The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology Opportunistic Subsistence Strategies Among Late Holocene Coastal Hunter- Gatherers

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Opportunistic Subsistence Strategies among Late Holocene Coastal Hunter- Gatherers, Elands Bay, South Africa Antonieta Jerardino a; Genevieve Dewar b; Rene Navarro c a Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa b Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada c Animal Demography Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

To cite this Article Jerardino, Antonieta, Dewar, Genevieve and Navarro, Rene'Opportunistic Subsistence Strategies among Late Holocene Coastal Hunter-Gatherers, Elands Bay, South Africa', The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 4: 1, 37 — 60 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/15564890802390997 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15564890802390997

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Opportunistic Subsistence Strategies among Late Holocene Coastal Hunter-Gatherers, Elands Bay, South Africa

Antonieta Jerardino,1 Genevieve Dewar,2 and Rene Navarro3 1Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa 2Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada 3Animal Demography Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

ABSTRACT

Hunting and gathering was practiced for many hundreds of thousands of years in South Africa’s Western Cape region, until ceramics and a stock-keeping economy ﬁrst appeared c. 2,000 years ago, and in the Elands Bay and Lamberts Bay areas 200 years later. Subsistence and settlement patterns in this part of the West Coast of South Africa changed dramatically after this date, but the nature of interactions between indigenous groups engaging with these two types of subsistence practices is still poorly understood. The cultural-contact scenarios so far proposed view this interaction as basically competitive, with forager groups living at the margins of herder society and compelled to change their subsistence and settlement choices by focusing on small food Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 parcels and having to move to less accessible areas. Observations from Borrow Pit Midden and other sites in the study area do not support this scenario. Instead, their records suggest ﬂexible adaptive responses among foragers when at coastal and pericoastal locations. Overall, an opportunistic subsistence strategy was practiced mostly within the immediate surrounding environment of camps with high mobility, characterizing forager settlement. The components of a new

Received 24 February 2008; accepted 6 August 2008. Address correspondence to Antonieta Jerardino, Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa. E-mail: [email protected]

37 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

cultural-contact model are emerging, but much remains to be done before it is established on a reliable empirical foundation.

Keywords opportunistic foraging, coastal shell middens, culture contact

INTRODUCTION contribution towards a better understanding of this so far unique case of culture contact Archaeological studies of culture contact between coastal forager and stock-keeping have aimed at establishing how it operates groups along the West Coast of South Africa. as a mechanism for social change within Archaeological research along the West a continuum of collective and geographical Coast of South Africa has been underway relationships that involve ‘outsiders’, adjust- for the last 40 years (Conard et al. 1999; ments, and often also conflict and resilience Dewar 2008; Dewar et al. 2006; Jerardino (Cusick 1998; Head and Fullagar 1997). Many 1996, 2007; Parkington 1976; Parkington and such studies have been undertaken world- Hall1987;Parkingtonetal.1988;Robertshaw wide in colonial and post-colonial settings 1979; Rudner 1968; Sadr et al. 2003; Smith with southern Africa being no exception 2006). Some segments of this long coastline (Behrens and Swanepoel 2008; Cusick 1998; have been sampled and studied more exten- Hall 1992; Head and Fullagar 1997; Lightfoot sively than others, with the Lamberts Bay and 1995; Lightfoot et al. 1998). The arrival of Elands Bay area (hereafter referred to as “the European travelers to the southern shores of study area”) offering more numerous and Africa in the fifteenth century brought about chronologically deeper sequences (Figure deep, violent and ever-lasting changes to the 1). The local cultural sequence over the many local cultures (Behrens and Swanepoel last 120,000 years is dominated entirely by 2008; Brink 2004; Hall 1993; Kinahan 2000; a hunter-gatherer way of life until about Mitchell 2002; Yates et al. 1993), but this 2000 years ago. Major changes in modes of was not the first situation where culture production, settlement and subsistence took contact was experienced by indigenous cul- place in the study area around this time. tures of southern Africa. Bantu-Nguni agro- This includes the end of a thousand years of pastoralists groups made their way south hunter-gatherer resource intensification by from sub-Saharan regions into eastern cor- about 2000 BP, the introduction of domestic ners of southern Africa nearly 2000 years ago, stock by 1800 BP, and the arrival of European while Khoi-speaking herders originating in explorers at the end of the fifteenth century eastern present Botswana populated parts of (Jerardino 1996, 2004; Smith 2006; Yates et the central and western regions at roughly al. 1994). Although history has shown with- Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 the same time. Both these incoming groups outdoubtthatEuropeanvoyagersandsettlers encountered original populations of hunter- produced long-term negative impacts on gatherers wherever they settled (Dowson indigenous San hunter-gatherers and Khoe- 1995; Hall 1994; Hall and Smith 2000; Samp- speaking pastoralists, researchers have yet son 1984; Yates et al. 1994). to agree on the economic status and the Unique among these cultural interac- nature of the interaction between indigenous tions was contact between Khoi herders stock-keeping groups and hunter-gatherers and so-called ‘San’ hunter-gatherers along the before Europeans arrived (Sadr et al. 2003; West Coast of South Africa (Parkington et al. Schrire and Deacon 1989; Smith 1998; Smith 1986; Smith et al. 1991; Yates et al. 1994), as et al. 1991). The proposed cultural-contact many of the reported interactions between scenarios view this interaction as basically stock-keeping or farming groups and foragers competitive, with forager groups living at took place in interior settings around much the margins of herder society and compelled of Africa (Hall 1994; Hall and Smith 2000; to change their subsistence and settlement Sampson 1984; Smith 1998). This paper is a choices by focusing on small food parcels

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Figure 1. Geographic location of sites mentioned in text. Duneﬁeld Midden, DFM; Connies Limpet Bar, CLB; Hailstone Midden, HSM; Spring Cave, SC; Tortoise Cave, TC; Mike Taylor’s Midden, MTM; Pancho’s Kitchen Midden, PKM; Newedam A site, NWD; Grootrif G, GFG.

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 39 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

and having to move to less accessible areas cess was diminished due to wild game being (Parkington et al. 1986; Smith 1998; Smith et driven away and the taking over of high nu- al.1991).Althoughmuchofthisdebatedraws trient vegetation areas by incoming herders. from archaeological evidence collected in In this way, the authors proposed that the the Vredenburg Peninsula about 100 km impact of pastoralist groups on local indige- south of the study area, some consistent nous hunter-gatherers over the last 2000 efforts have been made to investigate land- years resulted in the latter groups relying use patterns and changes in settlement, ever more on small food parcels such as un- subsistence, material culture and rock art derground corms, tortoises, small bovids and depictions in the study area and immediate other small mammals. It was also contended interior mountains (Parkington et al. 1986; that hunter-gatherers would have avoided Yates et al. 1994). With a growing body of conflict with stock-keeping groups by remov- evidence for late Holocene occupations in ing themselves from exposed localities and the study area, earlier reconstructions are in occupying less accessible areas. Smith (1998) need of a fresh look with the aim of refining later argued on the basis of ethnographic and/or expanding the range of interactions and ethnohistorical accounts elsewhere in between stock-keeping or herder groups and Africa, for some measure of co-existence, hunter-gatherers. butwithhunter-gatherersmarginalizedtothe According to the criteria for distinguish- periphery of herder society. ing herder from hunter-gatherer sites (see Fortunately, several faunal sequences in Smith et al. 1991, and improved upon by Sadr the study area have been dated and analyzed et al. 2003), plus additional observations on over the last 20 years, and we are now settlement layout, only three sites or occu- in a better position to describe subsistence pational horizons out of at least a hundred patterns for specific segments of the last within 5 km from the coast can be described two millennia. In this paper, we describe the as having a herder signature (Jerardino and results of excavations at Borrow Pit Midden Maggs 2007; Yates et al. 1994). This is mostly and discuss these in light of other available due to the scarcity of domestic fauna and contemporary observations. generally low incidence of ceramics in the remaining excavated deposits. Hence, forager groups seem to be mainly responsible for the LOCATION, STRATIGRAPHY AND observed shifts in subsistence and settlement DATING patterns in the study area. Contact situations probably occurred while herders, who also Borrow Pit Midden (BPM) is an open shell hunted and gathered, moved seasonally in midden located at Baboon Point (32.31763 the landscape, though leaving little material S; 18.31626 E), 1.8 km west of Verlorenvlei

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 evidence of their passing as already identiﬁed mouth and approximately 180 meters from by extensive survey efforts (Hart 1987; Smith the nearby rocky reefs and sea (Figure 2). This 2006). More than 20 years ago, Parkington is a site of unknown original extent as much et al. (1986) proposed a cultural-contact of it was destroyed by road construction in scenario for the study area and immediate the 1960s or 1970s and the excavation of interior, although it was supported by limited a borrow pit (hence the site name) by the zooarchaeological data available at that time. regional council during the early 1980s. Only General faunal observations were pulled into a small part of this site currently remains this investigation by Yates et al. (1994), but in situ. It is possible that some of the shell much of it was geared towards weighing midden horizons of BPM extend further to the incidence of sheep remains rather than the west under the land surface and to the reconstructing broader subsistence strate- northwest under the present dirt road. gies and land-use patterns. Parkington et Bill Buchanan excavated a small sample al. (1986) contended that the relationship for basic description and dating of this site between these two indigenous groups was in the early 1980s (Buchanan 1988:ﬁgure essentially competitive, where hunting suc- 1.3:EC5), and soon after in 1984, Royden

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Figure 2. Map of Baboon Point with sites mentioned in text, and plan view of excavations at Borrow Pit Midden (BPM).

Yates (1989) obtained another sample from 1994. This excavation was then expanded BPM for a more detailed analysis of the shell- considerably by the Archaeology Contracts fish and vertebrate fauna. Renewed interest Office (ACO) in October of the same year. in this site was taken up by John Parkington Before the excavation grid was estab- and team after a decade when systematic lished during the September 1994 field sea- excavations were undertaken in September son, slumped material that had eroded from

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 41 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Figure 3. Photograph of excavations at Borrow Pit Midden (facing west). Range-rod rests on sterile sand below cultural horizons in L10 (photo courtesy Dave Halkett, Archaeology Contracts Ofﬁce, UCT).

the exposed sections was sieved over a 3 units varies considerably across space as seen mm (∼1/8) mesh, with cultural and faunal on the available sections and the amount remains removed directly from the screen. A of material removed from each square for total of 11 squares were excavated in 1994, each stratigraphic horizon (Figure 4; Table but 3 of these extended only over half square 1). meters (Figure 2). Archaeological material Slope Cleanings: This material refers to was excavated from each square throughout the slumped deposit left by excavations of the stratigraphic sequence and, except for a borrow pit. This material was cleared dur-

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 the surface material and slope cleanings (see ing the August 1994 excavation season. No below), deposit was screened over stacked spatial information was associated to 3.3 (∼1/8)mmand1.5(∼1/16)mmmesh these deposits given their secondary sieves. Material retained in the 3.3 mm mesh context. was sorted into broad categories in the field. Red Road Surface: This reddish coarse The archaeological material retained in the sand was named in the field “On Top”, 1.5 mm mesh was brought back in labeled and is the result of sand mixed with recent plastic bags to Cape Town and stored for Klipheuwel road filling material of a brown- future analysis. purplecolorquarriedfromthesouthernbank The stratigraphy of BPM consists of two of Verlorenvlei. This surface layer varies in recent surface units, an original surface unit, depth between 2–6 cm. It was removed, but and a single occupational horizon below not sieved. (Figures 3 and 4). Volume counts of ex- Pale Sand: This layer appears to be an cavated material were recorded during the earlier filling of the present dirt road. It is of 1994 excavations and are reflected in Table a shallow and variable depth (2–8 cm) with 1. The depth of each of these stratigraphic small amounts of shell as a result of mole

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Table 1. Volume of material by stratigraphic unit and square at BPM (65 full buckets make up a total of 1 m3). A dash (—) indicates none present.

Stratigraphic Total cubic Unit K9 K10 K11 K12 L9 L10 L11 L12 M9 M10 M11 M12 buckets meters

Red Road 15.812.07.55.36.32.02.84.0 —— — — 55.70.9 Surface Pale Sand 12.53.53.0 — 4.84.03.01.81.32.31.50.338.00.6 Pale Granular — 7.87.04.05.03.03.82.0 —— — — 32.60.5 Sand Main Horizon 1.02.09.00.88.07.82.81.5 —— — — 32.90.5 Top Main Horizon 3.510.08.84.59.012.013.01.8 —— — — 62.50.9 Bottom Main Horizon — — — — — — — — 7.010.59.86.533.80.5

Mole Rat 2.57.05.0 — 6.03.0 — 0.34.03.05.35.041.10.6 Material Slope Cleanings 31.00.5 43 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Figure 4. Stratigraphic section at Borrow Pit Midden along the L/M section.

rat activity, bush growth and interface with for possible changes within the length of underlying horizon. This material was sieved time represented by this single horizon. over a 3.3 mm mesh only. Overall, high shell densities were observed Pale Granular Soil: This gritty brown for both subunits, although MH Top appears sandy layer was recognized during the Octo- to have relatively smaller amounts of ver- berfieldseasononly.Itcontainsverysmall tebrate faunal remains contained in a dark amounts of bone and marine shell most compacted matrix, while MH Bottom seems probably from the cultural layer immedi- to have relatively larger amounts of bone ately below. This layer appears to be the (particularly tortoise and bird) within a loose original surface of the site after abandon- brown matrix. Extensive mole rat activity ment and varies significantly in depth (4– was evident in many squares (particularly in 14 cm). K10, K11, L9, M11, and M12) and has mostly Main Horizon: According to field ob- affected MH bottom (Figures 3 and 4; Table servations, this layer (MH) is a single depo- 1). Although the material found in mole rat sition horizon accumulated initially over an holesisdisplacedandfromadisturbedorigin, undulating sandy surface. It is characterized it was clear to all excavators involved in the by high densities of marine shell and fair September and October 1994 seasons that amounts of vertebrate remains within a dark the material originated from MH. organic matrix, although the density of mate- rialandmatrixcolorvaryhorizontallyandver- ticallyasaresultofmoleratactivity,closeness to the edge of the site, and contact with the RESULTS

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 underlying surface. Patchy concentrations of ash and charcoal were observed in some Settlement squares (L9, L10, K9, and K10), with a 20 cm diameter hearth minimally deﬁned in square Table 3 shows density values calculated K9. Charcoal obtained from this horizon for material discarded at the beginning (MH during test excavations in 1984 yielded an Bottom) and end (MH Top) of what es- uncalibrated 14C date of 640 ± 50 BP (Table sentially was a single depositional episode. 2), with a 1σ calibrated age range of AD Except for Cape rock lobster (Jasus lalandii) 1310–1405. The dates were calibrated using remains, represented by a small number of OXCal 4.0 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) and calcareous mandibles, densities of all other the calibration curve ShCal04 (McCormac et contents are highest in MH Bottom when al. 2004) and Marine 04.14c (Hughen et al. compared to MH Top. Interestingly, marine 2004). shell densities drop only slightly (4%) in During both Yates’ sampling exercise MH Top when compared to other faunal and ACO’s systematic excavations, MH was categories where densities show a decline of split into top and bottom subunits to control between 40% (mammal bones) and 95% (seal

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Table 2. Radiocarbon dates from sites discussed in the text. All dates were obtained from charcoal samples, with the exception of Tortoise Cave which was established from a sample of reeds and that of Mike Taylor’s Midden and Newedam obtained from marine shell samples. For charcoal and reed samples, calibration for atmospheric variation in 14C follows ShCal04 for the Southern Hemisphere (McCormac et al. 2004). For marine shell dates, calibration for atmospheric variation in 14C follows Marine 04.14c (Hughen et al. 2004).

Laboratory Uncal. 14CDate Calibrated Date Calibrated Date 13 ◦ Number Site Provenience (yr BP) δ C /00 (1 σ AD) (2 σ AD) Pta-4023 Borrow Pit Midden MH 640 ± 40 −23.4 1305–1411 1291–1427 Pta-4020 Connies Limpet Bar Spit 1 390 ± 40 −22.4 1476–1638 1452–1651 Pta-7499 Duneﬁeld Midden (North) KIR 710 ± 45 −18.6 1287–1314 1273–1402 Pta-5061 Duneﬁeld Midden (South) FRA 580 ± 50 −23.5 1399–1430 1376–1447 Pta-1815 Elands Bay Cave NKOM 320 ± 50 −21.8 1632–1663 1485–1677 Pta-5813 Elands Bay Cave MRSB 500 ± 45 −20.1 1425–1459 1411–1497 Pta-2460 Elands Bay Open Spit 1 590 ± 50 −23.8 1396–1427 1305–1444 Pta-4070 Grootrif G PATCAP 690 ± 40 −19.0 1338–1392 1283–1405 Pta-4262 Hailstone Midden GBS/PS 910 ± 40 −21.9 1163–1227 1041–1259 Pta-6711 Mike Taylor’s Midden BSS1 985 ± 25 1.3 990–1050 920–1090 Pta-4478 Newedam Spit 1 990 ± 50 −0.1 940–1070 890–1150 Pta-5605 Pancho’s Kitchen Midden LAT 570 ± 20 −24.2 1411–1424 1405–1430 Pta-5921 Pancho’s Kitchen Midden MIST 880 ± 50 −23.8 1174–1259 1113–1280 Pta-6340 Scorpion Shelter DSS5 450 ± 35 −24.4 1440–1500 1420–1510 Pta-4062 Spring Cave ASH IV 460 ± 40 −18.3 1440–1485 1427–1519 Pta-4042 Spring Cave DBM 840 ± 50 −16.6 1213–1276 1168–1291 Pta-3600 Tortoise Cave FUB 760 ± 50 −23.4 1269–1299 1235–1317 45 Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 46

Table 3. Weights (g), MNI counts (n) and densities of faunal remains and charcoal remains at BPM. With the exception of marine shell, densities of all weight items are expressed as g/m3. Marine shell densities are quantiﬁed as kg shell/m3, and Cape rock lobsters as n/m3. A dash (—) indicates none present and hash (#) indicates observation not available.

Marine Rock Tortoise Mammals Seal Bird OES Fish shell lobster Charcoal

Layerwdwdwdwd wdwd d ndwd

MH Top 132.7 265.498.2 196.42.85.681.9 163.81.93.92.24.4 288.77.0 14.0 189.0 378.0 MH Bottom 814.4 904.9 307.1 341.2 111.7 124.1 1012 1124.411.612.97.58.3 302.09.010.0 486.0 540.0 Mole rat 120.0 200.0 55.8 93.0 64.7 107.8 142.2 237.0 18.230.32.33.8 #——## material Subsistence Strategies in Elands Bay, South Africa

bones). Charcoal densities drop only moder- The lack of cut marks attributed to skinning ately (30%) towards the end of the site occu- suggests that the birds were processed for pation. These results suggest that the inten- their meat, rather than for pelts (Avery 1985; sity of site use might have waned before site Dewar 2008). abandonment as explored below in the dis- The mammal sample consists of 699 cussion section. bones with about half identified to species or size class (Table 4). The paucity of identified Subsistence remains is due to the heavily fragmented natureofthissample.However,theidentified The largest faunal component at BPM is elements are from a range of species among marine shell, followed by bird and tortoise which small bovids (Raphicerus sp.) and bones. Terrestrial mammals and seal remains small medium bovids figure prominently. are also noticeable, but their contributions Due to fragmentation, there were no defining are more modest overall. Clearly, shellfish features that could help identify the species gathering was emphasized throughout the represented within the category of small- site occupation, with the collection of tor- medium bovids. Either domestic sheep (Ovis toises and catching of birds representing an aries)orcommonduiker(Sylvicapra grim- important subsistence activity, particularly at mia) is the most likely species represented the onset of BPM occupation. Hunting and in this particular instance. Due to their ter- snaring of terrestrial mammals, hunting or ritorial behavior and presence of trails used clubbing of seals, and catching of fish were during their patrols among bushes (Skinner undertaken to a lesser extent. and Smithers 1990), small bovids would have Identification of the vertebrate remains been easily located and trapped with the aid was done to lowest possible taxon by com- of snares or chased and clubbed. parison with available reference collections. Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pussil- When species could not be determined, the lus) are also present in the faunal sample, bone element was placed in a size class with at least two individuals based on the category.Thefaunalsamplewasrecordedfol- presence of juvenile long bone fragments lowing standard methods and reported using and heavily worn adult teeth. A large bovid number of identified specimens (NISP) and is also present, but the small number of minimum number of individuals (MNI). All elements and diagnostic features makes it modifications made to bones through human impossible to distinguish between buffalo and non-human agency were also identified. (Syncerus caffer), domestic cow (Bos sp.) or Table 4 shows a quantified assessment of eland (Taurotragus oryx). Smaller mammal a variety of marine and terrestrial vertebrate species such as dassies (Procavia capensis) species present at BPM. As indicated by den- and dune mole rats (Bathyergus suillus)are

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 sities of faunal remains (Table 3), birds are the only marginally represented. most abundant group of species, represented The reptile sample consists of a medium- by one ostrich (Struthio camelus),two sizedsnakeandatleast17tortoises(Chersina greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), angulata) identified mainly on the basis of two African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), right coracoids. As also indicated by the and 35 cormorants (Phalacrocorax sp.). densitiesoffaunalremains(Table3),tortoises This is a large number of cormorants when are the second most abundant taxon after compared to other assemblages, considering cormorants by way of MNI counts. These thattheirremainswererecoveredfromonlya small and slow moving animals would have portionoftheoriginalsite.Theelementdistri- been easily collected in the vicinity of BPM. bution of the cormorants shows dominance The last and smallest group of species of the wings and mid-section, with crania, represented in the bone sample in terms of vertebrae, and feet missing to a large extent. weight and overall numbers is fish. Four indi- The low representation of the later elements viduals from among three species were iden- maybeduetosamplingbias,taphonomicpro- tified.Allthreespeciesreachmaturationines- cesses, and/or postdepositional trampling. tuaries leaving this environ for the sea when

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 47 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Table 4. Number of identiﬁed specimens/minimum number of individuals (NISP/MNI) of vertebrate species at BPM. Stratigraphic units are represented by their acronym, namely: PS, Pale Sand; PGS, Pale Granular Sand; MH, Main Horizon; Mole, material from isolated mole rat holes; and SL, Slope Cleanings. Absence of particular taxon is indicated by a dash (-) and an asterisk (∗) speciﬁes that no MNIs were calculated for broad faunal categories.

Species PS PGS MH Mole SC Total

Struthio camelus —/— —/— 1/1 —/— —/— 1/1 Ostrich Spheniscus demersus —/— 1/1 32/2 —/— 1/1 34/2 African penguin Phalacrocorax sp. —/— —/— 527/29 45/5 95/9 667/35 Cormorant Phoenicopterus roseus —/— —/— 12/02 —/— —/— 2/12 Greater ﬂamingo Small-med aves —/— 10/- 380/∗ 18/∗ 56/∗ 464/∗ Bathyergus suillus —/— —/— 3/01 —/— —/— 3/1 Dune mole rat Procavia capensis —/— —/— 1/1 —/— —/— 1/1 Rock hyrax Felis lybica —/— —/— 1/1 —/— —/— 1/1 Wild cat Arctocephalus pussillus 1/1 —/— 21/2 7/1 1/1 30/2 Cape fur seal Small carnivore —/— —/— 3/1 1/1 —/— 4/1 Raphicerus sp. —/— —/— 76/4 2/1 —/— 4/78 Steenbok/grysbok Small-medium bovid —/— —/— 16/1 —/— —/— 16/1 Large bovid —/— —/— 1/1 1/1 1/1 3/1 Small mammal —/— —/— 109/∗ 7/∗ 10/∗ 126/∗ Medium mammal —/— —/— 3/∗ 2/∗ —/— 5/∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 Unidentified mammal 3/ 1/ 297/ 46/ 11/ 358/ Medium snake —/— —/— 5/1 —/— —/— 5/1 Chersina angulata 5/1 2/1 1155/15 97/4 50/2 1309/17 Angulate tortoise Lithognathus lithognathus —/— —/— 2/1 1/1 —/— 3/2 White steenbras Sarpa salpa —/— —/— 1/1 —/— —/— 1/1 Bamboo fish Mugail cephalus —/— —/— —/— 1/1 —/— 1/1 Flathead mullet Unidentified fish —/— —/— 46/∗ 7/∗ —/— 53/∗

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fully mature (Smith and Heemstra 1986). including their countable parts (terga). Also, Based on cranial elements, one of the white these small countable parts appear under- steenbras (Lithognathus lithognathus)and represented when compared to the much the flathead mullet (Mugail cephalus)are larger shell weights associated with them. nearly adult in size. Body size reconstruction Size observations were obtained for black wasnotpossiblewiththeremainsoftheother mussel (Choromytilus meridionalis) shells white steenbras and with the single strepie by measuring the maximum prismatic band (Sarpa salpa). Given the small size of this width of both left and right valves and assemblage and the near adult size of some by applying a reconstructive morphometric of the fish, it is uncertain whether these few equation (Buchanan 1985). Whole and frag- fish were caught from an estuarine or marine mented limpet shells (Cymbula granatina environment. and Scutellastra granularis) were also mea- Evidence for human modification to the sured for the same purpose, and reconstruc- faunal sample consists of burning and frac- tive morphometric equations (Jerardino and turing. A total of 237 out of 3325 bones Navarro 2008) applied to the latter for the showed evidence for heat alteration, but as reconstruction of full shell lengths. a hearth was identified at this site, this is At least 10 species of mollusks were not unexpected. The majority of mammal gathered exclusively from nearby rocky reefs and bird bones with evidence for breakage as reflected from the shellfish species compo- showed spiral fractures on green bone, indi- sition from MH Top and MH Bottom (Tables cating that they were most likely processed 5 and 6). More than one species of whelk to access fatty bone marrow. However, 94 from the genera Burnupena and Nucella are of these bones showed transverse fracturing likelytobe represented,withbarnacles being andanother7boneshadirregularbreaks,sug- a crustacean brought to campsites probably gesting that these bones were dry when dam- attached to other shellfish species such as aged. This is suggestive of post-depositional large black mussels and low-intertidal limpet trampling at the site. Six elements had some species (Jerardino 1997; Tonner 2005). For ochre on the bone, but it is difficult to both sets of marine shell samples, black determine if this was intentional marking mussels are the dominant species, followed of the bone or post depositional transfer. bylargebarnacles,limpetsofthegeneraCym- Non-human modifications included a bone bula and Scutellastra, and whelks from the with porcupine gnawing and five bones with above-mentionedgeneraandArgobuccinum minimal stage 1 weathering (Behrensmeyer pustulosum. 1978). The low frequency of rodent gnawing Possible changes in mean shell sizes and weathering suggests that the site was of C. meridionalis, C. granatina,andS. rapidly buried after use. granularis between MH Top and MH Bottom

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 Marine invertebrate remains consist to samples were tested by means of Analysis a very large extent of marine shell and of Variance. Significant differences were de- occasional calcareous mandibles of the Cape tected for C. meridionalis for both left (MH rock lobster (J. lalandii), with marine shells Bottom: n = 600, mean = 90.56 mm, std = being the most abundant category of food re- 15.57; MH Top: n = 490, mean = 92.50 mm, mains by weight and volume (Table 3). Shell std = 14.73; F = 4.39, p < 0.03) and right remains (whole specimens and fragments) valves (MH Bottom: n = 628, mean = 91.25 were sorted and identified wherever possi- mm, std = 16.10; MH Top: n = 421, mean = ble to generic or specific level, whereupon 93.31 mm, std = 14.52; F = 4.44, p < 0.03), minimum numbers of individuals (MNI) and with marginally larger mean shell lengths weights were determined following meth- toward the end of BPM occupation. No statis- ods outlined by Jerardino (1997). Here, we tical differences were detected between MH report only on shell weight because of the Top and MH Bottom with shell length mea- difficulty in establishing MNI from barnacle surements obtained for C. granatina (MH remains (Austromegabalanus cylindricus) Bottom: n = 150, mean = 52.05, std = 8.36; as they are often in a very fragmentary state, MH Top: n = 114, mean = 52.67, std = 7.10;

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 49 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Table 5. Marine mollusk species frequencies (%) by weight from Main Horizon Top across squares at BPM. One or two bulk shell samples were recovered from each square excavated in September 1994 and these are indicated in parenthesis. Absence of particular taxon is indicated by a dash (—).

MH TOP K9(1) K10(1) K11(1) L9(1) L9(2) L10(1) L11(1) L11(2) Average

C. meridionalis 65.0 67.566.480.679.066.8 70.0 65.570.1 A. ater —— —0.1 — 0.1 —— C. granatina 5.75.110.93.12.83.413.97.7 S. granularis 0.31.31.60.50.70.52.00.7 S. barbara — 0.30.6 —— —0.30.1 S. argenvillei ——0.70.1 ——0.1 — S. cochlear ———————— Limpets — 0.1 —————— (unidentiﬁed) Total Limpets 6.06.813.83.73.53.916.38.57.8 Burnupena + 6.12.24.61.91.94.62.53.8 Nucella A. postulosum 6.44.11.41.11.23.11.03.9 Total Whelks 12.56.36.03.03.17.73.67.76.2 Barnacle 16.519.413.812.614.421.510.118.315.8 Totals 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Total weight (kg) 3.92 3.64 3.59 4.66 5.31 4.01 5.11 5.47

F = 0.062) and S. granularis (MH Bottom: n Their surfaces are red-brown and exterior = 113, mean = 36.96, std = 4.52; MH Top: n surfaces are burnished. The temper is ﬁne = 46, mean = 36.76, std = 4.57; F = 0.403). to medium grained with inclusions of quartz and possibly also ground shell. Material Culture DISCUSSION The ﬂaked stone assemblage of BPM

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 has been reported by Orton (2006:Appendix Because our data come from the lone sur- 1) as part of a large corpus of data for the viving portion of the BPM site, interpretive ElandsBayarea.TheBPMstoneartifactassem- biases cannot be discounted entirely. Our blage is very small (n = 217) and overwhelm- sample comes from the western margin of ingly dominated by stone debitage (93%). the site instead of across a wider area of the Almost all of this assemblage derives from original site, where a wider range of activity locally available raw materials, namely quartz areas might have been represented. Although and quartzites (99%). Although sandstone a larger number of squares were excavated at (n = 4) was identified separately by Orton other sites in the study area (Tortoise Cave, (2006), here it is included in the category of Dunefield Midden, and Elands Bay Cave), quartzite. No formal tools were documented, the nearly 2.5 m3 of undisturbed material but a few utilized or edge damaged stone excavated from BPM compares well with artifacts and a retouched piece made from the volumes excavated for other nearby rock silcrete were identified (Table 7). shelters and open-air sites, such as Elands Bay Only two re-fitted undecorated ceramic Open, Pancho’s Kitchen Midden, and Hail- shards were recovered from square L9. stone Midden (Horwitz 1979; Jerardino 1997;

50 VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 1 • 2009 Subsistence Strategies in Elands Bay, South Africa

Table 6. Marine mollusk species frequencies (%) by weight from Main Horizon Bottom across squares at BPM. One or two bulk shell samples were recovered from each square excavated in September 1994 and these are indicated in parenthesis. No marine shell sample was recovered from MH Bottom in square K9. Absence of particular taxon is indicated by a dash (—) and # indicates observation not available.

MH BOTTOM K9 K10(1) K11(1) L9(1) L9(2) L10(1) L11(1) L11(2) Average

C. meridionalis # 63.561.969.668.578.368.066.867.2 A. ater #— —————— C. granatina # 3.17.45.04.24.68.97.8 S. granularis # 0.62.01.21.21.23.02.5 S. barbara # 0.41.5 — 0.4 — 0.10.1 S. argenvillei #— —0.30.61.01.22.4 S. cochlear #— ———0.1 —— Limpets #— —————— (unidentiﬁed) Total Limpets # 4.110.96.56.46.913.212.88.6 Burnupena + # 4.42.12.72.61.61.31.8 Nucella A. postulosum # 3.60.81.01.70.61.81.7 Total Whelks # 8.02.93.74.32.23.13.53.9 Barnacle # 24.424.320.220.812.615.716.919.2 Totals # 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Total weight (kg) # 4.72 4.72 5.22 5.24 4.35 5.85 5.4

Noli 1988). Moreover, the BPM excavation of interaction between Cape herders and area and volumes exceed those recovered foragers. Hence, BPM data compare well from the forager sites on which Smith (1998; with most excavated sites in the Elands Bay Smith et al. 1991) based his views on modes area. Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009

Table 7. Inventory of ﬂaked stone artefacts from BPM (after Orton 2006). CCS: Cryptocrystalline silicates. A dash (—) indicates none present.

Quartz Quartzite Silcrete CCS

Bipolar Core 7 — — — Single Platform Core — 1 — — Irregular Core 1 — — — Misc. Retouched Piece — — 1 — Edge-Damaged 1 1 2 1 Flake 42 14 — 1 Chunk 79 10 — — Chip 55 1 — —

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 51 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Settlement years (Jerardino 1996:figure 6.1). Favorable environmental conditions for human settle- The near dearth of domestic fauna and ment and subsistence were locally domi- generally low incidence of ceramics is taken nant at this time, with higher rainfall and as indicative of a party of foragers as responsi- colder sea surface temperatures resulting ble for BPM site formation. Foraging herders from the climatological period known as the in the study area usually leave many more ‘Little Ice Age’ (Cohen et al. 1992; Grove ceramic shards behind (see Stewart 2005). 1990; Jerardino 1995). Wetter conditions and The stratigraphic profiles, low frequency colder sea-surface temperatures would have of rodent gnawing on bones, and lack of favored primary and secondary productiv- evidence for weathering suggest that BPM ity of terrestrial and marine environments, built up during the course of a relatively short meaning that shellfish would have been visit and was buried soon after abandonment. available in high densities from the rocky Although the original spatial extent of BPM is reefs surrounding Baboon Point and within notknown,itdidnotextendbeyondtheedge the protected bay. Moreover, the Verloren- of the present road, suggesting a relatively vlei coastal lake would have been supplied small group of people settling at one time. with ample fresh water from its tributaries Contemporary occupations in the study area upstream, which would have attracted and also reflect substantially smaller floor areas supported the population growth of many when compared to those dating to before species of animals including fish and water 2000 BP (Jerardino 1996; Jerardino et al. fowl. The presence of abundant seafood on 2008). It also appears that procurement of nearby reefs, a reliable and large source of food resources other than shellfish waned fresh water, rich animal life, and fresh pasture towards the end of BPM occupation, as resulting from this climatic event would have did the need for lighting campfires. Local offered herder and hunter-gatherer groups al- depletion of vertebrate resources or seasonal most ideal conditions for settlement. Hunter- changes in the scheduling of subsistence gatherers foraging in semi-arid environments activities are unlikely to explain this trend furthernorthappeartohavealsotakenadvan- given the brief character of BPM occupa- tage of such favorable conditions as reflected tion and likely productive environment (see by a relatively high number of archaeological below). Similar examinations of single or sites dating between 300 and 800 years ago final depositional events elsewhere in the (Beaumont et al. 1995). This begs the ques- study area will help to elucidate whether tion whether competition between foragers diminishing densities reflect changes in food and herders was possible during the late procurement, intensity of site occupation Holocene, as resources should be limited for and/or specific sedimentary properties par- competition to happen (Molles 2005). This

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 ticular to site abandonment. is a scenario difficult to support with the A number of other sites were also oc- high biological productivity promoted by the cupied in the study area around 650 years Little Ice Age. Instead, it is conceivable that ago, including Elands Bay Cave (Parkington competitive relationships between herders et al. 1988), Elands Bay Open (Horwitz 1979), and foragers may have developed when Tortoise Cave (Jerardino 1996; Robey 1987), environmental conditions deteriorated, for Dunefield Midden (Parkington et al. 1992), instance, during the Medieval Warm Epoch Pancho’s Kitchen Midden (Jerardino 1998), between ∼AD 900 and 1300 (Tyson and Grootrif G (Jerardino 2007), and, broadly, Lindesay 1992). Spring Cave (with two calibrated dates at one sigma age range of AD 1440–1485 and Subsistence AD 1215–1275 AD. The frequency distribution for 14C dates available from the study Interpretation of invertebrate remains is area shows that BPM dates within a 500- well supported by our knowledge of the year period (500–1000 BP) with the second- distribution of these species on the local highest number of dates for the last 6000 shoreline. Rebelo (1982) showed in a field

52 VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 1 • 2009 Subsistence Strategies in Elands Bay, South Africa

survey that Mussel Point, Baboon Point, and This geographic pattern, however, is not the bay reefs are very different in terms of repeated further back in time since the stabi- total biomass and shellfish composition, a lization of sea-levels: black mussels become pattern described later for equivalent shores dominant (96–99% weight) at sites within on the west coast (Bustamante and Branch and outside the bay between about 3000 1996; Bustamante et al. 1995). The exposed and 2000 (RYBP) years ago, at a time when reefs of Mussel Point today support a very shellfish exploitation reached the highest large biomass of black mussels and other levels ever recorded during the pre-colonial filter feeders. The reefs located inside the history of the West Coast (Jerardino 1996, bay, in contrast, are sheltered and dominated 1997; Jerardino et al. 2008; Jerardino and by limpets, with a total biomass an order Yates 1997; Yates 1989). This period coin- of magnitude smaller than that of Mussel cided with high population levels, longer Point reefs. Baboon Point rocky shore is steep residential permanence, an increase in ma- and exposed to wave action, with near even rine food intake as determined from iso- dominance of black mussels and limpets, but topic analyses on human skeletons buried with the smallest biomass of all three rocky along the West Coast, and a re-formulation shores. These relative differences in shellfish of subsistence strategies around terrestrial species composition and biomass are likely resources (Jerardino et al. 2008; Jerardino to have been present in the past since and Yates 1996; Lee-Thorp et al. 1989; Sealy the stabilization of sea level around 8000 and Van der Merwe 1988). Evidently, very years ago, although the absolute quantities different subsistence and settlement strate- of biomass might well have varied as a result gies characterized the last 1000 years when of environmental changes (see above). compared to those present between 3000 BPM shellfish composition is similar to and 2000 years ago: shellfish collection over that from other semi-contemporary sites with the last 1000 years was characterized by a closest access to the exposed reefs of Baboon more opportunistic behavior that procured Point and Mussel Point further south. Avail- from a range of species available from the able data from Elands Bay Cave (Parkington immediate shoreline. A discussion on the et al. 1988), Elands Bay Open (Horwitz 1979; divergent strategy of shellfish collection for Antonieta Jerardino, personal observation the 3000–2000 RYBP period in the context 2008), Pancho’s Kitchen Midden (Jerardino of other subsistence and settlement choices 1997), Newedam A (Jerardino 2003), and is being compiled for a separate publication. the uppermost horizons at Mike Taylor’s Statistical analyses conducted on shell Midden (Jerardino and Yates 1997) show measurements of C. granatina and S. gran- a dominance of black mussels (∼70–75%), ularis show no significant differences be- followed by barnacles (10–15%), and lower tween MH Bottom and MH Top. The respec- ∼

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 frequencies of whelks and limpets ( 2–8%). tive mean sizes are almost identical, arguing Ontheotherhand,sitesdatingtothelast1000 for no evidence for human impact on these years situated close to the bay reefs, such limpet species. On the other hand, ANOVA as Hailstone Midden (Noli 1988), Connies results show that black mussel mean sizes Limpet Bar (Horwitz 1979), and Dunefield are larger in MH Top when compared to Midden (Tonner 2005) show a dominance MH Bottom, although this rather unexpected (50–85%) of limpet species. Clearly, the difference is minimal (2 mm). Here we argue relative frequencies of shellfish species from that what explains much of the statistical sig- sites dating to the last thousand years mirror nificance of this change is largely an artifact of closely their relative abundance on nearby the large sample sizes (between 420 and 630) shores. Therefore, when hunter-gatherers of the black-mussel data set. This suspicion occupied BPM and other broadly contempo- was confirmed by examining the respective rary sites, they exploited whatever shellfish boxplots (Figure 5) that show complete species were available on the immediately ad- overlap of the top and bottom samples. jacent shoreline (Buchanan 1988; Parkington Taking all these considerations together, et al. 1988). shellfish gathering during the occupation of

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 53 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

Figure 5. Box-and-whisker plot of total shell length of C. meridionalis for MH Top and MH Bottom. Illustrated are lower and upper quartiles (box), the median (line across the box), the range (whiskers) which is 1.57 times the inter-quartile range (Q75–Q25), and extreme values are shown separately (circles).

BPM had no impact on the most frequently observed at present during beach surveys collected shellﬁsh species. This is perhaps (< 1–3 birds per km; Avery 1987). It is also not surprising given the apparently small unlikely that this large number of birds would size of the visiting group and the relatively have been the trophy of active chasing, as brief duration of their visit. A similar case this method results almost invariably in the might well explain the steady shell sizes at dispersal of the remaining birds. Rather, the the nearby and semi-contemporary site of procurement of the large numbers of birds Hailstone Midden (Noli 1988). at BPM could have been the result of a previ- With few exceptions, Later Stone Age ouslyunrecordedabilitytocatchthemduring sites along the Western Cape Coast have a seasonal episode when massive ﬂocks move small amounts of bird remains (Avery 1987; along the coast and rest along beaches and Jerardino 1996, 1998, 2007; Klein and Cruz- river mouths (Avery 1987; Crawford 1997; Uribe 1987), making BPM fairly unique. Johnsgard 1993). Although nets were not

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 No colony of cormorants presently nests at recorded historically to have been used by BaboonPointornearbyrockyareas;butthis local foragers, this technology may have been might have been the case in the past with available during prehistoric times as attested the location of the colony shifting elsewhere by rock art depictions from only 70 km inland in response to more recent environmental (Manhire et al. 1985). Also, an alternative not and/or human disturbance (see Bovy 2007). considered in earlier zooarchaeological stud- According to historical records, cormorants ies is catastrophic episodes of bird cholera, were obtained by several means at the Cape, a type of bird disease that is innocuous to including collection of washed-up animals, humans. Debilitated cormorants are easy to chasing and clubbing as well as shooting approach and kill in large numbers during with bows and arrows (Avery 1987:169). such outbreaks that take place occasionally However, it is difﬁcult to conceive that the during winter or early spring (Williams and high numbers of birds represented in BPM Ward 2002). Studies elsewhere have also assemblage could have resulted from beach considered ENSO events to explain high collections alone given their low numbers frequencies of cormorants in archaeological

54 VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 1 • 2009 Subsistence Strategies in Elands Bay, South Africa

sites (DeFrance 2005); but, it is unlikely that kilometers away from the coast and closest ENSO events were common during the Little to the Sandveld interior, show much less Ice Age given their opposite climatic forcing emphasis on the procurement of birds and (Grove 1990). seals and more so on the hunting of medium When other sites at Baboon Point are to large bovids and snaring of small game, considered, it appears that cormorants were withthecollectionoftortoisesalsomakingan moreaccessibleatthislocationthanatothers. important contribution to the diet (Jerardino Terminal occupation of Elands Bay Cave over 1996:table 8.2, 1998; Klein and Cruz-Uribe the last 600 years and Hailstone Midden 1987). These differences in species composi- occupation at one sigma age range of AD tion of vertebrate fauna between coastal and 1165–1230 AD show the highest recorded more inland sites are, nonetheless, indicative numbers of bird remains during the late of a similar approach to food procurement Holocene for the entire study area (Avery over the last 1000 years. That is to say, the 1987; Noli 1988). Hence, the procurement acquisition of resources that occur in each of marine birds appears to have been more area with relatively more frequency: marine successful at Baboon Point than elsewhere birds and/or washed-up seals when in close in the study area during the late Holocene. proximity to the coast, and medium to large This geographic emphasis over the last 1000 bovids when closer to hunting grounds on years may indicate that an extinct local the interior Sandveld. These observations breeding colony or regular conglomerations reflect an opportunistic subsistence pattern of flocks existed near or at Baboon Point at within a relatively small radius from the that time. Also, the systematic use of nets chosen camps, which is congruent with during the late Holocene would have allowed the overall high group residential mobil- coastal foragers to obtain rather large returns ity already identified for the late Holocene relative to the amount of energy expended, (Jerardino 1996, 1998, 2007). Opportunistic as recorded for North American natives of the subsistence behavior comes about when Pacific Northwest (Bovy 2007). foragers take advantage of local resources Aside from shellfish and marine birds, that are in close proximity to their camps the procurement of animal meat involved and on an encounter basis. This subsistence the collection of large numbers of tortoises choice has often been described within the and snaring of small bovids to some extent. spectrum of forager-collector continuum and Washed-up seals would have provided a small also in the context of high forager mobility complement to the subsistence of the group. (Binford 1980; Kusimba 2005; Lupo 2007). Hunting of large game is either absent or Hunter-gatherer opportunistic subsistence is marginally represented with the presence of at odds with the expectation derived from Bossp.,whichcouldwellalsoreflectthetheft a competitive relationship with herders. If

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 of animals from neighboring stock-keeping competition between these cultural groups groups. Overall, foragers at BPM were en- was significant it could have restricted gaged in a subsistence strategy based on the hunter-gatherer mobility, a scenario equiva- procurementoflocal,low-risk,relativelylow- lent to scarce and/or incongruent resource effort, and fairly predictable resources. With distribution across the landscape. In such a similar emphasis on vertebrate species, a case, an emphasis in logistical strategies the subsistence strategy derived from BPM is expected to be reflected archaeologically is also reflected at other sites in the area (Binford 1980; Lupo 2007). However, this dating to the last 1000 years, namely Hail- is not supported by the available evidence stone Midden, Elands Bay Cave, Elands Bay as foragers in the Elands Bay area appear to Open, Dunefield Midden and Grootrif G have had access to a range of local resources (Cruz-Uribe and Klein 1994; Jerardino 2007; wherever they chose to settle for a while. Klein and Cruz-Uribe 1987). On the other Excavation of additional late Holocene sites hand,contemporaryoccupationsatPancho’s in the Sandveld interior and analysis of their Kitchen Midden and Tortoise Cave (Figure faunal contents would certainly help test this 1), located respectively between 1.5 to 4.5 emerging scenario.

JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 55 Antonieta Jerardino et al.

CONCLUSIONS interaction between stock-keeping groups and hunter-gatherers along the West Coast Supported by climatologically driven pro- for nearly 1800 years is, however, still not ductive terrestrial and marine environments, completely understood. According to avail- small groups of hunter-gatherers visited the able paleoenvironmental and faunal records, study area between about 1200 and 1600 there is little evidence for an essentially AD for relatively short visits, one of which competitive relationship between groups fol- took place at the location of BPM. Shellfish lowing these two different modes of produc- collection supported much of the group’s tion. While the exclusion of hunter-gatherers subsistence, with much of their take made from higher nutrient vegetation areas, as from the immediately adjacent rocky reefs. suggested by previous work, does not seem This pattern of short shellfish foraging trips to be supported by the available evidence is also reflected at other nearby and semi- dating to the last 800 years, forager groups contemporary sites. No impact on the three weremoremobile,producedadifferentarray most frequently collected mollusk species of material culture, and depicted rock art brought back to BPM is evident, probably motifsatvariancewiththosecommonamong because of the small size of the visiting hunter-gatherers before the arrival of herder group and relatively short occupation. While economy. Can this increased forager mobility shellfish was gathered from nearby reefs, a be taken as signs of avoidance or, rather, few washed-up seals were also collected or the reappearance of a settlement pattern scavenged from beaches, and a small number dominantbeforeresource-intensificationand offishwerecaughtattheVerlorenvleimouth. extended residential permanence between Subsistence activities other than shellfish 3000 and 2000 years ago? Refinements of the collection were less relied upon towards the last 2000 years of prehistory along the West end of the visit to BPM. These consisted also Coast of South Africa will need more detailed of catching birds (mainly cormorants) and consideration of high-resolution palaeoenvi- collectingtortoises,withsnaringofterrestrial ronmental records, additional faunal assem- mammals to a much lesser extent. When blages, material culture inventories, indica- compared to nearby sites in the study area, tors of site occupancy, and geographical the catching of birds was most successful approximations to land-use. The resulting at Baboon Point within the last 1000 years, picture will probably be a more complex and probably because of the use of nets and/or variable one through time and space than regular aggregations of cormorants around currently thought. Baboon Point and Verlorenvlei mouth. Over- all, these and other faunal observations from other sites along the coast dating to the last

Downloaded By: [University of Cape Town] At: 09:33 11 November 2009 1000 years show an emphasis on the pro- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS curement of low-risk, low-energy investment and predictable resources within relatively Excavations in 1994 and shellfish analysis short distances from the camps. At interior by Ms. Debbie Adams were funded by Sandveld sites, hunting of medium to large a Council for Science Development grant game was undertaken more regularly due to the Spatial Archaeology Research Unit to their proximity to hunting grounds. The at the University of Cape Town. Thanks picture that emerges for hunter-gatherer sub- are also extended to John Parkington for sistence strategy over the last 800 years is es- making available field notes and basic sentially an opportunistic one, at both coastal section drawings on the September 1994 and interior locations, and likely to have season, and to David Halkett (Archaeology been sustained by relatively high residential Contracts Office, University of Cape Town) mobility. for the same records on the October 1994 There is little doubt that the introduction season and electronic copies of print pho- of pastoralism brought profound changes in tographs. The August field crew consisted hunter-gatherer way of life. The nature of of John Parkington, Liora Horwitz, and

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Lee Manning. The September crew included Brink, Y. 2004. The transformation of indigenous David Halkett, Tim Hart, Mzwandile Sasa, societies in the south-western Cape during and Mzunzima Mjikaliso. Granting of ac- the rule of the Dutch East India Company, cess to BPM shellfish assemblage by Iziko 1652–1795. In The Archaeology of Contact South African Museum is gratefully ac- in Settler Societies (T. Murray, ed.):91–108. knowledged. Much gratitude is expressed by Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bronk Ramsey, C. 1995. Radiocarbon cali- A. J. to Mary Leslie for her constant support bration and analysis of stratigraphy: The and encouragement. The final version of OxCal program. Radiocarbon 37(2):425– this paper benefited from Garth Sampson’s 430. expert advice and Natalie Swanepoel’s ref- Bronk Ramsey, C. 2001. Development of the erences and editing. Thanks also to Charlie radiocarbon calibration program OxCal. Radio- Griffiths for providing bibliographic refer- carbon 43(2A):355–363. ences. Comments from John Parkington Buchanan, W. 1985. Middens and mussels: An and two anonymous reviewers helped to archaeological enquiry. South African Journal clarify various issues. of Science 81:15–16. Buchanan, W. 1988. Shellfish in Prehistoric Diet: Elands Bay, SW Cape Coast, South Africa. Oxford: Cambridge Monographs in African Ar- chaeology 31, BAR International Series 455. REFERENCES Bustamante, R. H. and G. M. Branch 1996. Large scale patterns and trophic structure of southern Avery, G. 1985. Late Holocene use of penguin African rocky shores: The roles of geographic skins: Evidence from a coastal shell midden at variation and wave exposure. Journal of Bio- Steenbras Bay, Luderitz Peninsula, South West geography 23:339–351. Africa-Namibia. Annals of the South African Bustamante,R.H.,G.M.Branch,S.Eekhout,B. Museum 96(3):55–65. Robertson, P. Zoutendyk, M. Schleyer, A. Dye, Avery, G. 1987. Coastal birds and prehistory in D. Keats, M. Jurd, and C. D. McQuaid. 1995. the Western Cape. In Papers in the Prehis- Gradients of intertidal productivity around the tory of the Western Cape, South Africa (J. E. coast of South Africa and their relationship with Parkington and M. Hall, eds.):164–191. Oxford: consumer biomass. Oecologia 102(2):189–201. British Archaeological Reports International Se- Cohen, A. L., J. E. Parkington, G. B. Brundit ries 332(i). and N. J. van der Merwe. 1992. A Holocene Beaumont, P. B., A. B. Smith, and J. C. Vogel. 1995. marine climate record in mollusc shells from the Before the Einiqua: The archaeology of the southwest African coast. Quaternary Research Frontier Zone. In Einiqualand: Studies of the 38(3):379–385. Orange River Frontier (A. Smith, ed.):236–264. Conard, N. J., T. J. Prindiville, and A. Kandel. Cape Town: University of Cape Town 1999. The 1998 fieldwork on the Stone Age Press. archaeology and palaeoecology of the Geel- Behrens, J. and N. Swanepoel. 2008. Historical bek Dunes, West Coast National Park, South

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