Includes bibliographical references (leaves 283-303). / This research explores the related roles of quartz and bipolar reduction in the composition of Later Stone Age (LSA) lithic assemblages from the Verlorenvlei area, Western Cape Province. With few exceptions, these two elements strongly dominate the assemblages from this area, and the attitudes to and reasons for their continuous use are considered here. Discussions on typology and raw material classification illustrate and attempt to solve problems existing in current systems, and a comprehensive classification scheme for the western Cape area is provided. The use of an innovative analytical technique, in which each raw material is assessed individually, allows considerable variation in the flaking and subsequent use of each material to be demonstrated. While fine~grained rocks are undoubtedly preferred for artefact manufacture, overall raw material proportions are clearly determined by the ubiquitous availability of quartz in the study area, but less important factors, virtually impossible to differentiate from the lithics alone, are undoubtedly also implicated. Technological change related to the use of quartz and bipolar flaking is explored through three critical periods, the late Holocene, the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene, and the late Pleistocene. In order to ascertain the factors governing assemblage composition, the frequencies of various artefact types are compared with those of quartz and bipolar cores by means of scatter plots. Correlation coefficients are calculated to assist the analysis of the data, but due to the small sample sizes some visual interpretation of the graphs based on intuitive archaeological knowledge is also essential. Considerably different approaches to the reduction of quartz are demonstrated for each period, with distinct strategies of raw material conservation, each operating in a different manner, existing throughout most of the LSA. These promoted the variable use of bipolar and non-bipolar reduction techniques and microlithic technology in order to make best use of the relatively intractable quartz on offer in the local landscape. Such strategies only broke down during the late Holocene, possibly due to the changing social relations that must have occurred with the introduction of pastoralism to the area some 2000 years ago. The nature of industrial change is also explored, and it is evident that in this area the LSA lithic sequence constitutes a continuous progression of sporadic change with no distinct breaks or periods of absolute stability being apparent. It is recommended that larger sample sizes be used in similar future analyses in order to alleviate the difficulties inherent in drawing general conclusions from small sets of data. The frequency of chips in any assemblage is shown to be unreliable and their exclusion from comparative typological data will lend greater validity to all lithic analyses.

In southern Africa, stone tool assemblages with both large cutting tools (LCTs) and retouched blanks are ascribed to the Fauresmith Industry, a ‘transitional' industry between the Earlier and Middle Stone Age. ‘Transitional' assemblages are especially relevant for addressing questions concerning the development of increasingly complex behaviors and technological variability associated with later Middle Stone Age assemblages. Few in-situ Fauresmith assemblages have been described, despite the need for a more standardized and behaviorally meaningful understanding of these highly variable assemblages. Rooidam 2 is a pan site lying on the outskirts of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province, with an excavated sealed and stratified Fauresmith sequence. The site is a suitable choice for investigation, as its sequence spans several strata and the excavated collection has yet to be described or analyzed in any detail. A technological intra-site analysis of ~2000 lithic specimens from Level 5, a dense concentration of artifacts comprised of 10 sub-levels was conducted in order to test for temporal change. Adjacent sub-levels were compared using both quantitative and qualitative data to test for statistically significant changes in the blank production choices and retouched tool morphology within the Fauresmith sequence. The analysis reveals that the Fauresmith assemblage from Level 5 is primarily characterized by centripetally flaked Levallois-like cores, flake and blade blanks, unifacially retouched points, scrapers, and notched pieces. There were no LCTs found in the assemblage, although a single broken fragment with bifacial flaking and a shaped convex edge has a morphology suggestive of a small biface. Although the lithic typology of the analyzed assemblage from Rooidam 2 is generally consistent with Fauresmith assemblages from nearby sites in the Northern Cape, the absence of bifaces and other LCTs is notable. The Rooidam 2 sequence also reflects instances of lithic variability between adjacent sub-levels that may be indicative of a trend towards increased behavioral flexibility in blank production (especially in the frequency of blade and unretouched points), although interestingly there were no significant changes in the retouched tool morphology. The variability within the sequence appears to be isochrestic in nature, and there is no evidence to support either a linear trajectory of lithic complexity or the reality of distinctive temporal phases within the Fauresmith industry at Rooidam 2. The technological characteristics in the assemblage, in addition to the significant instances of variability within the sequence, suggests that the lithic material from Rooidam 2 may be more appropriately described as eMSA rather than Fauresmith.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-189). / The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. The first is to develop an understanding of the local historical context of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and to situate the material record within it. The second is to collate and describe the archaeological materials and records for the site.

Bibliography: p. 145-152. / The primary aim of this ethnobotanical dissertation was to provide a biobehavioural focus for indigenous plant use in the semi-arid areas of one of the six so-called Coloured Rural Reserves (Komaggas, Concordia, Richtersveld, Steinkopf, Leliefontein and Pella) in the north-western Cape (Namaqualand). Although much of the indigenous plant lore has been lost through westernization, the descendants of the Nama-speaking Khoi pastoralists, who are traditionally associated with Namaqualand, still partially rely on indigenous plants for subsistence. Firewood is used daily, medicinal plants are collected regularly and edible plants as well as plants used for household and other activities (such as dyeing of leather) are often used. This project can be seen as a rescue operation to obtain information on the use of indigenous plants before this fast-disappearing knowledge is lost. Richtersveld (and Leliefontein, for comparative and enrichment purposes only) were selected because literary sources confirm the observation that these are the areas where customary practises persist. A biobehavioural approach in terms of human-plant interactions has been applied. The main focus of the dissertation is on the diversity of useful plants and the range of activities associated with the use of the plants. The characteristics of the plants have been examined from an emic as well as etic perspective. The emic perspective was found to be particularly significant in assessing plant foods as well as medicinal plants. Etic perspectives were obtained through nutrient analyses of edible plants and discussions and literary research on medicinal compounds in plants used in health care. It seems that the emic and etic perspectives about plants are not as distinct as was initially thought. Peoples' perceptions about the plants guide them in their choice of plants but it is clear that some biological characteristics of the plants give rise to many of these choices. It may be possible to develop a system of criteria for different categories of plants which will enable archaeologists to make inferences about human-plant interactions. The dissertation ends by commenting on the archaeological significance of the way in which plants are used. The conclusion is that the archaeological record is a poor reflection of the range of activities associated with plant use; and a poor reflection of the diversity of plants which are used in subsistence strategies of the pastoralists of Namaqualand.

In conventional reconstructions of the Iron Age archaeology of southern Africa, drylands have long been viewed as marginal landscapes that did not host any significant agropastoral communities in the past. Against this background, this study explores the discourse of dryland marginality in southern Zambezia using the Shashi region as a case study. Archaeological surveys and excavations were conducted to retrieve reliable data for establishing the settlement history and adaptation strategies of Iron Age communities that lived in this landscape. The study was guided by the concepts of vulnerability, adaptation and resilience, as well as landscape archaeology. Results from excavations conducted at Mananzve, one of the surveyed and excavated sites, show that this part of the Shashi region has a long settlement history spanning the Early Iron Age and the Later Iron Age. Analyses of the recovered material culture shows that Iron Age communities that resided at Mananzve adapted various methods of indigenous dryland agriculture to maintain food security. These findings show that adaptation is context-specific and challenge the designation of drylands such as the Shashi region as 'marginal', since that term undermines the adaptive capacity and resilience of Iron Age communities.

Rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) are a common component of faunal assemblages at South African archaeological sites. Previous studies have focused on their remains as proxies for aspects of diet and mobility in prehistoric human populations. They have also been recognized as valuable palaeoenvironmental indicators due to the fact that their stratified communal middens record shifts in stable isotopes, palynology, and molecular biomarkers that appear to reflect environmental change. Previous studies conducted in east Africa have concluded that rock hyraxes are preferential grazers. There is comparatively little evidence, however, for the dietary preference of South African rock hyraxes, although it has been suggested that they consume more browse. This research aims to quantify the carbon isotopic ratios in their bone collagen to reconstruct diet.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-159). / This thesis documents the re-investigation of Hoffman's/Robberg Cave, a little known site located on the Robberg Peninsula near Plettenberg Bay on the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Previous excavations carried out at the site early in the twentieth century and again in the late 1950s are scantily documented. Furthermore, a large collection derived from Hoffman' s excavations, which I examined and catalogued in 2006, is only a selective sample of the archaeological remains from the site.

Networks of interaction as well as community formation have been widely researched within Southern Zambezian archaeology of the early second millennium A.D. Despite this, research into these communities is often asymmetrical with objects delegated a passive role in the formation of not only networks of interaction but also socio-material development. Further, research tends to focus on society as the source of action in these processes. Using the site of Mtanye, the aim of this study is to create a relational ontology in which agency is distributed among heterogenous entities. Moreover, this study attempts to demonstrate how networks of interaction might have shaped this community. Mtanye is a Leopard’s Kopje phase 2 site with stratified Transitional K2 (1200-1250 A.D.) and Mapungubwe (1250-1300) deposit. This site has further been placed into the wider conventional narrative as being evidence for the expansion of the Mapungubwe state. In order to recreate the networks of interaction that were present at Mtanye, Actor-Network Theory informed in part by the ethno-historical record was enlisted. The results of this study show that Mtanye has hill occupation, stone walling and access to prestige goods, characteristics conventionally not ascribed to periphery sites. Further, the results of this study suggest that it is more prudent to view the socio-material development of Mtanye, not in terms of the political or economic expansion of a hegemonic power but rather as a product of heterogeneous networks of interaction. This study may further provide a framework for understanding socio-material development and networks of interaction during the early second millennium A.D. in Southern Zambezia.

The mandible can provide valuable information on both the life history and genetic makeup of Archaic human populations. If two genetically separated Homo sapiens populations practice differing dietary behaviors, one may expect to see significant variation in mandibular morphology. The following analysis tests two hypotheses: (1) that there are significant differences in morphology in mandibular shape between the sexes amongst Archaic North American H. sapiens and (2) that there is a significant difference in variance in mandibular shape between Archaic Floridian and Alaskan H. sapiens. The Archaic Floridian H. sapiens are taken from the Windover burial site and the Alaskan H. sapiens are taken from the Point Hope burial site. A sample made from mandible specimens taken from both populations is subjected to Principal Component Analyses (PCA). The component scores from the PCAs are subjected to both a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and general Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to determine whether significant differences in variance exist between the sexes and the populations. The MANCOVA found that there were no significant interactions between the PC scores between populations, sexes, or size. Significant differences in variance were found between males and females and between the Windover and Point Hope populations. Differences in variance observed between the populations are suspected to be due to differences in subsistence strategies. Differences in variance between the sexes are suspected to be genetic in origin. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Scientific Computing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 17, 2017. / Archaic Period, mandible, morphometrics, Point Hope, Windover / Includes bibliographical references. / Dennis E. Slice, Professor Directing Thesis; Sachin Shanbhag, Committee Member; Peter Beerli, Committee Member.

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