Late Holocene Archaeology in Namaqualand, South Africa: Hunter-Gatherers and Herders in a Semi-Arid Environment

Orton, Jayson

doi:10.1080/0067270x.2012.756753

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 190 publications

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“…Jacobson’s [5,6] data indicated that 7.5 mm was a boundary, with beads larger than that threshold post-dating the spread of herding. Orton [70,71] proposed size classes based on measurements, calling all beads ≤5.00 mm small and those 6.01–7.50 mm large. Since we advocate for the use of individual bead data points, there is no need to translate the diameters into categories, or to standardize the description of bead sizes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa

Miller

Sawchuk

2019

PLoS ONE

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Despite their ubiquity in Holocene African archaeological assemblages, ostrich eggshell (OES) beads are rarely studied in detail. An exception is in southern Africa, where there is a proposed relationship between OES bead diameter and the arrival of herding ~2000 years before present. In 1987, Leon Jacobson first observed that beads from forager sites in Namibia tended to be smaller than those associated with herder sites. Studies examining bead size around the Western Cape have generally confirmed Jacobson’s findings, though the driving forces of the diameter change remain unknown. Since this time, diameter has become an informal way of distinguishing forager and herder assemblages in southern Africa, but no large-scale studies of OES bead variation have been undertaken. Here we present an expanded analysis of Holocene OES bead diameters from southern, and for the first time, eastern Africa. Results reveal distinct patterns in OES bead size over time, reflecting different local dynamics associated with the spread of herding. In southern Africa, OES diameters display low variability and smaller absolute size through time. While larger beads begin to appear <2000 years ago, most beads in our study remained smaller. In contrast, eastern African OES bead diameters are consistently larger over the last 10,000 years and show no appreciable size change with the introduction of herding. Notably, larger beads thought to be associated with herders in southern Africa fall within the range of eastern African beads, indicating a potential connection between these regions in the Late Holocene consistent with genetic findings. Regional differences in bead size are subtle, on the order of millimeters, yet offer a potentially important line of evidence for investigating the spread of herding in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to understand the meaning of these changes, we encourage additional studies of OES bead assemblages and urge researchers to report individual bead diameters, rather than averages by level.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subsequent studies sought to test changes in bead diameter in other parts of southern Africa [8–13,70,71]. While most validated the increase in bead size over time, some researchers questioned the association with herders [14,72].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa

Miller

Sawchuk

2019

PLoS ONE

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“…Pottery and domestic animals, either independently or as a “package,” are believed to have moved from central Africa southwards by around 2000 BP (Orton 2012; Jerardino et al 2014). The Wonderwerk dates for the Ceramic Wilton were excluded by Sadr and Sampson (2006) in their summary paper, as they claimed that they spanned too wide a range to securely date the shards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Dates Constrain the Timing of Environmental and Cultural Shifts in the Holocene Strata of Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa

Ecker

Brink²,

Chazan³

et al. 2017

Radiocarbon

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Wonderwerk Cave has yielded one of the longest and most complete Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) records for the arid interior of South Africa. This paper presents the results of a new radiocarbon dating program for Excavation 1 that is explored within a Bayesian model of all existing Wonderwerk Cave radiocarbon (14C) dates for the Holocene. The proposed model, usingPhaseswithin an OxCalSequencemodel, provides robust age estimates for changes in the technological and paleoenvironmental record at the site. The more precise dates allow a comparison of the timing of climate shifts across the interior of southern Africa and begin to allow us to identify whether hiatuses in human occupation, or cultural shifts, are synchronous across broader areas of the subcontinent, or not.

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“…This division may be too simplistic, since hunter-gatherers will have occasionally acquired livestock through trade/ exchange or theft (Smith 2008). However, distinguishing between hunter-gatherer and herder sites based on their material remains has proved challenging, and no criteria are currently generally accepted (Smith et al 1991;Sadr et al 2003;Arthur 2008;Sadr 2009;Orton 2012). Moreover, the acquisition of foodstuffs through trade or theft would also be expected to be reflected in hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies (cf.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faunal Assemblage Structure Suggests a Limited Impact of the Introduction of Domestic Stock on Later Stone Age Subsistence Economies in South Africa

Dusseldorp

2016

Afr Archaeol Rev

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Livestock remains appear in the South African archaeological record around 2100 years ago. However, the economic importance of domestic animals in Later Stone Age subsistence is debated. This paper adopts an approach rooted in Optimal Foraging Theory to examine if the introduction of livestock is reflected in changing taxonomic diversity of faunal assemblages. Based on the analysis of a database of 300+ faunal assemblages, it is concluded that the economic importance of livestock during the final Later Stone Age of South Africa was relatively limited. Résumé Les restes des animaux domestiques apparaissent dans des assemblages fauniques en Afrique du Sud à partir d'il y a 2100 ans. Le rôle du bétail dans les stratégies de subsistance des chasseurscueilleurs des «Later Stone Age » ne sont pas bien compris. Ici, j'adopte l'approche « Optimal Foraging Strategy » pour examiner comment l'adoption du gibier influence l'exploitation des animaux sauvages. J'examine le diversité taxonomique de 300+ assemblages faunique accumulés avant et après l'introduction de bétail. Il n'y a pas des changes significantes dans la diversité des espèces répresentées. Cela indique que l'importance economique des animaux domestiques était faible.

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Late Holocene Archaeology in Namaqualand, South Africa: Hunter-Gatherers and Herders in a Semi-Arid Environment

Cited by 24 publications

References 190 publications

Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa

Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa

Radiocarbon Dates Constrain the Timing of Environmental and Cultural Shifts in the Holocene Strata of Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa

Faunal Assemblage Structure Suggests a Limited Impact of the Introduction of Domestic Stock on Later Stone Age Subsistence Economies in South Africa

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