Elands Bay Cave

Elands Bay Cave is located near the mouth of the Verlorenvlei estuary on the Atlantic coast of South Africa's Western Cape Province. The climate has continuously become drier since the habitation of hunter-gatherers in the Later Pleistocene. The archaeological remains recovered from previous excavations at Elands Bay Cave have been studied to help answer questions regarding the relationship of people and their landscape, the role of climate change that could have determined or influenced subsistence changes, and the impact of pastoralism and agriculture on hunter-gatherer communities.

Renowned archaeologist John Parkington excavated Elands Bay Cave in the 1970s providing vast information of the cave's inhabitants. Parkington frequently used methods of comparing various characteristics in his findings in order to highlight phases of transformations at Elands Bay Cave. Other archaeologists and specialists have analyzed the findings from Parkington. Parkington, Cartwright, Cowling, Baxter, and Meadows (2000), analyzed wood charcoal and pollen data from Elands Bay Cave to explain the environmental change. Klein, in 2001 studied fossil remains and faunal data to indicate hunter-gatherer behavioral and cultural adaptations. In 1999, Cowling, Cartwright, Parkington, & Allsopp researched wood charcoal in order to explain environmental changes. Woodborne, Hart, & Parkington (1995) researched seal bones to construct the timing and the duration of hunter-gatherer coastal journeys. Orton (2006) examined raw materials to produce a lithic sequence for the Later Stone Age in Elands Bay Cave. Lastly, Matthews (1999) used taphonomy and previous research by Peter Andrews to understand the formation and interpretation of micromammals at Elands Bay Cave.

The coastline of Elands Bay Cave has changed dramatically since the end of the Ice Age. A coastal plain once extended some 20 km west of Elands Bay Cave into the sea. Heavier rainfall and different ocean levels allowed Elands Bay Cave to be a lush environment in the past. Testing of faunal remains, bones, and wood charcoals provided evidence of wetter conditions in the terminal Pleistocene. During that time, the environment consisted of colder weather with heavier rain fall which created vegetation that was different than it is today. Now, it has become a drier environment with different species residing there. Rainfall from 9,600 to 13,600 years ago produced 400 mm comparable to today's 300 mm. More recent environmental conditions near Elands Bay Cave are characteristic of mild weather with an approximated 200–250 mm per year of rainfall occurring every winter. Elands Bay Cave is in close proximity (approximately 3 kilometers) to a rich intertidal environment supporting numerous shellfish species, sea birds, kelp beds, and marine mammals.

Over time, the climatic atmosphere near Elands Bay Cave became drier and the soil conditions turned to sand. Dense shrubs are maintained by older sand creating patches of subtropical plants in the area. These environmental changes resulted in a reduction of available resources such as fresh water, mussels, and shellfish.

Transitions from the last glaciation to the Holocene had a significant impact on the type of vegetation and wildlife that could be supported along the southern coast. Researchers suggest that because of increased aridity, the inhabitants of Elands Bay Cave abandoned the site and migrated elsewhere. Lack of archaeological remains concerning the dates of 8,000 to 4,400 and 4,000 BP support the theory of an occupation hiatus during these time frames.

Archaeological excavations at Elands Bay Cave began in the 1970s. Scientific interest has focused on investigating coastal changes, subsistence and seasonal mobility. Faunal remains representing the time period of 13.600-12.000 years ago were left behind by the cave's occupants. The majority of the faunal assemblage consists of grazing animals and is indicative of a grassland environment. The faunal remains were examined and compared to collections at the South Africa Museum in Cape Town. Few marine specimens were recovered from this time span and is indicative of the 12 km distance from the cave to the coast. Cartwright and Parkington (1997) excavated 6,700 fragments of wood charcoal that were retrieved through dry sieving large soil samples of 39 collections. Excavation of wood charcoal and pollen in the cave suggests that last glacial maximum had wetter conditions with lush forests and Afromontane elements 20,000 years ago. There were also varieties of charcoal tested from 20,000, 13,500, and 10,500 years ago. Researchers have also analyzed micromammals, such as mice, as paleoenvironmental indicators. Micromammal remains were encountered during excavations and occur throughout the units dating from 13,260 to 300 years before present. The micromammal specimens were recovered using 12mm and 3mm sieves, however, the researchers comment that this mesh size was likely too large to account for smaller faunal remains. Understanding the taphonomic processes that contributed to the deposition of the micromammal remains at Elands Bay Cave is important because it has identified a number of predators likely responsible for the accumulation of faunal material. that became a great tool for formation of micromammal collection. Excavations in Elands Bay Cave and surrounding areas support a hypothesis of migration in winter months. Assemblages of shellfish findings portray that the theory of shellfish changing in size during prehistoric times because of environment was overthrown and was replaced by consuming large amounts of shellfish at the time. Observations and excavations were done in Elands Bay Cave in order to properly identify species of fish bones with accurate representation in specific levels. Excavations that were conducted from 1970 to 1978 in Elands Bay Cave concluded that there was a stratified sequence of deposits that dated to the late Pleistocene. Between 8000 and 6000 years ago, the rise in sea level eventually resulted in the present location of Elands Bay Cave now on the coast. Excavations after 4,000 BP revealed there were 13 different species of fish represented at the site, 6 of which are still found today in the aquatic milieus. These findings supported the conclusion that due to the close proximity to the coast, fishing activities were the dominant subsistence strategy practiced by the people who occupied Elands Bay Cave. With the coastline in its present-day location by about 6000 years ago, the inhabitants of the cave were thus in a favorable location to exploit marine resources.

There are 60 radiocarbon dates that represent activity during the Holocene, a large part of the terminal Pleistocene, and also the last glacial maximum. Stratigraphy dating and the Middle Stone Age artifacts are at the base, then ashy loam's before 20,000 years ago BP, lastly topped with shell middens. Upper shell middens range from 3,800 to 300 BP, though there was a disturbance of accumulation from 7,900 years ago that stopped for about 4,000 years. Around 11,000 to 9,000 years ago the terrestrial fauna began to change. Shell middens from the Holocene are on top of Pleistocene soil that was accumulated from the last glacial period. Prior to 9,000 BP, seals do not appear to be seasonal at Elands Bay Cave. The seal collection was divided into two collections: upper ranging from 1,400 BP and lower ranging from 10,000 BP to 9,500 BP. Charcoal that was 40,000 years old was studied. Proteoid fynbos was able to be harvested because of improved soils in 12,450 BP to 13,600 BP. In the terminal Pleistocene, approximately 16,000 to 8,000 years ago, ostrich egg shells and animal bones were introduced to the cave. Establishment of non-micro lithic industry was discovered to be from 10,000 BP continuing on to 8900 BP. It is found that major increase of formal tools took place in 9,500 BP. The transitions of tool assemblages in Elands Bay Cave are assumed to be from 8,800 to 8,500 BP. In 8,000 BP Holocene, Elands Bay Cave had microlithics for the first time. Radiocarbon dates indicate that Albany Industry was in use circa 13,000 and 9,000 BP.

Elands Bay Cave is perceived as the central site because it includes the largest sample sizes and covers more time spans. Elands Bay Cave has been used at different times for various purposes; evidence found at the cave suggests that there is a series of overlapping events that are in no constant order. The research that has been done in the cave concludes that people lived there around 4,400 to 3,000 years ago and that hunting and gathering activities persisted until the 17th century AD. Migration patterns were found due to shell midden evidence from marine resources archaeologists found displaying exploitation from that time. All the research contributes in various ways of monitoring stratigraphic anomalies within Elands Bay Cave.