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Excavation at Klasies River NHS

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CaseHeader

Status: 

HeritageAuthority(s): 

Case Type: 

ProposalDescription: 

Continuation of excavations at Klasies River main site, a national heritage site. A permit is applied for to excavate limited areas in main site. The site still holds much potential to contribute new paradigm changing information on the origins of anatomically modern humans as new methods have been developed, particularly regarding spatial recording of finds, dating, micromorphology, chemical analyses, and other microscopic approaches. Main site is situated in the Eastern Cape Province

Expanded_Motivation: 

The Klasies River sites are situated on a section of the Tsitsikamma coast near Humansdorp, between the Klasies River Mouth and Druipkelder Point (Figures 1 and 2, see attached research proposal). This stretch of coast includes a number of significant sites, Main Site as well as Caves 3, 4 and 5 (Figure 3, see attached research proposal). This permit application is for Main Site, (34,05°S, 24,23°E) that consists of two caves (1&2) and three shelters (1A, 1B and1C). Main Site preserves the remnants of a large shell midden of over 20 m (Singer and Wymer 1982; Deacon & Geleijnse, 1988). The mound of deposit is essentially a single occurrence as the caves and overhangs were occupied as a unit against the cliff face. The base of the site is a 6 m rock bench on which originally 26 m of sediments accumulated in the Late Pleistocene since c. 120 000 years ago. The sedimentary cone, initially anchored between the cliff and a seaward dune, was truncated about 6 000 years ago when rising sea levels undercut the deposit and much reduced its volume. The slip feature caused by this erosion is clearly visible and it is estimated that two thirds of the deposit was removed by slumping. The trace of the original cone of deposition is marked by remnants cemented to the cliff face. The deposits date to between 120 000 and 55 000 years ago and contain Middle Stone Age artefacts and hearths, shellfish and fish and mammal bones accumulated by people, birds and carnivores (Voigt, 1982; Klein, 1976; Deacon, 1995; Thackeray, 1988; Van den Driesch, 2004). The remains of modern humans recovered from Main Site represents a large sample of early modern humans (e.g. Singer and Wymer 1982; Deacon, 2008; Cartmill & Smith 2009; Grine et al. 2017). Research at Klasies River has contributed significantly to knowledge on the Middle Stone Age of South Africa and the origins of anatomically modern humans globally (e.g. Carr et al. 2016; Wurz 2016). I have undertaken excavation at Klasies River since 2014 under permit number 2/2/APM-PERMIT/14/09/001 issued by the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Authority. During this period the declaration process of Klasies River was embarked upon. On 18 March 2016 main site, as part of the “Klasies River Cave Complex” has been declared as a National Monument (Government Gazette volume 609, No. 39823). Three excavation seasons were undertaken, focussed on the Witness Baulk (Figure 3). Figure 3, Witness Baulk, east face (see attached research proposal) Four articles on at Klasies River have been published (Nami et al . 2016; Wurz 2016; Grine et al. 2017; Van Wijk et al, 2017), and four are in press (Bentsen & Wurz; Dayet et al.; Novello et al.’; Hillestad-Nel et al. in press). I have submitted an article to Quaternary International (Wurz et al. submitted) reporting specifically on the results of the new excavation, and will submit another early next year (Wurz et al. in prep). During this excavation period much effort has been spent on creating an empirically sound basis for further investigations by establishing a three dimensional grid through the use of a Total Station, analysis of sediments and dating. It is evident that much remains to be done to more fully unlock the potential of this important National Heritage Site. Research efforts on Middle Stone Age sites continue to provide ground breaking and paradigm changing information on modern human origins (Wadley 2015). Significant discoveries and new perspectives on the complexity of Early Middle Stone Age people’s behaviour and cognition have been made recently (Wadley 2015; see also Henshilwood et al. 2011; Wadley et al. 2011; Marean et al. 2015; Porraz et al. 2013; Texier et al. 2013; Sealy 2016). Such discoveries often rely on the application of techniques that include micro morphological, further dating, speleothem, paleomagnetic, phytolith, pollen, ethnobotanical and 3D modelling. All of these methods have been initiated in the past three years (Wurz et al. submitted; Wurz et al in prep). To fully explore the potential of the site, further integration of these results and excavation are necessary. I plan to further excavate the Witness Baulk (Figure 4) and the Howiesons Poort sections that are vulnerable to erosion (Figure 5). I will also excavate a section of Cave 1B, and Cave 2, as requested from and permitted previously by the Eastern Cape Heritage Provincial Authority. I will undertake the new work in collaboration with a number of institutions, including the Centre for Coastal Palaeosciences, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, the SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Norway, the Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Germany, the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa and the School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.

ApplicationDate: 

Thursday, November 2, 2017 - 07:57

CaseID: 

11860

OtherReferences: 

Heritage Reports: 

Permit report 11860 Klasies River excavation

ReferenceList: 

Citation
References: Bentsen, S, & Wurz, S. in press. Towards a better understanding of cooking techniques in the African Middle Stone Age. (Primitive Tider 19). Carr, A. S., Chase, B. M., & Mackay, A. 2016. Mid to Late Quaternary landscape and environmental dynamics in the Middle Stone Age of southern South Africa. In: Jones, S. C., & Stewart, B. A. (Eds.). Africa from MIS 6-2 (pp. 23-47). Springer Netherlands. Cartmill, M. & Smith, F. J. 2009. The Human Lineage. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell Dayet, L., Wurz, S., Daniel, F., in press. Ochre use, behavioural complexity and regional patterns in the Howiesons Poort: new insights from Klasies river main site, South Africa. Journal of African Archaeology. Deacon, H.J., 1995. Two late Pleistocene–Holocene archaeological depositories from the southern South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin 50, 121–131. Deacon, H.J., 2008. The context of the 1967-8 sample of human remains from cave 1 Klasies River main site. South African Archaeological Society Goodwin Series 10, 143-149. Deacon, H.J., Geleijnse, V.B., 1988. The stratigraphy and sedimentology of the main site sequence, Klasies River, South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin 43, 5–14. Grine, F.E., Wurz, S., & Marean, C.W. 2017. The Middle Stone Age human fossil record from Klasies River Main Site. Journal of Human Evolution 103: 53-78. Henshilwood, C.S., d’Errico, F., van Niekerk, K.L., Coquinot, Y., Jacobs, Z., Lauritzen, SE, Menu, M., García-Moreno, R. 2011. A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science 334 (6053): 219-222. Hillestad Nel, T., Wurz, S., Henshilwood, C.S. in press. The small mammal sequence from Marine Isotope Stage 5 at Klasies River main site, South Africa – taphonomic aspects and palaeoenvironmental implications. Quaternary International. Klein, R.G., 1976. The mammalian fauna of the Klasies River Mouth site, southern Cape Province, South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin 31, 75-99. Marean, C.W., Anderson, R.J., Bar‐Matthews, M., Braun, K., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., Engelbrecht, F., Esler, K.J., Fisher, E., Franklin, J. and Hill, K., 2015. A new research strategy for integrating studies of paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and paleoanthropology. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 24(2), pp.62-72. Nami, H.G., De la Peña, P., Vásquez, C.A., Feathers, J., Wurz, S., 2016. Palaeomagnetic results and new dates of sedimentary deposits from Klasies River Cave 1, South Africa. South African Journal of Science 112 (11/12), Art. #2016-0051. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/20160051 Novello, A., Bamford, M, Van Wijk, Y., Wurz, S. in press Phytoliths in modern plants and soils from Klasies River, Cape Region (South Africa). Quaternary International. Porraz, G., Texier, P.J., Rigaud, J.P., Parkington, J., Poggenpoel, C., Roberts, D., 2008. Preliminary characterization of a Middle Stone Age lithic assemblage preceding the ‘classic’ Howieson’s Poort complex at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape province, South Africa). South African Archaeological Society Goodwin series, vol. 10 : 105-121. Sealy, J. 2016. Cultural change, demography, and the archaeology of the last 100 kyr in southern Africa. In Jones et al (Eds), Africa from MIS 6-2 (pp. 65-75). Springer Netherlands. Singer, R. & Wymer, J. 1982. The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Texier P-J., Porraz, G., Parkington, J., Rigaud, J-P., Poggenpoel, C., Miller, C., Tribolo, C., Cartwright, C., Coudenneauf, A., Klein, R., Steele, R., Vernai, C., 2010. A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraved ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,000 years ago at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 107, 6180–6185. Van den Driesch, A. 2004. The Middle Stone Age fish fauna from the Klasies River Main Site, South Africa. Anthropozoologica 39(2), 33-59 Van Wijk, Y., Tusenius, M., Rust, R., Cowling, R.M, Wurz, S. 2017. Modern vegetation at Klasies River archaeological sites, southern Cape coast, South Africa - a reference collection. Plant Ecology and Evolution 150 (1): 13–34. Wadley, L. 2013. Recognizing Complex Cognition through Innovative Technology in Stone Age and Palaeolithic Sites. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23 (02), 163- 183. Wadley, L., 2015. Those marvellous millennia: the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 50(2), pp.155-226. Wadley, L., Sievers, C., Bamford, M., Goldberg, P., Berna, F., Miller, M., 2011. Middle Stone Age bedding construction and settlement patterns at Sibudu, South Africa. Science 334, 1388-1391. Wurz, S. 2012. The significance of MIS 5 shell midddens on the cape coast - a lithic perspective from Klasies River and Ysterfontein 1. Quaternary International 270: 61-69. Wurz, S. 2013. Technological trends in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa between MIS 7 and MIS 3. Current Anthropology, 54 (S8), S305-S319. Wurz, S. 2016. New investigations at Klasies River. The Digging Stick. 33(3): 7-10. Wurz, S. Bentsen, S. Van Pletzen-Vos, L., Reynard, J. Brenner M., Mentzer, S., Pickering, R. Green, H.E. submitted Connections, culture and environments 100 000 years ago at Klasies River main site, Quaternary International.
 
 

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