A targeted drilling and dating campaign to identify Stone Age archaeological sites before excavation in west coast southern Africa |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK;2. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany;3. University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany;4. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, Western Cape, South Africa;5. Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy;6. Max Planck Partner Group, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa;7. Department of Geology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Here we present the results of a targeted drilling campaign that facilitated a geochronological study with coarse sampling resolution inside a new cave site, Simons Cave, on the west coast of southern Africa. A combination of radiocarbon (14C) dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was used as a range-finder. Results confirmed preservation of Holocene and late Pleistocene sediments up to 133 ± 35 ka, overlapping with the ages of Middle Stone Age (MSA) occupations of the broader west coast region. A subsequent, systematic test-excavation at the site then embarked on a second geochronological study with a higher sampling resolution. Ultimately, the comparative study confirmed the potential of Simons Cave as a new site for the exploration of hominin occupation through the later Pleistocene and Holocene, yet raised several issues concerning the direct comparability of information deriving from drilled sediment cores and actual archaeological excavation. |
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| Keywords: | OSL dating Radiocarbon dating Percussion coring Archaeological excavation |
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