Faunal remains from Mzinyashana, a Later Stone Age site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The excavations at Mzinyashana Shelter provide insight into hunter-gatherer hunting strategies during the late Holocene. The variety of animals identified indicates that the occupants were familiar with the habits of the different animals they targeted, and applied different hunting techniques to obtain their prey. Most of the taxa identified have been recorded from the region during historical times, but there are a number of species that are out of their present range, suggesting a wider distribution in the past. Very few bone fragments show traces of modification, probably an effect of the fragmented nature of the assemblages. Where applicable, sex and age determinations were made. The faunal sample shows many similarities with those from other shelter sites in the Drakensberg/Thukela Basin, and supports findings of earlier studies. The presence of some very young animals suggests that the site was at least occupied in the spring. The site also provides some evidence of either contact between the hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists, or that the latter occupied the shelter when the last few layers were deposited.