Productivity and resilience of intertidal resources available to extant human foragers on South Africa’s cape south coast: behavioural implications for early Homo sapiens
- Authors: De Vynck, Jan Carlo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Marine invertebrates -- South Africa -- Prehistory , Shellfish -- South Africa -- Prehistory Fishes -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30172 , vital:30854
- Description: Studies of pre-historic lifestyles can be limited by a lack of preserved material and sites and resource misinterpretation is augmented by the vagueness of pre-historic subsistence lifestyles. The present can inform the past and this study‟s ethnoarchaeological approach, through modern analogues, examines productivity, resilience and temporal and spatial size variation of intertidal invertebrates on the Cape‟s south coast. O‟Connell (1995) defined the mutualistic relationship between ethnography and archaeology thus: “Archaeology‟s ultimate aim is understanding past human behaviour by patterns in the form and distribution of objects made or modified by humans in the past and knowledge of human behaviour and its material consequences in the present. The first provides direct evidence of past behaviour; the second, a basis for interpreting that evidence”. Coastal archaeology, specifically the contribution of coastal resources to pre-historic subsistence, has gained increased global interest (Erlandson, 2001; Erlandson and Rick, 2008; Codding et al., 2014). Apart from the high representation of preserved shell in coastal archaeological sites, interest in intertidal resources has also been sparked by their economic value compared to terrestrial resource options. Intertidal resources offer low-risk protein acquisition whereas terrestrial protein can be dangerous to procure. However, in the past intertidal subsistence was thought to offer low caloric yields or unfavourable cost-to-benefit relationships until Meehan (1982) convincingly demonstrated the potential caloric „profit‟ possible from coastal foraging; the Anbarra women of northern Australia were contributing significantly to the overall caloric requirements of those people. In South Africa, two possible evolutionary behavioural hypotheses arose from the addition of intertidal resources to pre-historic diets. As background, it is important to note that the oldest global evidence for shellfish procurement [164 000 years ago (ka)] is found on the Cape‟s south coast (Jerardino and Marean, 2010) and the evidence is enriched by other sites from around 110 ka (Voight, 1973; Thackeray, 1988; Henshilwood et al., 2001; Langejans et al., 2012). Furthermore, this period coincides with the emergence of cognitively modern Homo sapiens as evidenced in xx the palaeoarchives from many sites in the region (d‟Errico et al., 2005; Marean et al., 2007; Wurz, 2008; Henshilwood et al., 2009; Watts, 2010; d‟Errico et al., 2012). These features have greatly enhanced the significance and importance of this area to understanding human evolution. The two hypotheses are centred around the effect that intertidal resources could have had on the emergence of our unique species. The addition of a nutritionally beneficial resource to cognitive development is seen by some (Broadhurst et al., 2002; Parkington, 2010) to have driven this cognitive evolution, where others suggest that resources which are both productive and dependable create pro-social proclivities that drive cognitive development (Whitaker and Byrd, 2014; Marean, 2014) and facilitate the migration of humans (Fa, 2008; Codding et al., 2014). Both hypotheses argue that resources on the Cape‟s coast must have been productive and had to be a frequent addition to diet to underpin brain development. The increased frequency of coastal resource procurement or coastal adaptation is therefore seen as an attribute of, or requisite for our species. This thesis attempts to shed light on the contribution of intertidal resources to prehistoric ‒ especially Middle Stone Age (MSA) – subsistence economy on the Cape‟s south coast and the possible effect thereof on human behavioural evolution. The first aim was to investigate the spatial productivity (once-off patch caloric profitability in numerous patches) of intertidal resources and the environmental and behavioural variables affecting it. The second aim was to investigate the resilience of caloric profitability (numerous harvests in the same patch) of these resources to sustained human predation. Productivity itself cannot affect human temporal social dynamics if the resource is swiftly depleted within a specific patch after one or a few harvests. Archaeological records that show the body size of shellfish decreasing over time are usually interpreted to indicate intensive exploitation and the depletion of these resources, but there may be other explanations for such patterns. Therefore, the third aim was to compare temporal and spatial variations in the body size of Turbo sarmaticus in the MSA, Later Stone Age (LSA) and the present day, in order to investigate whether such variations result from human exploitation or environmental changes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: De Vynck, Jan Carlo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Marine invertebrates -- South Africa -- Prehistory , Shellfish -- South Africa -- Prehistory Fishes -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30172 , vital:30854
- Description: Studies of pre-historic lifestyles can be limited by a lack of preserved material and sites and resource misinterpretation is augmented by the vagueness of pre-historic subsistence lifestyles. The present can inform the past and this study‟s ethnoarchaeological approach, through modern analogues, examines productivity, resilience and temporal and spatial size variation of intertidal invertebrates on the Cape‟s south coast. O‟Connell (1995) defined the mutualistic relationship between ethnography and archaeology thus: “Archaeology‟s ultimate aim is understanding past human behaviour by patterns in the form and distribution of objects made or modified by humans in the past and knowledge of human behaviour and its material consequences in the present. The first provides direct evidence of past behaviour; the second, a basis for interpreting that evidence”. Coastal archaeology, specifically the contribution of coastal resources to pre-historic subsistence, has gained increased global interest (Erlandson, 2001; Erlandson and Rick, 2008; Codding et al., 2014). Apart from the high representation of preserved shell in coastal archaeological sites, interest in intertidal resources has also been sparked by their economic value compared to terrestrial resource options. Intertidal resources offer low-risk protein acquisition whereas terrestrial protein can be dangerous to procure. However, in the past intertidal subsistence was thought to offer low caloric yields or unfavourable cost-to-benefit relationships until Meehan (1982) convincingly demonstrated the potential caloric „profit‟ possible from coastal foraging; the Anbarra women of northern Australia were contributing significantly to the overall caloric requirements of those people. In South Africa, two possible evolutionary behavioural hypotheses arose from the addition of intertidal resources to pre-historic diets. As background, it is important to note that the oldest global evidence for shellfish procurement [164 000 years ago (ka)] is found on the Cape‟s south coast (Jerardino and Marean, 2010) and the evidence is enriched by other sites from around 110 ka (Voight, 1973; Thackeray, 1988; Henshilwood et al., 2001; Langejans et al., 2012). Furthermore, this period coincides with the emergence of cognitively modern Homo sapiens as evidenced in xx the palaeoarchives from many sites in the region (d‟Errico et al., 2005; Marean et al., 2007; Wurz, 2008; Henshilwood et al., 2009; Watts, 2010; d‟Errico et al., 2012). These features have greatly enhanced the significance and importance of this area to understanding human evolution. The two hypotheses are centred around the effect that intertidal resources could have had on the emergence of our unique species. The addition of a nutritionally beneficial resource to cognitive development is seen by some (Broadhurst et al., 2002; Parkington, 2010) to have driven this cognitive evolution, where others suggest that resources which are both productive and dependable create pro-social proclivities that drive cognitive development (Whitaker and Byrd, 2014; Marean, 2014) and facilitate the migration of humans (Fa, 2008; Codding et al., 2014). Both hypotheses argue that resources on the Cape‟s coast must have been productive and had to be a frequent addition to diet to underpin brain development. The increased frequency of coastal resource procurement or coastal adaptation is therefore seen as an attribute of, or requisite for our species. This thesis attempts to shed light on the contribution of intertidal resources to prehistoric ‒ especially Middle Stone Age (MSA) – subsistence economy on the Cape‟s south coast and the possible effect thereof on human behavioural evolution. The first aim was to investigate the spatial productivity (once-off patch caloric profitability in numerous patches) of intertidal resources and the environmental and behavioural variables affecting it. The second aim was to investigate the resilience of caloric profitability (numerous harvests in the same patch) of these resources to sustained human predation. Productivity itself cannot affect human temporal social dynamics if the resource is swiftly depleted within a specific patch after one or a few harvests. Archaeological records that show the body size of shellfish decreasing over time are usually interpreted to indicate intensive exploitation and the depletion of these resources, but there may be other explanations for such patterns. Therefore, the third aim was to compare temporal and spatial variations in the body size of Turbo sarmaticus in the MSA, Later Stone Age (LSA) and the present day, in order to investigate whether such variations result from human exploitation or environmental changes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Contemporary use and seasonal abundance of indigenous edible plants (with an emphasis on geophytes) available to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
- Authors: De Vynck, Jan Carlo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Wild plants, Edible -- Africa, Southern , Coastal plants -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020044
- Description: Human subsistence within the Cape Floristic Region (Cape) dates back to our inception as a distinct species. Unique archaeological evidence found here for the defining attribute of cognitive modernity, as well as coinciding paleo-climatic challenges to survival, both highlight the Cape’s potential to support the existence of pre-historic hunter-gatherers. This habitat, with its unprecedented diversity of geophytes and other plant growth forms, has not yet revealed its potential to provide carbohydrate resources for early Homo sapiens sapiens. In order to investigate this potential, an ethnobotanical survey of the south Cape coastal area near Still Bay was conducted. Despite 17th Century colonialism marking the onset of indigenous plant knowledge decline, the 18 people of Khoe-San descent interviewed in this survey still actively used 58 indigenous edible plant species with a variety of 69 uses. Fruit showed the highest popularity of plants used (52 percent) followed by nectar, with plants having underground storage organs (USOs) ranking third (34 percent). Among growth forms, shrubs dominated (34 percent) followed by geophytes and trees (both 21 percent). With the exception of Prionium serratum, which was rare in the research area, this study failed to identify species that could have formed a staple source of carbohydrate for pre-colonial Khoe-San peoples of the Cape south coast. While eight species of USOs were identified (12 percent of total) only Cyphia species emerged as an important carbohydrate source. This study indicated the importance of Thicket Biome species as a source of edible plants. The second component of the study comprised a two year phenological survey of indigenous edible plant species in four primary vegetation types. A total of 32 USO species and 21 species with aboveground edible carbohydrates (fruiting species) were identified across all sites. Limestone Fynbos had the richest flora of edible species (21 USO species and 18 fruiting species), followed by Strandveld (15 USOs and 13 fruiting species), Renosterveld (8 and 8, respectively) and lastly Sand Fynbos (5 and 5, respectively). The season of highest apparency showed slight variation amongst the four sites over the two years, with more variation evident in the period of apparency. The first survey year had below average rainfall, while the second year received an average rainfall amount. The second year saw a dramatic increase in apparency of abundance for all sites (50 to 60 percent increase) except for the Sand Fynbos site, which showed little change. The other sites showed a one month increase in the period of apparency in the second survey year. Overall, late summer to autumn was the period of lowest apparency of USOs. The ripening of certain fruiting species during this time would have provided a source of carbohydrate when USO availability was at its lowest. Strandveld had the highest biomass in the peak of apparency (over 80 kgha-1) in the first year with a nearly 20 percent increase for the second year. The combined biomass for the four study sites in the first survey year was roughly 150 kgha-1 and 185 kgha-1 for the second year. The apparency of abundance (ripe and edible phase) of fruiting species did not increase much for Renosterveld and Strandveld in the second survey year, except for Limestone Fynbos (49 percent increase) and Sand Fynbos (53 percent). A multivariate analysis showed seven phenophases for high apparency of edible USOs and ripe fruit across the four vegetation types. Given the contribution of evergreen USOs and fruiting species, there would always have been carbohydrates available for foragers to collect in the major vegetation types of the south Cape coast. However, harvesting and processing this carbohydrate resource would have posed cognitive challenges for MSA hunter-gatherers, given the interwoven taxonomic complexity of numerous toxic plant species, and the diverse phenology of edible plant species within the varied vegetation types. These challenges were undoubtedly mastered, highlighting the Cape environment as a possible catalyst to improved human cognitive maturity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: De Vynck, Jan Carlo
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Wild plants, Edible -- Africa, Southern , Coastal plants -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020044
- Description: Human subsistence within the Cape Floristic Region (Cape) dates back to our inception as a distinct species. Unique archaeological evidence found here for the defining attribute of cognitive modernity, as well as coinciding paleo-climatic challenges to survival, both highlight the Cape’s potential to support the existence of pre-historic hunter-gatherers. This habitat, with its unprecedented diversity of geophytes and other plant growth forms, has not yet revealed its potential to provide carbohydrate resources for early Homo sapiens sapiens. In order to investigate this potential, an ethnobotanical survey of the south Cape coastal area near Still Bay was conducted. Despite 17th Century colonialism marking the onset of indigenous plant knowledge decline, the 18 people of Khoe-San descent interviewed in this survey still actively used 58 indigenous edible plant species with a variety of 69 uses. Fruit showed the highest popularity of plants used (52 percent) followed by nectar, with plants having underground storage organs (USOs) ranking third (34 percent). Among growth forms, shrubs dominated (34 percent) followed by geophytes and trees (both 21 percent). With the exception of Prionium serratum, which was rare in the research area, this study failed to identify species that could have formed a staple source of carbohydrate for pre-colonial Khoe-San peoples of the Cape south coast. While eight species of USOs were identified (12 percent of total) only Cyphia species emerged as an important carbohydrate source. This study indicated the importance of Thicket Biome species as a source of edible plants. The second component of the study comprised a two year phenological survey of indigenous edible plant species in four primary vegetation types. A total of 32 USO species and 21 species with aboveground edible carbohydrates (fruiting species) were identified across all sites. Limestone Fynbos had the richest flora of edible species (21 USO species and 18 fruiting species), followed by Strandveld (15 USOs and 13 fruiting species), Renosterveld (8 and 8, respectively) and lastly Sand Fynbos (5 and 5, respectively). The season of highest apparency showed slight variation amongst the four sites over the two years, with more variation evident in the period of apparency. The first survey year had below average rainfall, while the second year received an average rainfall amount. The second year saw a dramatic increase in apparency of abundance for all sites (50 to 60 percent increase) except for the Sand Fynbos site, which showed little change. The other sites showed a one month increase in the period of apparency in the second survey year. Overall, late summer to autumn was the period of lowest apparency of USOs. The ripening of certain fruiting species during this time would have provided a source of carbohydrate when USO availability was at its lowest. Strandveld had the highest biomass in the peak of apparency (over 80 kgha-1) in the first year with a nearly 20 percent increase for the second year. The combined biomass for the four study sites in the first survey year was roughly 150 kgha-1 and 185 kgha-1 for the second year. The apparency of abundance (ripe and edible phase) of fruiting species did not increase much for Renosterveld and Strandveld in the second survey year, except for Limestone Fynbos (49 percent increase) and Sand Fynbos (53 percent). A multivariate analysis showed seven phenophases for high apparency of edible USOs and ripe fruit across the four vegetation types. Given the contribution of evergreen USOs and fruiting species, there would always have been carbohydrates available for foragers to collect in the major vegetation types of the south Cape coast. However, harvesting and processing this carbohydrate resource would have posed cognitive challenges for MSA hunter-gatherers, given the interwoven taxonomic complexity of numerous toxic plant species, and the diverse phenology of edible plant species within the varied vegetation types. These challenges were undoubtedly mastered, highlighting the Cape environment as a possible catalyst to improved human cognitive maturity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »