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Wood Charcoal from Border Cave’s Member 1RGBS: Evidence for the Environment and Plant Use During MIS 5

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Abstract

We conducted an anthracological analysis of charcoal remains from Border Cave’s member 1RGBS to provide environmental context for the site’s occupation ca. 74 ka. Charcoal specimens were analyzed to assess their quality and quantity, and identify their tree taxa to reconstruct the vegetation communities available to the site’s occupants. Specimens were analyzed using light stereomicroscopy and following standard anthracology methods. We identified the tree taxa that grow predominantly in the savanna, forest, and grassland vegetation communities. Using the current distribution of these communities as a reference, we suggest that the archaeological Border Cave landscape included vegetation types that now grow in southern Africa’s interior warm parts. Our data revealed that Tarchonanthus sp. was collected most abundantly at this time, possibly for its medicinal and cosmetic properties. Euphorbia species were also collected, perhaps for their latex before their wood was burned. Furthermore, green wood logs of Tarchonanthus sp. were burned or discarded into the fire; this is evidenced by the high proportion of fragments of this species bearing radial cracks. There may have been unfavorable environmental conditions in the archaeological landscape that resulted in the wood vessel occlusion of many trees. These were likely episodic microclimatic conditions around the cave during some growth phases of the trees. These conditions and their intensity, however, were not fatal to the trees in this dataset.

Résumé

Nous avons effectué une analyze anthracologique des restes de charbon du membre 1RGBS de Border Cave pour fournir un contexte environnemental pour l’occupation du site ca. 74 ka. Des spécimens de charbon de bois ont été analysés pour évaluer leur qualité et leur quantité et identifier leurs taxons d’arbres pour reconstituer les communautés végétales disponibles pour les occupants du site. Les échantillons ont été analysés en utilisant la stéréomicroscopie optique et en suivant les méthodes d’anthracologie standard. Nous avons identifié les taxons d’arbres qui poussent principalement dans les communautés végétales de savane, de forêt et de prairie. En utilisant la distribution actuelle de ces communautés comme référence, nous suggérons que le paysage archéologique de Border Cave comprenait des types de végétation qui poussent maintenant dans les régions intérieures et chaudes de l’Afrique australe. Nos données ont révélé que Tarchonanthus sp. a été récolté le plus abondamment à cette époque, peut-être pour ses propriétés médicinales et cosmétiques. Les espèces d’Euphorbia ont également été récoltées, peut-être pour leur latex avant que leur bois ne soit brûlé. De plus, des bûches de bois vert de Tarchonanthus sp. ont été brûlés ou jetés dans le feu ; ceci est mis en évidence par la forte proportion de fragments de cette espèce présentant des fissures radiales. Il peut y avoir eu des conditions environnementales défavorables dans le paysage archéologique qui ont entraîné l’occlusion des vaisseaux en bois de nombreux arbres. Il s’agissait probablement de conditions microclimatiques épisodiques autour de la grotte pendant certaines phases de croissance des arbres. Ces conditions et leur intensité, cependant, n’ont pas été fatales aux arbres de cet ensemble de données.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Dr. Lucinda Backwell, Prof. Francesco d’Errico, and Prof. Lyn Wadley for allowing the first author to analyze the charcoal samples discussed in this paper and for initiating and managing the Border Cave project. We would also like to thank the excavators and Dr. Paloma de la Pena—the latter, for her insight in explaining the excavation plan and context of the charcoal data discussed in this paper.

Funding

This work is based on the research supported in part by the DST-National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (Grant Number: 121339). The study is also supported by the NRF-Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Palaeosciences and the Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST), Johannesburg, South Africa.

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  1. Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, 2050, Wits, South Africa

    Bongekile Zwane & Marion Bamford

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  1. Bongekile Zwane
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Correspondence to Bongekile Zwane.

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Archaeological time period: Late Pleistocene—74 thousand years ago; Country and region discussed: South Africa, south-east/KwaZulu Natal province

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Zwane, B., Bamford, M. Wood Charcoal from Border Cave’s Member 1RGBS: Evidence for the Environment and Plant Use During MIS 5. Afr Archaeol Rev 38, 657–674 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-021-09448-4

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