Late Pleistocene and Holocene fauna from Waterfall Bluff Rock Shelter, Mpondoland, South Africa

Sandee Oster; Jerome P. Reynard; Hayley C. Cawthra; Irene Esteban; Justin Pargeter; Eric C. Fisher

doi:10.17159/sajs.2024/17449

Authors

Sandee Oster School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4412-8682
Jerome P. Reynard School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7092-2188
Hayley C. Cawthra 1.African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa;2.Minerals and Energy Unit, Council for Geoscience, Cape Town, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6101-5543
Irene Esteban 1.African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa; 2.Archaeological and Archaeometric Research Unit of the University of Barcelona (ERAAUB), Department of History and Archaeology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 3.Institute of Archaeology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4850-1715
Justin Pargeter 1.Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA; 2.Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6536-8568
Eric C. Fisher 1.African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa; 2.Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; 3.Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal; 4.Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9499-6093

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2024/17449

Keywords:

palaeoenvironment, archaeozoology, Pleistocene–Holocene transition, Marine Isotope Stage 3, Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

Archaeological deposits from Waterfall Bluff Rock Shelter (Eastern Cape) span from Marine Isotope Stage 3 (~39–29 ka) to the mid-Holocene (~8 ka), showing persistent human occupations. The site’s consistent proximity to the shoreline and stable coastline over millennia makes it key for exploring human settlement patterns. This study reports on preliminary results of identifiable fauna from Marine Isotope Stage 3 to the Early Holocene layers at Waterfall Bluff. The identified species may suggest a mosaic environment, although caution is warranted given the small sample size. Furthermore, leopard seal remains were recovered in layers dating to the Last Glacial Maximum. This is the first direct evidence of a leopard seal recovered from Pleistocene and Holocene archaeo-faunal assemblages along the South African coast.
Significance:
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sites are rare in southern Africa. Waterfall Bluff in the Eastern Cape shows that human occupation persisted there from Marine Isotope Stage 3 to the mid-Holocene. A leopard seal tooth was identified in the LGM layers, making it the first evidence of this species recovered off South Africa’s coast.