Archaeological research at Soutpansklipheuwel on the West Coast of South Africa

The picture associated with this article is of Honours student, Rio Button, talking with A/Prof. Ed February at Soutpansklipheuwel near Lambert’s Bay on the West Coast. This is a Later Stone Age site identified and excavated by archaeologist Antonieta ‘Chopi’ Jerardino. Rio is working with Chopi, Ed and Timm Hoffman (Plant Conservation Unit) to identify the major plants associated with the fossil charcoal collected at the site. This will help to establish the kind of environment inhabited by hunter-gatherers before the pastoral and colonial periods c. 4,000 BP. If you would like to know more about the site and associated research, please follow the link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2013.840872.   

Image: Rio Button and Ed February at Soutpansklipheuwel near Lambert’s Bay on the West Coast