On a timescale for the past million years of human history in central South Africa

Abstract

Located between Danidiskuil and Kuruman in the Northern Cape province of South Africa is Wonderwerk Cave, where excavations from 1978 to 1996 revealed a similar to 6-m depth of deposits made up of nine Major Units (MUs), of which some have been dated by radiocarbon, the U-series method and palaeomagnetism. The lithic succession in those sediments was found to be Later Stone Age in MU1 at 1.0-12.5 kyr ago, Middle Stone Age in MU2 at similar at 70 to > 220 kyr ago, Fauresmith in MUs 3-4 at similar to 270-c. 500 kyr ago, and very sparse biface assemblages before then to > 0.78 Myr BR Associated behaviours are represented by collected exotic river pebbles and quartz crystals in MUs 2-4, incised lines on portable stones in MUs 1-4, a grass bedding area in MU4, red pigment pieces in MUs 1-7, and traces of the use of fire in MUs 1-9. These findings, as a whole, are taken to support a scenario that sees the upland savannas at the southern end of Africa as a focal region of biocultural evolution over a period extending back to before the onset of the Middle Pleistocene.