ABSTRACT

The Late Pleistocene and Holocene settlement record of southern Africa shows clear discontinuities both through time and across space. While there is considerable variability between different ecological biomes, the sub-continent’s interior arid zones show particularly unstable occupation histories. However, understanding the nature of and reasons for these discontinuities is hampered by substantial spatial gaps in our archaeological knowledge. This paper presents evidence from the Tankwa Karoo region — intermediate between the well-studied Western Cape Cederberg Mountains and the interior Upper Karoo — to capture Later Stone Age (LSA) behaviour at the interface between Cape and Karoo environments. Off-site surveys recorded surface artefacts across a 100 km-long study area, documenting LSA settlement at a landscape scale and testing expected patterns against settlement records of regions to the west and east. The results indicate that in contrast to the strongly pulsed occupation evidence from the Cederberg Mountains and the Upper Karoo, no LSA phases show particularly high site densities or sustained use of longer-term sites. Additionally, the most arid parts of the eastern Tankwa Karoo show very limited LSA evidence. This suggests that this marginal environment was occupied only ephemerally during the LSA, potentially serving as a corridor between more reliably resourced regions.

摘要

南部非洲的晚更新世和全新世定居记录显示了时间和空间上的明显不连续性。虽然不同生态生物群落之间存在相当大的差异，但次大陆的内陆干旱区显示出特别不稳定的占领历史。然而，我们考古学知识中的巨大空间差距阻碍了对这些不连续性的性质和原因的理解。本文提供了 Tankwa Karoo 地区的证据——介于经过充分研究的西开普塞德贝格山脉和上卡鲁内陆之间——以捕捉开普敦和卡鲁环境交界处的晚期石器时代 (LSA) 行为。场外调查记录了 100 公里长的研究区域的表面人工制品，在景观尺度上记录 LSA 沉降，并根据西部和东部地区的沉降记录测试预期模式。结果表明，与 Cederberg Mountains 和 Upper Karoo 的强烈脉冲占用证据相比，没有 LSA 阶段显示特别高的站点密度或长期站点的持续使用。此外，Tankwa Karoo 东部最干旱的地区显示出非常有限的 LSA 证据。这表明这个边缘环境在 LSA 期间只是短暂地被占据，可能充当资源更可靠区域之间的走廊。没有 LSA 阶段显示特别高的站点密度或长期站点的持续使用。此外，Tankwa Karoo 东部最干旱的地区显示出非常有限的 LSA 证据。这表明这个边缘环境在 LSA 期间只是短暂地被占据，可能充当资源更可靠区域之间的走廊。没有 LSA 阶段显示特别高的站点密度或长期站点的持续使用。此外，Tankwa Karoo 东部最干旱的地区显示出非常有限的 LSA 证据。这表明这个边缘环境在 LSA 期间只是短暂地被占据，可能充当资源更可靠区域之间的走廊。