Heritage Cases

Elandsdrift Farm (ID: 527-JQ, Farm Elandsdrift, Portion 61 or Portion 9) is located within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site, approximately 15.2 km northeast of Sterkfontein, bordering the Crocodile River (Figs. 1 & 2). The current tenants (the Tasker family) have recently identified surface scatters of stone tools on the property, some eroding out of roadways and fire-break areas. Mr Daniel Tasker, currently an Honours student in archaeology at the University of the Witwatersrand, brought this to the attention of Dr Dominic Stratford and Prof Kathleen Kuman in 2016. They subsequently inspected the property and confirmed artefactual palimpsests comprised of both Earlier and Middle Stone Age tools (ESA & MSA). Artefacts were previously collected along roads and in fire-breaks by the tenants to protect them from damage, which has amassed an ex-situ sample of these palimpsests. Dr Stratford and I are now supervising Mr Tasker’s Honours project, which is focused on understanding the archaeological occurrences of the Elandsdrift Farm property. The artefacts are significant as this property represents the second known open-air site in the Cradle of Humankind, the first being the Maropeng Acheulean site (Pollarolo et al. 2010). We request a permit strictly to sample the stone tool materials previously collected by the tenants, which will be transported to Wits University and analyzed as a part of Mr Tasker’s Honours project. Although these archaeological materials do not represent in-situ assemblages, they still have relevance for interpreting tool-making behaviours on this landscape. Under the supervision of Dr Stratford and myself, Mr Tasker will examine the technological features of these tools, such as core and tool reduction patterns, retouch intensity and general weathering states to provide insight into tool-making trends adapted to landscape behaviours (Oestmo et al. 2014; Wilkins 2017). Importantly, these features will be contrasted by raw material type to gain perspective on how on-site versus off-site material types were reduced. This will provide insight into raw material foraging behaviours (Braun et al. 2008; Wilkins 2017). It should be made clear that this permit application does not seek to excavate or break ground in any way. This permit is exclusively focused on studying material that has been informally recovered already, without our knowledge, from ex-situ contexts. We haven’t observed any in-situ, artefact-bearing deposits on the property.