The character of megafauna exploitation in southern Africa by Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers during the Robberg, Oakhurst and Wilton periods: Examination of megafauna faunal remains and rock art distributions with the elephant as case study

Hunter-gatherer research in south Africa has seen a steady output of research and provided important information on all aspects of hunter-gatherer communities. Faunal remains at sites provide one of the most common sources of data and have led to plenty of analyses on huntergatherer subsistence strategy. The role of megafauna in subsistence strategies in southern Africa has been sparsely researched, especially during the Later Stone Age (LSA). While megafauna could provide an ideal source of meat and fat, their contribution to the hunter-gatherer subsistence during the LSA has not been researched. This was the main focus of the research for this thesis, with a focus on the elephant as a case study due to the comparable extensive research into this megafauna species. Megafauna assemblage data was compiled and analysed, together with a short list of rock art featuring megafauna. The fauna remains were analysed for their relative contribution to the overall assemblage in terms of bone...Show moreHunter-gatherer research in south Africa has seen a steady output of research and provided important information on all aspects of hunter-gatherer communities. Faunal remains at sites provide one of the most common sources of data and have led to plenty of analyses on huntergatherer subsistence strategy. The role of megafauna in subsistence strategies in southern Africa has been sparsely researched, especially during the Later Stone Age (LSA). While megafauna could provide an ideal source of meat and fat, their contribution to the hunter-gatherer subsistence during the LSA has not been researched. This was the main focus of the research for this thesis, with a focus on the elephant as a case study due to the comparable extensive research into this megafauna species. Megafauna assemblage data was compiled and analysed, together with a short list of rock art featuring megafauna. The fauna remains were analysed for their relative contribution to the overall assemblage in terms of bone representation and caloric contribution. The remains and the rock art were also analysed on compared to determine any geographical and temporal distribution patterns. Multiple theories ranging from ontology to the dangerous nature of megafauna species were examined as possible causes for the patterns that emerged. The results show that the relative importance of megafauna based on skeletal element representation is not that large compared to the possible nutritional contribution such large herbivores could provide. In terms of distribution, the megafauna shows no discernible patterns on the temporal plane due to the small size of the dataset. The geographic distribution shows a link between historical biome presence and archaeological remains. The rock art distribution aligns more closely with the biome presence data than the actual faunal remains of megafauna. While several different theories are proposed to explain the patterns observed in the faunal assemblages and rock art, the data is simply too insufficient to make any definitive inferences on the cause behind these patterns. Future research to provide a clearer picture of megafauna distribution and their possible causes would need to broaden the dataset provided in this thesis and provide more detailed information on the bone elements in the assemblages.Show less

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The character of megafauna exploitation in southern Africa by Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers during the Robberg, Oakhurst and Wilton periods: Examination of megafauna faunal remains and rock art distributions with the elephant as case study