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About 2000 years ago, Bantu-speaking people introduced an agro-pastoral lifeway into southern Africa and lived in northern and eastern lowland parts of the region by 700 CE. Also defined as the 'southern African Iron Age', pottery is the most common and diagnostic artefact category. The soil chemistry of several farming sites resulted in poor faunal preservation and especially within Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, the possibilities for dietary reconstructions based on bone assemblages is very limited. Furthermore, the majority of ceramic research on early farming communities (ca. 200–900 CE) has focused on typology and ethnoarchaeological interpretations. This study represents the first application of Organic Residue Analysis (ORA) applied to southern African early farming pottery to gain a deeper understanding of past human behaviour and subsistence patterns. We investigate the potential and evaluate future prospects of applying this method to southern African early farming pottery. A combined lipid biomarker (GC-MS) and compound specific isotope approach (GC-C-IRMS) was applied to pottery sherds (n = 40) from the Lydenburg Heads site (LHS), dating to the 7th century CE (Mzonjani facies) and 9th to 11th centuries CE (Doornkop facies), to test for lipid preservation, trace possible vessel use and dietary changes through time and embed the research data within the faunal and botanical record available. Our study provides first evidence for the processing of dairy products by early farmers in southern Africa. Both facies imply multi-purpose functionality of the ceramics tested, demonstrated by the mixing of animal fats and plant oils. The obtained ORA data from LHS confirms the processing of ruminant carcass fats within both occupation facies, likely representing domestic animal fats, as well as the processing of wild non-ruminant carcass fats within the earlier Mzonjani facies. The identification of ricinoleic acid in two vessels of the Doornkop facies, provides evidence for potential medicinal use. Preliminary data also indicate that dung could have been involved in different forms of pottery sealing and/or mending during both occupation facies. In this study, we begin to explore biomolecular evidence for dietary choices made by early farmers in southern Africa, shedding light on previously unexplored key products. • First Organic Residue Analysis (ORA) applied to southern African early farming pots. • First evidence for processing of dairy products by early farmers in southern Africa. • Both facies imply multi-purpose functionality of the ceramics tested. • The presence of ricinoleic acid provides evidence for potential medicinal use. • Preliminary data suggests the use of dung for pottery sealing and/or mending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming communities first moved into South Africa in the first millennium CE, around 2000 years ago. These agro-pastoralist communities settled near water sources to provide easy access to water for their cattle and suitable soils for crop cultivation. One of the best-known Early Iron Age sites in northeastern South Africa is the Lydenburg Heads' (LH) site. The site yielded the Lydenburg Heads, the earliest examples of complete ceramic sculptures in South Africa. The associated ceramics are important for reconstructing early agricultural activities in the region. Late twentieth-century excavations of three trenches at the site found separate pottery sherds in the Kalundu and Urewe traditions in two of the trenches and a combination of both traditions in a third trench. Radiocarbon dating on the site yielded two mid-600 CE dates. However, subsequent reanalysis of the excavated material revealed that the LH site was occupied during two periods. The first period was dated to around 600 CE and the second from 900 to 1100 CE. The earliest period is characterised by ceramics made in the Urewe Tradition, which suggests connections along the eastern seaboard. The more recent Kalundu Tradition ceramics suggest links into north-western South Africa through Botswana and Zimbabwe. These more recent dates and archaeological affiliations are largely based on ceramic typologies. Because the LH site was heavily eroded and the ceramic sculpture sherds were removed from their context, absolute dating has been difficult. Based on the ceramic style, it is believed that the LH sculptures date to the second period of occupation. Here we report on the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to constrain the timing of the pottery sherds to establish whether the pots originated in successive or contemporaneous occupations. In addition, we assess the effectiveness of the minimum extraction technique (MET) in dating the pots without causing extensive damage to the sherds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]