Department of History

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Browsing Department of History by browse.metadata.advisor "Deacon, H. J."

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    The middle stone age at Klasies River, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-12) Wurz, Sarah (Sarah Jacoba Deborah); Deacon, H. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Late Pleistocene, Middle Stone Age artefact sequence at the Klasies River main site, was studied to establish what information this held for inferences on the emergence of symbolic thought and communication. The approach adopted was to complement traditional typological analysis by a technological study of artefact production within the framework of the chafne opératoire. The results show that technology was aimed at producing preformed blanks. In the choice of materials, the technique and method of blank production and the retouch of blanks, arbitrary or stylistic choices were made. Changes in stylistic conventions can be documented through the sequence. Changing conventions in artefact production show that the lives of the people who made the artefacts were structured in a symbolic web. These results together with evidence from evolutionary biology, show that by at least 115 000 years ago, people were able to think and speak symbolically. This African archaeological evidence for the emergence of symbolism, a defining attribute of modem peoples, is much older than previously considered. KEYWORDS: Klasies River, Middle Stone Age, technology, symbolic communication, human evolution.
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    Re-investigation of the Matjes River rock shelter
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1998-03) Döckel, Willemien; Deacon, H. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The rehabilitation of the Matjes River rock shelter on the eastern side of Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, provided an opportunity to obtain new information on the deposits. A metre wide column was excavated through six metres of shell-rich deposits at the junction of two cuttings made in the 1920s and 1950s and known as the "Apex". A small section was cut into the upper layers in the entrance area. A suite of radiocarbon dates shows the deposits to be between 6300 and 10 600 years old with a possible hiatus in deposition between 9000 and 8000 years ago. The hiatus is marked by a disconformity that separates an upper loose shelly deposit from a series of finely bedded loams. The sequence includes artefacts of the Wilton and Albany industries and the transition between these industries is dated to 7400 BP. In the relative frequencies of Donax serra and Pema pema, the shellfish remains show there was a change from a sandy to a rocky shore environment that can be accounted for by the rise of sea level in the Holocene. There is no evidence that shellfish were intensely exploited and farmed down. As observed at Nelson Bay Cave, Choromytilus meridionalis is more common in deposits 9000 years and older. This suggests that the low sea surface temperatures of the Late Pleistocene persisted in the beginning of the Holocene. Information obtained on the deposits is being presented in educational displays for visitors to the site.
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    The rock art of the Anysberg Nature Reserve, Western Cape : a sense of place and rainmaking
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-03) Rust, Renee; Deacon, H. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Anysberg Nature Reserve is a block of mountainous terrain comprising 44 515 ha in the Little Karoo of the Western Cape. There are approximately 50 known rock art sites within its boundaries. During a two-year site survey details of the rock art images were recorded on forms and, where possible, by tracing and photography. The sites tend to be small with fewer than 50 images per site and are located in narrow kloofs, mostly on the Anysberg. Few sites have occupation deposits. The main interest has been the interpretation of the images. Human figures, predominantly male, are most commonly represented. Other images are animals, such as eland and elephants, antelope, felines and therianthropes, as well as non-representational marks. There are clear resemblances in content and style to the rock art in the Hex River Valley, the Cederberg and the Western Cape generally. The art can be linked to shamanistic experiences in altered states of consciousness. A number of depictions can be interpreted as part of rainmaking rituals. KEYWORDS: Rock art, shamanism, rainmaking.