%0 Journal article %A Klein, Richard G. %I South African Archaeological Society %D 1986 %G English %@ 0304-3460 %~ Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kunstbibliothek %T The Prehistory of Stone Age Herders in the Cape Province of South Africa %V 5 %J Goodwin Series %V 5 %P 5-12 %U https://www.jstor.org/stable/3858140 %X

Excavations at Kasteelberg, Die Kelders, Byneskranskop, Nelson Bay, Boomplaas and other sites show that domestic stock and pottery were introduced to the western and southern Cape at or shortly after 2000 BP, the exact time perhaps depending on the place. An equally early (or even earlier) introduction may have occurred in the northern Cape, but the oldest secure dates for stock and pottery there are presently in the 1200-1100 BP range. The earliest Cape stock and pottery certainly originated somewhere to the north, perhaps in northern Botswana and adjacent Zimbabwe, and their spread southwards was probably initiated by the expansion of Iron Age mixed farmers from East Africa into south-central Africa shortly before 2000 BP. The best documented stock in western and southern Cape archaeological sites are sheep. Cattle occur much less often and may have been introduced somewhat later than sheep (?1600-1500 BP). Goats are totally unknown from prehistoric sites in the south-western and southern Cape, but may have been relatively abundant in the north-western Cape, at least after 800 BP. In most sites where stock occur, indigenous animals are also well represented, probably because the site occupants also engaged in hunting and gathering. In some cases, the occupants may in fact have been hunter-gatherers who acquired domestic stock by theft. Among known sites where the occupants were probably true herders, the Kasteelberg open-air middens may prove to be the most informative. From the large, well-preserved bone samples that Andrew Smith is excavating at these sites, it should be possible to reconstruct important aspects of local prehistoric herder economy and ecology, including flock-management practices and the pattern of seasonal transhumance.

%Z https://katalog.skd.museum/Record/ai-55-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanN0b3Iub3JnL3N0YWJsZS8zODU4MTQw %U https://katalog.skd.museum/Record/ai-55-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanN0b3Iub3JnL3N0YWJsZS8zODU4MTQw