Excavation of Duinefontein 2, A Middle Stone Age Open-Air Site on the Western Cape Coast of South Africa

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Drs. Kathryn Cruz-Uribe and Richard Klein will conduct archaeological research at the site of Duinefontein which is located on the South African Atlantic coast approximately 35 km. North of Cape Town. For over 40 years scientists have known of the presence of thousands of well preserved fossilized bones in the Duinefontein sands but until Richard Klein's work they had not been found in secure stratified context. In recent work, the investigator has found two levels of in situ material in association with artifacts attributable to Middle Stone Age peoples. With National Science Foundation support Drs. Cruz-Uribe, Klein and their collaborators will return to the site to conduct two field seasons of extensive carefully controlled excavations. The goals of this work are to recover large enough samples of both lithics and faunal remains to conduct statistically meaningful analyses, to clear large enough surfaces to recover potential behavioral information, and to collect samples which can provide absolute dates for the two levels. The Middle Stone Age is of great archaeological interest because it is during this period, between a. 250,000 and 50,000 years ago that humans assumed their modern physical form and many hallmarks of modern behavior appeared. Before the Middle Stone Age there is no evidence for art, religion or burial of the dead. Trade and interaction spheres were geographically limited yet at the same time there is no indication of tribal or other ethnic groupings. By the end of the Middle Stone Age period the presence of all these traits - all hallmarks of modern day peoples - are abundantly clear in the archaeological record. Drs. Cruz-Uribe, Klein and their colleagues wish to determine the temporal origin of these attributes and determine how they developed over time. A site such as Duinfontien with its excellently preserved bone and rich lithic assemblage is will suited for such a purpose. This research is important for several reasons. it will provide information of interest to many archaeologists and increase understanding of how we became human.