The Later Stone Age lithic sequence at Elands Bay, Western Cape, South Africa: raw materials, artefacts and sporadic change

Abstract

This paper considers a selection of Later Stone Age lithic assemblages from eight Elands Bay sites, including a large sample from Elands Bay Cave. The use of broader, more inclusive terms for Later Stone Age lithic industries in southern Africa is suggested, and subsequently supported by the Elands Bay assemblages which are shown to be atypical when compared to similarly dated assemblages from elsewhere. The Elands Bay assemblages are grouped according to their age and features, and the primary characteristics of each period are outlined. In this way the full lithic sequence for the area is described, with emphasis being placed on the transitional assemblages and the sequence of changes in raw materials, flaking techniques and formal tools that occur through time. Gross industrial change is gradual and boundaries between industries cannot readily be identified. A relatively more distinct change just after 1000 b.p. supports the assertion that herders may have populated the Cape only from about that time onwards. A new radiocarbon date from Dunefield Midden 11 provides the earliest evidence for the occurrence of pottery in the Elands Bay area at about 1780 b.p. (AD 329).