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Despite the wealth of Late Pleistocene archaeology that exists across southern Africa's open landscape, it is routinely neglected in favour of rock shelter (re)excavation, biasing interpretation of human–environment interaction. This is compounded by the scarcity of open-air studies that use geoarchaeological methods to investigate the history and processes involved in their formation. The open-air archaeology of the Doring River Valley is an example of this, despite nearly a decade of dedicated study and publication. Consequently, there remains a limited and untested understanding of the valley's formation history. This paper rectifies this by providing a sedimentary context for the surface archaeology exposed across one of the Doring River Valley's artefact-baring localities, Uitspankraal 7 (UPK7). Characterisation, particle size, mineralogical, morphometric, and geophysical analysis of UPK7′s sand mantle resulted in the identification of four artefact-bearing sedimentary units, the aeolian and pedogenic processes involved in their formation, and their proposed order of deposition. This provides a stratigraphic, taphonomic, and environmental context against which chronometric dating and an analysis of the taphonomic, spatio-temporal, and technological composition of UPK7′s surface archaeology can be compared. This work is the first vital step towards understanding the depositional and behavioural history of a landscape, irrespective of context type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the first excavations into two Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits in southern Namaqualand. The limestone shelters afforded excellent preservation, and the LSA sites contained material similar in many respects to shelters in the Cederberg range to the south. Deposition at both sites was discontinuous with a mid-Holocene pulse in Buzz Shelter followed by contact-period deposits over a total depth of some 0.45 m. In Reception Shelter the 1.40 m deposit yielded a basal age in the fifth to eighth centuries BC with pottery and domestic cow contained within a strong pulse of occupation just above this. The deposit then reflects another significant pulse in the terminal Holocene. A basal age of c. 24 000 BC suggests Pleistocene occupation of the area. Significant observations at both sites are that ostrich eggshell beads remain relatively small throughout, although those at Reception Shelter are somewhat larger, and that the typical prehistoric signature continued right through the contact period. Artefacts ascribed to a late Holocene industry so far only recognised on coastal sites were also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the Holocene climatic dynamics of South Africa's southern Cape, a region that supports a large proportion of the Greater Cape Floristic Region and contains an array of important archaeological sites. While South African climates are generally characterised by marked rainfall seasonality, the southern Cape is currently situated at the interface between tropical and temperate climate systems, resulting in a largely aseasonal rainfall regime. This regime, however, is thought to have been particularly sensitive to past changes in late Quaternary boundary conditions, meaning that variability in either tropical or temperate systems could have significant environmental impacts. Evidence of past climate change, however, remains limited. We present a 9000-year record of hydroclimatic variability obtained from rock hyrax midden stable nitrogen records, from Papkuilsfontein, on the southern slope of the Anysberg Mountains. Resolved to an average 6-year resolution and spanning the period c. 9050 cal yr BP to 1990 CE, this is the highest resolution Holocene record from southern Africa and presents a unique opportunity for the detailed study of the primary drivers and spatial gradients of Holocene climate change in the southern Cape. The data indicate a long-term decrease in aridity across the Holocene and a pattern of variability that reveals remarkable similarities with records from the South African tropics and El Niño–Southern Oscillation proxies, highlighting the significance of tropical systems as drivers of Holocene climate change in the region. This substantially expands what has been previously considered to be the zone of tropical influence, extending from a coastal phenomenon associated with heat transport via the Agulhas Current to encompass much, if not all, of the Agulhas Plain south of the Cape Fold Mountains. These findings provide a valuable new climatic framework for contextualizing changes in ecological and archaeological records in the southern Cape, and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of climate systems in southern Africa. • Sub-decadal 9000-year record of aridity from South Africa's southern Cape. • Reveals dominance of tropical forcing across the southern Cape and Agulhas Plain. • ENSO variability indicated to be important driver of regional climate change. • Presents high-resolution framework for study of human-environment interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental and long-standing question of southern African palaeoclimatology is the way tropical and temperate climate system dynamics have influenced rainfall regimes across the subcontinent since the Last glacial maximum. In this paper, we analyse a selection of recently published palaeoclimate reconstructions along a southwest-northeast transect across South Africa. These records span the last 22,000 years, and encompass the transition between the region's winter and summer rainfall zones. In synthesis, these records confirm broad elements of the dominant paradigm, which proposes an inverse coeval relationship between temperate and tropical systems, with increased precipitation in the winter (summer) rainfall zone during glacial (interglacial) periods. Revealed, however, is a substantially more complex dynamic, with millennial-scale climate change events being strongly – even predominantly – influenced by the interaction and combination of temperate and tropical systems. This synoptic forcing can create same sign anomalies across the South African rainfall zones, contrary to expectations based on the classic model of phase opposition. These findings suggest a new paradigm for the interpretation of southern African palaeoenvironmental records that moves beyond simple binary or additive influences of these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassridge Rock Shelter in the Eastern Cape presents an important opportunity for understanding social networks and mobility among Pleistocene and Holocene inhabitants of the interior of southern Africa. Pulsed occupations at the site span the Late Pleistocene through mid-Holocene and provide insight into human behaviour during periods of significant climatic change in the region. In this study, we report on the large mammal remains from the Terminal Pleistocene (c. 13.5–11.6 ka) and mid-Holocene (c. 7.3–6.7 ka) occupations recovered from the 2014–2016 excavation seasons. The range of ungulate taxa indicates that the environment surrounding the site was predominantly grassland interspersed with woodland thickets during both the Terminal Pleistocene and mid-Holocene. The results show no significant changes in the proportions of browsers, grazers and mixed feeders over time. The abundance of waterdependant ungulates such as reedbuck suggests the presence of a reliable water source near the site. Covarying proportions of small mammals and tortoises from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene hint at changes in subsistence patterns over time.We also report on a possible extinct Megalotragus (giant wildebeest) specimen recovered from the Holocene layers. Overall, faunal and archaeological evidence from Grassridge Rock Shelter points to the periodic use of the site possibly linked to seasonal occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area around Elands Bay and the adjacent interior landscapes west of the Doring River have been subject to intense archaeological investigation over the last ∼50 years. The result is a region with great depth and diversity of archaeological information. In this paper I discuss three general observations that arise from the integration of data across this region. The first is that redundancy in site occupation is limited: even where many sites are excavated in a small area, understanding of the regional sequence cannot be assumed to be complete. The second is that humans did not live in rock shelters: a focus on rock shelters alone, even where these are abundant, produces a skewed picture of occupational and demographic histories. The third is that the coast and its hinterland are intimately bound: interaction between the two zones is variable, and even where it is limited this observation is important to the understanding of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's southwestern Cape occupies a critical transition zone between Southern Hemisphere temperate (winter) and tropical (summer) moisture-bearing systems. In the recent geological past, it has been proposed that the relative influence of these systems may have changed substantially, but little reliable evidence regarding regional hydroclimates and rainfall seasonality exists to refine or substantiate the understanding of long-term dynamics. In this paper we present a mid-to late Holocene multi-proxy record of environmental change from a rock hyrax midden from Katbakkies Pass, located along the modern boundary between the winter and summer rainfall zones. Derived from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, fossil pollen and microcharcoal, these data provide a high resolution record of changes in humidity, and insight into changes in rainfall seasonality. Whereas previous work concluded that the site had generally experienced only subtle environmental change during the Holocene, our records indicate that significant, abrupt changes have occurred in the region over the last 7000 years. Contrary to expectations based on the site's location, these data indicate that the primary determinant of changes in humidity is summer rather than winter rainfall variability, and its influence on drought season intensity and/or length. These findings are consistent with independent records of upwelling along the southern and western coasts, which indicate that periods of increased humidity are related to increased tropical easterly flow. This substantially refines our understanding of the nature of temperate and tropical circulation system dynamics in SW Africa, and how changes in their relative dominance have impacted regional environments during the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beachrocks are a common characteristic of tropical and subtropical coastlines. It is known that they have a substantial influence on beach morphodynamics and they are commonly utilised as indicators of palaeo‐sea levels. At the same time, facies variability in beachrocks is understudied and their effect on shoreline evolution is poorly understood. At Mission Rocks on the KwaZulu‐Natal coastline of South Africa a narrow beach with isolated sand patches occupies low points of an otherwise continuous 3 m thick, raised shore platform of sandy and gravelly beachrocks. These beachrocks are in the process of disintegrating into megagravel deposits through chemical and mechanical weathering in a wave‐dominated, high‐energy setting. The breakdown is potentially slowed by a contemporary, fast‐forming beachrock facies, that blankets the surface and fills fractures and potholes within the older platform. The accumulation and cementation of this recent beachrock is the focus of this study. The beachrock is dated by historical evidence to post‐World War II. Data from field observations, petrographic and geochemical methods reveal that the cementing agents of the beachrock were precipitated from marine water in a phreatic setting despite its position above the intertidal zone. Not only does this facies have implications for the interpretation of palaeo‐beachrock as a sea‐level indicator, it also raises further questions regarding modelling of coastal erosion of beaches associated with outcrops of beachrock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: South Africa's southern coastal margin is recognised as being a highly dynamic climatic region that plays a critical role in both regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulation dynamics. Our understanding of the past dynamics of this system, however, has been limited by the number and nature of datasets available that can be used to infer changes in key climatic parameters in the region. In this paper we present new high resolution δ13C and δ15N data from two independently dated rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) middens from Seweweekspoort in South Africa's Groot Swartberg mountains. These data provide information regarding both past vegetation and hydroclimatic change, and allow a regional integration of available data that explore the long-term dynamics of mid-latitude circulation systems in the African sector of the Southern Hemisphere. Combined, a negative relationship is apparent between temperature and humidity in this area of the southern Cape, and these changes can for the first time be clearly linked to variations in Antarctic sea-ice extent and shifts in the southern westerly storm track. This dynamic is particularly evident between 5 and 7 cal kBP, when a reduction in sea-ice extent and a southward shift of the westerlies are manifested regionally by increased temperatures and a phase of marked aridity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the first excavations into two Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits in southern Namaqualand. The limestone shelters afforded excellent preservation, and the LSA sites contained material similar in many respects to shelters in the Cederberg range to the south. Deposition at both sites was discontinuous with a mid-Holocene pulse in Buzz Shelter followed by contact-period deposits over a total depth of some 0.45 m. In Reception Shelter the 1.40 m deposit yielded a basal age in the fifth to eighth centuries BC with pottery and domestic cow contained within a strong pulse of occupation just above this. The deposit then reflects another significant pulse in the terminal Holocene. A basal age of c. 24 000 BC suggests Pleistocene occupation of the area. Significant observations at both sites are that ostrich eggshell beads remain relatively small throughout, although those at Reception Shelter are somewhat larger, and that the typical prehistoric signature continued right through the contact period. Artefacts ascribed to a late Holocene industry so far only recognised on coastal sites were also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews past and present distributions of murid (mice and rats) and soricid (shrew) species from the Pinnacle Point fossil sites PP5-6N, PP9C, PP13B, and PP30, as well as the coastal site of Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1. The positioning of these sites on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain resulted in the micromammal communities being exposed to rapid landmass changes through sea-level regressions and transgressions, as well as climatic and environmental fluctuations during glacial-interglacial cycling. Together, Pinnacle Point and Knysna preserve a composite coastal sequence from MIS 9 to MIS 1, and provide an opportunity to assess the long term sensitivity of micromammals to environmental change. Modern distributional information for the south coast region was obtained from owl pellet and small-carnivore scat assemblages, and extended the known current distributions of six murids. A uniform suite of micromammals was pervasive throughout all the fossil sites, during both glacial and inter-glacial cycling, and the composition of the majority of fossil micromammal assemblages remained unchanged, despite fluctuations in rainfall amount, seasonality, and the proportion of C3 versus C4 vegetation. This suggests an ability to adapt to, and cope with, climatic and environmental changes with relative ease. The fact that the fossil evidence indicates that many murid taxa occupied different ranges in the past, and, in some cases, had considerably more extensive ranges, and lived in a greater variety of habitats, raises a note of caution regarding using current biogeographies to elucidate palaeoenvironmental and climatic change, and for biogeographic and species distribution modelling. • The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain was populated by a unique flora and micromammalian fauna. • The micromammal population remained relatively unaffected by glacial-interglacial cycling. • Climate change cannot always be assumed to affect small mammal distributions. • The current biogeography of many micromammals differs to that of the past. • Current understanding of small mammal distributions is extremely poor and inaccurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain formed an important habitat exploited by Pleistocene hunter-gatherer populations during periods of lower sea level. This productive, grassy habitat would have supported numerous large-bodied ungulates accessible to a population of skilled hunters with the right hunting technology. It also provided a potentially rich location for plant food collection, and along its shores a coastline that moved with the rise and fall of sea levels. The rich archaeological and paleontological records of Pleistocene sites along the modern Cape south coast of South Africa, which would have overlooked the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain during Pleistocene times of lower sea level, provides a paleoarchive of this extinct ecosystem. In this paper, we present a first order illustration of the " palaeoscape modeling " approach advocated by Marean et al. (2015). We use a resourcescape model created from modern studies of habitat productivity without the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain. This is equivalent to predominant Holocene conditions before recent landscape modifications for farming. We then run an agent-based model of the human foraging system to investigate several research questions. Our agent-based approach uses the theoretical framework of optimal foraging theory to model human foraging decisions designed to optimize the net caloric gains within a complex landscape of spatially and temporally variable resources. We find that during the high sea-levels of MIS 5e (+5–6 m asl) and the Holocene, the absence of the Plain left a relatively poor food base supporting a much smaller population relying heavily on edible plant resources from the current Cape flora. Despite high species diversity of plants with edible storage organs, and marine invertebrates, encounter rates with highly profitable resources were low. We demonstrate that without the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, human populations must have been small and low-density, and exploited plant, mammal, and marine resources with relatively low caloric returns. The exposure and contraction of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain was likely the single biggest driver of behavioural change during periods of climate change through the Pleistocene and into the transition to the Holocene. • Agent-based model of Later Stone Age human foraging in coastal South Africa. • Reconstructed food resource landscape including mammals, shellfish, and plants. • Sustainable population is under 20 individuals/100 km^2. • Long foraging days (10 + hours per day) and small groups needed to survive. • Edible plants, including USOs, make up 80% or more of the diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strachan, K.L.; Hill, T.R.; Finch, J.M.; Barnett, R.L., and Frenzel, P., 2017. Distribution of salt-marsh foraminifera in two South African estuaries and the application as sea-level indicators. The global mean sea level is rising as a result of climate change and is likely to affect millions of people. It is essential to understand and quantify regional relative sea-level variability to be able to predict future changes. Proxy evidence is necessary for extending our understanding of past sea-level changes beyond the industrial era, and salt-marsh foraminifera have become an important tool for reconstructing late Holocene sea-level changes. In South Africa, little is known regarding the distribution of salt-marsh foraminifera and their use as sea-level indicators, thereby limiting their application in sea-level research. This study therefore describes the distribution of living and dead surface foraminifera from two study sites along the SE South African coastline. The full surface dataset has been compiled from 139 samples that are used to describe the contemporary distribution of salt-marsh foraminifera. Cluster analysis is used to define four biozones; high marsh, middle marsh, low marsh, and mudflats. In the high marsh, where environmental conditions reach the survival threshold, a greater abundance of agglutinated foraminifera occurs. In the low-marsh zone, where subaerial exposure is restricted and environmental conditions are usually stable, a greater diversity of calcareous species occurs. The tidal mudflats have the highest diversity of calcareous assemblages with some agglutinated taxa present. Distributions of living foraminiferal populations are similar to the population distributions of dead foraminifera at both sites in the low-marsh and mudflat zones. In the high-marsh zones, however, the living-to-dead ratio and distributions are different, which could be a result of different influences of environmental variables along with seasonal variations. This study provides insights into foraminiferal distributions along the SE coastline of South Africa, which will be useful for interpreting late Holocene sea-level changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Archaeological research along the West Coast of South Africa has unveiled a diversity of Holocene adaptive strategies as shown by the different type, size, composition, and distribution of sites and their faunal and artifactual contents. Some differences and similarities are apparent between the northerly semi-desert of Namaqualand and the more central Lamberts Bay and Elands Bay areas. On first impression, this archaeological variability seems related to environmental gradients, human demographics, related divergent economic developments, and perhaps to different contexts for cultural contact between indigenous populations. However, differences between Namaqualand and the central parts of the West Coast need to be assessed more closely in order to understand the influence of environmental and cultural/behavioral variables that could have shaped them and their geographic interaction. Sampling of locations near Lamberts Bay and the southern parts of Namaqualand has become vital. Here we present first observations on a survey and broad chronology at one such locality, namely Soutpansklipheuwel outcrop. First results reveal a millennia-long history of occupation. Possible shared attributes that respond to biogeographic and cultural variables are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remains of phocid and otariid seals from published and unpublished palaeontological and archaeological occurrences on the South African coast are reviewed. New phocid material supports Hendey's earlier contention that Homiphoca capensis was a breeding resident during the Early Pliocene (5 Ma) and extends its distribution. Lobodon carcinophagus is recorded from the Middle Pleistocene (270 ka) and Late Pleistocene. Arctocephalus is recorded from the Pliocene (probably 5 Ma, but possibly only 2.7 Ma) and A. pusillus from the Middle Pleistocene (~330 ka). Late Pleistocene records for Hydrurga leptonyx, Mirounga leonina, A. pusillus and A. gazella are listed. The possibility that Homiphoca capensis and Arctocephalus (sp. nov.) co-existed during the Pliocene is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A peat-sequence covering the last 16 ka (16 000 cal. yr BP) from Braamhoek wetland, eastern South Africa, was analysed in terms of phytolith and diatom composition. The fossil peat was rich in phytoliths, while diatoms were less prominent, probably as a result of degradation during wetland plant growth associated with silica uptake. With this study we present the first continuous phytolith and diatom record from South Africa covering the Late Pleistocene and Holocene period. The phytolith assemblages indicate a clear dominance of C3-grasses within the wetland throughout the sequence. The fossil diatom record infer changes in past moisture conditions. Unlike the modern wetland, which is dominated by benthic and aerophilic diatoms, the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene wetland favoured growth of planktonic species. Abundance of planktonic diatoms suggests three main phases when water depth was deeper than today; at c.13.6 ka, 11.3 ka and 10.4-10.0 ka. These indications of past fluctuations in humidity mostly provide confirmation of previously published indications of pollen, charcoal fragments and isotopes in the same core, but the siliceous microfossil data also help to refine the paleo-environmental interpretation of the sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion poses a major threat to sustainable agriculture in southern Africa but is difficult to quantify. One measure of soil erosion is the sediment flux of rivers. The Orange River is the principal source of sediment to the western margin of South Africa with an estimated mean mud flux over the last 11 500 years (the Holocene epoch) of 5.1 (3.2-7.4) million metric tons/year (Mt/yr). A total of 43 gigatons (Gt; 1015 g) representing 72% of the Holocene mud flux has accumulated on the shelf in the Orange River prodelta and mudbelt, a clayey finesilt deposit focused on the inner to middle shelf. Only 8% (5 Gt) of the mud flux occurs in Holocene calcareous ooze on the slope. Comparison of the clay to mud ratio of offshore deposits with Orange River suspended sediment and catchment soils indicates that 20% (11 Gt) of the Holocene mud flux has been lost as clay beyond the margin. The Orange River mud flux prior to the building of large dams (1930-1969) is ten times greater than the mean Holocene mud flux and is reconciled with estimates of soil erosion within the catchment. A tenfold increase in the Orange River mud flux implies up to a hundredfold increase in total soil erosion depending on the extent of mud storage over periods of decades to centuries within the catchment. Erosion has shifted from areas of high relief and rainfall of the Drakensberg escarpment during the Holocene to intensely cultivated lands of low relief having moderate to high rainfall in the eastern catchment and to a lesser extent, grazing areas of the southern Orange River catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution stable isotope variations and growth structure analyses of the last three millennia of a 6600-year stalagmite record at Cold Air Cave, Makapansgat Valley, South Africa, are presented. Growth layers, which are measurable over the last 250 years, are shown to be annual. The correlation between the width of growth layers and precipitation is strongly positive. Changes in d 18 O and d 13 C are positively correlated and inversely correlated to changes in the colour of the growth layers in the stalagmite. Variations in colour are directly correlated with mean annual temperature. Dark colouration is the product of increased temperature and mobilization of organic matter from the soil, and is associated with wetter summers and enhanced growth of C4 grasses. Darker colouring and enriched d 18 O and d 13 C reflect a warmer, wetter environment, whereas lighter colouring and depleted isotopic values are indicative of cooler, drier conditions. The dominant episode in the 3000-year record is the cool, dry 500-year manifestation of the ‘Little Ice Age’, from ad 1300 to about 1800, with the lowest temperatures at around ad 1700. The four centuries from ad 900 to 1300, experiencing above-average warming and high variability, may be the regional expression of the medieval warming. Other cool, dry spells prevailed from around ad 800 to 900 and from about ad 440 to 520. The most prolonged warm, wet period occurred from ad 40 to 400. Some extreme events are shown to correspond well with similar events determined from the Greenland GISP2 ice-core record and elsewhere. Distinct periodicities occur within the record at around 120, 200–300, 500–600 and at about 800 years BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]