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Melkhoutboom Cave
Melkhoutboom Cave is an archaeological site dating to the Later Stone Age, located in the Zuurberg Mountains, Cape Folded Mountain Belt, in the Addo Elephant National Park, Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Investigation of Melkhoutboom Cave and other sites in the Eastern Cape Province was spurred by earlier archaeological discoveries, including the discovery in the 1850s by Thomas Holden Bowker of a number of stone artefacts at the mouth of the Great Fish River, about 120 km (74.6 mi) southeast of the cave. John Hewitt, the director of the Albany Museum in Grahamstown from 1910 to 1958, excavated over twenty caves and rock shelters in the area – including an excavation at Melkhoutboom from 1930 to 1931 – and published his findings in a number of papers, which attracted the interest of collectors and helped to build up a large collection of artefacts at the museum. In 1963 Hilary Deacon of the Albany Museum initiated a research project “The Prehistory of the Eastern Cape” as a means of continuing Hewitt's research and evaluating the collection of artefacts his research had helped to amass. The project involved the excavation of a number of rock shelters in the Grahamstown area, including Wilton Large Rockshelter and Cave, Glen Craig, Roodekrantz, and Spitzkop. Hewitt himself was also involved in excavations at Melkhoutboom, as well as Middelkop, Tefelburg Hall, and several sites near the Kabeljous River Mouth.
One of the main focuses of the "Prehistory of the Eastern Cape" research project was analysing the subsistence ecology of human populations of the early Holocene era in southern Africa. The information gained from Hewitt's work, specifically the excavations at Melkhoutboom Cave in 1967 and 1969, were an important factor in steering the program's focus in this direction.
Melkhoutboom Cave is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, about 80 kilometres north of the coastal city of Port Elizabeth and about 160 km (99.4 mi) northeast of the Klasies River Mouth, the location of another important South African archaeological site. The cave is situated within a steep ravine in the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, a range of mountains that marks the boundary between the more tropical ecological zone of the inland Karoo and the coastal plain.
The Eastern Cape can be divided into four main geographic areas: the coastal strip, the coastal plain, the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, and the Karoo-Cape Midlands. The coastal strip consists mostly of sand beaches bordered by dunes to the north. There is little vegetation, and subsistence in this area during the Later Stone Age was probably mainly shellfish – as evidenced by the abundance of shell middens dating to within the last 12,000 years – as well as fish, crustaceans, great white sharks, and birds. The coastal plain is a strip of land approximately 35 km (21.7 mi) wide, beginning at the edge of the coastal strip[clarification needed] and rising to an elevation of 300 m (980 ft) at the base of the Cape Folded Mountain Belt. This area is mainly grassland and shrubland, with many succulents and other edible plants and shrubs. The Cape Folded Mountain Belt runs east–west across the Cape, dividing the coastal plain and the Karoo-Cape Midlands. This area contains grassland, shrubland, fynbos, and scree forest, all with a variety of vegetation; the fauna is also varied, including antelope (including grysbok, duiker, and bushbuck), wild pigs, and other small- to medium-sized mammals. The Karoo-Cape Midlands is located inland of the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, sloping upward toward the Great Escarpment at the southern end of the Karoo Basin. This area has a much drier climate than the zones farther south; severe droughts are common, and this was likely the case in the Middle Stone Age as well, affecting habitability in this area. A variety of large mammals, such as rhinoceros, elephants, hippopotamus, wildebeest, eland, and large antelope, used to inhabit this area but have since migrated or gone extinct due to changes in indigenous vegetation caused by overgrazing.
Melkhoutboom Cave is located about 35 km (21.7 mi) from the coast in the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, inside a steep, forested ravine that runs north to south along the northernmost ridge of the Suurberg Range and ends at the Beans River. The environment within the ravine can be described as evergreen temperate forest, and there is a diverse assortment of vegetation throughout the ravine and the surrounding area, including tall trees throughout the ravine and surrounding the opening of the cave, which is about 6 meters above the floor of the ravine.
The cave itself is about 14 m (46 ft) wide at its entrance, and about 14 m (46 ft) deep at its deepest point, with a domed roof 6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft). The potential area that could be occupied within the cave measures about 150 m2 (1,600 sq ft). At the back of the main cave is a higher, smaller cave that shows some evidence of occupation in the form of ash and scattered artefacts, but has not been excavated.
Melkhoutboom Cave was first excavated in 1930 by John Hewitt, whose findings prompted it to be included in the Albany Museum's “Prehistory of the Eastern Cape” project, initiated in 1963. Excavations took place at the cave as part of this project in 1967 and 1969. The initial small-scale excavation of a 3 m × 1 m (9.8 ft × 3.3 ft) test pit in 1967 was conducted to confirm and clarify the findings from Hewitt's original excavation in the early 1930s. The subsequent excavation in 1969 was planned based on this initial excavation, extending and building upon it. Both excavations used the same grid system running north–south and east–west.
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Melkhoutboom Cave
Melkhoutboom Cave is an archaeological site dating to the Later Stone Age, located in the Zuurberg Mountains, Cape Folded Mountain Belt, in the Addo Elephant National Park, Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Investigation of Melkhoutboom Cave and other sites in the Eastern Cape Province was spurred by earlier archaeological discoveries, including the discovery in the 1850s by Thomas Holden Bowker of a number of stone artefacts at the mouth of the Great Fish River, about 120 km (74.6 mi) southeast of the cave. John Hewitt, the director of the Albany Museum in Grahamstown from 1910 to 1958, excavated over twenty caves and rock shelters in the area – including an excavation at Melkhoutboom from 1930 to 1931 – and published his findings in a number of papers, which attracted the interest of collectors and helped to build up a large collection of artefacts at the museum. In 1963 Hilary Deacon of the Albany Museum initiated a research project “The Prehistory of the Eastern Cape” as a means of continuing Hewitt's research and evaluating the collection of artefacts his research had helped to amass. The project involved the excavation of a number of rock shelters in the Grahamstown area, including Wilton Large Rockshelter and Cave, Glen Craig, Roodekrantz, and Spitzkop. Hewitt himself was also involved in excavations at Melkhoutboom, as well as Middelkop, Tefelburg Hall, and several sites near the Kabeljous River Mouth.
One of the main focuses of the "Prehistory of the Eastern Cape" research project was analysing the subsistence ecology of human populations of the early Holocene era in southern Africa. The information gained from Hewitt's work, specifically the excavations at Melkhoutboom Cave in 1967 and 1969, were an important factor in steering the program's focus in this direction.
Melkhoutboom Cave is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, about 80 kilometres north of the coastal city of Port Elizabeth and about 160 km (99.4 mi) northeast of the Klasies River Mouth, the location of another important South African archaeological site. The cave is situated within a steep ravine in the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, a range of mountains that marks the boundary between the more tropical ecological zone of the inland Karoo and the coastal plain.
The Eastern Cape can be divided into four main geographic areas: the coastal strip, the coastal plain, the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, and the Karoo-Cape Midlands. The coastal strip consists mostly of sand beaches bordered by dunes to the north. There is little vegetation, and subsistence in this area during the Later Stone Age was probably mainly shellfish – as evidenced by the abundance of shell middens dating to within the last 12,000 years – as well as fish, crustaceans, great white sharks, and birds. The coastal plain is a strip of land approximately 35 km (21.7 mi) wide, beginning at the edge of the coastal strip[clarification needed] and rising to an elevation of 300 m (980 ft) at the base of the Cape Folded Mountain Belt. This area is mainly grassland and shrubland, with many succulents and other edible plants and shrubs. The Cape Folded Mountain Belt runs east–west across the Cape, dividing the coastal plain and the Karoo-Cape Midlands. This area contains grassland, shrubland, fynbos, and scree forest, all with a variety of vegetation; the fauna is also varied, including antelope (including grysbok, duiker, and bushbuck), wild pigs, and other small- to medium-sized mammals. The Karoo-Cape Midlands is located inland of the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, sloping upward toward the Great Escarpment at the southern end of the Karoo Basin. This area has a much drier climate than the zones farther south; severe droughts are common, and this was likely the case in the Middle Stone Age as well, affecting habitability in this area. A variety of large mammals, such as rhinoceros, elephants, hippopotamus, wildebeest, eland, and large antelope, used to inhabit this area but have since migrated or gone extinct due to changes in indigenous vegetation caused by overgrazing.
Melkhoutboom Cave is located about 35 km (21.7 mi) from the coast in the Cape Folded Mountain Belt, inside a steep, forested ravine that runs north to south along the northernmost ridge of the Suurberg Range and ends at the Beans River. The environment within the ravine can be described as evergreen temperate forest, and there is a diverse assortment of vegetation throughout the ravine and the surrounding area, including tall trees throughout the ravine and surrounding the opening of the cave, which is about 6 meters above the floor of the ravine.
The cave itself is about 14 m (46 ft) wide at its entrance, and about 14 m (46 ft) deep at its deepest point, with a domed roof 6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft). The potential area that could be occupied within the cave measures about 150 m2 (1,600 sq ft). At the back of the main cave is a higher, smaller cave that shows some evidence of occupation in the form of ash and scattered artefacts, but has not been excavated.
Melkhoutboom Cave was first excavated in 1930 by John Hewitt, whose findings prompted it to be included in the Albany Museum's “Prehistory of the Eastern Cape” project, initiated in 1963. Excavations took place at the cave as part of this project in 1967 and 1969. The initial small-scale excavation of a 3 m × 1 m (9.8 ft × 3.3 ft) test pit in 1967 was conducted to confirm and clarify the findings from Hewitt's original excavation in the early 1930s. The subsequent excavation in 1969 was planned based on this initial excavation, extending and building upon it. Both excavations used the same grid system running north–south and east–west.