Human Resilience in the Face of Mid-Holocene Climate Change on the Central West Coast of South Africa

Abstract After the Last Glacial Maximum, important yet milder climatic trends continued to characterise the Holocene. None of them was more challenging to forager groups in the central west coast of South Africa than the mid-Holocene Altithermal (8200–4200 cal BP). Hot and dry weather and 1–3 m higher sea levels were thought once to have barred local foragers from this region because of a lack of sites dating to this period. Instead, this initial scenario reflected largely a sampling problem. Steenbokfontein Cave is one of a few sites with some of the largest mid-Holocene deposits, allowing insights into forager adaptations during this period. Results show high mobility over large distances and a terrestrial diet mostly dependant on small bovids, complemented with fewer coastal resources. Stone tool kits and lithic raw materials among various sites suggest that much evidence for mid-Holocene occupation is actually found near the local riparian systems.

Erratum to: The genetic legacy of lower sea levels: does the confluence of rivers during the last glacial maximum explain the contemporary distribution of a primary freshwater fish (Pseudobarbus burchelli, Cyprinidae) across isolated river systems?

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/s10750-014-1847-z ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 730 (1) ◽

pp. 215-215

Author(s):

Ernst R. Swartz ◽

Albert Chakona ◽

Paul H. Skelton ◽

Paulette Bloomer

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Fish ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

River Systems ◽

Sea Levels ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Ungulate diversity and precipitation history since the Last Glacial Maximum in the Western Cape, South Africa

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.02.016 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 191-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

J. Tyler Faith

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Western Cape ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Last Glacial Maximum landscape and Epigravettian horse hunting strategy in Central Europe: The case of Stránská skála IV

Přehled výzkumů ◽

10.47382/pv0611-06 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 59-70

Author(s):

Jiří Svoboda ◽

Soňa Boriová ◽

György Lengyel ◽

Petr Pokorný ◽

Antonín Přichystal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Europe ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Lithic Raw Materials ◽

Preferential Location ◽

Hunting Strategy ◽

With the end of MIS3, the unity of larger Gravettian settlements based predominantly on mammoth exploitation split into a mosaic of smaller Epigravettian sites with specific behaviors and economies. Based on C14 chronology, the site of Stránská skála IV (together with Grubgraben, Ságvár and Kašov), correlates with a brief warm period after the Last Glacial Maximum around 22 ka calBP. We detected two main accumulations of predominantly horse bones under a rock cliff suggesting that the site was not a regular settlement but rather a specialised hunting site. No features or hearths were recovered. Lithic raw materials were imported from long distances, and the horse hunting strategy profitted from the specific geographic qualitites of the site. Preferential location of Epigravettian sites in secluded valleys is a pattern generally recognized in Moravia and usually explained as a response to the harsh MIS2 climates.

Coastal occupation and foraging during the last glacial maximum and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South Africa

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2020.26 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 97 ◽

pp. 1-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Erich C. Fisher ◽

Hayley C. Cawthra ◽

Irene Esteban ◽

Antonieta Jerardino ◽

Frank H. Neumann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Marine Fish ◽

Hunter Gatherers ◽

The Holocene ◽

Last Glacial ◽

AbstractWaterfall Bluff is a rock shelter in eastern Pondoland, South Africa, adjacent to a narrow continental shelf that limited coastline movements across glacial/interglacial cycles. The archaeological deposits are characterized by well-preserved stratigraphy, faunal, and botanical remains alongside abundant stone artifacts and other materials. A comprehensive dating protocol consisting of 5 optically stimulated luminescence ages and 51 accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages shows that the record of hunter-gatherer occupations at Waterfall Bluff persisted from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, spanning the last glacial maximum and the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. Here, we provide detailed descriptions about the sedimentary sequence, chronology, and characteristics of the archaeological deposits at Waterfall Bluff. Remains of marine mollusks and marine fish also show, for the first time, that coastal foraging was a component of some hunter-gatherer groups’ subsistence practices during glacial phases in the late Pleistocene. The presence of marine fish and shellfish further demonstrates that hunter-gatherers selectively targeted coastal resources from intertidal and estuarine habitats. Our results therefore underscore the idea that Pondoland's coastline remained a stable and predictable point on the landscape over the last glacial/interglacial transition being well positioned for hunter-gatherers to access resources from the nearby coastline, narrow continental shelf, and inland areas.

Rethinking the Disappearance of Microblade Technology in the Terminal Pleistocene of Hokkaido, Northern Japan: Looking at Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Evidence

Quaternary ◽

10.3390/quat3030021 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 21

Author(s):

Jun Takakura

Keyword(s):

High Mobility ◽

Future Research ◽

Human Populations ◽

Current State ◽

Wide Range ◽

Terminal Pleistocene ◽

State Of Research ◽

The Last Glacial ◽

Northern Japan

Archaeological research, for several decades, has shown that various microblade technologies using obsidian and hard shale appeared and developed from the Last Glacial Maximum to the terminal Pleistocene (Bølling–Allerød–Younger Dryas) in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. It is well accepted that microblade technology was closely related to the high mobility of foragers to adapt to harsh environments. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from Hokkaido demonstrates that the disappearance of microblade technology occurred during the terminal Pleistocene, influenced by a wide range of factors, including changes in landscape, climate, subsistence and human populations. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research on the process and background of the disappearance of microblade technology and to discuss prospects for future research. This paper will (1) review palaeoenvironmental research in Hokkaido on changes in climate and biological composition from the terminal Pleistocene to the initial Holocene; (2) survey changes in the technological adaptations and resource use of humans based on the archaeological evidence; and (3) discuss how the abrupt fluctuations of climate that occurred in the terminal Pleistocene affected human behaviour and demographics in Hokkaido.

The dynamic relationship between temperate and tropical circulation systems across South Africa since the last glacial maximum

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.011 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 174 ◽

pp. 54-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Brian M. Chase ◽

Manuel Chevalier ◽

Arnoud Boom ◽

Andrew S. Carr

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Tropical Circulation ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

Coastal foraging and transgressive sea levels during the terminal Pleistocene: Insights from the central west coast of South Africa

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology ◽

10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101351 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 101351

Author(s):

Antonieta Jerardino

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

West Coast ◽

Sea Levels ◽

Terminal Pleistocene

Quantifying late Quaternary Australian rainfall seasonality changes using the Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2020.18 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Annika V. Herbert ◽

Jennifer M. Fitchett

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

General Circulation ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Climatic Changes ◽

Double Peak ◽

Circulation Patterns ◽

Rainfall Seasonality ◽

Westerly Winds ◽

Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that the Southern Westerly Winds were significantly equatorially displaced and more intense during the last glacial maximum (LGM), prompting deliberate research identifying proxies to reconstruct these changes. This has focused on rainfall seasonality to track changes in major circulation patterns across the southern hemisphere midlatitude regions. Using a common methodology to reconstruct climatic changes aids comparability and makes it easier to draw significant conclusions regarding general circulation movements. We assess the applicability of Coetzee's (1967) Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio, which has been used successfully in South Africa, in the Australian context. The ratio scores from modern samples fail to capture the weak seasonality in the southeast and on Tasmania but is successful for the rest of the continent. The periods of greatest change compared to present day match known periods of distinct climatic events, namely the mid-Holocene (6–7 cal ka BP), the last deglacial period (15–17 cal ka BP), and two periods during the LGM (20–22 and 31–33 cal ka BP), suggesting large parts of Australia experienced a “double peak” of rainfall seasonality change during the LGM. This confirms that the Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio can be used on records outside of South Africa.