Augist 2013 Phone 044-620-3338 Fax 044-620-3176 Email: [email protected] Web: ourheritage.org.za Volume 2013, Issue 8 Dear Friends of the Museum, Editor; Rene’ de Kock Heritage is busy with the Several big events and adventures- production of the first twenty from new hiking routes to a magnificent plaques to go on to the outside of Christmas programme - are planned by the Great Brak Tourism Initiative as Mossel Bay’s unique heritage build- short term goals. ings. These plaques measuring 300 x The September Muse Festival is the 200 mm provide a brief history of first of many exciting programs being the building including the date built. held by the newly established Included is a QR image which when GBT Initiative. photographed using a Smartphone, will take you directly to the entry on FEESGANGERS KAN GEDURENDE our web site ourheritage.org.za DIE KUNSFEES NA UITSTEKENDE where more detail on the specific KUNSTENAARS BY BEKENDE UITHANGPLEKKE, RESTAURANTE building can be found. EN KOFFIEWINKELS IN DIE DORP Not to be outdone the Great Brak UITSIEN. DIE SPYSKAARTE WISSEL River Museum are also producing a VAN JAZZ TOT LIG-KLASSIEK MET This museums most recent RANDAL WICOMB, VAN POËSIE limited number of these plaques. If exhibition is about the dif- TOT VOORLESINGS DEUR SWAAR ferent peoples of the you want to become involved, please GEWIGTE SOOS NIC DE JAGER, contact Ina at the Info office. TOT PLAASLIKE KUNSTENAARS ‘Cape Coastal Corridor’ of SOOS PETRONEL BAARD WAT the who be- An example is shown below, however REEDS HULLE MERK GEMAAK gan their lives in our area; the background colour is still to be HET. Modern Man who started established. some 200,000 years ago to colonise the earth, the TOERISME, in en om Groot Brak- VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE ARTS COME TOGETHER DURING THE San who believe they were rivier is deesdae die gonswoord op MUSE FESTIVAL: here from the beginning of almal se lippe. time and for at least the

past 12,000 years and our Khoe who are the more recent arrivals.

Special Points of In-

terest this month.

Computer & Cell-phone Talk …. P age 11

Education ………………………..… Page 11

Historical Collection ……….……. Page 15

Ina’s Tourism Snippets …...... Page 7

Information on Fossils …………. Page 9 Occupation of our ‘Coastal Corridor’ Caves ………………………………… Page 13

Stone age technology …………… Page 12

Village News …………….….…..…. Page 3

What’s On in Great Brak ………… Page 6

August 2013 Great Museum News Letter Page Number 1 The Memory Boxskop skop af met ‘n Robins Hair Salon wynproe geleentheid.. The Ou Pastorie National Arbor Week [email protected] plans a trendy “ High Tea” and a fashion show. Stefan Jamneck van Transkaroo In celebration of Arbor Week the nursery at the Bo- gaan die koffie –kultuurbeweging prakties demonstreer en Vera’s Feast tanical Garden in George will be gaan dekadente eetgoed daarna op die holding a sale of indigenous trees proef stel! from Saturday 31 August to Satur- Tussendeur sing Randal, speel Romon Styles for the ‘Cat Screamed Alexander klavier en gaan selfs die day 7 September, from 09h00 to at Midnight Show’ kinders vermaak word met ‘n poppespel 15h00 every day including Sunday 22 Mossienes Avenue en gesigverwery! ! Hierdie is maar net ‘n 1 September. A range of over 60 paar lusmakers op ‘n heerlike vol indigenous trees have been ob- program! Phone 044-620-2826 tained for the sale, including the 2 FIVE DAYS OF IMPRESSIONS, trees nominated as the 2013 Tree TASTES AND IDEAS-– WATCH of The Year - Keurboom ( Virgilia Bolton Footware Ltd THE PRESS FOR DETAILS, oroboides) and Crossberry / Kruis- [email protected] PROGRAMMES AND DATES! bessie ( Grewia occidentalis). Plant

a tree in your garden this year or A new and additional exclusive donate a tree to a school or a Great Brak River events web ad- community facility and help to “

dress for the Great Brak Tourism green” our environment.The Bo- Initiative www.greatbrakriver.net tanical Garden is also busy devel- 1 Charles Street has been established. They have oping a new section of the Gar- also registered the Afrikaans ver- dens and would welcome a Great Brak River sion. donated tree. Phone 044-620-2111 The Great Brak River Museums The nursery is situated at the website and other local community Botanical Gardens in George Great Brak Pharmacy web sites will be linked both to and at 49 Caledon Street. [email protected] from this new web site. If you have a suggestion or would Enquiries: Kristen at 044 – like to be involved please contact 874 1558 or email the specific committee. Contact de- [email protected] tails available from 044-620-3338. 49 Long Street Great Brak River THE GARDEN CAWS 4 PAWS (Community Animal Wel- fare Pet Neutering Campaign) ROUTE BOTANICAL Phone 044-620-2511

GARDEN - GEORGE It’s that time of year again when the CAWS 4 PAWS machine gets into gear along with the Gar- den Route SPCA to sterilize as many pets from Watson Shoes underprivileged homes in the Great Brak area as [email protected] possible. BUT we need your help!

To date we have sterilized in excess of 500 cats & dogs, preventing the birth of thousands of un- wanted kittens and puppies. Please assist with this wonderful service by donating whatever you Enquiries: Kristen at can to the following bank account: 044 – 874 1558 Great Brak River

CAWS 4 PAWS The Home of Great Standard Bank Mossel Bay Shoes Branch code 050-414 Current Account 06-181-4989 1 Charles Street Or contact Barry Greyvenstein at the number listed below The Great Brak River museum re- Great Brak River PO Box 750, Great Brak River 6525, H 044-620-2826, ceives support from the Department Phone 044-620-2111 [email protected] of Cultural Affairs and Sport.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 2

VILLAGE NEWS Your Editor

Another one of the easy to make products started HOLD YOUR OWN EX- by a member of the new village promotion group Annetjie Beyers is making dolls for the underprivi- HIBITION IN OUR leged kids for Christmas. Please contact her on 072-390-7788 for more information. The following is an example: MUSEUM!!

We here at the Great Brak Museum would like to

showcase your valuable or not-so-valuable collec-

tion you have at home. Should it be miniature dolls,

historical documents or photos, pieces of beautiful art of any genre, stamps, spoons, and badges, miniature items for printer’s trays, Medals and tro- phies? Whether or not it has any relevance to the village, it does not matter, however if it is relevant to the village, we would absolutely welcome it. We would like to keep your items for between two and three weeks at the museum, in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to see

what you have.

rd We will start the exhibit on 23 of September- a day before Heritage Day! A glimmer of hope: that’s the general consensus Please contact Ina at 044 620 3338 between 9.30 amongst players in Mossel Bay’s tourism industry. am and 4 pm or email me at gbrmu- “There seems to be more of a buzz around,” said [email protected] Mossel Bay Tourism board member, Fred Orban, who owns and operates Sandpiper Cottages and You have no doubt seen it around Great Brak River. the Oystercatcher Trail, and who coordinates the Well done Kitty Munch for producing on her own Point of Human Origin Tours at the Pinnacle Point Caves. initiative and hanging the poster around the town. It is a striking display board for the Great Brak He said that the discoveries at Pinnacle Point – Museum. Kitty this is much appreciated. which have revealed the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour – have brought unprece- dented levels of international attention to Mossel Bay and the Garden Route.

“This is the kind of marketing windfall that very few destination are lucky enough to receive, and we in Mossel Bay must continue to capitalise on our amazing good fortune.”

Hotelier and restaurateur Albert Wiffin (the Point Village Hotel, Oceans Hotel, the Kingfisher Restau- rant, Delfino’s Restaurant, and others) agreed.

“There is definitely more optimism, and I think this has to do with the proposed developments by PetroSA. It looks like there is something in the off- ing, and we’re seeing more business from the August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 3 petro-chemicals industry. take root in the estuary. The distribution and ex- “Our forward bookings are better, and our mid- tent of these vegetation types is determined by winter occupancy at the Point Village Hotel is well water levels in the system and salinity. up in the double figures over last year.” Benthic invertebrates of the Great Brak estuary Mr. Wiffen believes that one solution to the chal- are dominated by the mudprawn Upogebia africana, lenges of seasonality would be to appeal to niche the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi and the bivalve markets by running numerous events and small, Loripes clausus. Diversity and abundance is consid- specialist festivals throughout the year. ered to be low relative to other closed estuaries in The latter is where the new Tourism commit- the region. Zooplankton biomass and abundance in tees in Great Brak River intend to make their the estuary is typical of temporarily closed sys- mark. tems, and is dominated by the copepods Acartia longiptella (during closed phases) and Pseudodiap- www.greatbrakriver.net tomus hessei (during open phases). Web Site is Under Construction A total of 33 species of fish from 21 families have Dries van der Walt and Marianne Alberts from been recorded from the Great Brak Estuary, which the Great Brak Tourism Initiative have joined the is considered to be high compared to other tempo- team of the new Great Brak Estuary Management rarily open/closed estuaries in the region. Six of which had their fourth public meeting on the 18th these species are reported as likely to be breeding July. The forum has now elected a full management in the estuary, five species as being dependent on team but others are still welcome. Warren Manual the estuary as a nursery area for at least their from the Mossel Bay Municipality will in future be first year of life, another 7 species are at least responsible for the secretariat. partially dependent on estuary as a nursery area, and the final seven are freshwater species. There are three main types of vegetation associ- ated with the Great Brak estuary: intertidal salt marsh, supratidal salt marsh and reeds and sedges. Below is a Google Map showing the outline of In addition, invasive plants have also started to the Great Brak River Estuarine Functional Zone.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 4 A total of 52 non-passerine water-bird species The estuary has been a popular holiday and retire- have been recorded on the Great Brak estuary ment destination for decades. Its appeal lies in (excluding vagrants), with 39 of these species be- the combination of its attractive marshes, ing recorded during summer, and 41 in winter. birdlife and fishing areas, swimming areas and Numbers of birds on the estuary are relatively beautiful surroundings. low, however. The estuary supports an average of It is also in close proximity to towns such as about 240 birds in mid-summer and 153 in mid- George and Mossel Bay, and within easy reach of winter. The estuary is ranked 135th out of 258 Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. estuaries in terms of its avifauna. Whilst this ranking does not make the Great Brak a very high Recreational anglers on the Great Brak estuary priority estuary for birds, Aussie Eybers says are mainly shore anglers and boat use is minimal. that the number and variety of birds have in- creased substantially in the past few years. At the management meeting it was noted that the We show below some of the photos of birds seen river bank alongside the N2 is advancing onto the at a bird club outing in May 2011. highway feeder road. Some storing up of the river Estuaries provide a range of services that have bank is necessary and the Mossel Bay municipality economic or welfare value. In the case of the has issued an enquiry for the rectification. This Great Brak Estuary, the most important of these erosion has taken place during a number of years are the recreational and tourism values of the es- and was augmented by the 2007 flood. tuary as well as the provision of a nursery area for fish. There may be additional services, such The movement of the river bank appears to be as carbon sequestration, but these are not likely increasing with a corresponding deposit of silt on to be of major value. the inside channel of the island.

Cape Teal Caspian Tern

Chorister Robin-Chat Aussie Eyber's "resident" South- ern Boubou

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 5 To make certain of receiving the full email newsletter, please ensure that your museum mem- bership is up to date.

What is on, in and around the Museum in Great Brak River this Family members only R50.oo per annum. and in the coming months. For the news letter Month & pro- Description Contacts to be sent by post, visional date please add R50.oo. Greatly enlarged Display of pre-owned books on sale in the Museum. August The museum Both English and Afrikaans books available 044-620-3338 from R2.oo each (specials) To write with New batch of Children's Books available. Exhibition a broken pencil The Mobile Karoo Foods Panels will The museum is . . point- August be on display. 044-620-3338 For Part of this Month Only less.

Come and see an SAAF electric flying suit with the com- The museum plete uniform worn by the late RUSSEL THOMAS 044-620-3338 Great Brak River SEARLE during World war II. Tourism Initiative www.greatbrakriver.net SLIGHTLY FURTHER

MUSE VIR TOERISME Contact Ina at the Info Office on For all the latest in- September 25 – 29 September 2013 044-620-3338 or [email protected] formation on What’s Happening in Great THE SECOND MUSE FESTIVAL, THIS TIME IN AID OF GREAT BRAK Brak River. TOURISM, WILL BE HELD FROM 25-29 SEPTEMBER 2013 TOERISME, in en om Groot Brakrivier is deesdae die gonswoord op almal se 13 Amy Searle Street lippe. Great Brak River Several big events and adventures- from new hiking routes to a magnificent Phone: Christmas programme - are planned by the Great Brak Tourism Initiative as short +27 44 620 3338 term goals. The Muse Festival is the first of many exciting programs being held by the newly established GBT Initiative. Great Brak River Zelia phone: 023 5411 PRINCE ALBERT Shoestop August 366, or e-mail: WINTER SCHOOL princealberttour- [email protected] Great Program [email protected] Yes, we have had snow on the Swartberg and winter is well and truly here but the welcome you’ll receive in Prince Albert is as warm as ever! In fact, here is a very warm invitation for you to join us at our exciting Winter School from 2 – 11 August 2013. © Compiled & Distributed by the Great Brak River Museum. The content of this news- letter is copyright and it may only be reprinted by request in writing from the Great 1 Charles Street Brak River Museum Association. Great Brak River The Museum Association cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies, editorial comment or omissions in the text. Phone 044-620- If you no longer wish to receive this e-newsletter, please reply to our email address 3453 /with the word ‘unsubscribe’ or ’Stop’ in the subject box.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 6

De Dekke Restaurant Mainly Tourism & liquor Store Information by www.dedekke.co.za Ina Stofberg

What is happening, in and around The Garden Route and . OUDTSHOORN GEORGE Off the N2 Gourmets & Gourmands Great Brak River Culinary Festival Date to be confirmed Phone 044-620-2531 (Sunday, 25 August 2013) It is that time of the year again when Dr E M de La Harpe Gourmets & Gourmands mingle with food and wine. This year chef's from Medical 15 restaurants, the South Africa Chefs Practioner Association (SACA) , the local Chaine de Rotisseurs and the Francois [email protected] Ferreira Academy of Food will each 5a Long Street 8 – 11 August prepare a four-course meal for 180 Great Brak River 044 203 8600 guests on the school premises. The www.klassique.co.za themes of the Gourmets and Gour- Phone 044-620-2208 mands vary and this year the theme Cell Phone 082-556-5275 will be "Roaring Twenties", with CALVINIA guests dressing up in the sophisti- Art @ 39 Long cated style of that bygone era. Classic 30 – 31 AUGUST [email protected] cars provided by the South Cape Old Car Club will add a touch of class to the setting. The funds raised will go towards the learners and the fantastic work done at the Carpe Diem School. Venue: Carpe Diem School Film Theatre Contact: Karools Hauptfleish on 044 and Art Studio 874-4074 for more information. 39 Long Street, Great Brak River, 6525. Sowat 400km vanaf Kaapstad (en Cell Phones 082-576- net so ver van Upington) in die 3338 & 082-558-5244 noordweste van ons land lê Calvinia. LANGKLOOF Dis skaapwêreld en die laaste naweek in Augustus is almal en alles MTB CHALLENGE Great Brak Pharmacy in en om die dorp in rep en roer DATE TO BE CONFIRMED: [email protected] wanneer die jaarlikse Vleisfees plaas- vind. 26 October 2013

Contact number : 027 3418 219 or 086 759 4728 mtb@ 49 Long Street Email: vleisfees@Navrae en stallet- Bloeiselfees Great Brak River jies: Lizette Lambrechts 083 355- 8155 .co.za Phone 044-620-2511

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 7 KRUGER MUSEUM Leani Kwekery & Tuin Restaurant The museum at the Stevenson-Hamilton Knowledge Resource Centre in the Kruger National Park (KNP) at Skukuza Rest Camp, which was scheduled to reopen on June 30 has been extended to the end of July 2013, so hopefully it will be open in August. The museum has been closed for renovations since December 3, 2012.

CHINA [email protected] China dominates international tourism spending Old Mossel Bay Road China has emerged as the biggest tourism spender, contributing (R 102) R1.03 trillion to the international tourism market last year. Opposite Tergniet turn off Phone 044-620-2565 According to a study, other emerging markets, including Russia, played a leading role in terms of tourism spend, while traditional tourism source markets, including Germany and the US, demon- Groot strated positive growth. Brak Drank winkel The top 10 source markets are:

1. China 6. France 2. Germany 7. Canada [email protected] 3. USA 8. Japan 12 Charles Street 4. United Kingdom 9. Australia Great Brak River 5. Russian Federation 10. Italy Phone 044-620-2931

Gouriqua House, the It is important to note that countries are listed according to total Khoe Cultural Board spend on international tourism, and not per capita spend. As a re- Our local sult, the populations of each country should be taken into ac- Khoe People’s count. Information DID YOU KNOW? Centre

There are 18 000 indigenous vascular plant species in South Af- [email protected] rica of which 80% are unique. (Vascular plants have vascular tissues which distribute resources through the plant). Hibiscus laan, 40 Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world - and Groot Brak Rivier the largest green one. The Grand Canyon in the US is the big- Phone 082-419-3523 gest, and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia the second, but both are dry as bones. Grootbrak Hardeware [email protected] South African grasslands have 30 species per square kilometre, greater than the biodiversity of rainforests. Can mountains be folded? Yes they can, and you can see such wonders in the Western Cape at the Cederberg and the Swart- berg mountains.

You can now follow the museum and info office on Twitter at Charles Street Village Centre Rene’ de Kock @HERITAGEMOSBAY Great Brak River Phone 044-620-2591

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 8 Information on Fossils in our Area, By your editor, Wendy Welch Great Brak River & others

which can only be seen at low tide. Another rea- During the month of June, Barry Jooste with the help son for going at low tide is that Gericke's Point of Wendy Welch of the Great Brak River Museum con- becomes an Island at high tide. Don't get so en- ducted several talks to our local school children as grossed with looking at the rock formations, fos- part of the museum’s outreach program. One of sev- silized sand dunes and sea birds that you forget eral subjects was on fossils. to check on the rising tide, unless of course you Fossils are the preserved remains of plants or ani- really want to spend a very long time at the mals. For such remains to be considered fossils, sci- Point! entists have decided they have to be over 10,000

years old. There are two main types of fossils, body fossils and trace fossils.

Body fossils are the preserved remains of a plant or

animal's body. Trace fossils are the remains of the activity of an animal, such as preserved trackways, footprints, fossilized egg shells, and nests.

When asked what a fossil is, most people think of petrified bones or petrified wood. Permineralization is a process. For bone to be permineralized, the body must first be quickly buried. Second, ground water fills up all the empty spaces in body, even the cells get filled with water. Third, the water slowly dis- Above and below are views of the ancient Fos- solves the organic material and leaves minerals be- sil dunes at Sedgefield. hind. By the time permineralization is done, what was once bone is now a rock in the shape of a bone.

Unlike what you see in cartoons, dogs would not be interested in these bones

Whilst Great Brak River has an interesting ancient dune which stretches from our river mouth to Glen- tana, a fossil dune can be found at Sedgefield.

Along this beach walk at Sedgefield (of which we have previously written) you will get to see some fas- cinating sea life and also some of the highest fossil dunes is South Africa. If you have taken the turn-off at Sedgefield-links just to the west of Sedgefield and Sedgefield itself is bordered by a series of paral- you are driving alongside Swartvlei (Sedgefield La- lel fossil sand dunes which are the highest in goon), you are heading for Gericke's Point beach. South Africa. The start of this series is to the Park in the designated area - there are toilets here - west of Sedgefield near the Kaaimans River. and head to the right along this beautiful stretch of beach, which at certain times of the year is strewn These sand dunes extend all the way to the east with shells. of Sedgefield at Brenton on Sea. Beneath the sea the ridges extend south, forming a series of reefs Essential items are your camera, a hat and water be- renowned for their sea life. cause you're going to spend some time here. Ascer- tain yourself of tide times. The best time to go is Over a period of time steep cliffs have formed and if examined closely you will notice distinct when the tide starts going out. The rock pools give layers and patterns in the dunes which were you a glimpse of fascinating creatures like sea crabs, shells, anemone, colourful small fish and sea urchins formed by water, wind and sand erosion.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 9 Another type of fossil is a resin fossil. Resin is some- 1,800 years ago. times called amber. Plants, mostly trees, secrete sticky stuff called resin. Sometimes insects, other On the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth of small animals, or bits of plants get stuck in the sticky June 2013 Wendy Welch was invited by Laerskool Vorentoe and Great Brak Primary School to resin. The resin hardens overtime and is preserved in shadow the Educational Programs that included rock making a fossil. San/Khoe-Early Civilisations, Medicinal Plants and Fossils that was presented by Barry Jooste from the Diaz Museum in Mossel Bay.

This is what the Fossil presentation looked like:

Date: 19 June 2013 School: Great Brak Primary School Grade: 5 Educational Programme: Fossils Number of students: 121 (4 classes) Setting up: clay, stones, twigs, leaves, bowl, old teeth fossil, Topics discussed: Palaeontologists Palaeontology Which materials are fossilised

Different types of fossils that you get

How fossils are formed

Questions: What are fossils? Fossils are the remains of creatures which existed long ago.

What are famous fossils sites? Barberton, the Karoo and Sterkfontein.

What does a Palaeontologist do? Palaeontolo- An ant preserved in Baltic resin. gists are scientist who find, collect, date Sedgefield Archaeology : and interpret fossils.

There are no archaeological sites known on the flood- What is the study of fossils called? Palaeon- plain of the Wilderness lakes area, but there are two tology sites in the forest above the lakes . These are the Oakhurst shelter and the Glentyre shelter about 400 What materials are fossilised? Hard pieces m from Eilandvlei . such as shells and coral and traces such as footprints and burrows The sites are of similar age, extending from about 12 000 years ago to very recent. What different types of fossils do you get? Molten, imprint and complete. Remains of mammals like hippopotamus, Hippopota- mus amphibius, buffalo, Syncerus caffer, bushpig, Practical: Used clay with small items from Potamochoerus porcus and zebra, Equus sp. amongst Mother Nature such as stones, leaves and others were excavated at the Glentyre shelter. twigs. Barry put the clay in his hand and then placed a stone and leaf on top and then There are also the so called "Strandloper middens" in placed clay flat piece (such as a pancake) on the area . top and put more objects on and then placed another leaf and again another flat piece of These are essentially piles of molluscs, mostly bi- clay. He then bent it up and down and sepa- valves, that accumulated where coastal Khoe people rated the clay from each other to get a worked food collected in the intertidal zone of the moulded shape from the leaf or twig...etc. seashore. The upper date of these middens is about

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 10

Computer & Cell-phone Talk EDUCATION

This is not a computer magazine but every now See how education has changed. and then we see or hear something that might interest our readers. Jesmond Dene, Sea Point, Cape Town.

PHOTOSHOP

Photoshop is one of the best programs to use when attempting to improve or manipulate your photograph, however it is very expensive.

So why would anyone stop selling a piece of soft ware so popular that it has become a verb in its own right? Because it's being renting it out. Now, instead of ‘Creative Suite’ costing more than the computer you run it on, you pay Adobe a subscrip- tion, making its applications a lot easier to afford. Use it for that special occasion only.

WINDOWS

Windows users have become so used to using a mouse that the latest version of Windows, Windows 8 which is a touch screen have left many users very disellugend. You may want the new applications but using the touch screen, although easier for the nov- ice, is much slower.

Windows Blue - now officially confirmed as the less colourful version of Windows 8.1 - will be heading your way soon and from what we understand, it will be free for those with Windows 8,

A preview and trial version will be available from 26th June. It's an upgrade to both Win8 Pro and RL but will it bring back your precious Start button. The ru- mours say no, but other tweaks suggest Microsoft is listening.

What’s the conclusion? Windows 8.1 is still inferior to Windows 7 for serious desktop users.

Of course, the new personal cloud storage services, such as Amazon Cloud Drive, Dropbox, and Box also work well with Windows 8.1. None of these work with it hand-in-glove the way SkyDrive does, or the way Ubuntu One does with Ubuntu, or Google Drive with Chrome OS. Note that you can’t downgrade back to Windows 8 without completely reinstalling your operating sys- tem from Windows 8 installation media or a recovery drive. Windows 8.1 is also not a final, stable version, so you may experience bugs and crashes. You shouldn’t install Windows 8.1 on your primary com- puter — it’s best confined to computers you can af- ford to experiment with and virtual machines.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 11

Stone Age Technological and Cultural Innova- Science News tion Accelerated by Climate Change

June 18, 2013 — According to a study by search has shown that the climate changes coin-

the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the cided with increases in population, activity and production of technology on the part of our an- University of Cardiff and the Natural History cestors, as seen in the archaeological records. Museum in London, technological innova- In turn, the end of certain stone tool industries of tion during the Stone Age occurred in fits the period coincides with the onset of a new, drier climate. and starts and was climate-driven. Abrupt changes in rainfall in South Africa 40,000 to The findings confirm one of the principal models 80,000 years ago triggered the development of Palaeolithic cultural evolution, which corre- of technologies for finding refuge and the lates technological innovation with the adoption of new refuges and with a resulting increase in behaviour of modern humans. This study population and social networks. For these re- was recently published in Nature Communi- searchers, the bursts of demographic expansion cations. caused by climate change in southern Africa were probably key factors in the origin of modern humans' behaviour in Africa, and in the dispersal Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that mod- of Homo sapiens from his ancestral home. ern humans (the modern form of Homo sapiens, our species) originated in Africa during the Stone Age, be- The study forms part of the GATEWAYS tween 30,000 and 280,000 years ago. The latest ar- (www.gateways-itn.eu) project of the European chaeological excavations in southern Africa have shown Commission's 7th Framework Programme, coor- that technological innovation, linked to the emergence of dinated by Rainer Zahn, a researcher with the culture and modern behaviour, took place abruptly: the Institute for Environmental Science and Technol- beginnings of symbolic expression, the making of tools ogy (ICTA-UAB) and the UAB's Department of from stone and bone, jewellery or the first agricultural Physics, and taking part in it was Martin Ziegler, settlements. a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences of the University of Cardiff An international team of researchers has linked these (UK) and scientists from the Natural History Mu- pulses of innovation to the climate that prevailed in sub- seum, London (UK). Saharan Africa in that period. Over the last million years the global climate has varied In other news a giant African lake ba- between glacial periods (with great masses of ice cover- sin (Makgadikgadi in the Kalahari Desert) ing the continents in the northern hemisphere) and inter- is providing information about possi- glacial periods, with changes approximately every 100,000 years. But within these long periods there have ble migration routes and hunting prac- been abrupt climate changes, sometimes happening in tices of early humans in the Middle the space of just a few decades, with variations of up to and Late Stone Age periods, between 10ºC in the average temperature in the polar regions caused by changes in the Atlantic ocean circulation. 150,000 and 10,000 years ago.

These changes affected rainfall in southern Africa. Four giant stone hand axes were recov- The researchers have pieced together how rainfall pat- ered from the the dry basin of Lake terns varied in southern Africa over the last 100,000 Makgadikgadi in the Kalahari Desert years, by analysing river delta deposits at the edge of the continent, where every millimetre of sediment core corresponds to 25 years of sedimentation. The ratio of iron (dissolved from the rocks by the water during the rains) to potassium (present in arid soils) in each of the millimetre layers is a record of the sediment carried by rivers and therefore of the rainfall throughout the whole period.

The reconstruction of the rainfall over 100,000 years shows a series of spikes that occurred between 40,000 and 80,000 years ago. These spikes show rainfall levels rising sharply over just a few decades, and falling off again soon afterwards, in a matter of centuries. This re-

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 12 The Occupation of our ‘Coastal Corridor’ Caves By your editor

Last month I wrote an article for the Heritage Mossel in the west to Klasies River cave near Cape St Francis.

Bay news letter when in I attempted to plot known The last of the ice ages reached its maximum roughly information pertaining to occupation of our present 20,000 years ago, and then gave way to warming. Sea coastal corridor caves. This spans some 200,000 level rose in two major steps, one centred near 14,000 years. years and the other near 11,500 years. Between these What I believe is more intriguing is their relevance two periods of rapid melting there was a pause in melt- during the past 25,000 years. ing and sea level rise, known as the "Younger Dryas" in the north and the ‘Antarctic Cold Reversal’ period in In South Africa there is almost no occupation infor- the south. During this period the climate system went mation during the last ice age which peaked at about back into almost fully glacial conditions, after having 20,000 years ago. This is quite understandable as offered balmy conditions for more than 1000 years. the waters edge was some 130 meters lower and up The reasons for these large swings in climate change to 200 kilometres further out in some places (see are not yet well understood. By about 10,000 years figure below) and any people surviving off the sea ago, most of the ice sheets had melted. would have lived in caves much closer to the new waters edge. These caves would now be well under- We have plotted the changes in sea level with data ob- water and any evidence lost. tained from the World data center for Paleoclimatology. The fundamental cause of these major swings in Three curves are available indicating the mean (blue) climate is tied to changes in the earth's insulation, and both the possible highest and lowest levels. Whilst the effective solar heating of the planet and atmos- the blue line is probably correct some authorities have pheric insulation at any one location is tightly con- obtained different results which could depend on possi- trolled by changes in the earth’s orbit and the inclina- ble major short term swings in climate. tion of its rotational axis. From about 11,500 to 15,000 years ago the South Afri-

can Interior was thought to be uninhabited due to ex- There are other reasons such as the effects of tremely dry and cold weather. We also know that the changing the mass of the large polar ice sheets. ancient Lake Makgadikgadi, covering the Makgadik- During the melting phase, there is a local uplift in gadi Pan and surrounding areas dominated the Kala- land mass with a similar down lift at the waters edge. Then during the cooling process the reverse takes hari Desert, but it drained or dried out some 10,000 place. Since the coast has been tectonically stable years ago. It may have once covered as much as through the Quaternary most authorities do not be- 275,000 square kilometers. lieve there was any local uplift yet other markers in- In spite of this during the 1,000 year balmy period, peo- dicate that the water levels were in some places higher than the standard data would suggest. Not ple may have ventured into and out of South Africa. that this is relevant to our prime objective. Interestingly enough at 13,000 years ago the Sahara desert was actually a swamp and jungle. As previously mentioned the particular caves that we are interested in stretch from the Elands Bay cave

The extent of our offshore shelf exposed by lower sea levels 20,000 years ago. From Shorelines, strand- loopers and shell middens by John Parkington. Note the vast distance the shelf is from the Pinnacle Point cave site.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 13

By this time man had long past crossed over to It will probably prove impossible to establish who Europe and indeed the Americas indicating that whilst these ‘coastal corridor’ people were and indeed if they there was lots of melting ice around, there must have were San or African. From 11,500, years ago we have been a good source of food. positive verification of the San people living in the Western Cape. What we now have is a period between 30,000 and 11,500 years when South Africa was most probably Sarah A. Tishkoff and others write that little is known about uninhabited except for possibly the then ‘coastal corri- the history of click-speaking populations in Africa. Compari- son of linguistic similarity, geographic proximity, and genetic dor’ which was much further out to sea than at pre- similarity among populations can provide insights into both sent. Our only real evidence is the previously recorded human population history and the events and processes ability of man to survive off the sea and for this we underlying language change. have much support. Prior genetic studies revealed that the click speaking Hadza of eastern Africa are as distantly related to click speakers of Further verification obtained from the Sterkfontein and southern Africa as are most other African populations. The Swartkrans caves in the Transvaal also confirm that Sandawe, who currently live within 150 km of the Hadza, they contain younger deposits of the Middle Stone Age are the only other population in eastern Africa whose lan- (250 000 to 40 000 years), a time during which our guage has been classified as part of the Khoisan language family. Linguists disagree on whether there is any detect- modern human ancestors evolved, but not later. able relationship between the Hadza and Sandawe click Swartkrans also contains more recent ‘Later Stone languages. We characterized both mtDNA and Y chromo- Age’ deposits (younger than 12 000 years). some variation of the Sandawe, Hadza, and neighboring Tanzanian populations. New genetic data show that the Sandawe and southern African click speakers share rare mtDNA and Y chromosome haplogroups; however, com- mon ancestry of the two popu- lations dates back >35,000 years. These data also indicate that common ancestry of the Hadza and Sandawe popula- tions dates back >15,000 years. These findings suggest that at the time of the spread of agriculture and pastoralism, the click-speaking populations were already isolated from one another and are consistent with relatively deep linguistic diver- gence among the respective click languages. Comparison of linguistic simi- larity, geographic proximity, and genetic similarity among populations can provide in- sights into both human popula- tion history and the events and processes underlying language change. On the accompanying graph, we have then added some of the major known incidents that occurred and which probably caused temperature changes also information on which and when these caves were known to be in use. Data will be added when available however in the mean time it makes in- teresting reading.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 14

OUR HISTORICAL COLLECTION; INVENTIONS BY INA STOFBERG & DISCOVERIES

One of the really unusual items in the museum is an together with fur cuffs and neck. He registered SAAF electric flying suit with the complete uniform his design as the "Sidcot Suit" which was worn worn by the late RUSSEL THOMAS SEARLE during extensively thereafter.This flying suit, with im- World war II. provements, was widely still used by the RAF until the 1950’s. As aviation developed in unheated open By the time World War II started in earnest, cockpits, the need for electrically heated suits were introduced by Lion warm clothing quickly Apparel in conjunction with General Electric for became apparent, as patrol and bomber crews who routinely oper- did the need for multi- ated at high altitudes above 9,000 meters, ple pockets with clo- where air temperatures could get so cold that sures of buttons, flesh could freeze instantly to any metal it snaps, or zippers to touched. As pressurized cabins came into op- prevent loss of articles eration, the necessity of bulky leather and during maneuvers. Shearling jackets and pants began to fade. For example, pilots, navigators, and bombardiers of Russel Searl’s elec- a B-17 operating in Europe in 1944 wore their trically heated flying officer's uniforms under an A-2 flight jacket, suit. comfortably due to the enclosed and heated Various types of flight cabin, but the waist gunners needed electrically jackets and pants cov- heated suits as they fired their guns through an erings were developed open window. and, during World War I, leather two-piece outfits were common among pilots to ward off the chill caused by the propeller wash and the cold of low-oxygen high altitude flying. Leather quickly became the preferred material due to its durability and the protection it offered against flying debris such as small bird and insect strikes during climb-outs and landings, and oil thrown off by the sim- ple rotary and inline type motors of the time. The Australian aviator Frederick Sidney Cotton's ex- perience with high level and low-temperature flying led Cotton in 1917 to develop the revolutionary new "Sidcot" suit, a flying suit which solved the problem pilots had in keeping warm in the cockpit. In the winter of 1916, several members of his squad- ron returned from a mission practically frozen. Sidney Cotton, however, was not troubled by the cold, a fact which he attributed to his oily overalls which he did Today a black on black with an undercurrent not have time to change out of in the scramble to get of cool classicism, ‘Burberry’ Shearling airborne. He concluded that the oil sealed the fabric jacket will set you back all of R25,000.oo. and trapped a layer of warm air next to the body. He When the B-29 Superfortress was introduced in had his tailor make up a special suit of a light Bur- the fight against Japan, along with remote- burry material with a lining of thin fur and air-proof silk controlled coordinated gun turrets, the fully

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 15 pressurized crew cabin made bulky flight gear obso- land if shot down. lete. Flak jackets were also developed to give Whilst bomber pilots could now wear their dress uni- bomber crews some protection from flying forms as flight gear, fighter pilots needed a uniform shrapnel, though these increased the overall that functioned in the tight confines of the typical weight of the airplane and reduced the effective fighter plane cockpit. The material used was either bomb load that could be carried. wool or tight-weave cotton for wind resistance and fire Below is a picture taken in Arak of the latest protection. micro climate vest. The umbilical in his left The need for short-duration fire protection was dem- hand gets hooked into the aircraft and onstrated early during that war. As technology ad- chilled glycol circulates through the tubing vanced, the fire-protective flight suit, helmets, gog- helping to keep the pilot both cool or warm, gles, masks, gloves and footwear were designed and When it fails on a hot day in the desert, its used. pretty rough remembering that you are wear- ing a flight suit on top, a bullet proof vest as The footwear often could be cut to appear like civilian well as a survival vest. shoes in the country where the crew member would

Information collected from various sources including the museum archives and Wikipedia.

August 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 16