Overview
Members of the Geoarchaeology Working Group have been studying the formation processes in Middle and Later Stone Age sites located in caves and rockshelters in South Africa since the early 2000’s. Some of our projects are completed while others are still active. Individual excavations are funded by a variety of sources and include dozens of collaborators from around the world. Our work has resulted in two MSc theses at the University of Tübingen, and has contributed to four PhD theses with several more student projects ongoing. Sample collection from more than 10 archaeological localities has produced a rich archive of cave and rockshelter sediments that now allows us to study broader regional patterns in site formation and paleoenvironments, human activities (food processing, use of fire, waste disposal…etc.), and post-depositional processes.
Coastal cave settings
A number of caves and rockshelters are located in close proximity to the modern coastline. These include Elands Bay Cave, Diepkloof Rockshelter, the Klipdrift site complex, Blombos Cave, and the site complexes of Klasies River. Our work at these sites includes observations that can be related to sea level changes in the past, including sediment input from local beaches and dunes, salt-induced weathering and contribution of sea spray to secondary mineral formations, occupation of the sites by coastal birds, and human exploitation of coastal resources.
Inland cave settings
Inland caves and rockshelters also provide opportunities to study how humans utilized a variety of environments in the past. Examples of our former and current projects in these types of sites include Rose Cottage Cave, Bushman Rockshelter and Boomplaas.
Anthropogenic deposits
We use archaeological micromorphology to document the traces of human activities, which can range from mm-thick surfaces prepared from plant material to middens that are more than one meter thick and many meters in diameter. Our work on pyroarchaeology has applications in all South African sites. We utilize observations of different components in stratigraphic sequence supplemented with molecular analyses in order to determine whether combustion residues are in primary or secondary position. For example, we look for an association of a heated substrate overlain by burned materials such as ash, charcoal and heated bones and shell to indicate the presence of a hearth. In contrast, a mix of heated materials with other not heated components might indicate a secondary context such as an ash dump or midden. Experimental work aids in these interpretations.
Diagenesis
Mild chemical diagenesis of archaeological materials occurs in all caves and rockshelters to some extent, typically expressed in the decomposition of organic components. In limestone caves and rockshelters, archaeological materials such as bones, marine shells, and wood ashes are often well-preserved due to the relatively high pH of the water that enters the site and collects on the cave floor. In caves formed in other types of rock, such as sandstone and quartzite, water pH levels are closer to neutral, and dissolution of ashes and shell is a common process. When caves of any type are also occupied by animals such as bats and birds, fecal materials can accumulate and their breakdown can induce dissolution of archaeological materials and formation of secondary sulfate and phosphate minerals.
We utilize a number of different strategies for documenting the formation of secondary sulfate and phosphate minerals in South African archaeological deposits. In the field, we conduct on-site Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses of loose sediment, bones and mineral nodules that have formed within the site in order to match spectra to our reference libraries of common archaeological minerals. Additional mineral identifications can also be accomplished in the laboratory using x-ray diffraction. Analyses using micro-x-ray fluorescence or scanning electron microscopy aid in understanding the elemental composition and crystal habit of secondary minerals. Finally, archaeological micromorphology contributes observations of the relationship between the primary sediment and archaeological features and the secondary minerals that have formed in place. Combining all of these observations allows us to reconstruct the past micro-environments within the caves and rockshelters.
Selected publications
Mentzer, S.M. (2023). A review of micromorphology and microarchaeological methods applied to African Stone Age sites. Beyin, A., Wright, D.K., Wilkins, J., Olszewski, D.L. (eds.) Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa: Hominin behavior, geography, and chronology. Springer. 1885-1906.
Morrissey, P., Mentzer, S.M. and Wurz, S., 2023. The stratigraphy and formation of Middle Stone Age deposits in Cave 1B, Klasies River Main site, South Africa, with implications for the context, age, and cultural association of the KRM 41815/SAM-AP 6222 human mandible. Journal of Human Evolution, 183: 103414.
Morrissey, P., Mentzer, S.M. and Wurz, S., 2022. A critical review of the stratigraphic context of the MSA I and II at Klasies River Main site, South Africa. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 5(1): 5.
Wurz, S., Pickering, R. and Mentzer, S.M., 2022. U-Th dating, taphonomy, and taxonomy of shell middens at Klasies River main site indicate stable and systematic coastal exploitation by MIS 5c-d. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10: 1001370.
Haaland, M.M., Strauss, A.M., Velliky, E.C., Mentzer, S.M., Miller, C.E., van Niekerk, K.L. and Henshilwood, C.S., 2021. Hidden in plain sight: A microanalytical study of a Middle Stone Age ochre piece trapped inside a micromorphological block sample. Geoarchaeology, 36(2): 283-313.
Haaland, M.M., Miller, C.E., Unhammer, O.F., Reynard, J.P., van Niekerk, K.L., Ligouis, B., Mentzer, S.M. and Henshilwood, C.S., 2021. Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4. Quaternary Research, 100: 170-223.
Larbey, C., Mentzer, S.M., Ligouis, B., Wurz, S. and Jones, M.K., 2019. Cooked starchy food in hearths ca. 120 kya and 65 kya (MIS 5e and MIS 4) from Klasies River Cave, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 131: 210-227.
Porraz, G., Val, A., Tribolo, C., Mercier, N., de La Peña, P., Haaland, M.M., Igreja, M., Miller, C.E. and Schmid, V.C., 2018. The MIS5 Pietersburg at ‘28’Bushman Rock Shelter, Limpopo Province, South Africa. PLoS One, 13(10): e0202853.
Miller, C.E., Berthold, C., Mentzer, S.M., Leach, P., Ligouis, B., Tribolo, C., Parkington, J. and Porraz, G., 2016. Site-formation processes at Elands Bay Cave, South Africa. Southern African Humanities, 29(1): 69-128.
Miller, C.E., Goldberg, P. and Berna, F., 2013. Geoarchaeological investigations at diepkloof rock shelter, western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(9): 3432-3452.
Miller, C.E. and Sievers, C., 2012. An experimental micromorphological investigation of bedding construction in the Middle Stone Age of Sibudu, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 39(10): 3039-3051.
Wadley, L., Sievers, C., Bamford, M., Goldberg, P., Berna, F. and Miller, C., 2011. Middle Stone Age bedding construction and settlement patterns at Sibudu, South Africa. Science, 334(6061): 1388-1391.
Goldberg, P., Miller, C.E., Schiegl, S., Ligouis, B., Berna, F., Conard, N.J. and Wadley, L., 2009. Bedding, hearths, and site maintenance in the Middle Stone age of Sibudu cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 1: 95-122.
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