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Boomplaas Cave
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Boomplaas Cave
Boomplaas Cave is located in the Cango Valley in the foothills of the Swartberg mountain range, north of Oudtshoorn, Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It has a 5 m (16 ft) deep stratified archaeological sequence that spans the past 60,000 to 80,000 years, representing discontinuous occupations and hunter-gatherer/herder acculturation. The cave has served multiple functions during its occupation, such as a kraal (enclosure) for animals, a place for the storage of oil rich fruits, and as a home-base for hunter-gatherers. The site's documentation contributed to the reconstruction of palaeo-environments in the context of changes in climate within periods of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Faunal remains and plant material have also been used to reconstruct the diets of the sites occupants. Stone Age adzes have been found at the site, along with lithics from the Wilton, Albany, Robberg, Howiesons Poort industries. Other notable finds include painted marker stones and pottery.
The excavation of Boomplaas Cave A was conducted by H.J. Deacon (in affiliation with the University of Stellenbosch) from 1974 to 1979 as part of an archaeological and palaeo-ecological study to provide information on changes in vegetation and fauna, the cultural sequence, and the function of the cave in the area. This project was associated with excavations at the Klasies River and sites between the Cape Fold Mountains and the coast. Boomplaas was selected as the site for investigation due to its extensive stratigraphic sequence of human occupation during the Holocene and Upper Pleistocene and it being a limestone cave with conditions favorable for preserving bone.
The early research executed by H.J. Deacon and his collaborators and the ongoing excavation efforts produce a chronology of the cave's nonoccupational and occupational layers, complete with evaluations of the botanical remains, faunal remains, and the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) lithic assemblages found at the site.
Until recently, the older layers at Boomplaas could not be dated due to the time cap for radiocarbon dating, prompting a need for alternative dating methods at the site.
The members associated with the Howieson's Poort technocomplex were dated using amino acid racemization (AAR) on ostrich eggshell beads. Ostrich egg shells were selected as the cultural material to date with AAR as they were thought to represent a closed amino acid system. This dating method at the site was an effort to provide context for the Howiesons Poort Industry and its date ranges beyond the limited capacity of radiocarbon dating. For the OLP member, a date range of 40 ka to 48 ka with a range of 50 ka to 62 ka for the Howiesons Poort assemblages. However, these results were controversial as there was a low sample size of ostrich eggshell at Boomplaas. A linear fit calibration was completed in the same publication to account for the potential error in the results, placing the date range at 59 ka to 71 ka.
Uranium series analysis was conducted on dripstone at the site in an attempt to date the Howiesons Poort OCH member of Boomplaas. Using this dating method, uranium and thorium isotopes were evaluated in a small stalagmite uncovered in the OCH member. This dating method produced an age range for the Howiesons Poort technocomplex of 60 ka to 70 ka.
The most recent dating efforts using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C14 provide new dates for all members excluding BOL through LOH, contextualizing occupation intensity and technological adaptation at the site. The AMS dates and previous C14 dates were modeled using Bayesian statistical methods and Deacon's established stratigraphic sequences. Occupation intensity was gauged by comparing the stone tool frequency, associated material, and the age of each depositional layer.
The formation process for Boomplaas Cave is slow, resulting from a combination of washed in silts and sand and the natural weathering of limestone. The age of the members range from the Late Pleistocene to the 19th century, with the deposition of sediments occurring at a rate of 50 mm per one thousand years. Boomplaas has a current cave floor size of 225 m2, which has decreased in the far past because of roof collapse. The stratigraphy of the Boomplaas deposits is documented in sets of broadly contemporary layers (members), individual layers (units) and parts of layers (sub-units). The members recognized in the Boomplaas sequence are described as follows, from the top to bottom:
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Boomplaas Cave
Boomplaas Cave is located in the Cango Valley in the foothills of the Swartberg mountain range, north of Oudtshoorn, Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It has a 5 m (16 ft) deep stratified archaeological sequence that spans the past 60,000 to 80,000 years, representing discontinuous occupations and hunter-gatherer/herder acculturation. The cave has served multiple functions during its occupation, such as a kraal (enclosure) for animals, a place for the storage of oil rich fruits, and as a home-base for hunter-gatherers. The site's documentation contributed to the reconstruction of palaeo-environments in the context of changes in climate within periods of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Faunal remains and plant material have also been used to reconstruct the diets of the sites occupants. Stone Age adzes have been found at the site, along with lithics from the Wilton, Albany, Robberg, Howiesons Poort industries. Other notable finds include painted marker stones and pottery.
The excavation of Boomplaas Cave A was conducted by H.J. Deacon (in affiliation with the University of Stellenbosch) from 1974 to 1979 as part of an archaeological and palaeo-ecological study to provide information on changes in vegetation and fauna, the cultural sequence, and the function of the cave in the area. This project was associated with excavations at the Klasies River and sites between the Cape Fold Mountains and the coast. Boomplaas was selected as the site for investigation due to its extensive stratigraphic sequence of human occupation during the Holocene and Upper Pleistocene and it being a limestone cave with conditions favorable for preserving bone.
The early research executed by H.J. Deacon and his collaborators and the ongoing excavation efforts produce a chronology of the cave's nonoccupational and occupational layers, complete with evaluations of the botanical remains, faunal remains, and the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) lithic assemblages found at the site.
Until recently, the older layers at Boomplaas could not be dated due to the time cap for radiocarbon dating, prompting a need for alternative dating methods at the site.
The members associated with the Howieson's Poort technocomplex were dated using amino acid racemization (AAR) on ostrich eggshell beads. Ostrich egg shells were selected as the cultural material to date with AAR as they were thought to represent a closed amino acid system. This dating method at the site was an effort to provide context for the Howiesons Poort Industry and its date ranges beyond the limited capacity of radiocarbon dating. For the OLP member, a date range of 40 ka to 48 ka with a range of 50 ka to 62 ka for the Howiesons Poort assemblages. However, these results were controversial as there was a low sample size of ostrich eggshell at Boomplaas. A linear fit calibration was completed in the same publication to account for the potential error in the results, placing the date range at 59 ka to 71 ka.
Uranium series analysis was conducted on dripstone at the site in an attempt to date the Howiesons Poort OCH member of Boomplaas. Using this dating method, uranium and thorium isotopes were evaluated in a small stalagmite uncovered in the OCH member. This dating method produced an age range for the Howiesons Poort technocomplex of 60 ka to 70 ka.
The most recent dating efforts using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C14 provide new dates for all members excluding BOL through LOH, contextualizing occupation intensity and technological adaptation at the site. The AMS dates and previous C14 dates were modeled using Bayesian statistical methods and Deacon's established stratigraphic sequences. Occupation intensity was gauged by comparing the stone tool frequency, associated material, and the age of each depositional layer.
The formation process for Boomplaas Cave is slow, resulting from a combination of washed in silts and sand and the natural weathering of limestone. The age of the members range from the Late Pleistocene to the 19th century, with the deposition of sediments occurring at a rate of 50 mm per one thousand years. Boomplaas has a current cave floor size of 225 m2, which has decreased in the far past because of roof collapse. The stratigraphy of the Boomplaas deposits is documented in sets of broadly contemporary layers (members), individual layers (units) and parts of layers (sub-units). The members recognized in the Boomplaas sequence are described as follows, from the top to bottom:
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