Search

• Seriphium plumosum L. is a taxonomically recalcitrant complex of paper daisies distributed in southern Africa. • The complex has been shown to comprise at least seven independent species. • Stoebe burchellii Levyns, Stoebe virgata Thunb. and Stoebe vulgaris Levyns are reinstated in Seriphium. • Four species new to science are described in Seriphium. • Seriphium vulgaris (Levyns) Z.Shaik is the only species in the S. plumosum complex that is an agricultural weed on millions of hectares of South African rangeland. Seriphium plumosum L. from southern Africa has been shown to comprise at least seven distinct species based on analysis of morphological, environmental, and multilocus DNA sequence data. On that evidence, Stoebe burchellii Levyns, Stoebe virgata Thunb., and Stoebe vulgaris Levyns are reinstated in Seriphium , and four new species are described, viz., Seriphium alto-argillaceum Z.Shaik , Se. burrowsii Z.Shaik , Se. crypticum Z.Shaik , and Se. dunensis Z.Shaik. Four of these species are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, and one is so far known from a single high-elevation locality. We present a key to species in the Seriphium plumosum complex, and for each species provide a formal description with accompanying images, typification and synonymy, with distribution maps based on verified field-collected and herbarium specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Later Stone Age of southern Africa sees the succession of varied lithic traditions. The Wilton (8ka BP – second millennium AD) corresponds to the last techno-complex of the LSA in South Africa. It has been typologically recognised over vast geographical areas and seems to last until the progressive disappearance of stone tool industries, while experiencing chronological and geographical variations. While Wilton formal tools, mainly small scrapers and microliths, have received much attention, the ways in which the stone tools themselves were produced are still unknown. This paper provides keys to describe mid-Holocene Wilton microlithic productions at the reference site of Rose Cottage Cave (Free-State). The lithic technological analysis highlights the integrated production of 'ready-made' blanks from one volume, including bladelets. The scraper and backed piece typologies are analysed and reveal an interesting diversity. These results provide a foundation for the building of the technological understanding of the Wilton in southern Africa. This paper ultimately aims to facilitate the exploration of regional and chronological variations at Wilton sites, and, by contrast, to differentiate other lithic traditions in southern Africa. • This paper provides keys for better understanding Wilton lithic technologies in South Africa • The knapping methods allowed for the production of various 'ready-made' blanks from one volume. • Different knapping techniques could have been used within one operational sequence. • The scraper and backed piece typology are more diverse than revealed by previous studies. • The paper provides a base line for future comparative studies. [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]

Travelling long distances to access public service facilities is costly and time consuming, especially to those who suffer the burden of poverty and deprivation. Assessing accessibility based on route-based distances does not work well in rural areas of Africa where people often travel along footpaths and dirt roads (in and out of vehicles) that are not mapped, not necessarily well-defined, could vary based on the season or change over short periods of time. The South African government therefore recommended that geographic accessibility be assessed based on a road network that is augmented by connecting communities to the main road network via a triangulated irregular network (TIN). While this method is recommended, a study about its suitability has not been published. We do this by describing an implementation, analysing the results and comparing these to other techniques. In this paper we present and compare the recommended method to geographic accessibility results of two other frequently used distance measuring techniques: 1) straight-line distances; 2) route-based distances in the road network. We applied the techniques to South African Police Service stations in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa, which is characterized by rural villages scattered across the landscape, not connected to the road network and where data for footpaths and dirt roads does not exist. The results confirm that in the absence of a completely mapped travel network, the recommended method is a suitable alternative for measuring geographic accessibility in rural areas of Africa without having to spend time and money on mapping footpaths and dirt roads that keep on changing anyhow. However, the results reveal sensitivity to the threshold distance and significant local variation depending on distance from urban areas and proximity to natural barriers such as rivers. The latter must be considered when deciding whether to apply the recommended distance measurement technique in rural accessibility studies. Further research could compare the techniques for other study areas and also refine the method, e.g., by experimenting with different algorithms for centroids of populated areas and finding ways to estimate travel speeds on TIN arcs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security is threatened in Southern Africa, because of unpredictable droughts and higher summer temperatures brought on by climate change and global warming. Durable and hardy plants that grow easily and quickly in such conditions must be adopted to ensure sustainable and reliable food supplies. The young cladodes (nopalitos) from the cactus pear plant, which adapts to hot and dry climates, is an underutilised alternative food source that can serve as a healthy vegetable. It thrives in many environments such as deserts, below sea level, high altitude regions and tropical regions with temperatures above 50°C. Nopalitos are a traditional staple vegetable and have been consumed in Mexico for over 9000 years. However, it is underutilised and unknown as an alternative vegetable in Africa. Research on the physiochemical and nutritional content has been conducted. However, the information on harvesting nopalitos from cultivars available in South Africa for optimal edible quality is not available. Good quality nopalitos are young, thin, bright green, soft, fresh and not too sour or slimy. This paper aims to identify the effect of and the interaction between size, cultivar and harvesting season to obtain optimal eating quality. Data were obtained for two cultivars (Morado and Fusicaulis) at 9 cm, 12 cm, 15 cm, 18 cm, 21 cm and 24 cm, which were harvested in spring (October) and autumn (March) over two years. The quality characteristics were translated into the measurable attributes of morphology (weight, width, diameter, volume and surface area), texture (firmness and compressibility), colour (L*, a*, b*, C*and h°), turgidity (moisture content, mucilage yield and viscosity) and gustatory (percentage titratable acidity, pH and total soluble solids). ANOVA and Principal Component Analyses were performed to determine significant differences and interactions between the length groups, two cultivars and two seasons. The results showed that the size, cultivar and season influenced the edible characteristics. Both cultivars were most tender at 15 cm and presented the best edible qualities in spring. Morado showed better colour, turgidity and gustatory qualities. Morado was thinner, a brighter green colour, less sour and less slimy compared to Fusicaulis nopalitos. • Nopalito quality is highly influenced by harvest size, cultivar and season. • At 15 cm, nopalitos from both Morado and Fusicaulis were the most tender. • Morado nopalitos was the preferred cultivar, but Fusicaulis also performed satisfactorily. • Spring harvest was preferable, but autumn harvest nopalitos were acceptable. • Morado was thinner, a brighter green colour, less sour and less slimy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sheep and goats have been kept by Bantu-speaking farmers since their arrival during the Early Iron Age in southern Africa. Published samples dating from the Early, Middle and Late Iron Ages are used in this paper to investigate the exploitation of these two domestic animals. A Caprine Index is introduced to measure the ratio of sheep and goats in samples. In almost all cases, samples from the entire Iron Age are dominated by sheep, although the representation of goats increases slightly towards the Middle and Late Iron Age. Three exceptions to the pattern exist in the region, namely Mapungubwe Hill (Middle Iron Age), Nyanga and Hill X (Late Iron Age). At Mapungubwe Hill, the possibility exist that the dominance of goats over sheep is a factor of identification limitations when the original study was conducted in the late 1970s. However, a study is currently underway to re-analyse the fauna from this site. By the middle of the 20th century, goats are more common than sheep under Bantu-speaking farmers in South Africa, a pattern that may be attributed to social, economic, political and/or environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper provides an interpretation of the chronology of the Early Later Stone Age (Early LSA) in South Africa and Southern Namibia. The Early LSA tradition first appears in Africa at Border Cave between ∼46 and 44ka, and in Southern Africa this tradition slowly appears to the west, replacing groups producing Middle Stone Age (MSA) technologies. In this region, the latest transformation from MSA to Early LSA occurs in southern Namibia between 25 and 23ka and perhaps in secluded areas in the interior as late as 21ka. The timing and causes of this dispersion are poorly understood. The transition from Early LSA technologies to the Robberg Industry appears to be a rapid sub-continental wide cultural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Rubus L. is a highly diverse and taxonomically complex genus with a worldwide distribution. Although southern Africa is not a major centre of Rubus diversity, a number of indigenous and naturalised taxa have been recorded from the region, although their taxonomy, nomenclature and evolution are either confused or poorly studied at best. This paper represents the first results of a wider project focusing on the biosystematics of the southern African Rubus flora, and presents a taxonomic revision of the brambles of the Cape Floristic Region, including an estimation of ploidy levels. A total of eight taxa are recognised, including the two indigenous taxa R. pinnatus and R. rigidus agg., the four introduced species R. armeniacus , R. bergii , R. rosifolius and R. titanus , and two hybrids between indigenous and introduced taxa. Rubus rigidus agg. is an unresolved and variable species complex with at least two ploidy levels (5x, 6x). The hybrid taxon R. bergii × R. rigidus appears to be widespread and behaves as an independent apomictic complex. In addition, hybridization between R. bergii and R. pinnatus is relatively common in the contact zones between the two species. The two introductions Rubus armeniacus and R. titanus are recorded from South Africa for the first time. The invasive potential of the introduced species is regarded as low but the potential for hybridization by R. bergii seems to be high. An identification key, morphological descriptions, and notes on nomenclature, distribution and ecology are provided, and all taxa are illustrated. Highlights • Rubus is revised for the CFR. • Eight native and naturalised taxa are recognised. • Rubus armeniacus and R. titanus are recorded from South Africa for the first time. • All taxa are described and fully illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]