z ones. T hus i t i s t he p otentials o f t he e nvironment

t hat

a re

t he

p redominant f actor i n

t hree

c hoices

t hat

m ust b e m ade i n s electing a rchaeological d ata t o t est h ypotheses a bout p rehistoric e xploitation p atterns, n amely: a ) T he c hoice o f r esearch a rea. b ) T he c hoice o f t ime p eriod. c ) T he c hoice o f i ndivid ual s ites a )

f or d etailed s tudy.

T he r esearch a rea.

T he a rea s elected f or s tudy i s s outhern N atal, R epublic o f S outh A frica, ( Fig.1:1) w ith a ' core a rea' f or f ield w ork b etween t he r ivers M zimkulu a nd M khomazi f rom t he c oast t o t he L esotho b order r unning a long t he t op o f t he D rakensberg m ountain r ange ( Fig. 2 :1). M ajor e nvironmental c hange i n t his p art o f s outhern A frica i s r elated c hiefly t o a ltitude, a nd t hus t he e cological z onation o f s outhern N atal r uns n orth-south, i .e. p arallel t o t he D rakensberg r ange i n a s eries o f b road ' steps' d own t o t he I ndian O cean, a nd c ut t hrough b y a n umber o f d eep r iver v alleys, r unning w est-east t o t he s ea ( see C hapter 2 ). T he r esearch a rea t hus s erves a s a t ransect t hrough t he m ajor e cological z ones o f t his p art o f s outhern A frica, f rom t he p eaks o f o ver 3 ,000 m eters a ltitude d own t o s ea-level. T he c hoice o f r ivers t o a ct a s t he n orthern a nd s outhern f ieldwork b oundaries w as t o a c ertain e xtent a rbitrary. While, a s J ochim p oints o ut: ..a c ommon o bservation i n e thnographic r eports i s t hat t erritorial b oundaries t end t o f ollow n atural b oundaries, i n p articular w atersheds." a nd w here

r ivers a re r egarded a s p ossible,

t he

( Jochim 1 976:86)

p referable

t o m odern p olitical

d ivisions

r esearch a rea s hould b e r egarded r ather

s ubstantial s ample o f a n a nnual

t erritory

t han a s n ecessarily

a s

a

r epre-

s entative o f t he a ctual t erritorial r ange o f a h uman g roup o r g roups. T he i mportant p oint i s t hat t he r esearch a rea s amples a ll t he e col ogical z ones t ions

l ikely

t o h ave b een s ignificant

i n s outhern N atal. 7

t o p rehistoric

p opula-

8

M ore i mportantly i t w as f elt t hat a n a rea w ith c lear s easonal a nd g eographic c ontrasts i n e nvironment, o ver a r elatively s mall d istance, o ffered g reat p otential f or t he s tudy o f p rehistoric e xp loitation p atterns. F urthermore e xisting e vidence s uggested ( see C hapter 4 ) t hat a r egional a pproach m ight e nable t he f ormation o f a m ore c oherent v iew o f p reviously e xisted. b )

t he L ate S tone A ge a rchaeology o f

t he a rea t han

T ime d epth . T he

p eriod

u nder s tudy h as b een r estricted

t o

t he

l ast

3 ,500

y ears. T he c oncern o f t he w ork i s w ith ' space' r ather t han ' time', t hat i s w ith t he m odelling o f e xploitation p atterns i n a f airly r estricted p eriod r ather t han w ith c hanges i n e conomy a nd t echnology t hrough a l onger t ime d epth. I t i s h oped t hat r esults w ill n ot o nly p rovide a s timulus f or f urther w ork i n t his t ime p eriod, b ut a lso s et u p a m odel a gainst w hich e arlier e vidence f or e xploitation m ay b e c ompared a nd c ontrasted. M ost i mportant i n a w ork o f t his n ature i s t he r econstruction o f c ontemporary e nvironment. T here i s l ittle d etailed p a-

t he

l aeo-environmental

d ata a vailable f or N atal d uring t he L ate P leisto-

c ene-Early H olocene. D uring t he l ast t hree t housand y ears h owever, i n t he a bsence o f e vidence f or m ajor c limatic d ifferences f rom t he h istorical p eriod, i t s eems l ikely t hat t he e nvironment w ould h ave c losely p aralleled t hat e ncountered b y e arly E uropean s ettlers a nd t ravellers a nd r econstructed i n s everal b otanical w orks ( e.g. A cocks 1 975,

M oll

1 976,

E dwards

1 967).

A n i mportant f actor i n c omparing s ites f rom d ifferent e nvironm ental l ocations i s t o e stablish t heir a pproximate c ontemporaneity. W here p ossible t his h as b een d one t hrough c arbon d ating ( see A ppendix 3 ), b ut o therwizz, f or e xample i n t he c ase o f s urface a rtefact a ssemb lages, i t h as b een e stablished o n t he g rounds o f o verall s imilarit ies i n a rtefact a ttributes a nd t hrough t he p resence o f t ime-linked f eatures s uch a s p ottery. S ince t his w ork d oes n ot a ttempt t o s et u p a d etailed t ypological s equence f or t he S tone A ge o f N atal, a c hoice o f f ocus o n t he m ost r ecent, m ost w idely r epresented a nd b estk nown i ndustrial s tage, p reviously r eferred t o a s t he S mithfield ' N', w as i ndicated. T hus t he e mphasis i s o n v ariability i n s pace r ather t han

t hrough t ime.

c )

S ites:

aS

a

I t i s 1 970,

t he s ampling s trategy. p ossible,

s ystem o f

f or s ampling p urposes,

t hree h ierarchical

H iggs & V ita-Finzi 1 972,

t o s ee

t erritories

t he r esearch a rea

( Vita-Finzi

&

H iggs

G amble 1 979):

1 . T he a nnual t erritory - t he s et o f c omplementary r esource z ones i ncorporated a t o ne t ime o r a nother i nto t he a nnual e xp loitation

s trategy.

I n

t his c ase i t i s r epresented

b y

t he

r esearch a rea. 2 .

T he

s easonal

t erritory - a z one p roviding a s et o f

c omple-

m entary r esources e xploited d uring a p articular s tage i n t he a nnual r ound. T he s easonal t erritory i s e quated h ere w ith a p lant e cological z one o r g roup o f 9

z ones,

e xamples

i ncluding t he

H ighland S ourveld, t he C oastal B elt, a nd ' Ngongoni V eld ( Acocks 1 975, M oll 1 976). 3 .

T he s ite

t he V alley B ushveld a nd

t erritory - " The t erritory s urrounding a s ite w hich

I s e xploited h abitually b y t he i nhabitants o f t he s ite." ( Higgs 1 975: i x). I ts s ize i s g overned b y t he d iminishing r eturns f or e nergy e xpenditure i nvolved i n t he e xploitation o f r esources t hat a re b eyond a c ertain d istance f rom t he d istance f actor ( Higgs & J arman 1 975): " This

i s

a s tatement o f

t he

t he m aximum d istance o ver w hich

I s f easible t o w alk f rom a g iven s ite r esource, u sually e xpressed i n t erms o f i mpediments o f

s ite,

t ime-

i t

t o e xploit a g iven t ime t o a ccommodate

t opography o r v egetation." ( Bailey 1 976:8)

T he b oundaries o f

t he s ite

t erritory f or h unter-gatherers a re u sually

t aken a s b eing t wo h ours w alk, r adius c ircle a round t he s ite.

i n i deal c onditions a t en

T he b ulk o f c riticism o f s ite c atchment a nalysis w eaknesses s eems

k ilometer

h as f ocussed o n

i n i ts m ethodology r ather t han t he u nderlying m odel.

p articularly

a pplicability

t o

t o b e

t he c ase i n r elation

s edentary a gricultural

t o

t he

s ocieties

T his

t echniques'

( e.g.

F lannery

1 976), a nd t hrough t he u se o f e thnographic e vidence s howing t he e xploitation o f a reas l ying o utside a v illage's t heoretical c atchment ( e.g. J ackson 1 972 c ited i n H odder & O rton 1 976). O ne m ust a gree w ith R oper ( 1979) who, r eferring t o t he 1 0 k ilometer o r t wo-hour p arameter,

i dentifies

t he:

..almost m echanical u se o f t hese f igures f or d elineating t he a nalytic t erritory...as o ne o f t he m ajor p roblems w ith s ite c atchment a nalysis."

( Roper 1 979:133)

O ne c riticism m ade o f t he t echniques' u se f or h unter-gatherer s ociet ies i s t he d ifficulty o f a ccurately r econstructing p ast e nvironments o ver l ong t ime p eriods. A s i ndicated a bove i t i s f elt t hat t ime d epth

i s

o ffset

t his d rawback .

s ufficiently

r estricted

i n

t he p resent s tudy

t o

l argely

D escription o f s ite t erritories t hus w ill n ot n ecessarily b e s ubject t o a rbitrary s ize p arameters, s o t hat, f or e xample, a s ite 1 1 k ilometers f rom t he s ea w ill b e r egarded a s h aving a s m uch p otential f or c oastal e xploitation a s o ne 1 0 k ilometers i nland. S uch a nalysis i s i ntended t o p rovide a m ore d etailed p icture o f t he r esources a vailable f rom a p articular s ite w ithin t he g eneral c ontext o f i ts e cological l ocation. I t b ecomes e specially r elevant w here a s ite i s l ocated a bove,

w ithin r each o f m ore t han o ne e cological i t

i s

" ...the

c ontended m ajor

d eterminant

o f s ite l ocation

d istribution."

a nd

z one.

A s

s tated

t hat:

t hat n on-economic f actors

i s

r esource

( Jochim 1 976:119)

s uch a s:

1 0

" ...defence, n earness t o o ther s ites w ith w hich s ocial e xist a nd n earness t o r outes o r r eligious c entres."

t ies

( Hodder & O rton 1 976:234) a re

o f s econdary i mportance

c hiefly, f or e xample, e xploitation p otential. I t

i s n ot c laimed

t o h unter-gatherers a nd c ome

i n c hoosing b etween s ites o f

i nto

p lay

s imilar r esource

t hat r esource e xploitation s trategies c an

b e

d educed d irectly f rom t he r elative p roportions o f d ifferent v egetat ion t ypes i n t he s ite t erritory. T he s ite t erritory p rovides a p icture o f t he p otential r esource b ase o f a s pecific s ite t hat c an t hen b e v iewed a gainst d ata r elating t o k nown r esource u se. T he a ppearance o f r esources o riginating f rom o utside t he s ite t erritory a mong t he e xcavated d ata d oes n ot i nvalidate t he m odel - i t f ocuses a ttention o n t hose r esources a nd d emands f urther i nvestigation o f t heir

r ole

a nd p rocurement.

S imilarly t he a bsence o f

a

r esource

k nown t o h ave b een i mportant o r r eadily a vailable t o p rehistoric p opulations f rom t he a rchaeological r ecord o f a s ite r equires e xplan ation, b e i t p reservation f actors, o r t hrough t he i dentification o f a c omplementary s ite f rom which t hat r esource w as

e xploited.

S o while t he p rimary c riterion i n t he s election o f s ites f or d etailed i nvestigation i s t heir e cological l ocation, o ften a n umber o f s ites m ay e xist s haring s imilar t erritories a nd f urther s election m ust b e m ade. F actors s uch a s c onditions o f p reservation a nd d epth o f d eposit c ome i nto p lay h ere: " For, a lthough i t i s g enerally t he c ase t hat p referred s ites a re h ome-bases o r c losely a ssociated w ith h ome-base c lusters, t ransitory s ites m ay a lso c ome t o b e r epeatedly v isited o ver m any h undreds o f y ears, a lthough n ever o ccup ied f or m ore t han a f ew d ays i n a y ear.. . But, i n g eneral, i t i s a ssumed t hat t here i s a f airly b etween e conomic f unction a nd d ensity

c lose c orrelation o f o ccupation a s

r eflected i n q uantity o f a rchaeological r emains a nd d urat ion o f d epositional s equences." ( Bailey 1 975:19) A h ierarchical d istinction m ay t hus b e m ade b etween h ome-base s ites a nd s atellite c amps, t he l atter u sually o ccupied b y s maller g roups f or s horter p eriods a nd o ften a ssociated w ith s pecific a ctivities ( Jochim 1 976, G amble 1 976). A s B inford ( 1982) h as p ointed o ut, a p articular s ite m ay i n f act c hange i ts s tatus f rom h ome-base t o s atellite c amp a s a p roduct o f t he m obility o f i ts o ccupants. S uch a s hort-term c hange w ould b e u nlikely t o b e a rchaeologically v isible. W hile s ites o f b oth t ypes i s o n t he e xamination o f

a re r epresented i n t his w ork, t he e mphasis t he m ore v oluminous, r epeatedly o ccupied

s ites w hich a re a ssumed t o b e c apable o f g enerating m ore i nformation a s t o t he e conomic o rganization o f t he i nhabitants t han a re s mall t ransitory c amps,

w ith t heir u sually p oor q uality o f

p reservation a nd

s mall q uantity o f d ata. T he ( apparent) a bsence o f p referred, r epeate dly o ccupied s ites f rom a p articular e cological z one o r z ones w ould i n

i tself

d iffered

s uggest

t hat

i n s ome w ay

t he e xploitation a nd s ettlement o f

t hat s hould b e s usceptible

1

t hat

t o e xplanation.

z one

4 .

D EFINITIONS A

n umber o f

t erms u sed i n

t his w ork r equire d efinition,

e ither

b ecause t hey a re p eculiar t o s outhern A frican a rchaeology a nd t hus m ay n ot b e f amiliar t o r eaders e lsewhere, o r b ecause o f a g eneral i mprecision i n t heir n ormal u se. T he s cope o f t his s ection i s r es tricted

t o

t hose

t erms

a ppearing f airly r egularly

a nd

d efinitions

f or m ore r estricted t erminology a re p rovided i n t he b ody o f t he t ext w here a ppropriate. I t s hould b e e mphasised t hat, w hile i n m ost c ases d efinitions f ollow s tandard a rchaeological p ractice i n s outhern A frica, t hey a re i ntended a bove a ll t o a pply t o t he u se o f a t erm i n t he c urrent w ork. S AN T he B ushmen, d ing

w ord S an i s u sed i n p reference t o i ts p recedent e quivalent, t his a uthor f ollowing i ncreasingly c ommon f eeling i n r egar-

t he l atter a s: " ...out o f d ate a nd d erogatory." ( Mazel

T he s outhern S an r efers

t o

..click-speaking

1 981:28;

s ee a lso L ee 1 979:30)

t he:

h unter-gatherers w ho l ived i n

n ow L esotho a nd S outh A frica."

what

( Lewis-Williams

a nd d ifferentiates t hem f rom t he e xtant K alahari o r g roups s uch a s t he ! Kung a nd t he G /wi.

i s

1 981:5)

' northern'

S an

E COLOGICAL Z ONE T his t erm, a r u sed i n t his w ork, r epresents a n a rea o ffering a b roadly s imilar r ange o f r esources t o i ts i nhabitants, a nd i s p rimari ly s tructured b y c limate a nd v egetation. F or a nalytic p urposes i t i s d elineated a s e quivalent t o o ne o r m ore v egetation z ones ( Moll 1 976)

o r V eld T ypes

( Acocks

1 975),

d efined b y t he l atter a s a :

..unit o f v egetation w hose r ange o f v ariation i s s mall e nough t o p ermit t he w hole o f i t t o h ave t he s ame f arming p otentialities."

( 1975:1)

T hus a n e cological z one m ay,

a s

i n

t he c ase o f

t he H ighland S ourveld,

e quate w ith a s ingle v egetation t ype; o r, w here v egetation c hanges w ithin a s mall a rea, m ay e quate w ith t wo o r m ore t ypes, a s i n t he c ase o f t he N atal m idlands w here v alley b ottoms a nd t he r idges b etw een t he o f

t hem f eature d istinct V eld t ypes, e .g. t he V alley B ushveld a nd ' Ngongoni V eld ( Acocks 1 975). T his e ffect a lso a pplies i n s ome

t he d eep r iver v alleys o f " The

t ransition

t he D rakensberg f oothills:

f rom v alley b ushland

t o

t he

A fromontane

v egetation o n t he s purs a bove i s o ften v ery a brupt, a nd m ay t ake p lace o ver a d istance o f a f ew h undred m eters." ( White 1 978:499) T hus

t he

o ffering

i ntention c ontrasting

i s

t o d elimit z ones a cross

t he

r esearch

r esource e xploitation o pportunities 1 2

t o

a rea t heir

p rehistoric i nhabitants. R ADIOCARBON D ATES A ll ( B.P.), c omm.). e xists

d ates

i n

t his w ork a re q uoted

i n

y ears

b efore

p resent

t hat i s 1 950, a nd u se a h alf-life o f 5 568 y ears ( Vogel p ers. A s mall s cale c alibration c urve f or t he l ast 5 00 y ears f or t he s outhern H emisphere, a nd c alibrated A .D. d ates a re

g iven f or r eadings f alling w ithin t hat p eriod, b ased o n t he p ublished g raph ( Lerman e t a l. 1 970, V ogel 1 970). A t able o f r elevant r adioc arbon d ates f rom N atal a nd E astern L esotho i s i ncluded a s A ppendix 3 . L ATE S TONE A GE A lso r endered a s L ater S tone A ge,

a bbreviated

t o L SA ,

t he o rigi-

n al u se o f t his t erm, d elineating a s tage i n s outhern A frican p reh istory b roadly e quivalent t o t he U pper P alaeolithic/Mesolithic o f E urope ( Goodwin & v an R iet L owe 1 929) r emains g enerAlly a ccepted. T he t erm i s u sed h erein t o r efer t o l ate U pper P leistocene a nd H oloc ene l ithic i ndustries i n s outhern A frica a nd c arries n o s pecific t echnological o r t ypological p resumptions. S MITHFIELD N

R iet

T he t erm L owe i n

S mithfield N s tems f rom t he w ork o f G oodwin a nd V an t he 1 930's ( see C hapter 4 f or d iscussion a nd r efe-

r ences), a nd, a s i s m ade c lear i n t he t ext, t he t raditional t erminol ogy i s r egarded a s i nappropriate a nd i nadequate f or t he s tudy o f t he h ighly v ariable a ssemblages t hat a re t he c oncern o f t his w ork. A ssemblages f rom s outhern N atal p reviously d escribed b y a n umber o f c ultural t erms, i ncluding W ilton, S mithfield C a nd S mithfield B a s w ell a s S mithfield ' 7 , a re r egarded b y t his w riter a s b eing b etter u nderstood a s a ctivity v ariations w ithin a s ingle i ndustrial c omplex. T he d esignation ' (Natal) t erminal L ate S tone A ge' i s p referred f or t his i ndustry, w hich i s c haracterised b y t he p resence, i n v ariable p roportions, o f t hree m ajor t ool c lasses : s mall c onvex s crapers, b acked b lades a nd s egments, a nd n otched s crapers. O ther t ools p res ent, u sually i n r elatively s mall n umbers, i nclude r eamers, b ore rs, p ressure-flaked p oints, p alettes a nd b ored s tones. S TONE ARTEFACT T YPES U nless o therwise i ndicated, d efinitions o f a rtefact t ypes u sed i n t his w ork f ollow t hose o f S ampson ( 1972); d etailed d efinitions a re p rovided f or t he e xceptions a nd f or t he m ore i mportant t ools o ccurr ing. 1 .

C ONVEX S CRAPERS

- c omprising

t he f ollowing s ub-types:

1 A :

E ndscrapers

t he

F lakes o r b lades w ith p art o f t he m argin r etouched, u sually o n d orsal s urface, t o f orm a c onvex s craper e dge. R are s pecimens

m ay h ave t he e dge t rimmed s traight o r e ven s lightly c oncave. R etouch i s n ormally o n t he t erminal m argin, b ut m ay e xtend a long o ne o r b oth l ateral m argins, a nd i n s ome c ases a round t he e ntire m argin. T his

1 3

t ype

i ncludes

t he f ollowing S ampson

t ypes:

e nd-scrapers', ' convex s crapers', ' small c ular s crapers.' F or e xamples s ee b elow : F ig. 5 :15, a -h . 1 B :

' end-scrapers',

' small

c onvex s crapers' a nd ' cirF ig. 5 :9, a -j; F ig. 5 :12;

S idescrapers F lakes o r b lades,

u sually l arger

t han i n 1 A,

w ith r etouch o f

t he

l ong a xis, a nd i n s ome c ases o f a djacent m argins, t o f orm a c onvex o r s traight s craper e dge, u sually o n t he d orsal s urface. T he t rimmed l ong a xis m ay b e t he t erminal m argin, i n s ide-struck f lakes, o r a l ateral m argin. T he t ype i ncludes S ampson's f our s idescraper s ubt ypes. F or e xamples s ee : a -c; F ig. 1 8, b -c, e . 1 C :

F ig.

5 :11,

a -b;

C able e t a l.

1 980,

F ig.

1 6,

S craper f ragments

T his t ype i ncludes b roken ( or d eliberately s napped) f ragments o f t ypes 1 A a nd 1 B, a nd t hus i ncludes b oth b roken e ndscrapers a nd t he ‘ Sampson t ype ' sidescraper f ragments'. 2 :

B ACKED B LADES W hole

o r

s napped b ladelets o r m icro-blades w ith m ore

o r

l ess

c ontinuous b lunting r etouch a long o ne m argin p arallel t o t he l ong a xis. T he b acked e dge m ay m eet t he u nmodified m argin i n a p oint. T he u nmodified e dge m ay i n s ome e xamples s how s igns o f u tilisation. T his t ype i ncludes t he S ampson t ype o f t he s ame n ame a s w ell a s h is s traight-backed p oint' t ype. F or e xamples s ee F ig. 5 :8, m -p ; F ig. 5 :9, k -p; F ig. 5 :11, f -h. 3 :

S EGMENTS S mall,

s napped b ladelets w ith o ne m argin b lunted,

o ften w ith a

c rushing r etouch , t o f orm a c onvex b acked e dge o pposite a u sually u nmodified s traight, o r s lightly c oncave e dge. T he p lan-form r anges f rom s emi-circular t o m ore o r l ess t riangular. T he t ype i s e quival ent t o S ampson's ' backed c rescents', a nd f erred t o i ts p recedent s ynonym ' crescents' p les: 4 :

F ig.

5 :4,

hi;

F ig.

5 :8,

r -w ;

F ig.

t he t erm s egments i s p re( Deacon J . 1 972). E xam-

5 :9,

r -w .

B ACKED P IECES

W hole o r b roken f lakes, s howing b acking r etouch a long o ne o r m ore m argins, b ut n ot f alling i nto t ypes 2 o r 3 . M ay i nclude t he S ampson t ype ' concave-backed f ragments', u nidentifiable p ieces o f t ypes 2 o r 3 , a s w ell a s l aneous b acking r etouch. 5 :

l arger f lakes

o r b roken p ieces w ith m iscel-

T RIMMED a nd/or P RESSURE-FLAKED P OINTS B lades

a nd

s mall

p oint, i nvasively o r b oth s urfaces.

f lakes w ith t heir l ong a xes

c onverging

t o

a

t rimmed o r p ressure-flaked o ver p art o r a ll o f o ne T anged a nd b arbed t ypes, w ith s ingle o r d ouble

b arbs, o ccur. S pecimens w ith o nly t he l ateral m argins t rimmed p oint a lso o ccur. T his t ype i s o f v ery i nfrequent o ccurrence.

t o a F or

e xamples

F ig.

s ee :

M aggs

& W ard

1 980, 1 4

F ig.

1 1,

2 1-22;

C arter 1 978,

1 4, 6 :

2 & 5 . N OTCHED S CRAPERS " ...flakes

o r

b lades

c haracterised b y o ne, i ng e dges. T he e dge u tilised, a nd t he b ulbar s urface." T his t ype i s ' spokeshaves'

o r c hunks

o f

v ariable

d imensions

o r m ore, m ore-or-less c oncave w orki s s teep, s tep-flaked a nd/or h eavily r etouch m ay b e f rom t he d orsal o r t he ( Cable e t a l. 1 980 :6)

a lso r eferred t o a s ' adzes' ( e.g. M azel 1 981) ( Maggs & W ard 1 980), t he l atter t erm p robably

a nd b est

e xpressing t heir l ikely f unction. T he o riginal t erm h as b een r et ained h ere i n t he i nterests o f c ontinuity. O ther t erms a pplied a t o ne t ime o r a nother t o t his t ype i nclude ' strangulated', ' hollow' a nd ' hooked' s crapers. F or e xamples s ee F ig. 5 :8, k -1; F ig. 5 :11, c -d; F ig. 5 :15, k -m ; F ig. 5 :16, c -g. 7 :

B ACKED A DZES T hick f lakes w ith o ne m argin b lunted b y c oarse,

a brupt b acking;

t he o pposed m argin m ay s how u tilisation s cars o n t he d orsal a nd/or b ulbar s urface. I f m ade o n a p ebble t he b acking m ay b e r eplaced b y c ortex. T he S ampson t ype h as t he s ame n ame. E xamples: C able e t a l. 8 :

1 980,

F ig.

1 6,

f ;

F ig.

1 7,

c .

B ORERS F lakes

v erging

o r b lades w ith a brupt m arginal

t o a p oint,

t rimming a t

w hich h as c lear s igns o f w ear.

a s d rills o r a wls, e quivalent t o t he S ampson e xamples s ee: C able e t a l. 1 980, F ig. 1 6, g -h . 9 :

t ype

t he

t ip

c on-

O therwise k nown ' borers'.

F or

R EAMERS

L arge e longated p ieces t rimmed w ith d eep, i rregular s cars t o a t riangular c ross-section w ith a r ounded t ip; t he t hree m argins a t t he t ip m ay s how a brasion c aused b y r otary m otion, a nd i n s ome c ases a re s moothed a way, a nd i t i s a ssumed t hat r eamers w ere u sed i n t he m anuf acture o f b ored s tones ( Carter 1 978). t ips, m ay b e i ncluded. F or e xample s ee: 1 0:

B roken e xamples, e specially C arter 1 978, F ig. 1 5, 2 .

B URINS T hese

t ools a re v ery i nfrequent i n N atal L ate S tone A ge

b lages; s ub-types m ay b e p resent b ut a re n ot i solated. s ee: C able e t a l. 1 980, F ig. 1 7, f . 1:

a ssem-

F or e xample

B ORED S TONES L arge,

r ound,

u sually

m ore o r l ess s pherical,

s tones w ith

a

c entral h ole p ecked a nd d rilled o ut a nd a s moothed s urface, u sed t o w eight d igging s ticks. S ee F ig. 3 :1. C omplete e xamples r arely f ound s helters, u sually i solated f inds ( see C hapter 6 ).

1 5

1 2:

M ISCELLANEOUS R ETOUCHED P IECES

F lakes o r b lades w ith d eliberate, o verlapping m arginal r etouch n ot o therwise c lassifiable a s a f ormal t ool t ype. U TILISED 1 3:

O UTILS

C AIL dS

F lakes w ith a s traight o r c oncave e dge a t t he p roximal a nd/or d istal e nd, s econdary f lakes h aving b een r emoved b y a ( bipolar) c rushing a ction f rom t he d orsal a nd/or v entral s urface t o p roduce a c hisel-like e dge. A lso k nown a s ' pieces 6 squill6es' ( Deacon, J . 1 972:14), a nd f requently i nterpreted a s r esidual m icro-blade c ores ( e.g. D eacon J . 1 972, M azel 1 980:101), t hese p ieces a re r are. E quiv alent t o S ampson's P hase 2 t ype o f t he s ame n ame. 1 4:

U TILISED P IECES

F lakes o r b lades w ith m arginal u tilisation s cars o r s poradic r etouch i nsufficient t o s ubstantially m odify t he s hape o r f orm o f t he e dge. I ncludes t he S ampson ' trimmed/utilised b lades'. 1 5:

t ypes

' trimmed/utilised

F lat

s tone

s labs w ith s moothed e dges,

o ften

s howing

( Carter 1 978,

c utting

F ig.

T his

t ype

m ay

i nclude r iver p ebbles o n

w hich

t he

' pecking'

M ULLERS t hought

G ROUNDSTONE P IECES F ragments

1 9:

1 ).

i nsufficiently

H eavily w orn a nd s moothed s tones, u sually s ub-spherical, t o h ave b een u sed a s u pper g rindstones. 1 8:

1 5,

H AMMERSTONES

a brasion c haracteristic o f u se a s a k napping h ammer i s d istinct c ertainly t o d emonstrate s uch u se. 1 7:

a nd

P ALETTES

m arks a nd/or o chre s taining o n t he s urface 1 6:

f lakes'

s howing g rinding,

s moothing w ear.

L OWER G RINDSTONES F or e xample,

s ee P late 6 .

WASTE D espite

t he

p roportion o f I saac 1 980:98);

t itle o f

t his c ategory,

i t i s r ecognised

t hat

a

t hese a rtefacts w ere i n a ll p robability u sed ( e.g. h owever, i n t he a bsence o f m icro-wear s tudies t o t est

t his p roposition, d istinguishing t he b y-products o f t ool m anufacture f rom p ieces t hat w ere a ctually u sed, w here u tilisation s cars a re n ot p resent, i s n ot a f easible e xercise.

1 6

2 0:

C ORES T his

t ype

i s d ominated b y i nformal,

m ulti-platform f lake c ores;

s ub-types o ccuring r elatively i nfrequently i nclude s ingle- a nd o pposed-platform c ores a nd d iscoid c ores. 2 1:

r ejuvenating p ieces,

i ncluding f or e xample c ore

t ablets.

C HUNKS U nmodified,

i nclude, c ores. 2 3:

c ores,

C ORE T RIMMERS C ore

2 2:

b lade

n on-flake

p ieces

n ot c lassifiable a s

p articularly i n b rittle r aw m aterials,

c ores;

m ay

p ieces o f s hattered

W HOLE F LAKES U nbroken,

u nmodified f lakes a nd b lades.

L ength/breadth m easure-

m ents w ere t aken w ith t he s triking p latform a t t he b ottom , w ith l ength t he m aximum d istance f rom t he p latform t o t he d istal e nd, a nd b readth t he m aximum w idth o f t he p iece a t r ight a ngles t o t he l ength m easurement. 2 4:

B ROKEN F LAKES

B roken, u nmodified c hips o f s tone.

f lakes a nd b lades a nd

t iny,

u nclassifiable

P ROJECTILE P OINTS T his i s a g ross t ool c ategory c ombining t ypes 2 , 3 , 4 & 5 a bove; t he c ombination i s i ntended t o f acilitate i nter-site c ompar19ons. T he t ypes a re a ssumed t o r epresent v ariations o n a s ingle f unctional t heme, t hat o f p roviding t he t ips a nd b arbs o f c omposite a rrowheads. F or f urther d iscussion o f t his c ategory a nd i ts f unction s ee C hapter 7 b elow . E ndscraper r etouch p ositions T hese ( 1972),

h ave

which i s

b een

t aken a ccording

i llustrated

i n F ig.

1 7

t o

1 :2.

t he m ethod

o f

D eacon,

J .

F igure

1 :2 E NDSCRAPERS:

R ETOUCH POSITIONS M EASURING D IAGRAM ( After D eacon,

a )

L ong,

narrow s craper,

squares b )

S hort,

1 ,2 w ide

squares

J .

1 972)

30 mm maximum d imension

( length),

r etouch i n

and 3 . s craper,

1 5 mm maximum d imension

( breadth),

r etouch

i n

4 ,5 a nd 6 .

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 .

m a

a

M um m1

MBE

c )

Double scraper, squares

d )

N .R.

1 ,2,3,7,8

A symmetrical squares T he

1 2 mm maximum d imension

( length),

retouch

i n

a nd 9 .

s craper,

1 8 mm maximum d imension

( breadth),

r etouch i n

2 ,3,5 and 6 .

largest parameter

( length or breadth)

square.

1 8

d efines

t he

s ize

of t he

C HAPTER T WO - T HE R ESEARCH A REA 1 .

I NTRODUCTION T his

c hapter

d escribes a nd e valuates

t hose c haracteristics

o f

s outhern N atal t hat w ould h ave a ffected, d irectly o r i ndirectly, t he l ives o f i ts p rehistoric i nhabitants. E xcept w here s pecific r efere nce i s m ade t o d ifferences b efore a nd a fter E uropean o ccupation o f t he a rea, s ent-day

a s i n t he s ections d ealing w ith f auna a nd f lora, s ituation i s r egarded a s b eing o f d irect r elevance

t he p ret o t hat

o f t he l ast 3 ,500 y ears. N o r igid d efinition o f t he b oundaries o f t he r esearch a rea h as b een a dopted, s ince t he o nly i ntrinsically r elevant p arameters t o a pply i n t he c ontext o f h unter-gatherers w ould s eem t o b e n atural b arriers t o h uman m ovement. W ith t he o bvious e xception o f t he c oast, n o s uch s ignificant b arriers e xist i n s outhe rn N atal, a bundant h istorical e vidence b eing a vailable o f r egular c rossing o f t he D rakensberg e scarpment b y S an g roups ( e.g. V innicombe 1 976, W right 1 971). F or m apping a nd l ogistic p urposes t he r esearch a rea h as b een d efined a s t hat p art o f N atal e xtending f rom t he c oast t o t he L esotho b order a long t he h igh D rakensberg, a nd l ying b etween t he C ape P rovince/Transkei b order i n t he s outh a nd a l ine f rom D urban t o G iant's C astle i n t he n orth . T his a rea e ncompasses t he c atchments o f a ll t he m ajor r ivers o f s outhern N atal, a nd i s d ifferentiated f rom t he T ugela R iver c atchment t o t he n orth ( Fig. 2 :1). T he r esearch a rea s o d efined i s 1 5,000 k m. 2 i n a rea, r anges f rom 1 50 km. b road a t t he c oast t o 7 0 k m. a long t he L esotho b order, w hich i s 1 60 k m . f rom t he c oast. T he r esearch a rea t hus c omprises t hat p art o f N atal w here t he D rakensberg m ost n early a pproaches t he c oast, a nd t his i s r eflected i n t he t opography o f t he a rea. T he i nfluence o f g eology a nd g eom orphology o n t he s urface c haracter o f s outhern N atal i s p rofound, a nd s ome d escription o f b oth i s o f i mportance i n u nderstanding t he e cological c onstraints a nd o pportunities a ffecting t he i nhabitants. G eomorphology, t he d escription a nd f ormation-history o f t he t opog raphy o f s outhern N atal, i s o f p articular r elevance s ince, a s w ill b e f urther d iscussed b elow, a ltitude i s t he m ajor s ingle d eterminant o f v egetation t ype i n t he r esearch a rea. O ther m ajor c ontributors t o t he n ature o f t he v arious e cological z ones p resent, n otably c limate a nd s oils, a re a lso d iscussed a nd a d escription o f t ypes a nd t heir f ormative c haracteristics i s g iven. 2 .

t he

v egetation

G EOLOGY

D iscussion i n t his s ection w ill b e c onfined t o t he d escription o f m ajor s tages i n t he g eological h istory o f s outhern N atal, a nd t he f ull d istribution a nd e xtent o f f ormations o ccurring o n a w ider s cale i s n ot d ealt w ith . F ig. 2 :2 d etails t he g eological f ormations i dent ified

i n

T he

t he r esearch a rea a nd

t heir d istribution.

o ldest g eological f ormations

r epresented i n s outhern

N atal

a re r eferred t o t he B asement C omplex o r N atal M obile B elt ( Truswell 1 977) a nd a re a t l east o f P reCambrian a ge. T hese r ocks c onsist p redominantly o f g ranite a nd g neisses ( Du T oit 1 954), w ith b oth i gneous a nd m etamorphic c harnockitic r ocks ( Truswell 1 977) o ccurring w ithin t he B asement C omplex i n s outhern N atal. B asement r ocks a re r estricted i n e xposure t o t he c oastal h interland a long t he a xis o f 1 9

2 0

t he N atal m onocline

( see b elow).

T he g reater p art o f s outhern A frica i s u nderlain b y r ocks o f t he C ape a nd K arroo s ystems, w ith C ape s ystem m aterial f orming t he s outhw estern, s outhern a nd i n p art n orth-eastern f ringes o f t he m ain o utc rop o f K arroo s trata. T he o lder C ape s ystem i s m ade u p o f t hree s eries o f r ocks, a lthough i n t he r esearch a rea o nly t he b asal T able M ountain S eries ( TMS) o r T able M ountain G roup i s p resent. o f t he C ape s ystem i s p robably o f U pper O rdovician a ge

T he b ase ( Truswell

1 977) a nd i n N atal t hese r ocks o verlie u nconformably t he B asement C omplex. T MS r ocks a re m ainly c oarse a nd m assive s andstones a nd q uartzites a nd r ange i n m aximum t hickness f rom 1 200m . i n t he T ranskei t o a bout 6 00m. a t D urban, l ess t han 1 00 m . " Coastal

N atal

i s

a lthough n ormal p reserved

i n

t hicknesses a re

t he p rocess o f b eing v igorously

d is-

s ected b y e rosion. T he T able M ountain G roup t ends t o f orm r agged p lateaux a bove d eeply i ncised r iver s ystems t hat h ave c ut d own i nto t he r ocks o f t he N atal M obile B elt." ( Truswell 1 977:121) T he

K arroo

s ystem c overs m ore

t han h alf

t he s urface

o f

S outh

A frica ( Wellington 1 955) a nd i s a lso t he m ost w idely r epresented s ystem i n t he r esearch a rea ( Fig. 2 :2). T he K arroo s ystem i s s ubd ivided i nto f our, w ith t he D wyka s eries a t t he b ase f ollowed b y t he E cca, s hows

B eaufort a nd S tormberg s eries ( Du T oit 1 954). F ossil e vidence t hat t he K arroo s ystem w as f ormed b etween t he U pper C arboni-

f erous a nd t he L ower J urassic, f rom a bout 3 00 m illion y ears m illion y ears a go ( Truswell 1 970). T he b asal s eries,

t he D wyka, Is a g lacial

t o

1 80

t illite ( consolidated

m oraine m aterial) l ying o n a s urface s triated b y t he C arboniferous i ce-sheets ( Du T oit 1 954, W ellington 1 955). T he t illite i s u sually b lue-greenish i n c olour,

s oft,

c ompact a nd f ine-grained,

a nd i n t he

B oulder B eds c ontaining p ebbles a nd b oulders o f r ocks d eriving p re-Karroo f ormations. T he

E cca

s eries

i s d ivided i nto

f rom

t hree l ithological u nits

s isting o f s edimentary r ocks d erived f rom o utside t he p resent o f t he s ubcontinent. T he E cca i s o f P ermian a ge ( Truswell

c onl imits 1 977).

T he L ower E cca S hales a re d ark b lue o r g reen f issile s hales ( Du T oit 1 954) a nd a re o verlain b y t he M iddle o r C oal M easures E cca. T he l atter i s c haracterised b y b ands o f s andstone a nd g rits a lternating w ith s andy s hales o f g rey-black c olouring a nd, a s t he n ame i mplies, c oal s eams. T he U pper E cca S hales a re, l ike t he L ower E cca, s oft b lueish s hales a nd a re t hinner a nd m ore l imited i n d istribution i n t he r esearch a rea t han t he u nderlying u nits. O verlying f ossil t o

g rounds

t he E cca i s

t he e arly T riassic.

p urple

t he B eaufort s eries,

d ivided o n r eptilian

i nto f ive z ones w hich e xtend f rom t he m iddle

P ermian

T he B eaufort c onsists o f a s equence o f

r ed,

o r g reen c oloured s hales a nd m udstones w ith i nterbedded

y el-

l owish s andstones. A s c an b e s een f rom F ig. 2 :2 B eaufort r ocks o utc rop i nland i n s outhern N atal f orming t he f oothills o f t he o verlying D rakensberg v olcanics. T he

S tormberg

s eries

f orms

t he m ountains o f 2 1

L esotho

a nd

t he

02 1 1 1 1M un ie l l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Vi ll , 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1N 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 11

»1 11 . 1. 1 11 11 . 1 71 1

,

Ac om m u mn u m mu r iedmi l mi T inn i gt e. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 11 1 1 1 9 1 1 1• 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 / no mm u m n we in

S .NATAL G eo logy km i

h

i

n

i ä_

B asa l t

_

Durban

I

I xopo

P

S ands ton es ,S ha les

BEAUFORT S ERIES

AO

e • 7

P S •P or t S hepa tone D

J

STORMBFi tG S ER IES

\

7 : 1

D W Y K AS E R I E S ECCA SER IES

TABLE MOUNTA IN S ER IES

b

lj

P ietermar itzburg

+

S S co t tburgh

2 2

BASEMENT COMPLEX RECENT

N atal

D rakensberg a nd s edimentary a nd v olcanic

p hases c an b e d istin-

g uished. T he o ldest s ubdivision o f t he S tormberg, t he M olteno F ormat ion, i s m ade u p o f m ore o r l ess c oarse-grained s andstones, g rey-blue s hales a nd o ccasional c oal s eams. T he F ormation t hins d rastically t o t he n orth a nd i s a pparently n ot p resent i n t he n orthern D rakensberg. T he o verlying u nit, f ormerly c alled t he R ed B eds, n ow k nown a s t he E lliot F ormation, ( Truswell 1 977) c onsists o f r ed m udstones a nd s hales w ith r are s andstone b eds. T his f ormation a lso t hins t owards t he n orth. A mong C larens F ormation, b asalts

c apping

t he m ost d istinctive o f t he S tormberg r ocks i s t he w hich f orms a p rominent k rantz o r c liff b elow t he

t he D rakensberg m ountains.

" The e arlier a nd d ecidedly m ore e vocative n ame o f t his u nit w as t he C ave S andstone: s hallow c aves a nd o verhangs a re f requently d eveloped i n i t, n otably a t t he b ase. T hese o ften s erved a s B ushmen s helters a nd t heir s mooth w alls a re q uite c ommonly d ecorated w ith p aintings." ( Truswell 1 977:149) T he

C larens

F ormation

y ellow-white, a nd i s m ally a bout 6 0-90 m .

i s

o f v ery

f ine-grained

s andstone,

u sually

a t l east i n p art o f a eolian o rigin. I t i s n ort hick a lthough i n p laces i t r eaches a t hickness

o f n early 3 00 m . T he f inal s ubdivision o f t he

K arroo S ystem.

t he S tormberg s eries c aps

t he r ocks

o f

T he D rakensberg v olcanics a re f ormed o f a r apid

s eries o f b asalt l ava-flows, a nd t uffaceous h orizons a t t he b ase a re t he o nly i ndications o f e xplosive v olcanic a ctivity. T he t ime p eriod r epresented

b y

y ears, f rom C retaceous.

t he d eposition o f

t he b asalts

i s a bout

1 00

m illion

t he l ate T riassic t hrough t he J urassic i nto t he e arly T he b ase o f t he v olcanics h as b een d ated t hrough p otas-

s ium-argon t o 1 87 ±7 m illion y ears ( Fitch & M iller 1 971) i n L esot ho. A mygdales, g as-filled c avities n ow c ontaining s econdary m inera ls s uch a s c halcedony a nd c alcite, o ccur i n t he l ower b asalts, a nd c halcedony a nd o ther c rypto-crystalline s ilicas w ere i mportant s ourc es o f l ithic r aw m aterial f or L ate S tone A ge p eoples. T he b asalts a re g enerally h orizontally b edded a nd b efore e rosion w ould h ave f ormed a g reat p lateau. D rakensberg E scarpment. R oughly

I t

i s

c ontemporaneous

t hese r ocks

t o

t hat a re r etreating a s

t he D rakensberg v olcanics w ere

t he

t he

K arroo d olerites. " The

K arroo

d olerites

r epresent a n e ven

m ore

w idespread

c ontemporaneous h ypabyssal p hase. W herever K arroo a re d eveloped b etween t he 2 6th a nd 3 3rd p arallels o f t ude t he s trata a re r iddled w ith d olerites." ( Truswell T hese

d olerites

o ccur e ither

i n s ills,

r ocks l ati-

1 970 :130)

p arallel w ith t he b edding o f

t he r ocks t hey h ave i ntruded, o r a s v ertical d ykes r unning a long f aults o r w eaknesses i n t he K arroo s trata. H ornfels, a c ommon l ithic r aw m aterial

i n L ate S tone A ge a ssemblages,

i s a s hale m etamorphosed

b y c ontact w ith t he d olerite. S ills r ange i n t hickness f rom t han 1 m . t o o ver 3 00 m , w hile d ykes a re u sually 2 -10 m t hick. d eterminations f or t he K arroo d olerites y ears ( Truswell 1 970). 2 3

r ange f rom 1 80-155

l ess A ge

m illion

F rom t he C retaceous o nwards t he s outhern A frican s ubcontinent a ssumed a pproximately i ts p resent o utline a nd t he p rocesses o f l ands cape e rosion a nd f ormation h ave b een o perating t o c reate t he r es earch a rea's m odern t opography. W ith t he e xception o f s mall a reas o f C retaceous m arine s ediments t hat o ccur s poradically a long t he s outh c oast a nd P liocene s andstones i n t he D urban a rea n o s ignific ant f urther g eological d eposition 3 .

t ook p lace i n

t he r esearch a rea.

G EOMORPHOLOGY T he

g reat

p lateau

o f c entral s outhern A frica

a nd

t he

a reas

m arginal t o i t f orm t he b asic s ubdivisions i n t he p hysiography o f t he s ubcontinent ( Wellington 1 955). T he r esearch a rea t hus f alls i nto t his m arginal a rea, s tretching f rom t he E scarpment t hat f orms t he e dge o f t he p lateau d own t o t he s ea. T opography i n s outhern N atal i s r ugged a nd t he l andscape r ises f rom t he I ndian o cean i n t he e ast t o t he c rest o f t he D rakensberg a t a bout 3 000 m eters a bove s ea l evel i n l ess t han 2 00 k ilometers. " There

i s...a f undamental d isharmony i n t he

t opography,

f or

whereas o utcrops o f t he g eological f ormations a re a ligned r oughly f rom n orth t o s outh, t he m ajor d rainages a nd i nterf luves r un c onsistently f rom w est t o e ast. S uch d isharmony e xpectably p roduces g reat r elief a nd d iversity o f s cenery." ( King 1 972:1) A

b rief

s urvey o f

t he f ormation-history o f

s urface o f s outhern N atal

i s u seful

t he

i n u nderstanding

p resent

l and-

t he a rea's

c om-

p lex t opography. O f o verriding i mportance i n t he g eomorphology N atal i s t he f eature k nown a s t he N atal M onocline:

o f

..the p rovince h as b een u plifted r epeatedly... a long t he l ine o f t he D rakensberg, whereas t he c oastal r egion h as a cted a s a h inge... T he e ntire p rovince h as t hus b een r epeatedly t ilted s eaward, o r s outheastward. t ilting i s t he N atal M onocline". T he

o riginal

f ormation

o f

T his s eaward ( King 1 972:v)

t he N atal M onocline a t

t he

t ime

o f

t he

b reak-up o f G ondwanaland w as a d ownwarping o f t he h orizontal K arroo f ormations e ast o f t he a xis o f t he m onocline, r emaining r oughly h oriz ontal t o t he w est. T he a xis w as d enuded o f t he K arroo b eds, e xposi ng t he B asement C omplex g ranites ( Fig.2:2) while s uccessively y ounge r f ormations ( TMS, D wyka, E cca) c rop o ut o n e ither s ide o f t he a xis. T he g eological p attern i s c omplicated b y e xtensive f aulting, w ith b lock f ractures

s liding s outheastward d own

t he m onoclinal f lexure.

S ubsequent t o t he c reation o f t he M onocline a nd i ts f aulting, u plifting a nd t ilting o ccurred o n a n umber o f

a ssociated o ccasions,

w ith t he m aximum u plift n ow t aking p lace a long t he D rakensberg w hile t he c oast a cted a s a h inge w ith l ittle c hange o f l evel. " ...the l ate r ejuvenations u pon r esponsible

f or

t he

t he m onocline a re p rimarily

f orm a nd a ttitude o f

m odern

N atal".

( King 1 972:37) T he w hich

m ost n otable e ffect o f i ncised

t his u plifting a nd

d eep g orges a nd b road 2 4

v alleys.

t ilting w as o n W here

t hese

r ivers e ast-

CONTOUR I NTERVAL: 3 048 m ( 1000 f t )

S ou th e rn N a ta l: T opog r aph y

2 5

f lowing r ivers c rossed s trata w ith c ontrasting r esistance t o e rosion e astward-facing s teps a re f ormed. T wo m ajor s carps, a t a bout 6 00 m eters a nd 1 200 m eters a bove s ea l evel, o ccur w idely i n t he r esearch a rea, f or e xample w est o f P ietermaritzburg. S o while t he r etreat o f t he s carps a nd t he g eology c ombine t o p roduce a t opography z oned r oughly p arallel t o t he c oast, t he r ivers, r unning o n t he m ost d irect c ourse t o t he s ea, l eave v alleys a nd t he i ntervening r idges r unning t ransversely t o t hese s teps ( King 1 967). L ooking, t hen, a t t he m odern l and-surface, t he m ountains o f t he D rakensberg, f orming t he s carp - t he z one o f m ost a ctive e rosion b elow t he s ummit o f a h illslope ( Truswell 1 970) - o f t he v olcanic p lain o f L esotho, m ay a lmost b e d escribed a s o ne-sided ( King 1 967). A s i ndicated a bove, t his p lateau-and-scarp t opography i s t ypical o f t he r esearch a rea, N atal d escending t o t he I ndian O cean i n a s eries o f s teps. B etween t he m ajor e ast-flowing r ivers, w hich a re c ausing t he r etreat t o t he w est o f t he e scarpment, p ediment s purs j ut o ut t o t he e ast f orming t he L ittle B erg. I n t he u pper r eaches o f t he r ivers, where g radients a re s teep a nd r ivers f ast-flowing, v alleys t end t o b e n arrow a nd s teep-sided, i nhibiting m ovement b etween r iver v alleys, which t end t o b roaden o ut a s t hey d escend i nto t he m idlands, w here l ong r eaches w ith s light g radients o ver t he h arder r ock t ypes c ombine w ith w aterfalls w here l ess r esistant f ormations a re c rossed. I n

t his

while

a rea d olerite

t he v alleys

t end

i ntrusions f orm t able m ountains t o b e b road a nd d eep,

a nd

k oppies,

w ith d olerite a nd

T MS

r idges b etween t hem, t he r ivers u sually e xhibiting i ncised a nd l oopi ng m eanders ( Truswell 1 970, K ing 1 967). I n

t he

c oastal

b elt

t he

t opography i s s till

m ore

v aried a nd

r ugged, w ith d eep, n arrow r iver v alleys c utting t hrough t he f aulted g ranites, T MS s andstones a nd D wyka a nd E cca f ormations o utcropping t here. T he a ptly-named V alley o f a T housand H ills, w est o f D urban, i s a n e xtreme e xample o f t he r ugged n ature o f t he c oastal h interland o n t he g ranites; m ore r olling a nd s mooth t errain o ccurs o n t he D wyka t illite, w hile t ablelands, s uch a s t he O ribi F lats, o ccur o n t he T MS s andstone ( King 1 941). T he c oastline i tself i s r elatively h omogenous a long t he N atal s outh c oast; t he g eneral p attern i s o f a s andy b each, w ith , i n m any p laces, r ocky o utcrops a nd e xposures i n t he i nter-tidal z one c arrying p opulations o f s hell-fish. T he b each i s b acked b y a b elt o f s and d unes, b ehind w hich t he l and i s s teep a nd c liff-like o r m ore g ently s loping, a ccording t o r ock t ype ( Wellington 1 955). T he m ouths o f a ll t he m ajor r ivers a re d rowned, s pits a nd b ars a cross t heir m ouths f orming t he l agoons w hich a re a t ypical f eature o f t he c oastline. T he c utting-back o f p rojecting h eadlands a nd t he f ormat ion o f b ay-bars a long t he d rowned c oastline h as r esulted i n p resent s traight a nd v irtually h arbourless n ature ( King 1 967). I t r esulting o riginal

i s

t hus

a pparent

t hat

i n u plifting a nd G ondwanaland l and

i ts

t he c ombination o f m onoclinal f lexures

t ilting,

f aulting a nd e rosion

s urface h as

p roduced

r elief t opography o f t he m odern r esearch a rea. i n r elief, b oth f rom c oast t o D rakensberg a nd

u pon

t he r ugged a nd

t he h igh

T he g reat c ontrasts b etween r iver v alleys

a nd t heir i ntervening r idges, h ave h ad a n i mportant i nfluence o n t he p re-sent e nvironment a nd v egetation a nd t hus o n t he c ontrasting o pportun-ities a vailable a cross s outhern N atal t o i ts p rehistoric i nhabitants.

2 6

4 .

S OILS

L ittle d etailed w ork, w ith t he e xception o f B eater's ( 1951) s urvey o f c oastal o r ' sugar b elt' s oils, h as b een p ublished o n t he s oils o f N atal. T he f ollowing b rief r eview i s b ased l argely o n t he w ork o f O rchard ( 1957) a nd W ellington ( 1955), b oth o f w hich a re d er ived m ainly f rom V an d er M erwe ( 1941). B y s outhern A frican s tanda rds t he s oil m ap o f N atal i s c omplex : " A c onsideration o f

t he e xtremely v aried s urface g eology o n

which i s s uperimposed e qually v aried r ainfall a nd e vap oration p atterns, t he w hole b eing s ubject t o a s teep a ltitude a nd t emperature g radient b etween t he D rakensberg a nd t he c oast, p rovides s oil m ap o f N atal".

a mple e xplanation f or t he i ntricate ( Orchard 1 957:12)

W hilst a c lose c onnection b etween s oil t ype a nd p arent r ock e xists i n m ost a reas t his i s p articularly t he c ase where s lopes a re s teep

a nd

b elt

t opography r ugged a nd s oils

s oils

t hus

i mmature.

i n g eneral a re g ley-like a nd p odsolic,

T he

m ostly

c oastal a

l ight

g reyish-brown t o s andy c lay l oam, a lthough c olour i s g reatly i nfluenc ed b y t he n ature o f t he p arent r ock. I mmediately i nland f rom t he c oastal b elt s oils a re s imilar, c haracterised b y s hallow g reyish s ands a nd s andy bar ns, l ow i n h umus c ontent d ue t o s heet e rosion a nd v eld b urning. While

m ost N atal

s oils

a re

f airly h eavily

l eached,

r educed

e vaporation i n t he ' Mist B elt' z one m eans t hat t he t ypical l ateritic s oils o f t hat a rea a re v ery h eavily l eached a nd p rone t o s evere e ros ion, e specially w hen o vergrazed. T hese s oils o ccur i n w est-central N atal, e xtending t o t he w est a s f ar a s U nderberg a nd t o M zimkulu i n t he s outh ( Fig. 2 :1). T hey c an b e d ivided i nto r ed a nd y ellow l ater itic e arths a nd l aten tes p roper ( Wellington 1 955), t he l atter f ormed o n w ell-Jrained s lopes i n a b elt b etween 1 000 a nd 1 500 m eters a bove

s ea

l evel.

d ominate a nd

O n l ess

s teep s lopes

t opsoil i s e asily e roded d ue

l ateritic r ed t o

e arths

p re-

t he f requent p resence o f

a c ompact s ubsoil l ayer. T he l ateritic y ellow e arths, r elatively l ess l eached t han t he r ed e arths, a re m ore c ommon i n s outhern N atal. H ighveld p rairie s oils,

o ccurring o n t he s lopes a nd f oothills o f

t he D rakensberg b etween a bout 1 200 a nd 1 800 m eters a bove s ea l evel a re f airly d eep a s t hey o ccur o n t he r elatively r apidly w eathering B eaufort a nd S tormberg r ocks ( Fig. 2 :2), a lthough d epth i s m ost c losely r elated o ccurs h ighly

t o s teepness o f

s lope.

I n a reas o f d olerite o utcrops

t he H ighveld b lack c lay, u p t o a m eter o f b rownish-black, f ertile c lay. I n s ome a reas t hese s oils a re m odified b y

m aterial e roded f rom t he S tormberg C ave S andstone, r educing t he c lay c ontent a nd m aking t he s oil s andier. A bove 1 800 m eters t he L esotho b lack c lays o ccur, m ountain s oils w eathered f rom t he S tormberg l avas. T hese a re

i mmature s oils,

f rom b rownish-black 5 .

r arely g reater

t han 5 0cm.

i n d epth,

r anging

t o b lack i n c olour.

C LIMATE S outhern A frica,

j utting

i nto

t he o ceans

o f

t he s outhern h emis-

p here, i s l argely u nder t he i nfluence o f m aritime a ir w hich e xercises a m oderating i nfluence o n w hat i s e ssentially a s emi-arid c limate. 2 7

T he d ominant a tmospheric c ircumstance i s t he h igh p ressure b elt c entered o n a bout 3 0 °S . l atitude a nd w ithin w hich t he b ulk o f t he s ubcontinent l ies ( Schulze 1 972). T his h igh-pressure b elt i s s easona lly d isplaced b y a bout 4 ° l atitude, i ts c entre b eing f arthest n orth i n J uly-August a nd f arthest s outh i n F ebruary, a nd i n s ummer i s s eparated b y t he h eating o f t he l and i nto t wo c ells, t he A tlantic a nd I ndian O cean h ighs. I n s ummer a l ow p ressure z one i s f ormed o ver , t he l and, c ausing a n i nflux o f m oist t ropical a ir, w hilst i n w inter t he h igh p ressure z one i s i ntensified o ver l and a nd m aritime a ir i s i nh ibited f rom e ntering, r esulting i n a d ry w inter s eason. T hus o ver t he m ajor p art o f s outhern A frica r ainfall o ccurs m ainly i n t he s ummer, f rom O ctober t o M arch , r esearch a rea f alls d uring t his a .

a nd a bout 7 0-80% o f r ainfall p eriod ( Weather B ureau 1 955).

i n

t he

I nsolation

A s i s t he c ase w ith m ost c limate f actors i n t he r esearch a rea i ncoming s olar r adiation ( insolation) d isplays m arked s easonal v ariat ion, b oth i n t he d aily d uration o f s unshine a nd i n t he r atio o f a ctual t o p ossible r eceived s unshine. I n N atal m aximum s unshine d uration i s r eached i n M ay a nd J une a nd t he m inimum i n D ecember, t he s ummer h aving n ot o nly l ower s unshine r eceipt b ut m ornings t ending t o b e s unnier t han a fternoons d ue t o t he b uild-up o f c onvectional c umul us c loud. I n g eneral t he h igh a tmospheric w ater c ontent a t t he c oast a ssociated w ith t he M ozambique C urrent r esults i n l ower i nsolat ion v alues a ll y ear r ound c ompared t o t he i nterior ( Schulze & M cGee 1 978).

A spect,

p articularly i n a reas o f h igh r elief,

s ignificance b oth t o i nsolation a nd w inter w hen t he s un i s a t l ow a ngles:

t o t emperature,

i s o f

g reat

e specially

i n

" Comparing n orth a nd s outh-facing 1 0 0 s lopes i t c an b e s een t hat a t n oon i n s ummer a n orth-facing s lope r eceives o nly s lightly m ore

r adiation

t han i ts

s outh-facing c ounterpart.

I n

w inter,

h owever, t he l atter s lopes r eceive a bout 5 0% l ess r adiation. O n s teeper s lopes ( 30 0 ) t he d ifferences a re m ore p ronounced, e .g. a s outh-facing s lope i n w inter r eceives o ver s ix t imes l ess r adiat ion

t han i ts

C learly e nvironment,

t his

o pposite s lope a t n oon".

( Tyson e t a l 1 976:33)

h as a s ignificant e ffect o n t emperature a nd

n orth-facing

s lopes b eing

w armer a nd d rier,

m icroa nd

t he

a rchaeological i mportance o f a spect i n t he D rakensberg a rea h as b een d emonstrated b y C arter, w ho c oncludes t hat: ..the

a spect o f

t he o ccupied s ite i s a

a ffecting b oth m odern a nd L esotho." b .

m ajor

r estraint

p rehistoric s ettlement

i n E astern ( 1978:219)

T emperature A ll

s outhern

t emperature

c urve,

N atal

s tations

s hare a b asically

s imilar

a nnual

w ith m aximum m ean m onthly r eadings o ccurring

D ecember/January ( summer)

a nd m inimums

i n J une/July ( winter).

i n

A ctual

m ean t emperatures v ary f rom t he w arm s ub-tropical f rost-free z one o f t he c oastal b elt a nd h interland ( e.g. D urban, P ort S hepstone) t o h igh a ltitude l ocations ( e.g. C athkin P ark, N ottingham R oad) where f rost a nd w inter s nowfall m ay b e r egular o ccurrences. T able 1 a nd F ig. 2 :4 s how t emperature d ata f or s tations i n a nd a round t he r esearch a rea 2 8

•

X l 4.

1 •. ) 4 2 3 0 0

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VI -

Cr C r, . .

0 rC

44 r I

I n I n


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r)

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( . 0

C c 0 I n

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S

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r 4

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4)

P O R T S H E P S T O N E

( A f t e r W e a t h e r B u r e a u 1 9 5 4 )

C ) £

CO . 4 -4 . 4 2 3

In C . . )

U l

2 1 Cl

. I

(0

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P or t S heps tone

•.. . ,. ..• •

P addock

0— — — 0

M id— i l iovo

C a thk in P eak

J F

F ig.

2 .4

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A

M J

N atal

J

S tations

30

A S

— m ean

O

•.• . . .. . r•

N

D

t emperatures

T ABLE 2

N ATAL

:S EVERE F ROST D ATA

S TATION

A LTITUDE

( min.temp.

( 0 oC . a t 1 .2m)

F IRST D ATE L AST D ATE DURATION % y ears A verage E xtreme A verage E xtreme ( Av.days) w ith f rost

Durban

1 5m.

-

-

-

-

-

0

P ort S hepstone

1 5m.

-

-

-

-

-

0

S hongweni

4 57m.

-

-

-

-

-

0

P addock

5 15m.

-

-

_

_

-

0

M id Illovo

7 01m.

-

2 017

-

2 0/7

-

9 e

P ietermaritzburg

6 84m .

8/ 7

2 5/5

1 7/7

1 3/8

9

3 1%

C edara

1 079m.

2 3/6

18/5

2 5/7

2 3/9

K okstad

1 305m.

18/5

2 8/4

1/9

18/10

N ottingham R oad

1 438m.

2 /5

1 5/4

r / 9

3 1

'2 3/ 10

3 2

9 0%

16

.100%

1 35

1 00%

.

w hile T able 2 i llustrates t he d uration a nd f requency o f s evere f rost. A lthough i sotherms o f a ctual m ean s urface t emperatures b asically r un p arallel t o t he e scarpment t he m ajor r iver v alleys c reate s ignificant a nomalies, e specially h igh s ummer t emperatures o ccurring i n t he v all eys. t ion, a bove

M ean t emperatures a t S hongweni, f or e xample, a v alley l ocaa re a bout 1 °-2°C h igher t han t hose a t P addock, o n t he p lateau t he M zimkulu v alley, a lthough a ltitudes a nd d istance f rom t he

c oast a re s imilar. D iurnal t emperature r anges a re s ignificantly g reater f or h igh a ltitude s tations, p articularly i n w inter w hen i nsolation f igures f or t he h ighlands a re h igher a nd w here h eat l oss b y r adiation i s a t i ts p eak o n t he c ool, c lear n ights. D eep r iver v alleys a gain p rovide e xceptional r eadings, w ith l ow a ltitude v alleys b eing h eated b y r eflected a s w ell a s d irect r adiation d uring t he d ay a nd b eing c ooled a t n ight b y c old a ir d raining i nto t he v alleys, o ften r esulting i n d ew a nd f og a t o therwise d ry l ocations ( Moll 1 976). A s i ndicated i n T ables 1 a nd 2 t he c oastal b elt b elow a bout 3 00m. i s f rost-free, m ean m onthly t emperatures r anging f rom 1 6°24 ° C , b etween 3 00-1000m. l ight t o m oderately s evere f rosts m ay o ccur d ep ending o n a spect a nd l ocation, m ean m onthly t emperatures r anging f rom 1 3°-22°C, w hile a bove 1 000m . s evere f rost m ay o ccur o ver t he e ntire a rea a nd m ean m onthly t emperatures r ange f rom 7 °-19°C. c .

P recipitation a nd E vaporation A s

i ndicated

a bove

t he r esearch a rea f alls w ithin

t he

s ummer

r ainfall r egime i n s outhern A frica a nd a bout 8 0% o f r ainfall f alls i n s ummer i n t he i nterior, a bout 7 0% i n s ummer a t t he c oast. T he b ulk o f p recipitation i n N atal f alls a s r ain d ue t o t hunderstorms a nd i nstability s howers ( Schulze 1 972), o ther t ypes o f p recipitation o ccurring i n t he r esearch a rea b eing s now , h ail, f og a nd d ew. R ainf all r anges f rom 6 00-1200mm. a nnually, w ith t he c oastal b elt a nd t he e scarpment r eceiving t he m ost, t he l arger i nterior r iver v alleys t he l east. T ables 3 a nd 4 s how m onthl s easonal a nd a nnual r ainfall s tatistics f or s tations i n a nd a roun , t he r esearch a rea. S now i s r estricted t o a reas a bove 1 000m. a nd i s r are b elow 1 200m. f alling f airly r egularly o nly i n a reas o ver 1 500m . when u p t o a bout 3 0cm. o f s now m ay c over t he g round. I t o ccurs b etween M ay a nd S eptember a nd h eavy f alls i n t he r esearch a rea h appen o nly e very t hree t o f ive y ears. F og i s q uite c ommon i n N atal a bove a bout 3 00m., p articularly o n r idges a nd r anges o f h ills. W inter f og i s l imited t o r iver v alleys w hile s ummer f og i s s ufficiently f requent i n t he i nteri or t o l ead t o t he c oining o f t he t erm ' Natal M istbelt'. F orest o ften o ccurs o n f og-prone r idges a nd h ills, e xamples b eing t he K arkl oof f orest a nd n or

h ail a re

t he

h ills w est o f R ichmond

t hought

t o b e

( Moll 1 976).

s ignificant s ources

N either d ew

o f m oisture

a lthough

t he f ormer, m ost c ommon i n s ummer a nd a utumn, m ay b e o f s ome i mporta nce i n d ry r iver v alleys w hile t he l atter, w ith a s imilar s easonal o ccurrence m ay c ause d amage

t o v egetation a bove

E vapotranspiration d ata ( Schulze 1 972, t hat e vaporation i s l owest a t

t he c oast,

1 000m.

( Moll 1 976).

T yson e t a l.

o n h igh r idges

1 976)

s how

i n t he i nter-

i or a nd t he h ighlands, t he c oast i n p articular s howing a y ear-round w ater s urplus. I n t he b ottoms o f t he l arger r iver v alleys e vapot ranspiration f igures

a re

T ugela B asin n orth o f d eficit a ll y ear r ound.

h igh,

a nd a n e xtreme e xample,

t he r esearch a rea,

3 2

s hows a n

W eenen i n t he

a pparent

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A part f rom t he i mportance o f r ain-bearing o ceanic a ir-streams e ntering t he r esearch a rea f rom I ndian O cean h igh p ressure z ones i n s ummer,

m entioned a bove,

b lowing

f rom

t he h ot,

d ry w inds,

k nown a s

t he n orth-west a re a lso e nvironmentally

' berg w inds' i mportant

i n

N atal. T he ' berg w inds', w hich m ainly b low i n l ate w inter a nd s pring, t he w indiest t ime o f t he y ear i n t he D rakensberg ( Tyson e t a l. 1 976), h ave t wo m ajor e nvironmental e ffects. T hey e xercise a d esiccating e ffect o n v egetation, p articularly i n t he v alley b ottoms: " ...because t hey a re g enerally a ccompanied b y p eriods o f l ow h umidity a nd t hey b low a t a t ime w hen s oil m oisture i s a t i ts m inimum". ( Killick 1 978:524) S econdly, s pring i s a lso t he t ime o f y ear when n atural v eld f ires o ccur, u sually c aused b y l ightning s trikes, a nd t he ' berg w inds' a re v ery i mportant i n f anning a nd s preading t hese f ires. A s w ill b e d iscussed i n t he c ontext o f v egetation b elow, f ire, b oth n atural a nd m an-made, i s a n e xtremely s ignificant e nvironmental f actor i n h ighl and N atal a nd i s i nextricably l inked w ith t he m aintenance a nd c ompos ition o f e .

h ighland g rasslands

i n

t he r esearch a rea.

D iscussion T he

s ions:

c limate o f

s outhern N atal c an b e s ummarised i n t hree

t he c oastal b elt,

w ith a w arm ,

d ivi-

w et a nd h umid c limate;

t he

i nterior r iver v alleys w ith a w arm, d ry c limate w ith t heir i nterveni ng r idges which a re b oth l ess h ot a nd l ess d ry; a nd t he u plands w ith a c ool, m oist c limate. t ed i n t he v egetation o f

S uch g eneral d ivisions a re n aturally r eflect he r esearch a rea, w hile b oth l ocal v egeta-

t ion a nd m icro-climate m ay v ary g reatly a ccording e xact l ocation, a spect a nd s oil t ype. F igure m eters,

2 :5 s ummarises

r ainfall

a nd

t he

t o d ifferences

t wo m ost s ignificant

t emperature,

c limatic

f or f our s tations

i n

i n

p ara-

d ifferent

v egetation t ypes i n s outhern N atal. A s R osenweig ( 1968) h as s hown, a ctual e vapotranspiration i s a h ighly s ignificant p redictor o f p rod uctivity i n t errestrial p lant c ommunities, a nd t he m ost e lements i n c alculating a ctual e vapotranspiration, i f n ot

i mportant t he o nly

o nes, a re p recipitation a nd t emperature. S o F igure 2 :5 g ives a t w orst a n i mpression o f r elative p roductivity i n f our v egetation t ypes t hroughout t he y ear, s easonal v ariation

b ased o n r eadily a vailable d ata. T he v ery g reat i n c limate i n t he H ighland S ourveld i s c learly

i llustrated i n t he r eadings f or C athkin P eak, w hile t he c oastal f orest i s s uggested a s r elatively t he m ost p roductive z one d uring t he w inter m onths b y t he f igures f or P ort S hepstone. T he c omparative a ridity o f t he V alley B ushveld a ll y ear r ound i s e xemplified b y s ' )nngweni, a nd c omparison w ith P ietermaritzburg i ndicates s omething o f t he c limatic d ifferences b etween t he v alley b ottoms a nd h igher g round t Arion

b etween t hem. T he c lose r elationships b etween c limate, v eget ype a nd s easonal r esource p roductivity a re i llustrated a nd

. uss t _d h .

b el

,% ,

a nd

i n C hapter 3 .

V EGETA HUN r ider-

v egetation o f

t he r esearch a rea i s l argely s econdary, 3 5

J an

F eb

Ma r

Ap r

May

J un

J u l

Mean t empera ture x r a infal 1 0

F IGURE 2,5

3 6

A ug

S ep

a c t

No v

De

p rimarily d ue t o t he e ffects o f r ecent a gricultural p ractices. Whilst a ll v egetation t ypes h ave b een a ffected t he c oastal f orests n ave b een p articularly h ard h it b y d evelopment a nd t he e xtensive c ultivation o f s ugar c ane. " On

t he c oast b elt,

9 5 p er c ent o f

t he i ndigenous v egeta—

t ion h as b een c leared f or c ultivation, t he l ittle i ndige— n ous v egetation t hat r emains i s, a lmost w ithout e xception, s econdary".

( Moll 1 976:43)

G rassland o n t he r idges b etween s teep r iver v alleys i s a gain s econd— a ry, a nd a bout 6 0 p er c ent o f t he v egetation i n t hese v alleys h as b een c leared f or a griculture. F orest c learance i n t he m ist b elt a nd h ighland a reas h as b een e xtensive a nd l ittle i ndigenous f orest r e— m ains, a lthough p lantations o f e xotics s uch a s w attles a nd b lue g ums a re w idespread. F or a ll t hese c hanges, i t r emains p ossible, b y ( ' I ctrapolation i n s ome c ases, t o m ake a r easonably a ccurate a ssessment o f t he n atural v egetation o f s outhern N atal, a nd o ne t hat s hould h ave d irect r elevance t o t he c onditions e ncountered b y i nhabitants o ver t he p ast 3 500 y ears.

t hat

T he o f

i ts

p rehistoric

o nly v egetation m ap a ctually c overing t he r esearch a rea A cocks ( 1975), a lthough a m ore l ocally o riented s urvey

i s i s

a vailable f or t he i mmediately a djacent T hree R ivers r egion o f c entral N a(-1 ( Moll 1 976). W hile A cocks' c lassification w ill b e f ollowed h ere t ion

M oll h as c ompared h is w ork w ith t hat o f A cocks a nd d raws a tten— t o d ifferences b etween t he t wo, o ne o f w hich i s o f r elevance i n

t he r esearch a rea,

w hile:

" Other d ifferences a re u nimportant, t he d ifferences M oll

s uggests

i n s cales o f

t hat A cocks

t he

r esulting m erely

t wo s urveys".

' Coastal F orest'

f rom

( 1976:76) _-

( see b elow) e xtends

t oo

f ar i nland a nd s ubdivides i t i nto t he C oast F orest p roper while l inking t he m ore t horny v egetation o f t he c oastal h interland w ith t he d ry V alley B ushveld o f t he i nterior, t hus k eeping t he d rier t ypes o f v egetation t ogether. A cocks' C oastal F orest e xtends u p t o 4 57m. a bove s ea l evel while M oll's C oast F orest a nd P alm V eld t ype e xtends o nly t o 1 52m. a bove s ea l evel, b eing s ucceeded b y D ry V alley s crub a nd B ushland M osaic. S ome

c ontroversy e xists a s

t o

t he

p revious e xtent o f

f orest

i n

t he h ighland a reas o f N atal. A cocks, i n h is h ypothetical m ap o f v egetation i n 1 400 A .D., s uggests t hat v irtually t he w hole o f t his n ow g rassland a rea w as c overed b y m ontane P odocarpus f orests. H owe ver, t he r ole o f n atural a nd, t o a l esser e xtent m an—made, f ires m ay h ave b een s ignificant i n t he p ast, a s i n t he p resent, i n maintaining t he g rassland. T he p resence i n T hemeda t riandra g rassland, t he c li— m atic c limax t ype b elow a bout 2 500m. ( Moll 1 976), o f m any h erbaceous g rassland s pecies l ightning i nduced

( fo rbs) f ires:

a dapted

t o s pring f ires

" ...must h ave b een a f actor o f t housands o f y ears..."

s uggests

t hat

t he e nvironment f or m any ( Moll 1 976:33)

V asco d a G ama r eferred t o t he e ast c oast o f s outhern A frica a s L aud o f F ire, d ue t o t he m any v eld f ires h e o bserved f rom t he 3 7

t hese

t he s ea

( Acocks S tone

1 975). A ge

A rchaeological e vidence o f g rassland f aunas

s ites

i n t he h ighland r egion o f N atal

i s

i n L ate

b eginning

t o

e merge ( e.g. C arter 1 978, C able e t a l. 1 980, M azel 1 981) a nd a t D riel S helter o n t he u pper T ugela r iver M aggs a nd W ard ( 1980) f ind e ssentia lly o pen g rassland s pecies a mong t he u ngulates a nd c omment t hat: " This

p icture

c learly c ontradicts

A cocks'

( 1975)

h ypo-

t hetical m ap o f t he d istribution o f v eld t ypes p rior t o t he a rrival o f h erders a nd c ultivators. A ccording t o t his m ap D riel w ould b e o n t he b oundary b etween b ushveld a nd f orest, y et s pecies p eculiar t o t hese e nvironments a re n ot r epres ented i n t he s ample. W e m ay c onclude t hat t he g rassland a round D riel i s a m ore s table e cosystem t han A cocks c ons idered i t". ( 1980:61) N atural f ires w ould n ot h ave b een s uch a n i mportant f actor e ither i n t he r iver v alleys, w here s oils t end t o b e s hallow a nd g rass c over u nable t o s upport b urns, o r i n t he c oastal b elt w here t he l ack o f s ufficient d ry f uel w ould h ave g reatly r estricted t he a rea b urnt. I t i s a pparent

t hen t hat f orest w ould h ave o ccurred o n t he

t ableland

a nd h ighlands i n f ire-protected s ites r ather t han u biquitously, t hat t he v alley v egetation w ould h ave c ontained a m ixture o f w oody a nd h erbaceous s pecies a nd t he c oastal f orest w ould h ave b een l argely u naffected b y l ightning i nduced f ires. T his p icture i s s upported b y s everal n ineteenth-century o bservers ( e.g. M ann 1 859, H olden 1 855, c ited i n M oll 1 976); M ann d escribed t he c oastal b elt a s b eing 1 9 t o 2 4km.

w ide

t rees.

O f

w ith m any p laces d ensely c overed

" Holden ( 1855) w as

b y

s mall,

r ugged,

s tated

t hat l eaving

w ith b ush i n

t he c oast p lain t he l and

t he v alleys a nd g rassland o n t he

f lat r idges, a nd t hat t his g ave w ay t o a b road ' almost wholly d estitute o f t rees', t hough t he s ides w ere T he

e vergreen

t he i nterior :

m ap

a fter A cocks c lassification

f orested". ( Fig.

2 :6) a nd

t ableland m ountain

( Moll 1 976:36) t ypes

a re

( 1975) a nd a s i ndicated a bove u se w ill b e m ade o f i n t he a wareness t hat s everal f actors, n otably

t he f ollowing l ist o f v eld

h is i ts

l arge s cale a pproach a nd M oll's c riticism, d etract f rom i ts a pplicab ility i n t he r esearch a rea. I t w as n ot c onsidered p ractical t o e xtend M oll's v egetation m ap t o t he s outh s ince a ltitudinal p aram eters, s oil t ypes a nd c limatic d ata o f t he v egetation t ypes o verlap s o m uch t hat t he g ross i naccuracies t hat w ould h ave i nevitably r esult ed w ould m ake n onsense o f t he s upposedly m ore d etailed n ature o f t he m ap. I t s hould a lso b e e mphasised t hat t he c lassifications b elow a re b otanical, a nd a re i ntended t o p rovide a b ackground a gainst w hich t o v iew t he d istribution a nd a vailability o f r esources t o S an p opulat ions

t hroughout

t he y ear i n s outhern N atal,

a nd

t he v eld

t ypes

n ot n ecessarily e quate e xactly w ith a ny e cological o r r esource t hat m ay h ave b een s ignificant t o h uman p opulations.

T HE V ELD T YPES A v eld " - a

t ype

i s d efined b y A cocks a s:

u nit o f v egetation w hose r ange o f v ariation i s 3 8

s mall

d o

z ones

3 9

V e g e t a t i o n ( A f t e r A c o c k s 1 9 7 5 )

e nough

t o p ermit

t he w hole o f

i t

t o h ave

t he s ame

p otentialities". 1 .

C OASTAL F OREST a )

f arming ( 1975:1)

A ltitude:

0 -457m.

T ypical C oast B elt F orest T his e vergreen f orest i s m ostly s hort, 5 -10m., v ery d ense a nd t angled, a lthough i nland o n s eaward-facing s lopes i t i s t aller a nd l ess t angled, a bout 2 0m. h igh. D ominant t rees i nclude M illettia g randis, P rotorhus l ongifolia,

b )

S trychnos h enningsii a nd S trelitzia n icolai.

Z ululand P alm V eld O nly

s mall

o utliers

o f

t his

t ype o ccur

i n

t he

r esearch

a rea, a ssociated w ith s andy s oil, w ith P hoenix r eclinata, H yphaene c rinata a nd S trelitzia n icolai a s t ypical s pecies. c )

D une F orest T his t ype o ccupies a n arrow b elt o n t he h igh d unes r unning a long t he s ea-coast, s tunted b y s alt s pray o n t he s eaward s ide, u p t o 1 0m. h igh a long t he l andward s ide. P rincipal t rees i nclude M imusops c affra E uclea n atalensis a nd C anthium s pp., w ith S cutia m yrtina a nd A llophylus n atalensis i mportant a mong t he c limbers a nd s hrubs.

2 .

V ALLEY B USHVELD

A ltitude:

3 0-914m.

" Fully d eveloped V alley B ushveld i s s crub f orest d ominated b y t ree E uphorbias, b ut m uch o f i t...is s crub f orest, w ith f ew o r n o E uphorbias,

o r e lse d ense s avanna". ( Acocks

T his v eld d issected

t ype

i s

f ound

i n

t errain w est o f

t he d eep r iver v alleys t he C oast F orests.

1 975:52)

f orming

t he

h ighly

T he c limax v egetation

w as a m ixed w oody c ommunity, r anging f rom w oodland t o s avanna, w ith a g rass u nderstory d ominated b y T hemeda t riandra. S pecific c ommunities v ary g reatly a ccording t o s oils, a spect e tc. E xamples i nclude S pirot achys a fricana w oodland o n a lluvial s oils i n t he v alley b ottoms; o n d rier n orth-facing s teep s lopes m ixed d eciduous c ommunities d ominated b y A cacia s pp., A loe s pp., a nd E uphorbia w ooded g rassland o ccurs o n t he f latter l and,

s pp. d evelop; A cacia t he p rimary v egetation

b eing a n o pen w ooded g rassland o f s mall t rees 3 -6m. s pecies i ncluding A cacia s pp., Z iziphus m ucronata, a nd 3 .

h igh , c ommon E uphorbia s pp.

R hus p entheri. ' NGONGONI V ELD

T he n atural v egetation o f f orest

o f

A ltitude: t his

4 50-900m.

t ype w ould h ave b een f orest a nd s crub-

t ropical a ffinity b ut l acking

t he s pecies

o f m ore

e ssen-

t ially t ropical n ature. A t l ower a ltitudes i t o ccupies t he r idges b etween r iver v alleys, a t h igh l evels t he v alleys w ith t he M istbelt " Ngongoni V eld a nd t he H ighland S ourveld o n t he i ntervening r idges. 4 0

T he

g rass

r eplaced h ave

A ristida j unciformis o ther g rasses

l argely

w ould

h ave

r eplaced

i ncluded

n ea m elanophloeos p reserved s amples

( the

' Ngongoni)

h as

a lmost

t otally

i n m odern t imes a nd e xotic w attle p lantations p ast

i ndigenous

C ombretum k raussii,

f orests.

F orest

i ndicators

T rimeria g randifolia,

a nd C ryptocarya w oodii. i nclude T hemeda t riandra,

R apa-

G rass s pecies i n w ellT ristachya h ispida a nd

H eteropogon c ontortus. 4 .

M IST B ELT

T his

t ype

i s

S ourveld.

' NGONGONI V ELD t ransitional b etween

I t

i s

l ocated

f orest a nd T hemeda h as

b een o f

t he

l atter

o ccurrence,

a spects.

a s

9 00-1350m. t he H ighland

o riginally m ade a lthough t he

b y

N umerous g rass

a re m any f orbs,

u p

o f

f ormer

i s n ow d ominated

s pecies A ristida j unciformis.

f requent

P . f alcatus,

' Ngongoni V eld a nd

t riandra d ominated s ourveld,

a re n otably l ess c ommon s ition i s v ery m ixed, c ooler

t he

i n m isty c ountry,

l argely c leared w hile

s econdary g rass a re

A ltitude:

t he

s pecies

a lthough t he

l atter

t han i n t he H ighland S ourveld. F orest c ompow ith c lear d ifferences b etween w armer a nd

C ommon

s pecies

C ryptocarya

i nclude P odocarpus l atifolius

s pp.,

S yzygium g errardii

a nd

a nd

R apanea

melanophloeos. 5 .

S OUTHERN T ALL G RASSVELD

T his

t ype c onsists

g rassland g rass

w ith

S hort

s ites.

a nd T hemeda t riandra

s crub f orest w ould h ave

A cacia c affra s avanna 0 (

i nto H ighland S ourveld

1 050-1350m.

a n o pen s avanna o f A cacia s ieberanna

H yparrhenia s pp.

s pecies.

t ected

o f

A ltitude:

i rs

o ccurred

m ixed

d ominant

i n f ire-pro-

o n h illsides

s crub f orest u pslope a nd

i n

t he

a nd m erges

i nto V alley

B ushveld

d own. 6 .

H IGHLAND S OURVELD

O ne o f

A ltitude:

t he m ost e xtensive v egetation

t ypes

i n

1 350-2150m.

t he r esearch a rea,

f ire-maintained g rassland f orms a v eld u p t o 0 .5m. t all, m eda t riandra A ndropogon s pp., H eteropogon c ontortus,

w ith T heT ristachya

h ispida E ragrostis r acemosa a nd T rachypogon s pictatus a mong c ommon

g rasses.

A f eature o f

t he g rassland

i s

t his

t he

t he w ide v ariety

m ost o f

f orbs. O n m ountain s lopes P rotea multibracteata a nd/or P . r oupelliae m ay b e c ommon. O n s outh-east f acing s lopes which a re p rotected f rom w ind

a nd

b y

P odocarpus

f ire

( Moll

t hium c iliatum a s 7 . T his

1 976) M ontane P odocarpus F orest o ccurs,

l atifolius f orest

w ith

i s

a s hort,

T he

A ltitude:

d ense g rassland, o ther g rass

e .g.

C an-

o nly

A ltitude: t his

i n s heltered

t he d ominant s pecies.

C YMBOPOGON-THEMEDA V ELD v egetation o f

1 850-2150m.

F estuca c ostata E lionorus

s crub-forest o ccurs

w ith L eucosidea s ericea a s

c limax

d ominated

a nd

d ominated b y T hemeda t riandra with

s pecies,

a rgentus H eteropogon c ontortus; k loofs,

s ericea

i ndicators.

T HEMEDA-FESTUCA A LPINE V ELD

a n a dmixture o f

8 .

L eucosidea

t ype

i s a m ixed

t o

s our

1 350-2000m. g rassveld,

m oderately d ense a nd r ather s hort. G rasses o f g eneral o ccurrence i nclude T hemeda t riandra S etaria f labellata M ichrochloa c affra, E lionorus a rgentus a nd H eteropogon c ontortus. 4 1

C HAPTER T HREE - N ATURAL R ESOURCES 1 .

I NTRODUCTION

T his c hapter, i n c onjunction w ith A ppendix 1 , d escribes t he d istribution, a bundance a nd s easonality o f v arious n atural r esources a vailable t o p rehistoric p opulations i n t he r esearch a rea. I nformat ion h as b een g athered f rom a v ariety o f s ources, i ncluding a rchaeol ogical i nvestigations b oth w ithin a nd o utside N atal, b otanical s tudies, e thnography, h istorical o bservations, z oological s tudies a nd t he a nalysis o f r ock a rt. W hilst t he m ajor e mphasis i s o n d ietary r esources, n on-edible m aterials a re c onsidered w here i t i s f elt t hat t hey a re n ot g eographically o r a nnually u biquitous i n s outhern N atal. W ater f or e xample, w hile l ess a bundant i n w inter, i s a vailable a ll y ear r ound i n m ost p arts o f t he r esearch a rea; a lthough a ccess t o f resh w ater i n w inter, w hen s maller t ributaries m ay b e v ery l ow o r e ven d ry u p, m ay h ave a ffected t he l ocation o f s ites o n t he m icros cale,

t he

a vailability o f w ater i s n ot r egarded a s l ikely t o

i nfluenced a nnual e xploitation s trategies a s a w hole, a rid e nvironments. T he

e mphasis,

t hen,

w ill b e o n

a s

h ave

i t m ay d o

i n

t he g eneral s uite o f r esources

a vailable i n v arious e cological z ones a nd o n c ontrasts i n t he s easonal p roductivity o f t hese z ones. T he r elevance o f s uch ' cont extual' e vidence a nd t he t heoretical a ssumptions u pon w hich i ts u se i s b ased a re d iscussed i n C hapter 1 a bove. a pproach i s d erived f rom t he p roposition t hat :

U ltimately

s uch

a n

" ...hunting a nd g athering p eoples a re e ssentially m obile c ommunities g eared t o t he p eaks a nd t roughs i n t he a vailabilities o f r esources u pon w hich t hey r ely". ( Parkington, 2 .

1 976:7)

E DIBLE P LANTS I n

t he

r ecognition o f t he d emonstrated i mportance o f p lant f oods i n d iet a nd e conomic o rganisation o f m odern h unter-gatherers ( Sil-

b erbauer 1 965, 1 972; L ee 1 972, 1 979; L ee & D eVore 1 968; e tc.) a n a ttempt w as m ade t o e xamine t he a vailability o f v egetable r esources i n t he r esearch a rea. A ppendix 1 l ists a bout 1 20 s pecies o f e dible p lants o ccurring i n s outhern N atal, a nd i ncludes d ata o n t heir d ist ribution, s easonality, p arts e aten a nd a rchaeological a nd e thnog raphic r eferences t o t heir u se b y i ndigenous p eoples i n s outhern A frica. W hile t his c heck-list i s c learly f ar f rom c omprehensive, a nd i s s tructured a bove a ll b y t he a vailability o f b otanical d ata, i t i s f elt t o b e l arge e nough t o p rovide b oth a w orking s ample o f p otential p lant r esources, a b asis f or e xpansion a nd r efinement a nd a m eans o f d rawing a ttention t o a n a rchaeologically u nder-represented a spect o f p rehistoric e conomic o rganisation. I t i s n ot s uggested t hat a ll, o r e ven t he m ajority, o f t hese s pecies w ere a ctually i mportant, o r e ven p resent,

i n

t he d iet o f

t he s outhern S an i n N atal - L ee,

f or e xample,

l ists 1 05 s pecies o f e dible p lants u sed b y t he D obe ! Kung o f w hich 1 4 p rovide n early t hree-quarters o f t he v egetable c alories i n t heir d iet ( Lee

1 979).

H owever,

t he l ist p rovides n ot o nly a n i llustration o f

t he g reat a bundance o f e dible p lants i n t he r esearch a rea b ut a lso o f g eneral t rends i n t heir d istribution a nd s easonal a vailability. G iven

t he

a ssumption

t hat

i t

i s 4 3

p redictable

r esources

t hat

a re

F ig.

3 .1

A r ock p ainting f rom t he H ighlands o f E ast G riqualand ( after V innicombe 1 976, F ig. 1 88). A S an w oman,

w ith w eighted d igging

c ollecting b ag,

r uns

4 4

s tick a nd

t owards a b ulbous p lant

F

M

A

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

SPEC IES

1 5

J

F ig.

F

3 .2

M

A

M

P LANT R ESOURCES

J

J

A

S

O

N

:S EASONAL A VAILABILITY

a :H ighlands b :C oastal

B elt

( species a bove b roken a t

t his

t ime)

4 5

l ine m ay b e a vailable

D

p aramount i n t he s tructuring o f e xploitation, i t i s f elt t hat, e ven i n t he l ight o f c urrent i gnorance o f s pecific p lants u sed, o verall p atterns i n a vailability p rovide a n i mportant i ndication o f p ossible s easonal e xploitation s trategies. A lthough

t he d istributions o f

t he s pecies l isted i ncorporate a ll

e cological z ones i n s outhern N atal, m any s pecies o ccurring i n a v ariety o f v egetation t ypes, m ost V alley B ushveld a nd ' Ngongoni V eld s pecies o ccur a lso i n t he c oastal b elt o r t he h ighlands. D ata o n s easonal a vailability h as p roved m ost r eadily a vailable f or t he c oast a nd t he H ighland S ourveld, a nd u nless s tated t o t he c ontrary s easonal d ata q uoted i n A ppendix 1 r efers t o e ither o f t hese z ones o nly. O ne c an c ontrast t he h otter, d ryer, l ow a ltitude p arts o f t he m idlands w hich f eature s pecies o f c oastal a ffinity w ith t he c ooler, m oister h igher g round w here m any s pecies a lso o ccur i n t he H ighland S ourveld. A lthough d etailed s easonal i nformation i s n ot y et a vailable f or t hese s pecies m idlands' o ccurrence, i t i s l ikely t hat t heir p atterns o f a vailability w ill d iffer t o s ome e xtent f rom t he r eadings f or t he c oastal b elt o r t he h ighlands. J udging f rom c ontrasts i n c limate a nd g razing a vailability, s easonality m ay h ave b een l ess m arked i n t he m idlands t han i n t he H ighland S ourveld, w hile t hese i nterior v alleys m ay h ave b een l ess p roductive t han t he c oastal b elt a ll y ear r ound a nd e specially i n w inter. F ocussing o n

t he c oastal b elt a nd

t he h ighlands

i t

i s e vident f rom

F ig. 3 :2 a nd T ables 5 a nd 6 t hat c lear d ifferences e xist i n t he a nnual p atterns o f p lant f ood a vailability. F ig. 3 :2 ( A) i llustrates t he g reat c ontrast i n t he p roductivity o f p lant r esources i n t he H ighland S ourveld b etween t he w inter m onths M ay-September a nd t he s pring a nd s ummer m onths. A n a spect o f t he p lant r esources o f t he H ighland S ourveld r elatively p oorly r epresented i n t he c heck-list i s t he g reat a bundance o f g eophytes, m any o f w hich , s uch a s a n umber o f s pecies o f t he g enera W atsonia, C yperus, G ladiolus a nd o thers, h ave e dible u nderground c orms a nd b ulbs. T hese a ppear t o b e m ore a bundant i n t he H ighland S ourveld o f s outhern N atal t he m idland v egetation t ypes ( Moll 1 976).

t han a mong t he g rasses o f S an e xploitation o f t hese

g enera i s k nown f rom a rchaeological c ontexts a ll o ver s outhern A frica a s w ell a s f rom t he r ecords o f e arly t ravellers. J ohn S hepstone, w riting s helter

i n M arch 1 849 a nd q uoted b y V innicombe, o bserved o f a r ock n ear t he M zimkulu r iver i n t he D rakensberg r ecently u sed b y

S an t hat: " The

q uantity o f w ild v egetable w hich h ad b een d ug

i n

t he

m ountain t o b e u sed a s f ood a lso s howed i t t o h ave b een m ore t han a t emporary a bode". ( Vinnicombe 1 976:227) D eacon

( 1972)

h as e mphasised

t he i mportance o f

t hese

a nd

s imilar

g enera a t m ost C ape s ites w ith g ood p lant p reservation: " The

p attern

o f

h igh r eliance o n I ridaceae c orms

i n

t he

d iet i s r epeated a t o ther s ites,...within t he C ape F olded B elt,.. . as w ell a s s ites i n t he s outh-western C ape..." ( Deacon H .J. 1 972:37) a nd

t he o nly e xcavated e vidence a vailable f rom t he h ighlands o f N atal

a nd E astern L esotho t o d ate ( see C hapter 6 ) a lso p oints t o t he e xploitation o f g eophytes s uch a s W atsonia, C yperus a nd M oraea s p. 4 6

T ABLE

5

P LANT R ESOURCES:

S EASONAL A VAILABILITY

H IGHLAND S OURVELD

N O*

J AN

F EB

M AR

APR

M AY

JUN

JUL

AUG

3 1 9 2 2

X

X

X

S EP

OCT

N OV

X

X

X

X

X

D EC

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

47

X

X

X

X

X

X

48

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

. X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

x

x

35 4 6

X

5 1 5 2 5 4 67

X

X

X

7 1

X

X

X

7 2

X

X

X

X

X

X

77

X

7 8

X

X

X

X

83

X

X

X

X

87

x

88

X

8 9 90

X

X X

9 5

X

X

X X

X

X

1 09

X

X

X

1 11

X

X

X

* n umbers

r efer

X

X

t o Appendix 1

4 7

P LANT

R ESOURCES:

S EASONAL AVAILABILITY

C OASTAL B ELT J AN

F EB

M AR

A PR

M AY

j . X

X

X

X

X

( X)

5

X X

X

X

i l

X

X

( X)

1 2

X

X

X

1 3

X

1 7 2 0

X

2 3

X

J UN

JUL

A UG

S EP

( X)

X

X

( X)

( X)

X

OCT

N OV

X

X

X

X

X

( X)

( X)

X

X

X

X '

X

X

X

X

( X)

( X)

( X)

( X)

( X)

X

X

X

( X)

( X)

( X)

X

( X)

( X)

X

X

( X)

( X)

( X)

( X) X

X

X

X

X

X

27

X

X

X

X

X

( X)

X

X

3 0 3 1

X

X

X

3 3

X

X

X

X

39

X

X

X

( X)

40

X

X

43 44

X

X

59

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

60 6 1

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

6 2

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

66

X

X

X

X

( X)

( X)

X

X

X

( X)

X

X

X

X

70 8 1

X

8 2

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

85 86 89

X

9 1

X

9 4

X

X

1 0C

( X)

( X) ( X)

( X)

X

X

X

( X)

( X)

( X)

( X)

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

( X)

a vailable

X

X

X

r efer

X

X

X

b e

X

X

X

1 03

s

X

( X)

X

X

m ay

X

X

X

X

> 1 .; t 7

X

X

X

1 02

( X)

X

X

X

1 01

1 06

X ( X)

X

X

9 6 9. 7

D EC

during t his month

t o Appendix 1

4 8

X

X

X

X

W hile t hese c orms a nd b ulbs a re a vailable a ll y ear r ound r elatively u ndesirable i n w inter b eing u npalatable a nd

a re

t hey l ess

n utritious w hile p roviding n ourishment f or t he p lant d uring t he d ry s eason. A n e xpansion o f d ata o n t he w ide v ariety o f t hese s pecies o ccurring i n t he H ighland S ourveld w ould p robably r einforce r ather t han d etract f rom t he p attern o f s easonality d isplayed i n F ig. 3 :2 ( A). A s hown

c lear c ontrast i s a pparent i n t he d ata f rom t he c oastal b elt i n F ig. 3 :2 ( B) w hich p resents a p icture o f y ear-round p lant

f ood

a vailability w ith a n a bundance o f

s pecies,

m ainly o f

f ruiting

t rees a nd s hrubs, p resent. M any o f t hese s pecies a re s ub-tropical a nd d o n ot s pread f ar i nland o ut o f t he C oast F orest z one. S tow o bserved t hat : " The w ere

b ushmen o f t he m ore w ooded p ortions o f t he s ea-coast a ble t o o btain a n umber o f a dditions t o t heir

v egetable s upplies...".

( 1905:55)

a nd a n umber o f c oastal b elt s pecies a re k nown t o h ave b een e xploited e lsewhere i n s outhern A frica ( Appendix 1 ).

c ant

E dible c orms a nd b ulbs w ould n ot h ave b een a vailable i n s ignifiq uantities i n t he c oastal b elt a nd t he e mphasis i n a vailable

p lant f oods a nd n uts. I t

i s

z one

i n

p uts

i t: " It

i n t his a rea i s o n a bove-ground r esources s uch a s f ruits

i mportant

t o v iew t he r esource p otential o f

t he c ontext o f

i s

p ossible

t he a lternatives a vailable.

t hat s ome r esources,

a A s

p articular P arkington

t hough a vailable o n a

y ear-round b asis, c ould b e s cheduled f or e xploitation a t p articular s easons o r f rom p articular s ites. S ome a reas m ay b e s cheduled f or o ccupation a t p articular t imes o f t he y ear. S cheduling t hus r eflects t he c oncept t hat t he v alue o f a r esource d epends u pon w hat a lternatives a re a vailable,

o r t hat t he d esirability o f a p articular f ood a s t he a vailability o f i ts c ompetitors d e-

i ncreases c reases". T hus, a rea,

( Parkington 1 976:49)

v iewed i n t he c ontext o f p lant f ood a vailability o ver t he y ear-round p roductivity o f

t he whole

t he c oastal b elt m ay b e s een a s

a w inter p eak i n r elative r esource p otential, w hile o n t his b asis t he p roductivity o f t he H ighland S ourveld w ould h ave b een g reatest i n s pring a nd s ummer. L ooking c ular

t hen,

a spect o f

a t a cknowledgedly i mperfect d ata a nd a t a

t he r ange o f n atural r esources

i n i solation,

p artia lbeit

p robably a n i mportant o ne f or p rehistoric e conomic o rganisation, i t i s p ossible t o h ypothesise a p attern o f s easonal m ovement i n s outhern N atal i nvolving e xploitation o f t he s pring a nd s ummer p eak i n H ighl and

S ourveld

p lant f oods

i n

p lant p roductivity a nd o f

t he r elative

t he c oastal b elt d uring w inter.

4 9

a bundance

o f

T ABLE

7

S OUTHERN N ATAL : M AMMALIAN F AUNA

K ey t o T able

:

H abitat t ypes ( after D orst & D andelot 1 970, J arman 1 974) b . = b ush;

f . = f orest;

s . = s avanna; A ntelope A

=

:

g . = g rassland; m ont. = m ontane;

t h. = t hicket; w l. = w oodland;

:F eeding & S ocial c lasses ( Jarman 1 974)

+ W =n ear w ater. :

P redominantly b rowsers, r emaining i n o ne v egetation t ype a nd o ne s mall h ome r ange t hroughout t he y ear. G roup s ize 1 -3, d oes n ot v ary s easonally. E ither e ntirely g razers o r e ntirely b rowsers, r emaining i n o ne o r a f ew v egetation t ypes t hroughout t he y ear. G roup s ize 1 -12, u sually 3 -6, m ay b e s light s easonal v ariation.

•

F eeding o n a v ariety o f g rasses a nd b rowse, i n a v ariety o f v egetation t ypes, w ithin a f airly l arge h ome a rea. D iet and v egetation t ype p reference c hange s easonally. G roup s ize 6 -60, u p t o 2 00, c an v ary s easonally a nd r egionally.

•

G razers, s elective f or p lant p art o r g rowth s tage. M ay m igrate t o f ind g rasses i n o ptimum g rowth s tage a nd h ave p oorly d efined h ome area. G roup s ize 6 - m any h undred, f acility f or aggregation. G reat s easonal a nd r egional v ariations i n g roup s ize.

•

G razers o r s easonally c onditions a gain w hen

•

r ock a rt e vidence o nly;

umber o f v egetation t ypes, m oving m ixed f eeders, i n a n rea. G roup s ize 2 5-70, u ner o ptimum w ithin l arge h ome a m any h undred, m ay s plit u p d uring d ry s eason and j oin f ood a bundant. * * = r ock art a nd I ron A ge s ite o nly;

= e xtinct. A pprox W eight

H abitat

F eeding

C ape h are

5 kg.

g .fIats

G rass

C ane r at

7 kg.

b .f.th.+W

M ixed v eg.

2 0kg.

A ll t ypes

B rowse

g .s.w.mont. O mnivore

G enus s pecies

C ommon N ame

L epus c apensis T hryonomys s winderianus

orcupine H ystrix a fricaeaustralis P P apio u isinus

C hacma b aboon

4 0kg.

C ercopithecus a ethiops

V ervet m onkey

5 kg.

C anis m esomelas

B lack-backed j ackal

1 2kg.

s .w.

L ycaon p ictus

H unting d og

2 5kg.

arnivore g .s.w.mont. C

H erpestes i chneumon

E gyptian m ongoose

3 kg.

b .s.w.+W

C arnivore

S elogale p arvula

D warf m ongoose

1 kg.

b .s.w.

C arnivore

M ungos m ungo

B anded m ongoose

2 kg.

b .s.w.+W

C arnivore

C rocuta c rocuta

S potted h yena

8 0kg.

A ll t ypes

C arnivore

F elis l ibyca

W ildcat

6 kg.

A ll t ypes

C arnivore

F elis s erval

S erval

1 6kg.

A ll t ypes

C arnivore

F ells c aracal

C aracal

1 8kg.

A ll t ypes

C arnivore

b .f.th.w.s. B rowse/O. C arnivore

T ABLE 7 ( cont.) G enus s pecies

C ommon N ame

P ahthera l eo*

L ion

P anthera p ardus

L eopard

O rycteropus a fer*

A ardvark

P rocavia c apensis

R ock h yrax

L oxodonta africana**

E lephant

Equuß b urchelli

B urchell's z ebra

Equuß q uagga @

Q uagga

Equus z ebra

M tn. z ebra

D iceros b icornis*

B lack r hino

9 00-1400kg.

C eratotherium s imum*

W hite r hino

3 500kg.

H ippopotamus a mphibus

H ippopotamus

P hacochoerus a ethiopicus

W arthog

6 0-140kg .

P otamochoerus p orcus

B ushpig

8 0kg.

T aurotragus o ryx

E land

6 00-700kg.

g .s.w.mont.

T ragelaphus s trepsiceros

K udu

2 00-300kg.

b .w.

T ragelaphus angasi

N yala

1 00-130kg.

b .th.w.

T ragelaphus s criptus

B ushbuck

3 2-77kg.

b .f.th.

H ippotragus e quinus*

R oan a ntelope

2 27-272kg.

. Mtn. r eedbuck

2 3-27kg.

R edunca f ulvorufula

A pprox W eight 1 20-200kg.

H abitat

F eeding

b .g.s.w.

C arnivore

A ll t ypes

C arnivore

b .f.g.s.w.

Anteater

R ocky p laces

M ixed v eg.

b .f.w.s.?g.

M ixed v eg.

3 00kg.

g .s.

G razer

c .300kg.

g .s.

G razer

m ont.g.

G razer

d ry b .th.

B rowser

g .s.w.

G razer

+ W

G razer

g .s.

M ixed, g r.

b .f.th.

O mn/roots

5 0-80 k g. 7 0 k g. 4 k g. 3 500-6 00kg.

2 75kg.

1 300-2500kg.

2 3kg.

g .s.w.

V aal r hebuck

Alcelaphus b uselaphus

H artebeest

D amaliscus d orcas

B ontebok/blesbok

5 9-100kg.

g .

C onnochaetes g nou

B lack w ildebeest

1 60kg.

g .

Antidorcas m arsupialis

S pringbuck

3 2-36kg.

g .

C ephalophus m onticola

B lue d uiker

S ylvicapra g rimmia

C ommon d uiker

O urebia o urebi

O ribi

Oreotragus o reotragus

K lipspringer

R aphicerus c ampestris

S teenbok

R aphicerus m elanotis

G rysbok

S yncerus c affer S yncerus c affer

5 -9kg. 1 0-14kg. 9 -20kg.

C/D A ?

g .mont.s.

P elea c apreolus

1 59-182kg.

B (A)

g .mont. g .s.mont. .

f .th.w.

A

b .g.s.w.mont.

A

g .s. k opjes, h ills

A

1 4kg.

g. s.w.

A

1 1kg.

b .w.

A

B uffalo:forest

3 20kg.

f .w.

B uffalo:plains

8 20kg.

b .g.s.w.mont.

1 4-18kg.

5 1

3 .

MAMMALIAN F AUNA

T able 7 l ists t he l arger m ammalian s pecies k nown f rom L ate S tone A ge s ites i n t he r esearch a rea a nd/or d epicted i n t he r ock a rt. S ome s maller m ammals, s uch a s r odents e .g. O tomys s p., w hich o ccur a t a n umber o f s ites a re n ot i ncluded a s i t i s u nlikely t hat t heir p res ence i n f aunal a ssemblages i s d ue t o h uman e xploitation. I nformat ion o n a pproximate b ody w eights, p referred h abitats a nd f eeding s tyles i s g iven i n t he T able. M ore d etailed i nformation o n f eeding a nd s ocial o rganisation i s a vailable f or a ntelope ( Jarman 1 974) a nd t his i s r eflected i n t he T able. M any o f t he s pecies l isted n o l onger e xist i n t he r esearch a rea a nd o thers s urvive o nly i n p rotected e nvironments s uch a s g ame p arks. D etailed d iscussion o f f aunal a ssemblages f rom s pecific a rchaeological s ites i n s outhern N atal b e f ound i n C hapters 5 a nd 6 . I n g eneral t hese a ssemblages

may a re

d ominated b y t he r emains o f v arious s pecies o f a ntelope a nd i t w ill b e w ith t he d istribution a nd a vailability o f t hese t hat t his s ection w ill b e c hiefly c oncerned. J arman ( 1974) d efines f ive c lasses o f f eeding s tyles a nd s ocial g röuping a mong A frican a ntelope, e xamples o f a ll o f w hich o ccur i n t he r esearch a rea. S pecies o ccurring i n f orest a nd t hick b ush a re m ainly s mall s olitary b rowsers o f C lasses A a nd B , b eing h ighly s elective i n t erms o f s pecies a nd p lant p art e aten a nd t hus n eeding r elatively l arge h ome a reas s ize. T hey: " ...appear

t o

h ave

f or e ach i ndividual

i n r elation

t heir p opulation s izes

t o t heir

r egulated

b y

t heir s pacing b ehaviour a nd t he a vailability o f r esources which m ay b e e xpected t o b e v ery l imited". ( Mentis & D uke 1 976:74) I n c ontrast g rasses p rovide a s uper-abundant r esource f or g razers a nd m ixed f eeders a nd h igher b iomasses c an b e e xpected i n g rassland s avanna-woodland e nvironments.

a nd

..a l arge p roportion o f g rasses i n t he a vailable p lant c ommunity i s c haracteristic o f t he v egetation t ypes t hat s upport a h igh b iomass o f a ntelopes, a nd a h igh p roportion o f

b rowse

c haracterises

c ommunities

a ntelope b iomasses". G rasslands

a re

s upporting

l ow

( Jarman 1 974:218)

g rouped i n t hree m ajor c ategories

i n

s outhern

A frica, S weet, S our a nd M ixed V eld ( Scott 1 959). S weet V eld t ypes o ccur i n a reas o f r elatively l ow r ainfall a nd t he m ajority o f t he g rasses a re p alatable a ll y ear r ound. S our V eld t ypes i n c ontrast b ecome u npalatable a t a c omparatively e arly s tage i n g rowth , i ng h igh q uality g razing o nly i n t he s pring a nd e arly s ummer. s ays o f

t he H ighland S ourveld

" ...useful

f or

b ut

t hat p eriod

d uring

h igher

M ixed

V eld,

c ontaining

i n N atal

a s g rass

t hat i t i s:

g razing f or o nly f ive m onths o f t he c arrying c apacity i s

t han o n a ny o ther v eld

t he

y ear

p robably

t ype i n S outh A frica". ( Scott 1 957)

t he n ame i mplies, s pecies

p rovidS cott

i s

i ntermediate b etween

f rom b oth t he o ther t ypes a nd

5 2

i t

t he c an

t wo, b e

u seful f or g razing, d epending o n t he m ix o f s pecies, n ine m onths o f t he y ear. T he H ighland S ourveld,

t hen,

i s c learly s easonal

f or f rom s ix t o

i n i ts a ttrac-

t ion f or g razing, m igratory a ntelope. O liver e t a l. ( 1978) i dentify w inter m alnutrition d ue t o a p ronounced d ecline i n t he c rude p rotein c ontent o f t he h erbage a s a m ajor p opulation-limiting f actor a mong p opulations o f o ribi, r hebuck a nd m ountain r eedbuck l iving a ll y ear r ound i n t he D rakensberg t oday. T he s easonal p eak i n p roductivity o f t he H ighland S ourveld i s l ikely t o h ave b een p articularly i mportant t o t he l arger g razers o f C lasses C , D , a nd E ( Jarman 1 974; T able 7 ). " Before

t he a rrival o f

t he w hite m an,

t he w ild h erbivores

p robably o ccurred a t h igh d ensities a t a g iven l ocality o nly t emporarily". ( Men ds & D uke 1 976:73) T he

s pring

a nd e arly s ummer i n t he H ighland S ourveld

p robably

s aw

a ggregations o f s pecies s uch a s h artebeest, e land a nd b lesbok i n m uch l arger n umbers a nd d ensities t han i n a ny o ther a rea d uring t he y ear. I n w inter, a s V innlcombe p uts i t: ..there

i s

l ittle d oubt

t hat

t he

m ajority

m igrated...

f rom t he s our H ighveld d own t owards t he s weeter M iddleveld where t he v egetation w as m ore s ustaining". ( 1976:5) A lthough S weet a nd M ixed v eld i n t he m idlands w ould b e m ore n utrit ious a nd p alatable i n w inter t han t he S our v eld, t hese t ypes a lso, i f t o a l esser e xtent, s how a d ecline i n p alatability a nd n utritional v alue h igh

d uring w inter a

s hort-term

( Mentis & D uke

1 976),

c arrying c apacity a s

a nd w ould n ot h ave h ad a s t he S our

v eld

s pring

a nd

s ummer p eak. D ifferences i n a ntelope d ensity m ay a lso h ave o ccurred w ithin a s w ell a s b etween z ones; M azel ( 1981) s uggests t hat t he n orthern D rakensberg m ay h ave s een l arger a ggregations o f h erdf orming g razers

t han t he s outh ,

d ue

t o

t he p resence o f g rassy p lains

i n t he m idlands o f t he n orth f or o ver-wintering, i n c ontrast m ore r ugged a nd b roken c ountry o f t he s outhern N atal m idlands.

t o

S ocial o rganisation, f eeding s tyle a nd s easonal m ovement a ntelope h ave o bvious i mplications f or h uman g roups e xploiting T he

c oastal

b elt f orest a nd b ush,

i nhabited c hiefly b y

s mall

t he

a mong t hem. a nd

s olitary b rowsers s uch a s b lue d uiker a nd b ushbuck, w ould h ave h ad m uch t he s ame l ow d ensity o f a ntelope s pecies t hroughout t he y ear. T hese s pecies t end t o h ave f ixed h ome t erritories a nd u tilise r uns t hrough t he b ush r epeatedly ( Dorst & D andelot 1 970), m aking s naring a nd t rapping a m ore e ffective h unting t echnique i n t he t hick b ush t han b ow a nd a rrow s hooting c ombined w ith t racking. A d iversificat ion i n t he r ange o f s pecies t aken c ould b e e xpected, b oth b y v irtue o f u nselective h unting t echniques a nd t he l ow a vailability o f a ntel ope. I n t he m ore o pen w oodland a nd s avanna o f t he l arger i nterior r iver

v alleys

a nd p articularly

t he r idges

b etween

t hem,

a

w ider

v ariety o f a ntelope s pecies w ould h ave b een a vailable, i ncluding s uch s pecies a s k udu, o ribi, s teenbok a nd b uffalo, w ith t he a ddition f urther i nland o f t he m igratory g razers i n w inter. C ertainly t he m ost p roductive a rea a nd t ime o f t he y ear f or a ntelope h unting w ould h ave

b een s pring a nd s ummer i n t he g rasslands o f

t he H ighland

S our-

v eld, w hen m eat a s a r esource w ould h ave b een m ost ' predictable'. A ntelope h unting p rovides, o f c ourse, m ore t han j ust m eat : s kins f or 5 3

l eather c lothing a nd u tensils,

b one f or a rtefact m anufacture,

f at f or

a nnointing a nd f at a nd b lood f or m ixing w ith p aint w ere a ll d esirable p roducts. T he s ocial i mportance o f a ntelope h unting t o s outhern S an p opulations i s v ividly r eflected i n t he r ock a rt ( Chapter 4 ), w hich i s c oncentrated i n t he D rakensberg, a nd i n t heir m ythology ( e.g. B leek 1 924, 1 931-1936). I n v iew o f t he p robable d ominance o f g athered, p lant f oods i n t he d iet r eferred t o a bove t his i s n ot t o s uggest t hat s ocial i mportance n ecessarily r eflected e conomic i mport ance: . it

i s

e xpensive

t o b e e xpected

t hat

t he l ess p redictable,

f ood s ource w ould h ave a g reater

m ore

a ccretion

m yth a nd r itual b uilt u p a round i t t han w ould s taples o f l ife, w hich r arely i f e ver f ail".

o f

t he r outine

( Lee 1 968:40) b ut

m erely

t o e mphasise

t he a ttractions o f

t he H ighland S ourveld

i n

s pring a nd s ummer. • T o s ummarise,

t hen,

e vidence o n m ammalian f auna,

e specially a nte-

l ope, s uggests t hat t he H ighland S ourveld i n s pring a nd s ummer w ould h ave b een a z one o f p eak p roductivity f or h unters, w hile i n w inter a ntelope w ould h ave b een m ore r eadily a vailable i n t he s weet a nd m ixed v eld o f t he m idlands, w ith t he c oast f orest p roviding t he l east p roductive z one f or a ntelope h unting, a lthough a v ariety o f o ther m ammalian s pecies w ould h ave b een a vailable t here a ll y ear r ound. 4 .

N ON-MAMMALIAN F AUNA

F ish r emains o ccur a t a n umber o f L ate S tone A ge s ites i n t he r esearch a rea. T wo f resh w ater s pecies d ominate, e specially B arb us n atalensis a nd a lso L abeo r ubromaculatus. F ish a re o ccasionally d epicted i n t he r ock a rt a nd B arbus s p. h ave b een i dentified i n t he p aintings ( Vinnicombe 1 976). a nd a bundance o f B arbus s p.

V ariations i n t he s easonal d istribution a re m ost a pparent i n t he r ivers o f t he

h ighlands. L ow w ater l evels d uring w inter d rive t he f ish, p articul arly t he l arger i ndividuals, d ownstream , w hile i n l ate s ummer w hen t he r ivers a re i n s pate f ishing b ecomes v ery d ifficult d ue t o t he s peed a nd " is

t urbulence o f

t he w ater.

c haracterized

b y

t emperature a nd f low ,

T he O range R iver s ystem :

i ts m arked f luctuation

a v ery h igh s ummer s ilt l oad;

o f v egetation a nd a h omogeneity o f h abitat". ( Bowmaker e t a l. S pawning

o f

r uns o f B arbus s p.

a nnual a l ack

1 978:1200)

g oing u pstream t ake p lace i n s pring a nd

e arly s ummer i n t he O range R iver s ystem a nd C arter ( 1978) s uggests t he l arge q uantity o f f ish b one f rom t he u pper l evels a t S ehonghong r eflects t he e xploitation o f t his s pawning r un i n t he O range r iver i n e astern L esotho, b ordering t he r esearch a rea. P aintings n ear t he T soelike r iver, e astern L esotho, a re i nterpreted b y V innicombe a s d epicting a s pring s pawning r un. O utside

t he H ighlands,

a t D riel s helter i n n orthern N atal,

l ocated i n g rassland b etween o f t he l ower T ugela b asin :

t he H ighland S ourveld a nd

5 4

t he

( 1976)

a s ite

b ushveld

" The

q uantity o f f ish r emains

a n i mportant r esource f or

s uggests

t hat i t w as

q uite

t he s helter's i nhabitants". ( Maggs & W ard 1 980 :59)

a nd t he a uthors s uggest t hat t he r estricted s ize r ange o f f ish a t D riel a rgues a gainst t he e xploitation o f a s pring s pawning r un h ere b ut m ay a ccord w ith : ..an e xplanation b ased o n

t he a bsence o f

t he l arger f ish

d uring w inter, t ogether w ith c atching m ethods, p articularly t he u se o f h ook a nd l ine, w hich w ould l et t he s maller f ish e scape..." A rtefacts

( Maggs

i nterpreted a s b one f ish h ooks,

&W ard 1 980:60)

d elicately a nd s killfully

m ade, o ccur a t o ther L ate S tone A ge s ites i n t he r esearch a rea, ( e.g. B orchers S helter, G ood H ope - C able e t a l. 1 980, B elleview - C arter 1 978) a nd f ishing i s d ocumented f rom m ost e cological z ones i n t he a rea. O ther f ishing t echniques d epicted i n t he r ock a rt a lthough n ot k nown a rchaeologically ( Vinnicombe 1 965, 1 961, 1 960; G oodwin 1 949) i nclude s pearing, f rom l and a nd f rom ' boats', a nd b asket t raps. I n g eneral, w ith t he p ossible e xception o f D riel, f ishing d oes n ot a ppear t o h ave p rovided m ore t han a s upplement t o t he d iet a t m ost L ate S tone A ge s ites w here e vidence f or i t O ther

i s p reserved.

d ietary r esources k nown f rom a rchaeological a nd h istorical

o bservations a nd l ikely t o h ave b een u sed b y t he s outhern S an i n N atal i nclude w ild h oney, i nsects, t ermite e ggs, r eptiles. .and b irds. T he t wo a lthough

l atter a re r epresented i n a n umber o f f aunal a ssemblages, i n s mall q uantities. T he f ormer a re l ikely t o r emain

a rchaeologically

i nvisible

a lthough t he e xploitation o f

h oney

f ea-

t ures i n t he r ock a rt ( Mazel 1 981). A lthough t hese r esources m ay h ave b een d esirable s upplements t o t he d iet, t hey a re f elt u nlikely t o h ave e xerted a s ignificant i nfluence o n e conomic o rganisation.

a ble t he

E dible m ollusca a re a bundant a long t he N atal c oast a nd a re a vailt here a t a ll t imes o f t he y ear. T he m ost c ommon s pecies, a nd o ne

t hat d ominates a rchaeological s hell c ounts,

i s

t he

b rown

m ussel, P erna p erna. O ther e dible s pecies i nclude O ysters, v arious P atella s pecies, F issurella n atalensis, a nd T urbo c oronatus, a nd t heir e xploitation w ould h ave b een r estricted t o t he c oastal b elt, s ince i t w ould h ave b een u neconomic d istances d ue t o: " ...the

r elatively

g iven l ive w eight o f a nd

t heir

q uickness

t o c arry s hell-fish

o ver

l ow o utput o f c alories p roduced b y s hells".

t o s poil.

l arge

a

( Bailey 1 976:8) A n

e dible

f resh-water

m ussel,

U nio c affer, o ccurs i n s mall n umbers a t a f ew i nland s ites a nd i s n ot n aturally a bundant, a lthough i t i s w idely d istributed b etween t he C ape a nd Z imbabwe ( Brown 1 978:1166). I nedible m arine s hells, p resuma bly

c ollected

a nd v alued f or d ecorative

p urposes,

o ccur

a s

f ar

i nland a s S ehonghong ( Carter 1 978), o ver 1 90 k ilometers f rom t he s ea, a nd G ood H ope ( Cable e t a l. 1 980), a bout 1 20 k ilometers i nland. 5 .

N ON-DIETARY R ESOURCES L ithic

r aw

m aterials

s uitable f or 5 5

t ool m anufacture a re

w idely

d istributed a rea.

a nd

S ites

r elatively e asily a vailable

m ay

t hroughout

b e m ore o r l ess n ear t o p articular

t he

r esearch

r aw

m aterial

s ources a nd w hile t his m ay a ffect t he c hoice o f s pecific r aw m aterial t ypes a t t hat s ite - a s a t U mbeli B elli ( Chapter 5 b elow) w here t he r elatively h igh p roportion o f q uartz i s t hought t o r eflect t he s carcity o f p referable m aterial i n t he v icinity - r aw m aterial a vaila bility i s n ot r egarded a s l ikely t o h ave e xerted a ny i nfluence o n s ite-location o n t he m acro-scale. W ood, b oth f or b urning a nd f or t ool m anufacture, w as a vailable m ore o r l ess a bundantly i n a ll v egetation t ypes i n t he r esearch a rea, o nly t he T hemeda-Festuca A lpine v eld ( Acocks 1 975) a bove a bout 2 000 m eters a ltitude b eing s ignificantly l acking i n t rees a nd w ood m ay n ot h ave b een a vailable a t a ll i n t his a rea. T he c oastal f orests, M istB elt a nd M ontane P odocarpus f orests w ould a ll h ave p rovided a bundant, i f i n p laces l ocalised ( e.g. i n f ire-protected s ites i n t he H ighland S ourveld) s ources o f w ood.

i n

V innicombe ( 1971) i n h er d escription o f a S an h unting k it t he C athkin P ark a rea o f t he D rakensberg d raws a ttention

f ound t o a

r esource t hat m ay h ave b een r estricted i n i ts d istribution a nd s easonal a vailability. T he a rrowshafts f ound w ere m ade o f c ommon c oarse g rasses, C ymbopogon v alidus a nd M iscanthidum c apense, w hile t he b ow-stave i s t hought t o b e o f w hite i ronwood, V epris u ndulata, w hich i s m ainly r estricted t o c oastal a nd m idland f orests, a lthough a lternative

w oods

f or

t he

p urpose a re c learly

w idely

d istributed.

M ore i nterestingly t he a rrowtips c arry p oison, i n c ommon w ith p ractice a mong m ost r ecorded S an g roups. V innicombe q uotes a m yth s tating t hat K aggen, a m ajor d eity: " ...went

t o h is n ephew t o g et a rrow p oison a nd h e w as a way

t hree d ays".

( 1976:271)

s uggesting t hat c onsiderable d istances m ight b e t ravelled t o i t. B oth E llenberger ( 1953) a nd H ow ( 1962) s tate t hat t he S an

u sed a p oison i n p art c ollected f rom a t ree

..was m ade b y b oiling

N atal.

t he

1 850s

i ngredients o f v egetable o rigin i n

a c lay p ot u ntil a b lack-looking

a mong

a cquire L esotho

t hat g rew i n

A n A frican i nformant w ho h ad l ived w ith t he S an d uring s tated t hat a rrow p oison :

a nd

t he S an

j elly w as p roduced". ( Vinnicombe 1 976:66)

t he w idely u sed S an a rrow p oisons

( Shaw &

W oolley

1 963)

w ere p roducts o f t he p lants A cokanthera o blongifolia a nd A . o ppositif olia. T he f ormer i s r estricted t o t he c oastal b elt i n N atal ( Acocks 1 975) while

t he l atter

" Acokanthera t he

y ear

s eason o f T his h ave

a nd

i s u ndoubtedly m ost

t he y ear".

O f

a t a ll

s easons

t oxic...during

t he

o f d ry

( Watt & B reyer-Brandwijk 1 962:73)

t hat a m ajor i ngredient o f

m ost p rofitably a cquired

B ushveld d uring

i n t he V alley B ushveld.

i s n ot e qually p oisonous

a t l east s uggests b een

i s g enerally f ound

a rrow p oisons c ould

i n t he c oastal

b elt

o r

V alley

t he w inter.

f requent o ccurrence a t L ate S tone A ge s ites 5 6

i n t he

r esearch

a rea a re o strich e ggshell b eads.

O striches d o n ot o ccur i n s outhern

N atal t oday, b ut i n t he p ast t heir d istribution w ould h ave b een l argely c onfined t o g rassland a nd o pen s avanna-woodland. O strich e ggshell b eads o ccur b oth a t U mbeli B elli a nd a t B orchers S helter, a t l east t he f ormer o f w hich w ould h ave b een v ery u nlikely t o h ave i ncluded s uitable h abitats i n i ts t erritory, s uggesting t hat t he b eads, o r t he e ggs t hemselves, w ere b rought v egetation t ypes a t h igher a ltitudes. 6 .

t here f rom

m ore

o pen

D ISCUSSION I n

g eneral

p atterns o f

r esource a vailability i n

t he

r esearch

a rea s upport a m odel o f s easonal e xploitation i nvolving a s pring/summer o ccupation o f t he H ighland S ourveld, f ollowed b y a m ovement t hrough t he m idlands t o e xploit t he v aried w inter r esource b ase o f t he c oastal b elt. I nformation p resented a bove s uggests t hat s pring a nd s ummer i n t he H ighland S ourveld w as a t ime o f p eak r esource p roductivity, w ith a bundant p lant f oods, p articularly t he c orms o f v arious s pecies o f I ridaceae, l arge a ggregations o f a ntelope a nd s easonal s pawning r uns o f f resh-water f ish a ll b eing a vailable a t t his t ime. D uring w inter, i n c ontrast, t he c oastal b elt w ith i ts f ruiting t rees a nd s hrubs, a s w ell a s v arious m ammalian s pecies a nd t he r esources o f t he s ea-shore i tself, w ould h ave p rovided t he m ost p roductive s et o f r esources i n t he a rea. A ntelope w ould h ave b een m ost r eadily a vailable a t t his t ime i n t he m ore o pen s avanna-woodland p arts o f t he m idlands, o n S weet o r M ixed g razing, p articularly o n t he h igher g round b etween t he d eep r iver v alleys, w hich w ould a lso h ave b een c onsiderably e asier t o m ove t hrough t han t he t hick • scrub a nd b ush o f t he l ower p arts o f t hese d ry r iver v alleys. I n

s uch a m odel i t i s n ot i mplied

t hat a ll h uman g roups

a t

a ll

t imes n ecessarily m oved i n t his w ay, m erely t hat f or t he s ociety a s a whole s uch a s trategy w ould h ave p rovided a n o ptimum y ear-round r esource b ase. I t i s p erfectly p ossible f or p articular g roups a t p articular t imes t o h ave o ver-wintered i n t he H ighland S ourveld, a tlhough p robably i n s maller n umbers a nd a t l ower d ensities t han w ould h ave b een p ossible d uring s ummer. A t a ny r ate i t i s c onsidered t hat s easonal p atterns o f r esource a vailability p rovide a c redible b asis

f or

p redicting p rehistoric e xploitation p atterns

f erent e cological z ones i n s uch a w ay a s s easonal p eaks i n r esource a vailability.

5 7

t o

u sing

t ake a dvantage o f

d ift hese

C HAPTER F OUR - P REVIOUS W ORK 1 .

ARCHAEOLOGY T his

s ection

i s

r estricted

t o p revious w ork u p

t o

1 978

o n

t he

L ate S tone A ge o f N atal a nd i mmediately n eighbouring a reas a nd p ublic ations d ealing w ith o nly t he e arlier p eriods o f p rehistory o r t he I ron A ge a re n ot d iscussed. M ore r ecent w ork o n t he N atal L ate S tone A ge i s d iscussed i n t he b ody o f t he t ext ( see p articularly C hapter 6 ). M ajor b ibliographical s ources a re S tabbins a nd G oodwin ( 1935).

( 1981),

H olm ( 1966)

T he b ulk o f a rchaeological w ork i n N atal h as b een s ite r ather t han r egion o rientated; e ven w here m ore t han o ne s ite w as c onsidered i n a s

a s tudy

t he

f or e xample

1 961)

i n

L ittle

s ites i n

t ended

t o c luster

t he w ork o f

i n a s ingle e cological

z one,

S choute-Vanneck a nd W alsh ( 1959,

1 960,

t he c oastal b elt o r S tein ( 1933)

i n

o r n o a ttempt w as m ade a t a r egional

t he H ighland o verview a nd

S ourveld. t his,

c om-

b ined w ith t he " culture-specific" a pproach o f t he b ulk o f t he a uthors r esulted i n t he a pplication o f a w ide, a nd i n t he l ong r un m eaningl ess, l ages

p rofusion o f c ultural t erms t o L ate S tone A ge s ites a nd a ssembi n N atal. While t his s ituation r eflected b oth t he p art-time

s tatus

o f

S tone

t he m ajority o f

A ge

s tudies

k nowledge

o f

r esearchers

a nd

i n s outhern A frica,

t he L ate S tone A ge

t he c ontemporary s tate

t here

i s n o d oubt

h as

l agged b ehind

i n N atal

o f

t hat

o ur

d evelop-

m ents e lsewhere o n t he s ub-continent. P hillipson ( 1977), i n g eneral w ork o n t he l ater p rehistory o f s outhern A frica, w rites: " To

d ate,

t he

c hronology o f

t he l ater s tone-tool

a

u sing

i nhabitants o f N atal r emains v ery p oorly u nderstood, a s d oes t heir e conomy a nd g eneral l ife-style". ( 262) while

I nskeep ( 1978)

S hongweni

( Davies

T he e arliest l ogy

i n g eneral

b ach, r efers ( 1871b) a nd ( 1871a)

a nd

" A

i s

u nable

1 975) u seful

r eference

t o

i n N atal,

i ncludes

i n

S tone A ge s ites

i n

1 871.

a s tick,

i ndeed

t o

A g eologist,

a rchaeo-

C .L.

G ries-

t he o bservation:

o f

t ool

a r ounded

which i s u sed

e mployed a s

i s e mployed b y

s tone

p erforated f or

t he

B ushmen,

t he

f or d igging u p r oots,

a w eapon".

p assage a nd

m ay

( 1871a:cliv-clv)

S anderson ( 1878) d escribes i mplements f ound t he m ajor t rend o f h is d iscussion i s t he

i n a nd a round D urban q uestion o f w hether

Z ulus

t hem.

a nd

w ritten

" Natal K afirs"

b y

f unctions,

a nd

G ooch h imself

s ystematic, i nto t he

c ould

h ave made

G ooch l isting v arious

d etail

b y

t he

b ulk o f

h is

a rtefact

c ountry

r egions i s

c omprises

: a.

u tensils

e tc".

G ooch's h is

a nd c ategories. b .

W eapons

p aper

s ubject a nd H is

b asically e cological while

O rnaments;

t ypes

H e a nd

q uotes t heir

o bservations a re r epeated

( 1882).

d ividing S outh A frica,

v arious

b ut

t he r esearch a rea.

t he Late S tone A ge,

o ccurs

s ingularly-shaped

a lso b e

t o

i n t wo p apers i n t hat y ear t o " implements o f e arly m an" " relics o f a f ormer r ace" f ound o n t he N atal c oast

c onsisting o f

t o f ind a ny L ate t o r efer

i s

i n i ts

a nd t he n otes

s upposed i n

m ore

o wn

t he a rtefact

w ay t ypes

g eographical d ivision h is

o f W ar a nd

i mplement

t he C hase;

c .

o f

t ypology D omestic

G ooch d escribes a v ariety o f a rtefacts m ore o r l ess 5 9

a ccurately b ut a lways w ith h ighly i diosyncratic i nterpretations a s t o t heir u se a nd/or s tyle o f m anufacture. H e a lso r efers t o b ored s tones a nd w hile r ecognising t heir r ecent u se a s w eights f or d igging s ticks f eels t hey a re n o l onger a ctually m anufactured a nd w ere i n a ntiquity a s w ar c lubs. H e d oes o bserve t hat:

m ade

" The g reat c entre o f t heir o ccurrence i s u ndoubtedly t he m ountain r anges, b ut t hey a re a lso f ound m ore s paringly c oastward". ( Gooch 1 882:130) G ooch d raws a ttention t o c aves i n t he D rakensberg a nd r eports c ollections f rom B asutoland ( Lesotho) s ent t o S ir J oseph H ooker b y a C ommandant B owker f rom r ock s helters i n t he D rakensberg. B owker w rote : " The

a rrow-heads.. . 1 f ound m ostly i n t he c aves

o r

p laces

w hich h ad b een f ormerly o ccupied b y t he B ushmen, a nd I n oticed t hat t he f arther t hese p laces w ere f rom t he r ivers c ontaining f ish , t he s maller t he p oints a nd t he b etter a dapted t o t he s laughter o f g ame o f a d ifferent s ort, w hile t hose c lose t o t he b anks o f t he C aledon R iver.. . are r eplete w ith t he l arger o nes". ( 1882:153) W hile

i t s hould b e

p ointed o ut

t hat,

j udging b y

t he

i llustrations,

B owker's " arrow-heads" a re n othing o f t he s ort, i n s ome w ays a s V innicombe ( 1976) p oints o ut, a head o f h is t ime :

h e w as,

" Instead o f p eoples a s

a ttributing d ifferent i mplements t o d ifferent h as b een t he r ecent a rchaeological v ogue,

B owker w as r efer t o a s

f ully a ware o f w hat a rchaeologists i nter-site v ariability".

H .W.

F ielden m ade c ollections

o f

c urrently ( 112)

s tone a rtefacts d uring h is m ilitary

t ravels i n n orthern N atal a nd Z ululand, o f w hich h e g ives s cant d et ails, ( 1884), w hile s ome y ears l ater F rames ( 1898) m ade a c ollection f rom a r ock-shelter o n t he f arm C urragh , i n E ast G riqualand, a ccura tely d escribing t he p aintings i n t he s helter a nd c ommenting t hat s ome

o f

s crapers

t he

t ools,

w hich f rom t he

d escriptions

i nclude

n otched

a nd e nd-scrapers,:

..represent t ypes u sed o nly i n t he c ave-house b y t he w omen i n d ressing s kins a nd m anufacturing s pear a nd a rrows hafts, a nd a lso i n w orking i nto s hape t he d igging s ticks a nd o thers, s uch a s k nobkerries, w hether o f w ood o r r hinoceros h orn". ( 1898:252) L eith,

w riting

i n

t he s ame y ear

( 1898) m entions

s crapers

i n

c hert,

j asper, a gate a nd c halcedony f rom P ort A lfred a nd f rom t he M zimkulu r iver m outh , a lthough h e g ives n o d etails o r i llustrations. T he n ext, o logy

w as

a nd

W illiam

p erhaps m ost B azley's

r egrettable,

e pisode

( 1905) e xcavation i n

i n N atal a rchaea

l arge

s helter

s omewhere i n s outhern Natal - t he e xact l ocation w as u nreported a nd i s u nknown - a nd t he c ursory r ecord h e l eft o f t he w ork. B azley , a r oad e ngineer, r emoved t he d eposit t o a d epth o f a bout 5 m eters, a r emarkable d epth o f d eposit f or a N atal r ock s helter. B eneath t wo l ayers

e ach

o f

a bout

l m.,

t he

l ower c ontaining a sh,

6 0

c harcoal

a nd

b ones,

a nd b eneath a l ayer o f l oose s tones,

h e f ound a l ayer

a bout

1 m. t hick c ontaining m any s tone a rtefacts. H aving r emoved t his h e h it w hat a t f irst h e t hought w as b edrock, b ut w hich t urned o ut t o c onsist o f l arge f allen r ock s labs. I mmediately b elow t hese, w hich w ere a t l east 3 meters b elow t he s urface, w ere t he c rushed s keletons o f t hree i ndividuals, t ure, a nd a f urther

t wo a dults a nd a c hild a ll o f v ery s mall s ta1 .5 m eters o f d eposit. A lthough V innicombe

( 1976:112) w rongly a ccuses B azley o f b lasting a way t he r ock f all h e r emoved t he s labs " with p lugs a nd f eathers a s Id are n ot b last o r u se e xplosives" - h is u ndocumented a nd h aphazard r emoval o f t his d eep d eposit a nd: " ...thousands

o f

s crapers

t han a f inger-nail,

o f a ll s izes,

a lso c ores,

c hips a nd f lakes,

c artload..." w as,

t o s ay

s ome n ot

l arger b y

t he

( Bazley 1 905:11)

t he l east,

a p ity.

A s G oodwin

( 1935) e xpresses

i t:

" The i llustrations s eem t o h ave n othing t o d o w ith t he c ave i n q uestion. H ad t his s helter b een p roperly e xcavated, a nd b etter p ublished, e vidence f rom t his B azley

c oncludes

i t s hould h ave y ielded p art o f t he c ountry".

h is r eport w ith w hat,

v ery

i n r etrospect,

c alled t he t hreat t o " work t wo o ther c aves" a nd a lthough n o s uch r eports w ere e ver p ublished. F or

t he

v aluable ( 314) c an o nly

r eport

n ext q uarter-century n o w ork o n t he L ate S tone

o n

b e

t hem,

A ge

i n

N atal was p ublished a nd i t w as t he 1 930s t hat s aw a r esurgence o f i nterest i n t he s ubject i n N atal, c learly s timulated b y t he w ork a nd i nfluence o f t wo f igures o f i mmense i mportance i n t he h istory o f a rchaeology i n s outhern A frica, A .J.H. G oodwin a nd C . v an R iet L owe. D uring t he l ate 1 920s t hey w ere e stablishing a t erminology f or t he S tone A ge i n s outhern A frica ( Goodwin 1 926, V an R iet L owe 1 929, G oodwin & V an R iet L owe 1 929) a nd d ividing t he L ate S tone A ge i nto t he W ilton a nd S mithfield c ultures, s een a s t he m aterial r emains o f c ontemporaneous h uman g roups w ith d istinct t raditions o f t ool m anuf acture.

T he

W ilton

w as c haracterised b y s mall

c onvex

s crapers,

m icrolithic b acked b lades a nd i n p articular r elatively l arge n umbers o f s egments ( then r eferred t o a s c rescents). T he S mithfield w as d ivided i nto a number o f v ariants, t he S mithfield ' A' h aving l arge c oncavo-convex a nd c ircular s crapers, a ncestral t o t he S mithfield ' B', t ypified b y l ong e nd-scrapers, a nd t he S mithfield b asically s imilar t o t he W ilton b ut w ithout s ignificant p roportions o f s egm ents, t he S mithfield w ith t he W ilton ( Rudner While a nd

m ost

o f

' B' a nd ' C' b eing t hought t o b e c ontemporary 1 962, I nskeep 1 967, D eacon J . 1 972, 1 974).

t heir d ata a nd i nterest c entred a round

t he O range F ree S tate G oodwin a nd V an R iet L owe m ade a n

t ative p aper

c ontribution " A

t o

t he a rchaeology o f

n ew v ariation o f

N atal.

t he

G oodwin's

t he S mithfield c ulture f rom

C ape

a uthori-

N atal"

1 930 d es-

c ribed a nd d efined t he S mithfield ' N ' v ariation, a d esignation t hat h as s urvived t o t he p resent d ay. H e d escribes a nd i llustrates m aterial f rom s urface s ites i n t he v icinity o f W eenen a nd K rantzkop, a nd p oints t o t he a bundance o f s trangled a nd h ooked ( notched) s crapers a s n ew f actors

t hat : 6 1

" ...fully w ithin

j ustify

t he

t he r ecognition o f a n ew p hase o r

c ulture,

which I p ropose

t o c al/

t ype

S mithfield ( 1930:11)

- t he

' N'

s ignifying N atal a nd b eing :

" ...sufficiently

n on-commital

p lace t his i n t he k nown p hases, A , B & C ". I n

t his

p aper h e

i ndicates

t o o bviate a ny

t ime-sequence o f

t endency

t o

.

t he o ther t hree ( 1930 :11)

s upposed a ffinities w ith S mithfield

' A '

a nd

F auresmith m aterial i n s eeking a n o rigin f or t he i ndustry. H owever, f our y ears l ater ( Goodwin 1 934) h e s uggests t hat t he S mithfield ' N ' h ad i ts o rigins i n R hodesian m aterial r epresented i n a m ixed c ollect ion f rom t he s ite o f M azoe. H e s eparates a L ate S tone A ge g roup w ith m any n otched s crapers f rom t he M azoe a ssemblage a nd s uggests t hat: " It r epresents a n i nfluence w hich e ntered Z ululand a nd N atal t o p roduce t he S mithfield N v ariation b y i mpact u pon a n ormal S mithfield S outh A frica". V an

R iet L owe

( 1935),

A o r B c ulture a lready

while s till a dopting a b asically

m odel, d isagreed w ith G oodwin's c onclusions a s ' N' v ariation. H e d escribes m aterial f rom t wo R iver f ield

a nd B algowan, ' N ': " 1.

p resent i n ( 1934:7)

a nd l ists

t he

t ypes

d iffusionist

t o t he o rigins o f t he s ites, n ear L ion's

r epresentative o f

t he S mith-

S trangled e ndscrapers.

2 . 3 .

A v ariety o f n otched s crapers, D uck-bill e ndscrapers.

4 . 5 .

T humbnail s crapers. S ide s crapers.

6 . 7 .

C oncavo-convex s crapers C rescents.

8 . 9 . 1 0.

A ngle g ravers. G rind s tones ( both t op a nd b ottom). B ored s tones.

1 1. 1 2.

G rooved s tone. P alettes.

1 3. 1 4.

P ottery. C ores, d etaching h ammers

V an R iet L owe c oncludes ..owes

i ts

t hat

a nd

i ncluding

t he Y s hape.

t rimming s tones". ( 1935:368-9)

t he S mithfield

' N ':

p eculiarities...to a m igration f rom t he s ame

g rassy p lains t o t he w ell-afforested r egions o f N atal ..The a bundance o f t imber m ust h ave l ed t o s pecialization I n

t ools

f or w orking a nd s haping

e tc.". T his l ogical

s ticks,

c lubs,

( Van R iet L owe

a rrows

1 935:369)

p aper p rovides a n e xample o f a c ommon f eature o f

i nterpretation b oth i n N atal a nd

a rchaeo-

i n s outhern A frica d uring

t he

l ast f ifty y ears, t hat i s t he i mplicit r ecognition o f a ctivity v ariat ion a s a f ormative f actor i n a ssemblages b ut c ombined w ith t he u se o f c ultural t erminology t o d istinguish a nd s eparate t hem f rom o ther 6 2

a ssemblages. V an R iet L owe a lso r ecognises m aterial d ifferences, f or e xample d escribing

t he i mportance t he S mithfield

o f r aw ' C' a s a

..culture s et i n m otion b y n ew m aterials t o h and a nd a n ew m ode o f l ife". ( 1935:371). H e d isputes G oodwin's R hodesian o rigin f or t he S mithfield ' N' a nd s ees a ll t he S mithfield v ariations a s o riginating f rom a p arent c ulture - S mithfield ' A ' - i n t he F ree S tate a nd c hangi ng i nto d ifferent c ultural v ariations u nder t he i nfluence o f d iff erent c onditions

a nd r aw m aterials e ncountered d uring d iffusion.

A part f rom t he w ork o f G oodwin a nd V an R iet L owe

t he

a n a ctive p eriod f or L ate S tone A ge a rchaeology i n N atal. t wo m ain a reas o f a ttention - t he D rakensberg r ange a nd

1 930s

w ere

T here w ere t he c oastal

b elt. A g roup f rom t he U niversity o f t he W itwatersrand p ublished ( Wells 1 933a & b , S tein 1 933) t he r esults o f i nvestigations i n a n umber o f r ock s helters i n t he C athkin P eak a rea, i ncluding w hat w ere t he f irst s ystematic e xcavations i n N atal. a rtefact m aterial, t hree b eing e xcavated, a nd

S ix s helters y ielded t he p aper ( Stein 1 933)

i s n otable i n b eing t he f irst L ate S tone A ge r eport f rom N atal t o p rovide u seful q uantitative d ata o n t he a rtefacts, a lthough , u nfortun ately, t here a re n o d etails o f t he f aunal m aterial, i f a ny, r ec overed. Where e xcavation w as u ndertaken t he f inds a re r ecorded b y l ayers, m easurements o f t ool d imensions a re p rovided i n m ost c ases, a nd t he r eport r eaches a s tandard o f a rchaeological m ethod t hat o ne c an o nly w ish m any l ater w orkers h ad e mulated. W hile r ecognising t he s imilarities b etween h is m aterial a nd G oodwin's : " In

t he C athkin P eak a rea

c haracteristic c ollected". S tein

r ejects

t he

t ype,

t he n otched s craper a lso f orms

f orming

t erm S mithfield

2 7% o f a ll

' N '

d ue

t o

t he

a

i mplements ( 1933:175)

t he s maller s ize o f

t he

s idescrapers i n h is c ollections ( many o f w hich w ould n ow b e c lassified a s e ndscrapers o r s mall c onvex s crapers) a nd c oncludes t hat: " The

i ndustry

m ust

b e d escribed a s

I ndustry', w hich i s e ndscrapers...notched

W ells

a pproximately e qual

p roportions".

( 1933),

i n

i n a p aper

t he

' Cathkin

P eak

d efined a s a n i ndustry i n w hich s crapers a nd s idescrapers o ccur i n ( 1933:180)

t he s ame v olume,

d escribes m ixed s urface

a ssemblages f rom t he E stcourt a rea, a ttempts t o d istinguish a ge-groups i n t he m aterial o n t he b asis o f d ifferential p atination - a c ommon c ontemporary a pproach - r efers t he f inds t o S mithfield ' N ' a ttempts s ome c omparison w ith m aterial f rom e lsewhere i n N atal.

a nd

P .G. B rien ( 1932 a & b ) w as m eanwhile w orking o n a nd i nland f rom t he N atal s outh c oast. H e d escribes a n umber o f a rtefacts f rom c oast al s ites ( 1932a) i ncluding i nfrequent L ate S tone A ge m aterial a nd t hen ( 1932b)

r eports

o n e xcavations

i n a c ave a t I sipofu.

N o s trati-

g raphy w as o bserved: " ...there w as c ave s oil a nd while

t he a t

s tone a

P alaeolithic"

p ractically n o c hange

t hroughout

t ools w ere m ostly o f

q uartz,

d epth o f a bout 2 m eters h e i mplement

i n

t he

t exture o f

t he o perations". i ncluding s ome

r eports

a ssociated w ith t he b asal 6 3

t he ( 752)

f inding

s crapers, a

p ortion o f

" Middie a

p ot.

K ing

a nd

C hubb

( 1932)

p ublished o bservations o n a

n umber

o f

s hell

m iddens, a ll i t w ould a ppear I ron A ge, a nd o n s tone a rtefacts f rom E busingata s helter, a djoining t he D rakensberg N ational P ark, w here t hey e xcavated a t rench t o a d epth o f 1 .2 m eters. W hile r eporting t hat t he m ost c ommon t ool w as t he n otched s craper t hey a ssigned t he a ssemblage t o t he S mithfield ' C'. T hat y ear C hubb, K ing a nd M ogg ( 1933, 1 934) w ere e xcavating a c ave a t t he U mgazana r iver m outh i n t he p resent-day T ranskei a djoining t he r esearch a rea t o t he s outh. w ater m ark , w as w ell e xcavated:

T he c ave,

s even f eet a bove

t he h igh-

" The s tratigraphical s equence o f t he o ccupational l ayers w as p articularly w ell d efined;...at n o p oint d uring t he e xcavation w as t he h orizon o f a ny l ayer i n d oubt". ( 1934:247) T he d eposit, o ver 2 .5 m eters d eep , f eatured r emarkable o rganic p reserv ation, i ncluding w ooden p egs, b edding m aterial o f s ea g rass ( Zostera c apensis), w ild b anana l eaves ( Strelitzia s p.), l eaves a nd s tems o f a l ittoral d une b ush ( Passerina e ricoides), f aunal r emains i ncluding m onkey, a ntelopes, w arthog, w ild p ig, b uffalo, c rab, f ish b ones a nd s cales i n q uantity i ncluding P agrus n asutus, t he m ussel-cracker a nd a v ariety o f m ollusca d ominated b y a m ussel, M ytilus e dulis. P ottery w as r estricted t o t he u pper p art o f t he s equence w hile t he l ithic m aterial

w as f elt

t o s how l ittle c hange

t hroughout.

d ominated b y l arge s ide a nd c ircular s crapers, r etouch ,

a nd b urins,

p articular f eature w as n eedles a nd p oints.

T he l atter

w as

o ften w ith a b attering

c oncavo-convex s crapers a nd n otched s crapers.

A

a r ange o f w ell-made b one t ools i ncluding a wls, T he a uthors f elt t hat t he p resence o f l arge

c ircular a nd c oncavo-convex s crapers i ndicated a ffinity w ith t he S mithfield ' A ', r ecognised t hat s uch e lements a s p ottery, n otched s crapers

a nd s tone-rings

h ad n ot b een p reviously a ssociated w ith t hat

i ndustry, a nd p roposed t hat t he a ssemblage s hould b e k nown a s " The U mgazana v ariation o f t he S mithfield ' A ". I n t he a bsence o f s imilar l ithic m aterial f rom e lsewhere o n t he T ranskei c oast t he U mgazana v ariant r emains r ather e nigmatic, a lthough D erricourt ( 1977) s uggests t hat t he c oastal s ourveld i n w hich t he s ite i s l ocated m ay h ave d isc ouraged

t he

s timulated p art o f

c oast

h unter-gatherers

a nd

t he d evelopment o f a s pecialised c oastal a daptation o n

a rea's u se b y s easonally

m obile

t his

t he T ranskei c oast.

C ramb ( 1934) p ublished a m ixed a ssemblage f rom K arridene, o n t he a bout 3 0 m iles s outh o f D urban, c ontaining E arly, M iddle a nd

L ate S tone A ge e lements, " ...peculiar

t o

a nd s uggested a

r ace

t hat

t he

w ho c ombined

i mplements w ere: a

s hell-fish

o r

S trandloper d iet w ith t heir h unting a ctivities". ( 1934:211) K .

B rien

( 1935)

s urveys a n umber o f N atal s ites,

d istinguishing

t he

N atal S mithfield, e quivalent t o G oodwin's ' N', a nd a m icrolithic v ariation, a nd c oncludes f rom t he " primitive t echnique" o f t he f ormer t hat i t i s t he a ncestral f orm o f t he c ulture i n S outh A frica. S chof ield ( 1936) l ists a n umber o f c oastal s ites h aving i n c ommon s mall b ipolar f laked r iver p ebbles, a nd c omments i n a l etter t o B urkitt: 6 4

" One

o f o ur g reatest d ifficulties l ies

i n

t he d escription

o f o ur i ndustries. I n N atal, a nd m ore p articularly o n t he c oast, w e h ave a w hole s eries o f c ultures w hich f it n one o f t he o fficial p igeon h oles.. . To p ut a ll t hese i nto t he W ilton a nd S mithfield q uart p ots i s a d ifficult m atter". ( Letter i n H addon L ibrary, C ambridge d ated 2 7/4/36). R eference

t o

T able

8 s hows

t he c onfusion

t hat r esulted

f rom

t hese

a ttempts t o f ind " pigeon h oles" f or v ariable a ssemblages t hat, t his a uthor w ill a rgue, b asically r epresent a ctivity r ather t han c ultural v ariability. T he w ar-years

s aw a l ull

i n a rchaeological w ork i n N atal a nd

t he

n ext p aper t o a ppear w as a gain c oncerned w ith t hese ' pebble i ndust ries' o f t he c oast. V an R iet L owe ( 1946) d escribes t he s mall w aterw orn p ebbles o f i ndurated s hale ( hornfels) t hat w ere t he r aw m aterial, r eports a n a ssemblage f rom R ichard's B ay o n t he n orth c oast which c ontained t humbnail s crapers, h ad n o c rescents w hich s howed i t n ot t o b e W ilton, a nd c oncludes t hat t he c ulture: ..apart m akers

o f

f rom t he b asic b ipolar t he

t ools

b y t he

t echnique f orced o n

s ize

a nd

n ature

t he

o f

t he

a vailable r aw m aterial, h as s trong S mithfield a ffinities...it i s s o d ifferent f rom t he W ilton t hat I s uggest i t b e k nown a s t he C oastal S mithfield". ( 1946:244) T he n ext y ear V an R iet L owe ( 1947) b riefly s urveys t he k nown d istribut ion o f t he L ate S tone A ge i n N atal a nd m akes t he c omment t hat: ..we u nhappily s till k now v ery l ittle a bout t he p rehistoric a rchaeology o f t hat P rovince; a nd w hat l ittle w e i n

d o k now d oes n ot a lways f it i nto t he

t he s cheme o f

i nterior".

t hings

( 1947:69)

I n t he s ame y ear A lbino ( 1947) e xcavated a r ock s helter a t C hampagne C astle i n t he D rakensberg f rom which h e r ecovered a t otal o f 1 2 s tone a rtefacts which h e d escribes a s a n a ssociation o f S mithfield a nd W ilton. D avies ( 1949) e mphasised t he n eed f or e xtensive f ield-survey a s o pposed t o o ften u nnecessary e xcavation. H e i s m ainly c oncerned w ith t he E arly a nd M iddle S tone A ge a lthough h e r eports a t ypical S mithfield ' N' w ith s light W ilton i nfluence f rom W elverdiend f arm b etween t he M ooi a nd T ugela r ivers. I n 1 951 D avies p ublished a p aper i n t he N atal R egional S urvey e ntitled " The A rchaeology o f N atal" which h e r ecognised t o b e p remature i n t he l ight o f t he s tate o f k nowledge a t t he t ime. T he f ollowing y ear h e r eports o n e xcavations a t t wo r ock s helters, N qutu i n Z ululand a nd N atalspa i n n orthern N atal ( Davies 1 952). P articularly i nformative i n t hese r eports a re t he f aunal i dentifications, while b oth s helters f eatured a S mithfield ' N' i ndust ry, a t N atalspa o verlying a " somewhat a typical" S mithfield ' A '. W alsh a nd S wan ( 1952) l agoon t hat p ers,

a nd I zotcha o n

r ecorded c oastal s urface s ites a t U mgababa

t he s outh c oast a nd U mhloti o n t he n orth

c oast

f eatured a p redominance o f m icrolithic b acked b lades a nd s craw ith s ome c rescents, t hat t hey r eferred t o t he W ilton c ulture,

a gain e xpanding

t he r ange o f c ultural v ariations

M alan

s urveying

( 1955),

r ecognised

i n

t he a rchaeology o f E ast G riqualand, 6 5

N atal. a ssigns

F IGURE

4 :1

NATAL: A rchaeo log ica l . s i tes

5 1 5

(P .T .O . f o rs i te k ey)

7 5 km .

D urban

• •

• •• •• • • • • •

. 12

AG :A lp ine G rass lands HS : H igh land S ourve ld M : M id lands C B: Coas ta l B e l t

6 6

K EY T O F IG. 4 :1

-A rchaeological s ites.

1 .

T he F alls.*

2 .

B orchers S helter + B .S.A.*

3 .

I zotcha.

4 .

I sipofu .

5 .

Umbeli B elli.*

6 .

U mgababa.

7 .

U mlaas.

9

S hongweni.

9 .

Umhlanga R ocks.

1 0.

U mhloti.

1 1.

T ongaat.

1 2.

S heltered V ale,

1 3.

B elleview.*

1 4.

M oshebi's S helter.*

1 5.

S ehonghong.*

1 6.

G ood H ope.*

1 7.

Bottoms U p S helter.*

1 8.

G rindstone S helter.*

1 9.

G iant's C astle M ain C ave.*

2 0.

C hampagne C astle.

2 1.

C athkin P eak.

2 2.

Ndedema G orge s ites.

2 3.

Oliviershoek.

2 4.

Mfongosi, W eenen.

2 5.

Muden, s ites 1 & 2 .

2 6.

N i casini, K ranskop.

2 7.

W ebster's F arm, B algowan.

2 8.

T otheng, L ion's R iver.

2 9.

K arkloof.

3 0.

D riel S helter.

*= S ee C hapters

N ew A malfi.

5 &. 6 .

a ssemblages t hat :

t o b oth t he S mithfield ' B' a nd ' N ',

b ut m akes

t he

p oint

" The p ossibility i s n ot e xcluded t hat e ven t he a ssemblages w hich n ow s eem t o b e c learly S mithfield ' B' w ill o n f urther i nvestigation p rove t o b elong t o S mithfield ' N ". ( 25) I n t he s ame y ear W ilson ( 1955) w as f urther e xtending t he g eographical r ange o f c ultural v ariation i n N atal b y p ublishing s urface m aterial f rom t he n orthern f oothills o f t he D rakensberg t hat h e r egarded a s W ilton, o n t he b asis o f t he p resence o f a s mall n umber o f s egments a nd b ifacial a rrowheads a nd t he l ack o f n otched a nd d uckbill s crapers. I n a r eturn t o m ethodical e xcavation a nd p ublication i n N atal, W illcox ( 1957) e xcavated a s hallow ( c.60 c entimeters) d eposit i n G iant's C astle M ain C ave i n t he D rakensberg a nd r ecorded t he m ost p lentiful t ypes a s s mall a nd t humbnail e ndscrapers ( 63.8%) a nd n otched s crapers ( 29.4%). P ottery i s c onfined t o t he t op 2 0 c entimeters o f d eposit, a lthough n o d ifference w as o bserved b etween p re-ceramic a nd c eramic l ithic a ssemblages, w hich a re c lassified a s S mithfield ' N '. I n a s eries o f p apers ( 1959, 1 960, 1 961) S choute-Vanneck a nd W alsh r eport o n c oastal a ssemblages a nd i solate a n umber o f c ultural v ariations. A m idden a t t he I ngane r iver m outh ( 1959) w as e xcavated. a nd i n a ddition t o t he s tone a rtefacts p roduced r are f aunal r emains, f ish b one a nd m arine s hell d ominated b y P erna,

4 6 #

J-e-

% .e ::

%.

l : :„ , "•

•, . . ./, • %7 '

. : , -; . ' , . . . 5. : ,, ; . . -4 ,- . , ‘ . • ' , , •

: . ? . ; _ I I, .. I rf 4

7 , -I7

, , ,., i . / •• •• % / e. 7 t I•.. -, -' ..

,

, - 1 . . . . .

..

_ • . 1 .. , , , , .- •••,. . e, _le ; ‘ ,2 ' v , ' %-; .I .

%

t

,

•. e, ,, • I . ./ 1 1;1,1

" i ' . . r" 2 :7, .

j e l e

9

, . . . . .( . . .0. .1 i %

: fi l. * : - / Zi •iZ , ' ,I r

, . : , , : , , , , ; , , , . . . , , . . , t . . , . , , , , , . . . . _ . , . . . . . „. . . , „ , . , . . . , . . , y , „, . , „, . , . . ‘ 2. 2 . , , , . . . / 2. ;.....,1 , ., 1,

. .. i'• •• .1 ,. ./. .% i ' , . , 7.- , 1« , ,, ,, .. •

1

L c )

87

N . S . S e c t i o n

U m b e l i B e l i

c r

0

8 8

r ecovered a nd w ith

f rom I ron A ge s ites ( e.g. M aggs 1 980b) t hey a re v ery r are, t he e xception o f g rindstones c ompletely a bsent f rom t he

M pambanyoni s ite c ontrast b etween

( Robey 1 980:163). O ther f eatures i ndicating t he s ites i nclude e vidence f or i ron s melting

t he a t

M pambanyoni a nd t he r emains o f m arine f ish a nd p robably c attle a t t hat s ite. T he q uantity o f p ottery r ecovered w as a lso v ery m uch g reater a t M pambanyoni, w hile t he s ite t ypes a nd t heir l ocations a re i n thems elves q uite d istinct a nd o ccupations r espectively. d )

t ypical o f L ate I ron A ge

a nd

S tone

A ge

S TONE A RTEFACTS T he

B elli

s tone

a rtefacts

f rom t he L ate S tone A ge l evels

a t

U mbeli

w ere a nalysed i n n atural s tratigraphic u nits a s d etailed a bove.

F or d escriptive p urposes L ayer 1 , w ith a t otal o f o nly 1 ,873 s tone a rtefacts o f a ll t ypes, h as b een c ombined w ith t he u nderlying L ayer 2 BE. T he r adiocarbon P ta 2 824 o f 2 00 ± 5 0 B .P. f rom t he t op o f t he l atter L ayer s upports t he v alidity o f t his a malgamation. S ample s izes g enerally a re n ot l arge, L ayers 1 + 2 BE h aving a t otal o f 7 ,000 s tone a rtefacts i ncluding 8 9 ( 1.27%) f ormal t ools, L ayer 2 AL h aving 4 ,020 a rtefacts i ncluding 4 9 ( 1.22%) t ools. A ll t ypes a re d efined f ollowing t he d efinitions g iven a bove i n C hapter 1 . R aw M aterials m aterial

t ypes

o ccurs a t U mbeli B elli t han a t m ost N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites, c rypto-crystalline s ilicas ( CCS) a nd h ornfels a re t he m ost

A

g reater

v ariety

i n t he r ange o f l ithic r aw

w here c ommon

m aterials. T able 9 g ives b asic d ata o n r aw m aterial f requency a t U mbeli B elli. T ypes p resent i nclude q uartz, q uartzite, h ornfels ( a c ontact m etamorphic a ssociated w ith t he K arroo d olerites, s ee C hapter 2 a bove), a gates a nd c halcedonies o riginally d erived f rom t he D rakensb erg

v olcanics,

which

a re f or p ractical p urposes

f rom o ne a nother a nd a re r eferred t o h ere s ilicas ( CCS), s andstones, t illite a nd b asalt.

i ndistinguishable

a s c rypto-crystalline B oth q uartz a nd q uart-

z ite a re c ommon i n t he a rea a nd s uitable p ieces a re a vailable a mong t he p ebbles o f a ny r iver. T he r elatively h igh p roportion o f t hese m aterials, w hich h ave p oor f laking q ualities, i s f elt t o r eflect t he d ifficulty

i n

o btaining

t he m ore g enerally p referred

r aw

m aterials

f rom U mbeli B elli. C CS i s a vailable i n N atal r ivers t hat h ave t heir s ources i n t he D rakensberg b asalts f rom which t he m aterial i s e roded. T he M pambanyoni r iver r ises i n t he N atal m idlands e ast o f I xopo ( Fig. 2 :1) a nd t hus C CS w ould h ave t o h ave b een b rought f rom s ome d istance t o U mbeli B elli, t he n earest o bvious s ource b eing t he M khomazi r iver s ome 1 5 k ilometers t o t he n orth . I t i s f elt t hat b oth t he d esirable n ature o f C CS f or t ool m anufacture a nd i ts l ocal s carcity a re r ef lected i n t he f igures g iven i n T able 9 . T he h igh p roportion o f C CS a rtefacts c lassified a s f ormal t ools i s s triking ( 9.2% i n L ayers 1 + 2 BE, 1 1.5% i n 2 AL), e specially b earing i n m ind t he i nfrequency o f t he m aterial

i n

S ome

t he a ssemblages a s a whole. p referential s election o f h ornfels,

p articularly a mong t he

c onvex s crapers, i s e vident, while i t i s c onsiderably m ore c ommon i n t he s ite t han C CS. A lthough h ornfels i s n ot a vailable i n q uantity i n t he i mmediate v icinity o f t he s ite, * K arroo d olerites o utcrop i n t he i nland p art o f t he s ite t erritory, i t o ccurs a s r iver p ebbles a nd w as p robably e asier

t o o btain t han C CS a t U mbeli B elli. 9 0

T he d ifficulty o f

T ABLE

9 UMBELI

TYPE

TOOLS

R AW MATERIAL

CORES + Trimmers

CHUNKS

WHOLE FLAKES

BROKEN FLAKES

TOTAL STONE

R AW M ATERIAL C OUNTS

L AYERS

1 +2BE

L AYER 2 AL

n .

%Cat

%RM

n .

%Cat

%RM

Quartz

3 3

3 7.1

0 .7

1 3

2 6.5

0 .6

C CS

2 1

2 3.6

9 .2

1 8

3 6.7

1 1.5

Hornfels

2 0

2 2.5

1 .9

1 4

2 8.6

1 .4

Q uartzite

1 1

1 2.4

1 .2

2

4 .1

0 .5

4 .5

1 .1

2

4 .1

1 .2

23.4

0 .5

Others

U TILISED

B ELLI:

4

Quartz

1 5

2 2.1

0 .3

1 1

CCS

1 0

1 4.7

4 .4

5

1 0.6

3 .2

H ornfels

2 0

2 9.4

1 .9

7

14.9

0 .7

Quartzite

1 7

2 5.0

1 .9

2 2

4 6.8

5 .2

Others

6

8 .8

1 .7

2

4 .3

1 .2

Quartz

9

3 4.6

0 .2

3

2 1.4

0 .1

CCS

5

1 9.2

2 .2

3

2 1.4

1 .9

Hornfels

9

3 4.6

0 .9

6

4 2.9

0 .6

Quartzite

3

1 1.5

0 .3

2

1 4.3

0 .5

Others

-

-

-

-

Quartz

-

181

7 2.1

4 .1

C CS

1 1

4 .4

4 .8

H ornfels

1 9

7 .6

Quartzite

3 0

Others

Quartz

67.0

5 .1

4

2 .3

2 .5

1 .8

1 6

9 .1

1 .6

1 2.0

3 .3

3 0

1 7.0

7 .1

1 0

4 .0

2 .9

8

4 .6

4 .9

1 64

3 2.9

3 .7

85

2 0.2

3 .7

3 1

6 .2

1 3.5

3 4

8 .1

2 1.7

H ornfels

1 76

3 5.3

1 6.6

2 16

5 1.3

22.1

Quartzite

1 17

2 3.4

1 2.8

6 5

1 5.4

15.5

Others

1 1

2 .2

3 .2

2 1

5 .0

1 2.9

Quartz

4051

6 6.8

9 1.0

2 073

6 2.6

90.0

C CS

1 51

2 .5

6 5.9

9 3

2 .8

5 9.2

H ornfels

8 14

1 3.4

76.9

7 18

2 1.7

7 3.5

Q uartzite

7 34

1 2.1

80.5

2 99

9 .0

7 1.2

O thers

3 17

5 .2

9 1.1

1 30

3 .9

7 9.8

Q uartz

4453

H ornfels

CCS

6 3

1 18

-

. 6

-

2 303

5 7.3

- ' C S 2 9 3 . 3 1 5 7 3 . 9 -

1 058

1 5.1

-

9 77

2 4.3

-

Q uartzite

9 12

1 3.0

-

4 20

1 0.4

-

Others

3 48

5 .0

-

1 63

4 .1

-

A RTEFACTS

9 1

w orking q uartz, r eflected a nd w aste

p articularly i ts

t endency

t o s hatter w hen f laked,

i s

i n t he h igh p roportion o f t his m aterial c lassified a s c hunks f lakes. T he b ulk o f t he q uartzite a rtefacts a re o f a d if-

f erent r aw m aterial t o t he q uartzite f orming t he w alls o f t he s helter, a lthough o ccasional a rtefacts o f t hat m aterial d o o ccur. T he f requency o f q uartzite i n t he U tilised c ategory, e specially i n L ayer 2 AL, i s a r esult o f i ts u se f or M ullers a nd H ammerstones. A s c an b e s een f rom T able 9 o ther r aw m aterial t ypes a re r are a t U mbeli B elli, g enerally m aking u p 5 % o r l ess i n e ach c ategory. W aste a nd U tilised A s a ppears t o b e s tandard i n N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites r eported h ere a nd e lsewhere ( e.g. C able e t a l. 1 980, M azel 1 981) t he m ajority o f t he c ores f rom U mbeli B elli c an b est b e d escribed a s i nformal, m ulti-platform f lake c ores.

I nfrequent b lade,

b ipolar a nd d isc c ores

d o o ccur, w hile t he b rittle n ature o f q uartz r esults i n f ew p ieces o f I t b eing c lassifiable a s c ores, a nd i n a r elatively h igh p roportion o f c hunks.

A mong

t he w hole u ntrimmed f lakes m ean l engths a nd

b readths

a re s imilar f or b oth U mbeli B elli a ssemblages. A ll m easurements o n whole f lakes w ere t aken w ith l ength a s t he d istance f rom t he p latform t o t he d istal e nd o f t he f lake i n t he d irection o f s triking, a nd w ith b readth a t T ABLE

r ight a ngles

t o

1 0

t hat m easurement. U MBELI B ELLI

L ayers

1+ 2 BE

:W HOLE F LAKE D IMENSIONS

M ean L ength S .D.

=

2 0.63mm.

=

1 0.08

M ean B readth = S .D. L ayer 2 AL

M ean L ength S .D.

1 8.90mm.

=

1 0.11

=

2 1.55mm.

=

9 .73

M ean B readth = 2 0.27mm. S .D.

= 1 0.33

B lades a re r elatively i nfrequent, 7 .21% i n 1 +2BE a nd 7 .16% i n L ayer 2 AL. T he d istribution o f l ength-breadth r atios a mong t he w hole u ntrimmed f lakes i s e ssentially u nimodal, a nd i t i s f elt t hat t he s eparation o f b lades ( whole f lakes w ith a l ength-breadth r atio o f 2 :1 o r g reater) a s a d istinct c lass w ould r epresent a n a rtefact o f o ur e xpectations a nd m easuring t echniques, r ather t han a f eature o f i mport ance

t o

t he m anufacturers

( Close e t a l.

1 979:33).

U tilised p ieces, f lakes s howing e dge d amage b ut n ot d eliberate r etouch, s how a s imilar s election f or C CS a s d o t he r etouched t ools. T he t ype H ammerstones/River p ebbles, a s t he n ame i mplies, i ncludes a n umber o f p ieces n ot c learly c lassifiable a s H ammerstones f l acking t he c haracteristic ' pecking' u se-wear, b ut w hich m ay n onetheless h ave b een s o e mployed. O utils 4 caill6s, f ormerly c lassified a s t ools b y s ome a uthors, a re i ncluded i n t he U tilised c ategory f ollowing c urrent 9 2

T ABLE 1

U MBELI B ELL T :W HOLE F LAKES

M aximum d imensions

L ayers 1 +2BE

A ll r aw m aterials

n .

L ayer 2 AL n .

0 -15 m m

1 39

2 7.9

8 9

2 3 .6

1 6-30 m m

2 63

5 2.7

2 05

5 4 .4

3 1 + m m

9 7

1 9.4

8 3

2 2 .0

4 99

3 77

C CS

0 -15 m m

1 5

4 8.4

1 6-30 m m

1 6

5 1.6

3 1+

m m

1 5

6 0 .0

9

3 6 .0

1

4 .o

«1 . 1 .••• •

2 5

3 1

H ornfels 0 -15 m m

:

4 1

2 3.3

3 2

1 6 .5

1 6-30 m m

:

1 0 1

5 7.4

1 22

6 2 .9

3 1+

:

3 4

1 9.3

4 0

2 0 .6

m m

1 94

•1 76

Q uartz 0 -15 m m

6 2

3 7.8

3 0

3 8 .0

1 6-30 m m

8 6

5 2 .4

4 1

5 1.9

1 6

9 .8

3 1 + m m

1 64

8

1 0 .1

7 9

O thers 0 -15 m m

:

2 1

1 6 .4

1 2

1 5.2

1 6-30 m m

:

6 0

4 6 .9

3 3

4 1.8

3 1+

:

4 7

3 6 .7

3 4

4 3 .0

m m

1 28

7 9

9 3

p ractice

( e.g.

M azel

1 980).

R etouched T ools T ools, a t 1 .27% a nd 1 .22% i n L ayers 1 +2BE a nd 2 AL r espectively, a re l ess f requent a t U mbeli B elli t han a t o ther N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites r eported i n t his w ork. T his i s f elt t o b e i n l arge p art t he r esult o f t he ' inflation' o f t he w aste f lake c ategory d ue t o t he s hattering o f q uartz w hen w orked. T he U mbeli B elli a rtefact i nventory i s p resented i n T able 1 2. A mong t he f ormal t ools i n b oth a ssemblages c onvex s crapers ( endscrapers, s idescrapers a nd c onvex s craper f ragm ents)

a re

t he m ost c ommon

t ypes,

m aking u p 4 6% o f

t ools

i n

L ayers

1 +2BE a nd 5 5% i n L ayer 2 AL. T hese t ools h ave b een s hown ( Deacon & D eacon 1 980) t o h ave b een h afted s kin-scraping t ools - a lthough t he l arger s idescrapers w ere p robably h and-held - a ssociated i n p articular w ith t he m anufacture o f l eather c lothing. T he d ifference i n f requency o f c onvex s crapers i n t he t wo a ssemblages b ecomes m inimal i f m iscell aneous r etouched p ieces - M .R.P.s - ( pieces w ith d eliberate r etouch n ot s haped l eaving 6 8%

i nto a f ormal t ype) a re e xcluded f rom t he p ercentages, a nd 6 9% c onvex s crapers i n 1 +2BE a nd 2 AL r espectively.

W ithin t he c onvex s craper c lass e ndscrapers a re t he d ominant t ype; 8 9% o f e ndscrapers i n L ayers 1 +2BE a nd 9 2% i n 2 AL f all i nto D eacon's ( 1972) " small" a nd " medium" s ize c lasses 3 0mm.), a nd l ength a nd b readth m eans a re s imilar f or b oth a ssemblages, 1 9.9 x 1 8.9mm . f or. 1 +2BE a nd 1 7.5 x 1 7.5mm. f or 2 AL. B acked b lades p oints ( Deacon p roportions i n

a nd s egments,

t he c utting

t ips o f c omposite a rrow-

& D eacon 1 980, C lark 1 977), a lso o ccur i n s imilar b oth a ssemblages, 1 3.5% a nd 1 4.3% r espectively.

N otched s crapers, t he d efinitive o riginally d escribed ( Chapter 4 ), a ssemblages.

t ool t ype o f t he S mithfield ' N ' a s a re r elatively i nfrequent i n b oth

T he o verall r ange o f t ool t ypes r epresented a t U mbeli B elli b roadly c orresponds t o t hat a t t he m ajority o f p ublished N atal t erminal L ate S tone A ge s ites. T he a bsence o f b ored s tones a nd o f t he r eamers u sed i n t heir m anufacture s hould b e p ointed o ut, a nd a lthough t his m ay b e p urely a f actor o f s ample s ize, t he o bservation a ccords w ell w ith h ypotheses o f s ite f unction, e specially w ith r egard t o t he l imited u se a nd m aintenance o f d igging s ticks i n t he c oastal b elt, d iscussed i n C hapter 7 . A lthough s ome s pecific d ifferences e xist b etween t he t wo a ssemblages d escribed a bove, i t i s f elt t hat b earing i n m ind t he s mall s ample s izes a vailable n o s ignificant o verall d istinction c an b e m ade b etween t hem. T he r elatively s hort t ime p eriod i nvolved i n t he d eposition o f t hese u nits ( ± 9 00 y ears) s upp orts t his c ontention. T he i mplication i s t hat t he r ole o f t he s ite i n t he a nnual e xploitation s trategy, a s r eflected b y a rtefact m ateri al, d id n ot c hange s ignificantly d uring t he p eriod r epresented. I n w ith

a

g eneral, h igher

d istinguish L ate S tone U mbeli

B elli

t he

l ow p roportion o f n otched

p roportion o f b acked b lades a nd

t he A ge

U mbeli B elli a ssemblages f rom s ites i n t he h ighland r egions

i s d iscussed

s crapers, s egments,

9 4

t o

p reviously p ublished o f s outhern N atal.

i n w ider c omparative c ontext

b elow.

c ombined s erves

i n C hapter

7

T ABLE 1 2

U MBELI B ELLI:

T YPE

S TONE A RTEFACTS

L AYERS 1 +2 B E n .

%Cat

C onvex s crapers

4 1

E ndscrapers

2 8

% .Tot

L AYER 2 AL n .

%Cat

4 6.1

2 7

5 5.1

3 1.5

2 6

5 3.1

S idescrapers

4

4 .5

1

2 .0

S craper f rags.

9

1 0.1

-

-

1 1.2

4

8 .2

B acked b lades

1 0

S egments

2

2 .2

3

6 .1

B acked p ieces

2

2 .2

-

-

T rimmed p oints

1

1 .1

-

N otched s crapers

3

3 .4

5

1 0.2

B orers

1

1 .1

-

-

M .R.P.s

2 9

T OTAL T OOLS

8 9

n utils e cailles U tilised p ieces

4 5 7

3 2.6

1 0 1 .27

2 0.4

4 9

1 .22

5 .9 2 3

8 3.8

4 8.9

Mullers

2

2 .9

4

8 .5

H ammerstones/River p ebbles

5

7 .4

2 0

4 2.6

T OTAL U TILISED

6 8

C ores

1 8

C ore t rimmers

8

0 .97

1 .17

4 7

0 .3

9

0 .2

0 .1

5

0 .1

C hunks

2 51

3 .7

1 76

4 .5

W hole f lakes

4 99

7 .3

4 21

1 0.7

B roken f lakes

6 067

8 8.7

3 313

8 4.4

T OTAL W ASTE

6 843

T OTAL S TONE A RTEFACTS

7 000

9 5

%Tot

9 7.76

3 924

4 020

9 7.61

a

b

4 1 4 1 1N .

I 1

e

C

0

5 cm .

4 1 3 22 : 2 33 .

; e r s A E r

422 5›

1

1

• 1

F ig.

5 .4

J

U mbeli

B elli

a ,

d ecorated

b :

k

1

— A rtefacts

h —j:

s egments;

C CS:

d ,e,h—j,

s herds; k ,

1 ;

1 :

c —f:

e ndscrapers;

g :

b acked b lades.

Q uartz:

9 6

k ;

H ornfels:

c ,f,g

n otched

s craper;

e )

N ON-LITHIC A RETFACTS

P ottery A t otal o f

7 26 h ighly f ragmentary s herds w ere

L ate S tone A ge l evels a nd 1 9 w ere d ecorated.

r ecovered f rom t he

a t U mbeli B elli. 2 1 o f t hese w ere r im s herds T he d ecorated s herds a re t oo s mall, b oth i n

n umber a nd s ize, f or u seful a nalysis, a lthough d ecorative m otifs c haracteristic o f b oth t he E arly a nd L ate I ron A ges ( Maggs 1 980) w ere o bserved ( Fig. 5 :4). P ottery i s c ommonly f ound i n N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites

p ost-dating a bout 3 00 A .D.

A c onsiderably l arger s ample o f

d iagnostic c eramics w ould b e r equired t o a ddress s uch q uestions a s w hether a d istinct S an t radition o f p ottery m anufacture h ad d eveloped i n N atal o r w hether d ecoration v aries s ignificantly f rom c ontemporary I ron A ge

s tyles.

B one & S hell 5

b eads,

f our

f rom L ayer 2 AL a nd o ne f rom L ayer

1 ,

w ere

r e-

c overed f rom U mbeli B elli; 2a re i ncomplete r oughouts. O ne i s o f M etachatina s p. ( land-snail) s hell w hile t he r emainder a re o f o strich e gg s hell. N oticeably a bsent f rom t he s ite's n on-lithic a rtefact i nventory a re b one p oints. A lthough f aunal m aterial i s p reserved i t i s n ot p ossible t o e xclude s ampling b ias a s a n e xplanation f or t heir. a bsence, h ighly u nusual a s i t i s a mong N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites. H owever, i t i s p ossible t o s peculate t hat h unting t echniques i n U mbeli B elli's h eavily b ushed t erritory m ay h ave d iffered f rom t hose a t s ites w ith m ore g rassland a round t hem i n s uch a w ay a s t o m ake t he u se o f b one a rrow p oints l ess c ommon. W hile t he f unctional d istinction b etween b one a nd s tone a rrow p oints i s n ot c learly u nderstood, M aggs a nd W ard ( 1980) f or e xample, s uggest t hat b one a rrow p oints m ay h ave b een a ssociated w ith t he u se o f a rrow p oisons, w hich i nvolve a n o ften l engthy p eriod o f t racking b efore t he a nimal s uccumbs t o t heir e ff ects; a t l east i n t he f orested p arts o f t he s ite t erritory s nares a nd t raps m ay h ave

p rovided a m ore e ffective h unting

t echnique.

O ther a rtefacts

3

a t

A s ingle b roken w ooden p eg, t hrust t hrough L ayer 2 BE i nto L ayer t he r ear o f t he s helter, a ppears t o h ave b een s harpened w ith a

m etal t ool a nd i s p robably o f r ecent d ate. A h eavily c orroded f ragm ent o f a n i ron r ing w as r ecovered f rom t he u pper p art o f L ayer 2 AL. f )

R .G.

T HE F AUNA T he m ammalian f auna f rom U mbeli B elli w as a nalysed b y P rofessor K lein o f t he U niversity o f C hicago. T able 1 3 d etails t he m inimum

n umber o f i ndividuals b y w hich t he v arious s pecies a re r epresented. K lein c omments ( pers. c omm.) t hat t he f aunal a ssemblage a s a w hole: " ...suggests a way". A lthough

s ample

d ense b ush a nd

s ize

p ermanent w ater n ot v ery

i s v ery s mall,

a w ide v ariety o f

f ar

s pecies

a re

r epresented; t he m ost c ommon s pecies i s C ephalophus m onticola ( blue d uiker), w ith t he r emains o f a t l east n ine i ndividuals. O ther r elat ively c ommon s pecies

i nclude R edunca f ulvorufula ( mountain r eedbuck), 9 7

T ABLE 1 3

U MEELI B ELLI

:F AUNA M inimum n umber o f i ndividuals

•

1

2 BE

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 •

-

-

1

1

-

1

-

-

1 c f

L yc on p ictus, h unting d og

-

-

1 c f

H elogale p arvula

1

-

1

1

1

-

-

-

-1

-

-

1

1

-

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

-

-

1

1

2

1

1

3

L epus c apensis, h are T hryonomys s winderianus,

c ane r at

Hystrix africaeaustralis,

p orcupine

P apio u rsinus, b aboon C ercopithecus a ethiops, C anis c f.

m esomelas,

M ungos m ungo, H yaenidae g en.

v ervet m onkey

j ackal

d warf m ongoose

b anded m ongoose e t s p.

i ndet., h yena

F ells l ibyca, w ildcat F elis c aracal aut s erval, P rocavia c apensis,

c aracal o r s erval

r ock h yrax

P otamochoerus p orcus,

b ushpig

T ragelaphus s trepsiceros, T ragelaphus s criptus, R edunca f ulvorufula,

g reater k udu

bushbuck m ountain r eedbuck

? 1

•

1

A lcelaphus b uselaphus,

C ape h artebeest

-

C ephalophus m onticola,

b lue d uiker

2

3

4

1

1

2

2

1

1

b irds

-

1

m onitor l izard

1

1

1

s nakes

-

1

1 +

t ortoise

1

1

1

c rab

-

-

1

R aphicerus c f.

c ampestris,

S yncerus c affer Aos t aurus,

s teenbok C ape b uffalo/cattle

9 8

? 1

2A L

-

R aphicerus c ampestris

( steenbok)

a nd T ragelaphus s criptus

( bushbuck).

T he p resence o f n yala ( T. a ngasi) a mong t he m aterial c lassified a s b ushbuck i s p ossible, b ut K lein n otes t hat b ushbuck a re k nown f or s triking s exual d imorphism a nd f eels t hat t his m aterial p robably r elates t o l arge b ushbuck. S ite l ocation i s t he b asis f or f ication o f s teenbok ( Raphicerus c ampestris), s ince o n a lone

t he m aterial c ould e qually w ell d erive f rom g rysbok ( R . m elano-

t is). T he h artebeest

i dentifications o f k udu ( Tragelaphus s trepsiceros) - a nd ( Alcelaphus b uselaphus) a re, i n t he a bsence o f t eeth a nd

h orncores, t entative a nd s imilar s ize.

t he

t he i dentim orphology

t he m aterial c ould r elate

t o o ther b ovids

o f

I t s hould b e e mphasised t hat, p articularly i n a s mall s ample, n umerical f requency o f a s pecies d oes n ot n ecessarily r eflect i ts

c ontribution t o t he d iet o r i mportance i n t he e xploitation s trategy o f t he h unters. B lue d uiker ( C. m onticola), f or e xample, w eigh o nly 4 -9 k ilograms ( Dorst & D andelot 1 970) e ach, w hile C ape b uffalo ( Syncerus c affer) t he r emains o f a t l east f our o f w hich - a nd/or o f d omestic c attle - w ere i dentified, w eigh u p t o 8 00kgs. A lthough t he p resence o f . d omestic c attle ( Bos t aurus), d ogs a nd/or s heep/goat c annot d efin itely b e r uled o ut, K lein r emarks

t hat:

" ...the f auna c ontains n o p ositively i dentifiable d omestic a nimals.. . Even i f s heep/goat o r c attle a re p resent... t hey a re c learly m uch l ess a bundant t han v arious w ild, i ndigenous

s pecies".

( pers.

c omm.)

T he h abitat p references o f t he b etter r epresented w ild s pecies p resent s uggest t hat t he f ull r ange o f e nvironments a round U mbeli B elli w ere e xploited. S pecies c haracteristic o f t he f orest a nd t hick b ush o f t he b ulk o f t he s ite t erritory i nclude b lue d uiker, b ushbuck, b ushpig ( Potamochoerus p orcus), g reater k udu a nd v ervet m onkey. S pec ies s uch a s C ape b l iffalo, s teenbok, h artebeest a nd m ountain r eedbuck p refer f orest e dges, l ighter b ush a nd s avanna w oodland p roviding a g rassy u nderstory f or g razers a nd m ixed f eeders. C learly a bsent f rom t he U mbeli B elli f aunal a ssemblages a re t he l arge, m igratory g razers s uch a s z ebra, w ildebeest, b lesbok a nd e land c haracteristic o f g rassl and e nvironments ( Klein 1 980), a s a re s uch h igh r elief a nd a ltitude s pecies s uch a s k lipspringer a nd V aal r hebuck. While s ome o f t he s maller m ammals i n t he a ssemblage, s uch a s r ock h yrax ( Procavia c apensis) a nd t he s maller c arnivores, c ould h ave b een i ntroduced b y n on-human a gencies, t he u se o f s nares a nd t raps c ould e qually w ell a ccount f or t he c apture o f t hese, a nd i n p articular o f s uch s pecies a s p orcupine ( Hystrix a fricaeaustralis) - u p t o 2 0kgs. i n w eight - c ane r at ( Thryonomys s winderianus) - 7 .5kgs. - a nd v ervet m onkey ( Cercopithecus a ethiops). B oth t he v ervet m onkey a nd t he b aboon ( Papio u rsinus), a re p erhaps u nlikely t o h ave f ormed p art o f t he d iet, a lthough t heir s kins m ay h ave b een u tilised. T he u se o f s naring a nd t rapping i n c onjunction w ith b ow a nd a rrow h unting, t hen, i s s uggested b oth b y t he a bsence o f b one a rrow p oints r eferred t o a bove, a nd b y t he r elatively w ide r ange o f s pecies p resent i n w hat i s r eally r ather a s mall f aunal a ssemblage. N on-mammalian f auna T he m ost c ommon n on-mammalian f aunal r emains a t U mbeli B elli a re 9 9

T ABLE 1 4

U MBELI B ELLI - M OLLUSCA

T ype Arcopsis g ibba

L ayers 1 +2BE X

A sca a urellana B alanus s p.

L ayer 2 AL

X X

B arbatia f oliata

X X

B urnupena l agenaria

X

C erithium c rassilabrum

X

C onus e braeus

X

C onus t extile

X

C repidula p orcellana

X

C zarsostrea c uccullata

X

D onax b urnupi

X

Eumarcia p aupercula

X

F issurella m utabilis F issurella n atalensis

X X

L oripes b urnupi

X X

O nithochiton l iteratus

X

Oxystele t abularis

X

P arnipesna d entifera

X

X

P atella b arbara

X

P atella c oncolor

X

P atella g ranularis

X

P atella l ongicosta

X X

P atella m iniata s anguinans

X

P erna p erna

X

X

P olinices t urridus

X

X

S eptifex b ilocularis

X

S iphonaria c apensis

X

T urbo c orona t us

X

OYSTER

X 1( 10

X

U MBELI B ELLI - M OLLUSCA ( cont) L and a nd F resh-water s pecies T ype

L ayers 1 +2BE

L ayer 2 AL

A chatina s p.

X

X

C orbicula a fricana

X

X

G inonyma l anceolata

X

X

M aizania w ahlbergi

X

T ropidophora p lurilata

X

X

L ayers 1 +2BE

L ayer 2 AL

S HELL B Y W EIGHT T ype

W t. P erna p erna

W t.

1 510 g m.

9 5.1%

1 900 g m.

9 8.2%

7 8 g m.

4 .9%

3 5 g m.

1 .8%

O thers

P . p erna - M NI..(Hinge c ounts) L ayers 1 +2BE

=

3 83

L ayer 2 AL

=

4 65

1 01

t hose o f m ollusca a nd o f T he

f ish.

i nventory o f m ollusc s pecies

( identifications b y

D r.

R .N.

K ilburn a nd R . F regona o f t he N atal M useum) p resent a t U mbeli B elli i s g iven i n T able 1 4. T he b rown m ussel, P erna p erna i s b y f ar t he m ost c ommon s pecies i n a ll l ayers, r epresenting 9 5.1% b y w eight o f t he s hell i n L ayers 1 +2BE a nd 9 8.2% i n L ayer 2 AL. T he m ajority o f o ther m arine s pecies p resent a re s mall s hells l ikely t o h ave b een c ollected i nadvertently

w ith

P erna p erna.

B oth t he

t otal

q uantity o f P erna

p erna p resent i n t he s ample ( 3.4 k gs.), a nd t he d istance o f t he s ite f rom t he c oast ( 7 k ms.) s uggest t hat s hellfish w ere n ot a n i mportant c ontribution t o t he d iet a t U mbeli B elli. S hellfish a re h eavy t o c arry i n r elation t o t heir m eat w eight a nd s poil q uickly, a nd i t s eems v ery m uch m ore l ikely t hat t he b ulk o f s hellfish e xploitation b y t he I nhabitants o f U mbeli B elli t ook p lace a ctually a t t he s ea-shore, a nd t hat P erna p erna w as b rought b ack t o t he s ite o nly o n a c asual a nd I nfrequent b asis. T hus t he s ignificance o f t he s hellfish r emains a t U mbeli B elli i s t o i ndicate t he s ite's r ole a s a h ome-base s ite n ear e nough t o t he s ea t o a llow t he e xploitation o f c oastal r esources o n a r egular b asis, b ut w ith a r ich a nd v aried t errestrial c atchment p rov iding t he b ulk o f t he r esources a ctually c onsumed o n-site. T he

s mall s ample o f

f ish b one r ecovered f rom U mbeli B elli

c on-

s isted o f t he r emains o f t wo f resh-water s pecies - B arbus n atalensis a nd L abeo r ubromaculatus ( identifications b y C . P oggenpoel, U niversity o f C ape T own). T able 1 5 p resents a b reakdown o f t he f ish b one i n e ach s tratigraphic u nit a nd m easurements o f f ish l ength c alculated f rom t he p haryngeal b ones o f B arbus n atalensis ( after F arquharson, i n M aggs & W ard 1 980). While t he s ample i s a dmittedly i nadequate i t i s i nteresti ng

i n

t hat b oth t he s pecies r epresented a nd

t he s ize r ange

r ecorded

a re s imilar t o t he l arger s ample o f f ish b one f rom D riel ( Maggs & W ard 1 980). O nly m oderate s ized i ndividuals a re p resent a nd B arbus n atalensis i s m uch m ore c ommon t han L abeo r ubromaculatus, a nd b oth o bservations s uggest

r eflect

l ine-fishing

t he s ituation a t D riel w hich l ed a s

t he

t echnique e mployed

t o

t he a uthors

c atch

t he

t o

f ish.

M aggs a nd W ard p oint o ut t hat l arge f ish r equire d eep w ater a nd t he a bsence o f t he l arger i ndividuals f rom U mbeli B elli c ould c onceivably r elate t o l ow w inter w ater l evels i n t he M pambanyoni b elow t he s ite, a lthough i n v iew o f s ample s ize t his c an b e n o m ore t han s peculative. G enerally i n t he l ight o f t he s mall q uantity o f f ish b one p resent i t i s u nlikely t hat f resh-water f ish p rovided a s ignificant p roportion o f t he d iet a t U mbeli B elli. g )

D iscussion

A lthough t he L ate S tone A ge a rchaeological a ssemblages f rom U mb eli B elli a re n ot l arge, t hey f orm t he f irst s ystematically e xcavated a nd d ated m aterial f rom t his p art o f t he r esearch a rea. B oth t he l ithic a nd f aunal a ssemblages r epresent t he f irst q uantitative a nal yses o f

t hese a spects o f

t echnology a nd e conomy f or

t he N atal c oastal

b elt. While U mbeli B elli w ill b e d iscussed i n i ts b road c ontext i n C hapters 7 a nd 8 b elow, i t s hould b e p ointed o ut h ere t hat i t i s n ot f elt

t hat

t he

a rchaeological m aterial r ecovered r eflects

t he

f ull

r ange o f e conomic a ctivity a ssociated w ith t he s ite. S pecifically t he r elatively p oor c onditions o f p reservation h ave r esulted i n t he a bsence o f b otanical r emains, a nd i t i s t he c ontention o f t his w ork t hat t he e xploitation o f p lant f oods w as b oth a m ajor c ontribution t o 1 02

T ABLE 1 5

U MBELI B ELLI

S keletal p art

:F ISH B ONE

L ayers 1 +2BE

V ertebrae

L ayer 2 AL

1 i +

T otal

1 55

1 69

5

6

B asi-occipitals

1

L ower p haryngeal b ones

4

A ngulo-artecular

-

3

3

Q uadrates

-

1

1

1 st p reural & 1 st u ral v ertebrae

-

4

4

1 st v ertebrae

-

1

1

C leithrum

1

3

4

H ayomandibular

-

1

1

S pines

2

P re-maxilla

-

1 4

1 8

1 0

1 2

1

1

S tandard l ength o f f ish b ased o n m easureable p haryngeal b ones L ength ( mm.)

:1 40

1 64

1 70

1 82

1 92

2 08

2 28

2 48

2 80

2 94

2 98

B .natalensis

: 1

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

1 03

t he

e conomy

o f

t he o ccupants a nd a n i mportant

d eterminant

o f

t he

t iming a nd d uration o f v isits t o t he s ite. C learly t he e xcavation o f s ites p roviding b oth b etter c onditions o f p reservation a nd l arger a rchaeological s amples r emains a p riority f or f uture w ork. D espite i ts l imitations U mbeli B elli i lluminates t he c haracter o f t he p rev iously l ittle k nown L ate S tone A ge e xploitation o f t he c oastal b elt, a nd f ocuses a ttention o n t he p otential r esource b ase o f t he w hole z one,

r ather

t han s imply

2 .

B ORCHERS S HELTER

a )

I ntroduction B orchers

S helter

t he

l ittoral a nd

( 30 0 4 2'

1 0"

S .,

i ts s hellfish .

3 00 1 6'

5 6" E .) w as e xcavated

f rom 2 3 A ugust t o 1 3 S eptember 1 980. T he r ock s helter, i n c oarse s ands tone o f t he T able M ountain S eries, l ies o n t he p lateau ( the O ribi F lats) a bove t he M zimkulwana r iver w here i t f lows t hrough t he O ribi G orge. T he s ite i s 5 40 m eters a bove s ea l evel a nd a bout 3 50 m eters a bove t he r iver a t t he b ottom o f t he g orge, a nd i s 1 7 k ilometers f rom t he s ea a t P ort S hepstone a t t he m outh o f t he M zimkulu r iver. - T he s helter f aces j ust s outh o f e ast ( 95 0 ) a nd i s 3 0 m eters b road a nd u p t o 5m eters d eep, w ith a r oof h eight a t t he d rip-line o f 2 .80 m eters ( Fig. 5 :5). A d isused t ermite m ound i n t he c entre o f t he s helter d ivides

t he f loor

i n

t wo

p arts,

s loping a way f rom t he c entre

t o

f lat

a reas a t e ither e nd. T he l arger f lat a rea a t t he n orth e nd o f t he s ite w as c hosen f or e xcavation. I mmediately a djoining B orchers S helter t o t he n orth i s a s maller r ock s helter, B orchers S helter A nnexe,

w hich,

w hile l acking d eposit,

a rtefact a ssemblage d etail b elow.

( Plate 4 & F ig.

f eatured a s ubstantial s urface

5 :10) w hich w ill b e d escribed

i n

R ock p aintings o ccur o n t he w alls o f B orchers S helter; u nf ortunately p revious o wners o f t he l and h ave r emoved a t l east t hree p aintings

w ith h ammer a nd c hisel,

i ncluding o ne

s till

i n

t he p osses-

s ion o f t he p resent l andowner d epicting a d omestic b ovid. T he r emaini ng p aintings i n t he s helter a re b adly d eteriorated a nd a ffected b y e xfoliation, o nly a n e land a nd a s mall a ntelope ( ?rhebuck), b oth i n m onochrome r ed, b eing s till r ecognisable. T he P addock d istrict, i n w hich t he s ite i s l ocated, r epresents o ne o f t he f ew k nown c oncentrat ions o f r ock a rt s ites i n N atal o utside t he D rakensberg ( Vinnicombe 1 976), a p henomenon p ossibly r elated t o t he r elative a bundance o f r ockshelters i n t he a rea a nd t heir s carcity i n o ther l ow-lying p arts o f N atal. T he c limate o f B orchers S helter i s r eadings g iven f or P addock ( Tables 1 -4),

a ccurately r eflected b y a bout 6 k ilometers t o

t he t he

s outh a nd a t a s imilar a ltitude. M ean m onthly t emperatures r ange f rom 1 4.7 °C . i n J uly t o 2 1.1°C. i n F ebruary, w ith e xtremes f rom 1 .7°C. t o 4 1.1 ° C . 1 50mm. t o

A verage m onthly r ainfall r anges f rom 3 3.4mm. i n J une t o o ver i n N ovember a nd D ecember. T he P addock d istrict i s n ot s ubject

s evere

s tone

f rosts.

T he s ite i s s ituated o n t he s outh s ide o f t he G orge i n a s andk rantz t hat i s s lightly e levated a bove t he l evel o f t he

p lateau, g iving a n e xtensive v iew f rom a p osition i mmediately a bove t he s helter. T he s ides o f t he G orge i tself, b elow t he p recipitous c liffs

a t

t heir

s ummit,

a re h eavily b ushed. 10 4

P redominant r ain-bearing

B o r c h e r s S h e l t e r : P l a n

1 ,

1 05

w inds

a re

f rom t he s outh,

a nd

t hus

t he n orthern s ide o f

t he G orge

i s

f orested while t he s crub-forest o n t he s outh s ide i s c haracterised b y t rees p referring d ryer c onditions. A lthough t he G orge i s c urrently a n ature r eserve, e xtensive t imber e xploitation d uring t he l ate n inet eenth c entury h as m eant t hat t he m odern v egetation o f t he G orge c an h ardly b e d escribed a s u ndisturbed. I n

t he

p ast C oastal F orest w ould h ave o ccurred

i n

t he

e astern

p art o f t he s ite t erritory a t a ltitudes b elow a bout 4 50 m eters ( Acocks 1 975), a nd o n t he n orthern s ide o f t he G orge i tself w here t he r iver i s a t a bout 1 60 m eters a bove s ea l evel. T rees i n t he G orge i nclude ( Natal W ild L ife S ociety, 1 955) s uch C oastal F orest i ndicators a s P rotorhus l ongifolia, S trelitzia n icolai, C roton s ylvaticus a nd S yzygium c ordatum

( Acocks

1 975).

T he s outhern s ide

o f

t he

G orge

l acked t he t ypes o f " more e ssentially t ropical n ature" a nd s pecies c haracteristic o f t he s crub-forest o f t he ' Ngongoni V eld ( Acocks 1 975) p resent i nclude C ombretum k raussii, T rimeria g randifolia a nd H allena l ucida. I n g eneral t he s ite t erritory o f B orchers S helter, e spec ially

i nland f rom t he s ite

i tself,

i ncludes a g reater p roportion

o f

t he d ryer, s crubbier v egetation t ypes t han d oes t he U mbeli B elli s ite t erritory w ith i ts m ore s emi-tropical e nvironment. T hus t he a rea a round B orchers S helter, while e ssentially a c oastal b elt e nvironment o ffers a w ider v ariety o f v egetation t ypes t han U mbeli B elli, p robably i ncluding m ore o pen s avanna/woodland o n t he p lateau o f t he O ribi F lats, a n a rea n ow c onsisting b asically o f g rassland a nd s ugar c ane. b )

E XCAVATION

S ix s quare m eters w ere e xcavated a t B orchers S helter, t o a m aximum d epth o f a bout 1 15 c entimeters. B edrock w as e xposed i n p arts o f s quares B 3, B 4, C 4 a nd D 4 ( Figs. 5 :6 & 5 :7); i n t he r emainder o f t he t rench e xcavation c eased a t t he b ottom o f L ayer 3 , a m ajor a rchaeologically

r ich

u nit,

a part f rom i n s quare D 3 where u p t o

3 0

c entimeters o f t he u nderlying L ayer 4 w as r emoved, a nd i n C 3 w here a l arge r ock s lab p revented r emoval o f t he L ayer 3 d eposits b eneath i t. A ll e xcavated m aterial w as p assed t hrough a s ieve o f 5 mm. m esh a nd s orted o n s ite P ietermaritzburg. C lear

b efore

r emoval f or a nalysis

a t

t he

N atal

a nd d etailed s tratigraphy w as o nly p reserved a t

M useum,

t he

b ack

o f t he s helter, ( Plate 3 ), d ue t o t he a ction o f r oots i ntruding f rom t he t alus v egetation a nd w ater s eepage o bscuring s tratigraphic d etail a t t he f ront. A n i ncrease i n t he f requency o f r ock s pall f ront o f t he s helter w as o bserved t hroughout t he d eposit. s tratigraphic u nits w ere d istinguished, f icance i n t he o ccupation o f t he s ite. L AYER 1 :

t his

u nit

i s a t hin,

l ess

t wo o f

t han 5 cms.,

t owards t he F our m ain

t hem o f m ajor

s igni-

d usty l ight b rown a nd

d isturbed d eposit; i t c ontains l ittle a rchaeological m aterial, p lant m aterial a nd a nimal d roppings a re c ommon a nd i s c learly i n t he m ain o f r elatively LAYER 2 :

r ecent o rigin. t his

i s

a g ritty,

g rey-brown e arth,

f eaturing a t

t he r ear o f

t he s helter l ighter g rey, f ine-grained a nd a lmost s terile l enses ( Plate 3 & F ig. 5 :6). T he m ain d eposit h as a g ritty t exture a nd i s v irtually h omogenous t hroughout i ts d epth - u p t o 4 0cms. S cattered c harcoal f ragments o ccur t hroughout, a lthough c oncentrations o f a sh 1 06

B O R C H E R S S H E L T E R :

s o u t h — n o r t h

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C M 0 : 1

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CI )

B o r c h e r s

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= • -•",,- ,-

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= I

B o r c h e r s S h e l t e r

. f. . 1% /C -J ' z, ` ' iz , ;z: . ', ,z ,, •• ; 4 4 :,- , , e .tz f .s . ;

r • u " )

a nd c harcoal a re r are. A n i mmediate i mpression d uring e xcavation w as m ade b y t he s mall s ize o f a rtefacts a nd t he h ighly f ragmentary f aunal r emains, a n o bservation c onfirmed b y a nalysis. L AYER 3 : t his u nit i s c learly d istinguished f rom t he o verlying L ayer 2 a t t he r ear o f t he s helter, d ue t o i ts d istinctly d arker c olouring, a lthough

i t i ncludes w ithin i t l ighter l enses.

T he b ulk o f

t he

d e-

p osit i s. d ark b rown, s ofter a nd e arthier i n t exture t han L ayer 2 , c ontaining f requent a shy p atches a nd d iffuse c harcoal. T owards t he f ront

o f

t he s helter r oot a nd w ater a ction h as m ade

t he

d istinction

l ess c lear, a nd, a lthough d ifferences i n c olour a nd t exture r emained s ufficient t o d istinguish t hem d uring e xcavation, s ome a dmixture h as p robably o ccurred i n t his p art o f t he d eposit. T he s loping n ature o f t his u nit a t t he s outhern e nd o f P late 3 a nd F ig. 5 :6. L AYER 4 : s andy a nd

t he e xcavation c an b e s een c learly i n

t he b asal u nit a t B orchers S helter i s a p ale-yellowish d eposit i ncluding a h igh

h ard, c oncreted, c oncentration o f

r ock s pall. A rchaeological m aterial o ccurs b ut l ittle c harcoal o r f aunal m aterial w as p reserved. T he d eposit i s p aler a nd l ess y ellow w ith d epth i n D 3 a nd b ecomes v irtually s terile. c )

D ATES T hree

r adiocarbon r eadings w ere o btained f or B orchers

P ta 3 107 - O n c harcoal f rom t he 6 cms.

d epth :-

t op o f L ayer 2 ,

S quare D 3,

1 00 ± 5 0 B .P.

P ta 3 108 - O n c harcoal f rom t he l ower p art o f L ayer 3 , 3 0-50cms.

S helter:

d epth :-

2 070 .±

S quare D 3,

5 0 B .P.

P ta 3 110 - O n c ollagen f rom a h uman l ong b one,

v ertically a ligned,

i n

t he l owest p art o f L ayer 3 , S quare B 4, 6 0-90cms. d epth :3 360 ± 1 10 B .P. d )

S TONE A RTEFACTS

I n v iew o f t he r ecent d ate, P ta 3 107 o f 1 00 ± 5 0 B .P. f rom t he t op o f L ayer 2 , a nd t he s mall s ize o f t he a rtefact a ssemblage f rom t he t hin s urface u nit L ayer 1 , t hese t wo a ssemblages h ave b een c ombined f or p resentation p urposes. L ayer 4 h as a t otal o f 6 26 s tone a rtefacts i ncluding 1 6 r etouched t ools, a nd d ue t o t his s mall s ize t his s ample w ill b e o mitted f rom f urther d iscussion. T here a re t hus t wo a ssemb lages o f s ignificance a t B orchers S helter, L ayers 1 +2 w ith a t otal o f 1 1,567

s tone

a rtefacts

L ayer 3 w ith a t otal o f a re r etouched t ools.

i ncluding 1 39 r etouched

t ools

( 1.20%),

1 3,763 s tone a rtefacts o f w hich 1 96

a nd

( 1.42%)

R aw m aterials C rypto-crystalline

s ilicas

( CCS)

a re

t he d ominant r aw

m aterial

t ype i n b oth a ssemblages, c omprising 7 1.44% a nd 7 1.34% o f a ll a rtef acts i n L ayers 1 +2 a nd 3 r espectively. H ornfels m akes u p 1 8.16% a nd 1 7.25% o f r aw m aterials i n t he t wo a ssemblages, w ith q uartzite a nd q uartz p roviding t he b ulk o f t he r emainder. C CS a re a vailable a s r iver p ebbles f rom t he M zimkulu r iver a bout 6 k ilometers n orth o f t he 1 10

T ABLE

1 6 B ORCHERS S HELTER:

L AYERS

R AW M ATERIALS

n . T otal

L AYER 3

1 +2 n .

a rtefacts

C CS

8 263

7 1.44

9818

7 1.34

H ornfels

2 100

1 8.16

2 374

1 7.25

Q uartzite

9 58

8 .28

1 254

9 .11

Q uartz

2 31

2 .00

2 74

1 .99

O thers

1 5

0 .13

4 3

0 .31

1 34

9 5.92

T ools 9 6.40

1 88

H ornfels

C CS

4

2 .28

7

3 .57

Q uartzite

-

-

-

-

Q uartz

1

0 .72

1

0 .51

O thers

-

-

-

-

U tilised C CS

2 6

7 6.47

6 4

8 4.21

H ornfels

3

8 .82

7

Q uartzite

4

1 1.76

4

9 .21 5 .26

Q uartz

1

2 .94

-

-

O thers

-

-

1

1 .32

C ores + T rimmers C CS

7

1 00.00

2 6

9 2.86

H ornfels

1

3 .57

Quartzite

1

3 .57

Q uartz O thers C hunks 44

80.00

H ornfels

C CS

4

7 .27

8 0

Q uartzite

7

1 2.73

Q uartz

-

-

2

1 .98

O thers

-

-

-

-

9 1 0

7 9.21 8 .91 9 .90

W hole F lakes C CS

7 15

7 2.74

8 35

6 9.82

H ornfels

2 06

2 0.96

2 38

1 9.90 .

Q uartzite

5 1

5 .19

1 13

9 .45

Q uartz

1 1

1 .12

8

0 .67

-

2

0 .17

O thers

-

B roken F lakes C CS

7 337

7 0.90

8 625

7 0.89

H ornfels

1 883

1 8.19

2 112

1 7.36

Q uartzite

8 96

8 .66

1 126

9 .26

Q uartz

2 18

2 .11

2 63

2 .16

Others

1 5

0 .14

4 0

0 .33

1 11

T ABLE 1 7

B ORCHERS S HELTER

R AW M A1hRIAL

:W HOLE FLAKES

L ayers 1 +2

T OTAL

n .

M ean L ength

= 9 83

1 2.29 m m.

L ayer n .

3

= 1 ,196

1 4.92 m m.

S .D.

:

6 .70

8 .57

R ange

:

4 -55 m m.

3 -84 m m.

M ean B readth

:

1 1.48 m m.

S .D.

:

6 .29

8 .23

R ange

:

3 -66 m m.

4 -60 m m.

C CS M ean L ength

n .

= 7 15

n .

m m.

= 8 35

:

1 1.91

:

6 .00

7 .95

R ange

:

4 -52 m m.

3 -84 mm.

M ean B readth

:

1 0.43 m m.

1 2.28 m m.

S .D.

:

5 .17

6 .66

R ange

:

3 -44 mm.

4 -50 m m.

.S .D.

H ornfels

n .

m m.

1 3.81

= 2 06

n .

= 2 38

M ean L ength

:

S .D.

:

5 .82

7 .50

R ange

:

4 -45 m m.

5 -43 m m.

M ean B readth

:

1 3.07 mm.

1 5.38 m m.

S .D.

:

6 .34

8 .42

R ange

:

4 -43 m m .

4 -47 m m .

O thers

1 1.56 mm.

1 4.11 m m.

n .

= 6 2

1 4.75 m m.

n .

= 1 23

M ean L ength

1 9.05 m m.

2 0.75 m m.

S .D.

1 1.58

1 1.77

5 -55 m m .

4 -60 mm.

M ean B readth

1 8.34 m m.

2 0.88 m m.

S .D.

1 0.84

1 1.89

R ange

R ange

5 -66 m m.

11 2

7 -60 m m.

s ite.

C CS

a re

s trongly p referred f or

t ool

m anufacture,

9 5.9% o f t ools i n l ayers 1 +2 a nd 3 b eing m ade o f F ull r aw m aterial c ounts a re g iven i n T able 1 6.

t hese

9 6.4%

a nd

m aterials.

T he W aste A c lear

i mpression g ained d uring

t he e xcavation a nd a nalysis

o f

t he B orchers S helter l ithic a ssemblages w as o f t he g enerally s mall s ize o f t he a rtefact m aterial. A mong t he b roken f lakes t his h as n ot b een q uantified a lthough t he p reponderance o f t iny C CS " chips" w as m arked. M easurements o f t he w hole u nretouched f lakes, h owever, c onf irm t his o bservation. T ables 1 7 a nd 1 8 l ist d ata o n m ean l engths a nd b readths a nd s how a b reakdown o f w hole f lakes b y m aximum d imensions. C omparison b etween t he s ize o f w hole f lakes a t B orchers S helter a nd a t U mbeli B elli ( Tables 1 0-11) o r G ood H ope ( Table 4 1) s hows t he f ormer t o b e n otably s maller. A p ossible e xplanation b oth f or t his a nd f or a nother u nusual f eature i n t he w aste a t B orchers S helter, t he e xt remely l ow p roportion o f c ores a nd c hunks, l ies i n t he p resence i mmed iately n ext d oor o f B orchers S helter A nnexe ( Fig. 5 :5).

c ribed

T he s urface c ollection f rom B orchers S helter A nnexe ( BSA), d esi n d etail b elow, f eatures p roportions o f c ores a nd c hunks

s imilar t o l arger t han o f

o ther N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites a nd w hole f lake s izes t he e quivalent m easurements f rom t he e xcavated a ssemblages

B orchers

S helter.

W hile

b oth e xcavated a ssemblages

s how

t his

f eature o f s mall w aste f lakes a nd r are c ores a nd c hunks, t here i s s ome s ize d ecrease f rom L ayer 3 t o L ayers 1 +2 ( Tables 1 7-18) a nd t he e mphas is o n f lakes s maller t han 1 5mm. m aximum d imension i s a lso l ess m arked i n L ayer 3 . I t i s p ossible t o s uggest t hat B orchers S helter A nnexe s erved, a t l east i n p art, a s a ' workshop' f or t he m ain s ite, w ith a c oncentration o f b asic k napping a ctivity t here, s ince t he B orchers S helter A nnexe a rtefact a ssemblages c ontain e lements, n otably c ores, c hunks a nd t he l arger w aste f lakes, m issing f rom B orchers S helter. U tilised U tilised p ieces a re r elatively p oorly r epresented i n b oth a ss emblages a t B orchers S helter, 0 .29% a nd 0 .55% o f a rtefacts i n L ayers 1 +2 a nd 3 c ompared t o 0 .97% a nd 1 .17% a t U mbeli B elli, a nd, a s i n t he c ase o f c ores a nd c hunks, a re b etter r epresented i n t he B SA a ssemblage w here t hey m ake u p 2 .17% o f a rtefacts. L acking k nowledge o f t he f unctions o f t hese u tilised p ieces, t he i mplications o f t his d iffer ence t o t he r econstruction o f t he d istribution o f v arious a ctivities b etween t he s ites r emains o bscure, a lthough t he p otential v alue o f u se-wear s tudies T he

g round

i n e xamining s tone

a lthough a t l east o ne o f

t his

p ieces

p roblem i s e vident.

f rom L ayer 3

a re

b oth

t hem m ay h ave b een a p alette,

f ragmentary, s imilar

t o

t he

p ieces o f t hat n ame f rom G ood H ope a nd o ther D rakensberg s ites a nd p ossibly a ssociated w ith p ainting ( Carter 1 978). B oth h ammerstones a nd m ullers a re v ery r are a t B orchers S helter, t he s ingle m uller c oming f rom t he t op o f L ayer 1 while t he t wo h ammers t ones c ome f rom L ayer 3 .

113

T ABLE 1 8

B ORCHERS S HELTER

:W HOLE FLAKES

L ayers 1 +2

M aximum d imensions A ll r aw m aterials

L ayer 3

n .

%

n .

%

0 -15 mm.

7 05

7 1.72

6 95

5 8.11

1 6-30 mm.

2 44

2 4.82

4 02

3 3.61

3 4

3 .46

9 9

8 .28

3 1

+

98 3

1 ,196

C CS 0 -15 m m.

:

5 42

7 5.80

5 34

6 3.95

1 6-30 mm.

:

1 61

2 2.52

2 57

3 0.78

3 1

:

1 2

1 .68

4 4

5 .27

+

mm.

7 15

8 35

Hornfels 0 -15 mm.

:

1 41

6 8.45

1 24

5 2.10

1 6-30 mm.

:

5 6

2 7.18

9 2

3 8.66

3 1

:

4 .37

2 2

9 .24

+

mm.

9' 2 06

2 38

O thers 0 -15 mm.

:

2 2

3 5.48

3 7

3 0.08

1 6-30 mm.

:

2 7

4 3.55

53

4 3.09

3 1

:

1 3

2 0.97

33

2 6.83

+

mm.

6 2

1 23

114

R etouched T ools W hilst s ome d ifferences a re a pparent b etween t he t ool c ounts o f L ayers 1 +2 a nd L ayer 3 a t B orchers S helter, t he a ssemblages s hare t he g eneral c haracteristics o f h igh p roportions o f c onvex s crapers, b acked b lades a nd s egments, a nd l ow p roportions o f n otched s crapers, w ith f ew o ther t ools a part f rom m iscellaneous r etouched p ieces. I n g eneral t his p attern a ccords w ith t hat d isplayed b y o ther c oastal b elt s ites r eported i n t his w ork. H owever, t he p roportion o f b acked t ools i n L ayers b acked

1 +2, a t 4 3.3%, t ools i n a ny

a ssemblage,

a nd

L ayer

r epresents b y f ar t he l argest p ercentage o f p ublished N atal t erminal L ate S tone A ge 3 a t 2 8.6% a lso f eatures

a n

u nusually

h igh

b acked t ool c omponent. T his i ncrease i n t he r elative f requency o f b acked t ools, a nd t he c oncomitant d ecrease i n t he p roportion o f c onvex s crapers ( from 5 0.1% t o 3 7.4%), r epresents t he m ain d ifference b etween t he a ssemblage o f L ayers 3 a nd 1 +2.

a re

A s i s u sual i n N atal t erminal L ate S tone A ge s ites, e ndscrapers t he m ost c ommon c onvex s craper t ype, a nd s ome r eduction i n m ean

s ize 2 0).

i s a pparent b etween L ayer 3 a nd t he o verlying L ayers 1 +2 I n L ayers 1 +2 4 9% o f e ndscrapers f all i nto D eacon's

( Table ( 1972)

" small" s ize c lass ( 5 - 1 5mm. m aximum d imension), t he r emainder b eing c lassified a s " medium" ( 16-30mm.); i n L ayer 3 o nly 1 1% o f e ndscrapers a re " small", 8 8% f alling i nto t he " medium" c lass. N otched

s crapers

o ccur

i n

s imilar

p roportion

i n

b oth

a ssemblages, 7 .9% a nd 9 .7% i n L ayers 1 +2 a nd 3 r espectively. S egments h ave s imilar m ean s izes i n b oth a ssemblages, l ength x b readth m eans b eing 9 .6 x 5 .6mm. f or L ayers 1 +2 a nd 8 .9 x 6 .3mm. f or L ayer 3 . M easureable b acked b lades h ave l ength x b readth m eans o f 1 2.2 x 4 .6mm. f or 1 +2 a nd 1 4.2 x 5 .4mm. f or L ayer 3 . F urther d iscussion o f B orchers S helter l ithic a ssemblages, p articularly i n r elation t o m aterial

f rom

t he a djoining B orchers

S helter A nnexe,

m ay

b e

t he t he

f ound

b elow . e )

N ON-LITHIC A RTEFACTS

P ottery O nly t hree, s mall a nd h eavily a braded, u ndecorated s herds w ere r ecovered f rom t he e xcavations a t B orchers S helter; o ne i s f rom t he t op o f L ayer 2 a nd t he o ther t wo f rom t he L ayer 2 /3 i nterface a t t he f ront o f t he s helter. B one A rtefacts T able

2 1

l ists

t he b one a rtefacts

w orked o r p olished b one w as

f rom

B orchers

r ecovered f rom L ayers

1o r 4 .

S helter; A s

i s

n o t he

c ase w ith t he f aunal m aterial f rom t he s ite m uch o f t he b one a rtefact m aterial i s h ighly f ragmentary, a nd c lassification o nly a s ' worked/ p olished s ingle

f ragments' f ind

i s

i s

p ossible.

c omplete :

F ortunately

t he

m ost

i nteresting

a s uperbly f ashioned b one f ish h ook

f rom

L ayer 2 ( Plate 5 ). I t i s 4 0mm. l ong w ith a m aximum t hickness o f o nly 2 mm. a nd a f ine b arb. A b roken p iece o f a nother f ish h ook w as r ec overed f rom L ayer 3 . S imilar b one f ish h ooks a re k nown f rom o ther N atal L ate S tone A ge s ites, i ncluding G ood H ope ( Cable e t a l. 1 980), D riel ( Maggs & W ard 1 980, c ompare F ig.18) a nd B elleview ( Carter 1 978). 115

T ABLE

1 9

B ORCHERS S HELTER:

TYPE

S TONE A RTEFACTS

L AYERS 1 +2

L AYER 3

n .

E ndscrapers S idescrapers

3 7

n .

2 6.6

7 4

5

4 .1

-

7 .9

1 6

8 .2

1

B acked b lades

2 9

2 0.9

3 1

1 5.8

1

S egf ients

1 9

1 3.7

1 8

T rimmed p oints N otched s crapers B orers

-

M .R.P.s

1 6

T OTAL T OOLS

Outils

3 1 1

8

3 7.8

1 1

9

2 .9

n .

S craper f ragments

B acked p ieces

4

L AYER 4

6 .5 2 .2 7 .9

-

U tilised p ieces

3 3

-

3 .6

-

-

-

-

9 .7

2

2 .0

-

1 9

-

4

1 1.5

1 9

1 39

e cailles

9 .2

7

1 .20

-

1

9 7.1

9 .7

1 96

7 1

7 1 .42

1 6 -

1 .3

-

9 3.4

8

Hammerstones

-

-

2

2 .6

-

Mullers

1

2 .9

-

-

-

G roundstone p ieces

-

-

2

2 .6

-

T OTAL U TILISED

3 4

0 .29

C ores

6

0 .05

C ore t rimmers

1

0 .01

C hunks W hole F lakes

5 5

7 6

2 5 3

0 .48

1 01

0 .55

8 _

0 .19

2

0 .02

1

0 .75

3

9 83

8 .63

1 196

8 .87

5 7

B roken F lakes

1 0349

9 0.83

1 2166

9 0.18

5 39

T OTAL WASTE

1 1394

9 8.50

1 3491

9 8.02

6 02

T OTAL S TONE A RTEFACTS

1 1567

1 3763 .

N

1 16

%Tot

6 26

2 .6

1 .3

9 6.2

a Ll im

42G l ik a

A s

Ze

i;22; .)

d e tico o r

sA e t -s 5cm .

F ig.

5 .8

B orchers S helter:

L ayer

a —j:

e ndscrapers;

m —p:

b acked b lades;

k ,

117

t i 4e

V

2 S tone T ools

1 : r —w:

n otched

s crapers;

s egments.

A ll

C CS

4 ;; : sz

Z Sz l .

4 ; : 2

C

I

i -

r S

i n 0 I

A

t

V

2

3 4

5cms . F ig.

5 .9

B orchers

S helter L ayer

a —j:

e ndscrapers,

r —w:

s egments

k —p:

3 T ools:

A ll

C CS

b acked b lades,

118

q :

n otched

s craper,

T ABLE 2 0

B ORCHERS S HELTER

L ayers 1 +2 ( 1 H ornfels, M ean L ength

:E NDSCRAPERS

L ayer

3 6 C OS)

1 4.73 m m.

3

( All C CS) 1 8.78 m m.

S .D.

4 .47

5 .01

R ange

7 -28 m m.

8 -33 m m .

M ean B readth

1 4.89 m m.

1 6.81

m m.

S .D.

3 .37

3 .26

R ange

8 -27 m m.

9 -24 m m.

R etouch P osititions*

3

5 9 .46%

5 4 .79%

1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,7 ,9

1 3 .5 1%

2 0.55%

1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,6

1 3 .5 1%

1 5.07%

4 ,5 ,6

1 0 .8 1%

9 .59%

1 ,

2 ,

4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,9

* (after D eacon J .

2 .70%

1 972)

1 19

P late

5 .

B ORCHERS S HELTER: T op

r ow:

M iddle

B one

t ools

b one p oints;

r ow :

b one p oint,

f ish h ook,

b roken f ish

h ook;

P late 6 .

B ottom r ow:

s patulate p iece,

T he

i n c ms.

s cale

A l arge,

i s

h eavily u sed

G RINDSTONE S HELTER

d rilled t ooth.

l ower g rindstone

f rom

T ABLE 2 1

:B ONE ARTEFACTS T YPE

L AYER 2

F ish h ooks

1

B one p oints

9

B eads

L AYER 3 1 1 0

1 0

D rilled

t ooth

2 2

-

1

F ragments

1 3

1 4

T OTAL

3 3

4 8

T he b one p oints a re a ll m ore o r l ess f ragmentary a nd n o c learly c omplete e xamples w ere r ecovered. A mong t he m ore u nusual b one a rtef acts

a re a s mall d rilled c arnivore

t ooth f rom L ayer 3 a nd

t wo

f lat

' spatulate' p olished b one p ieces. 3 2 b eads o ccurred i n t he s ample f rom B orchers S helter, o f w hich s even a re r oughouts, d rilled b ut w ith t he e dges n ot y et s moothed. T he p resence o f b orers a mong t he l ithic a rtefacts b oth i n L ayer 3 a nd a t B SA s upports t he i mplication t hat b ead m anufacture f )

t ook p lace a t

t he s ite.

F AUNA

S cott,

T he m ammalian f auna f rom B orchers S helter w as i dentified b y K . D epartment o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f C ambridge; t he m ate-

r ial w as v ery h ighly f ragmented a nd t he s pecies l ist i n T able 2 2 g ives p resence/absence d ata o nly. H owever, i t w as c lear d uring a nalysis t hat G ephalophus m onticola, t he b lue d uiker, i s e asily t he m ost c ommon s pecies, S cott e stimating t hat o ver h alf o f t he i dentifiable m aterial i s f rom C . m onticola. T he n ext m ost c ommonly r epresented s pecies a re P rocavia c apensis, t he r ock h yrax, a nd h are, p robably L epus c apensis, f ollowed b y t he s mall/medium s ized a ntelope s teenbok a nd b ushbuck, R aphicerus c ampestris a nd T ragelaphus s criptus. A lthough a s lightly n arrower r ange o f m ammalian s pecies r epresented a t B orchers S helter t han a t U mbeli B elli ( Table 1 3),

i s i n

g eneral t he t wo f aunal a ssemblages a re c learly v ery a like. T he B orc hers S helter a ssemblage i s d ominated b y s pecies c haracteristic o f t hick b ush a nd f orest, a lthough s pecies p referring f orest e dges a nd l ighter w oodland o r s avanna s uch a s s teenbok a nd r eedbuck a re a lso p resent. T he f aunal a ssemblage r eflects t he e xploitation o f t he C oast F orest v egetation o f t he s ite t erritory a nd i t i s p ossible t hat i t m ay r epresent t he e xploitation o f t he t hickly f orested O ribi G orge i tself a s w ell a s

t he m ore o pen v egetation o f

t he F lats.

T he g eneral

i mpli-

c ation i s t hat t he h unting a ctivities o f t he s ite's o ccupants w ere c oncentrated i n t he f orested e nvironment o f t he a rea b etween t he s ite a nd

t he s ea,

B ushveld

a nd

r ather

t han m ainly i n t he s avanna/woodland o f

' Ngongoni V eld o f

t he i nterior.

b lue d uikers w ere c ertainly b eing b rought b ack t o

S cott n otes

t he V alley t hat

t he

t he s ite w hole,

a ll

a natomical m aterial f rom h orn c ores t o t erminal p halanges b eing p res ent. R emembering t heir a verage w eight o f 5 -9kgs. t his i s o f c ourse n ot s urprising. G iven t he p oor c ondition a nd r elatively s mall s ize o f t he f aunal a ssemblage f rom B orchers S helter n o s ignificant d ifference 1 21

T ABLE 2 2

B ORCHERS S HELTER

:F AUNA

L ayers 1 H omo s apiens, L epus c f.

M an

c apensis, H are

T hryonomys s winderianus, P apio u rsinus,

X C ane R at

V ervet M onkey

C at

P rocavia c apensis,

R ock H yrax

P otamochoerus 2 orcus, T ragelaphus c f.

Bushpig

s criptus,

c f. R edunca f ulvorufula, C ephalophus m onticola, R aphicerus c f.

4 _

X

X

X

X

X

m ongoose

' F ells s p.,

3

X

B aboon

c f. C ercopithecus a ethiops, V iverrid,

2

B ushbuck R eedbuck

B lue D uiker

c ampestris,

X

S teenbok

X

X

X

?

?

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

L arge/Medium b ovid ( e.g. kudu, h artebeest)

X

S nake

X

X

B ird

X

X

M icro-fauna

X

X

X

F ish

X

X

X

M ollusca

X

X

X

1 22

?

c an

b e o bserved b etween t he a ssemblages o f L ayers 2 a nd 3 ,

i dentifiable b ones w ere r ecovered f rom e ither L ayer

w hile f ew

1o r 4 .

N on-mammalian f auna R emains o f b irds a nd s nakes ( and p ossibly l izard) a re p resent i n s mall n umbers i n b oth L ayers 2 a nd 3 a t B orchers S helter. O f m uch m ore f requent o ccurrence a re t he r emains o f f ish ; t he f ish m aterial h as n ot b een a nalysed i n d etail, b ut c ertainly i ncludes B arbus s p., p robably B arbus n atalensis. F ish b one i s p resent i n a ll l ayers a nd i s i ncluded i n v ariable q uantities i n m ore t han h alf o f t he e xcavation u nits ( spits) t hat f eatured i dentifiable f aunal m aterial. U ns urprisingly v ertebrae a ppear t o b e e asily t he b est r epresented a natom ical p art. T he p resence o f f ish b one a t B orchers S helter i s o f i nterest b oth a s i t a ccords w ith t he i dentification o f f ish-hooks a t t he s ite, a nd s ince e vidence f or f resh-water f ishing i s a lso p resent a t U mbeli B elli ( Table 1 5). T he M zimkulwana r iver i n t he O ribi G orge b elow t he s ite w ould a ppear t o b e t he m ost l ikely s ource f or f reshw ater f ish a t B orchers S helter a nd B arbus n atalensis i s c ommon i n t his r iver

( Bowmaker e t a l. T he

s ite

1 978).

o ther m ain c ategory o f n on-mammalian f auna p resent

i s m arine m ollusca;

t he s hell m aterial

a t

t he

i s v ery f ragmentary

a nd

d etailed q uantitative a nalysis w as n ot r egarded a s p racticable. T otal q uantity o f s hell i s n ot g reat, l ess t han 1 20gms. i n L ayer 2 a nd 2 50gms. i n L ayer 3 , w hich m ay b e c ompared w ith t he q uantity o f s hell r ecovered f rom a s maller v olume o f d eposit a t U mbeli B elli ( Table 1 4), w here t he s hell w as c onsiderably b etter p reserved. A lthough t he b ulk o f t he B orchers S helter s hell c onsists o f t iny f ragments, P erna p erna, t he b rown m ussel, i s a lso p resent,

a ppears t o b e t he m ost c ommon s pecies; P atella s p. a s i s s ome o yster a nd a f ew b rightly c oloured a nd

p ossibly d ecorative s hells. T he c onsistent p resence o f s eashell a t B orchers S helter, 1 7 k ilometers i nland, e ven i n r elatively s a iall q uantities, s uggests t hat t he s ite's o ccupants m ay h ave u tilised t he r esources o f t he l ittoral o n a m ore o r l ess r egular b asis. A s i n t he c ase o f U mbeli B elli, while i t i s n ot l ikely t hat m arine m ollusca p rovided a s ignificant c ontribution t o t he d iet a t B orchers S helter, s hort j ourneys t o t he s ea-shore m ay h ave b een r egularly u ndertaken f rom t he s ite, w ith t he b ulk o f m ollusc c onsumption a nd d iscard t hus t aking p lace n ear t heir s ource. T he p resence o f m any s hell-middens c ontaining l ittle i f a ny c ultural m aterial ( Schoute-Vanneck & W alsh 1 961) w ould a ppear t o b e a l ogical a rchaeological m anifestation o f s uch a s ystem o f c oastal b elt e xploitation, a nd d iscussion o f t he r elationship b etween i nland c oastal b elt s ites a nd t he d ifferent t ypes o f L ate S tone A ge s hell m iddens m ay b e f ound i n C hapter 6 . 3 .

B ORCHERS S HELTER A NNEXE ( BSA)

A nnexe

L ocated i mmediately a djacent t o B orchers S helter ( Fig. s ite f eatures a l arge s urface a ssemblage o f l ithic

l ying p laces,

o n

a w ater

b are

r ock f loor.

d ripping

d own

T he f loor o f

t he s helter

t he r ear w alls h aving

i s

5 :5), t he a rtefacts w et

i n

a ccumulated

i n

p uddles. J udging b y t he p resence o f n umerous s mall s tone c hips a mong t he a rtefacts t he m aterial w as r elatively u ndisturbed. T he s helter i s 1 5 m eters b road b y 2 -4 m eters d eep a nd a rtefacts a re s cattered m ore o r l ess d ensely o ver m ost o f i ts f loor a nd t he u pper p art o f t he t alus s lope i n f ront o f t he s helter ( Plate 4 & F ig. 5 :10). C ollections o f 1 23

1