ACTIVITIES IN 2018 10
The route down to Blombos Cave from the car park
FIELDWORK Blombos Cave excavations, southern Cape, South Africa – 14 January – 22 February 2019 Blombos Cave is an archaeological site situated on the southern Cape coast, approximately 300 km east of Cape Town. The cave contains Middle Stone Age materials that date to between 100 000 and 70 000 years ago, as well as Later Stone Age material dating to the last 2000 years. The Blombos Cave Middle Stone Age layers contain remarkable artefacts that inform us about the origin and timing of the behavioural evolution of our species. Some of these finds include a 100 000 year old ochre processing kit, engraved ochre and bone, the oldest known drawing, bone tools, shell beads, and stone tools which had been intentionally heated to facilitate fine retouch. In addition to cultural artefacts, the faunal and floral remains recovered from Blombos Cave indicate that the inhabitants were well adapted to their environment and employed a diverse range of food procurement strategies.
The site was first excavated in 1991, and in 2019 we conducted our 16th season at the cave. The excavation crew consisted of a core team of 11 SapienCE archaeologists and climate scientists, with several additional researchers visiting for shorter periods. We stayed at the field house, located on a remote area of the coast. Access to the site requires a 2 km hike over a rough coastal path or a drive through the Blomboschfontein Nature Reserve in 4x4 vehicles, followed by a relatively short but steep walk over calcretes and dunes to the cave. All material and equipment, including heavy generators, solar panels and batteries, reach the site via the latter route, and are carried out at the end of the season! In 2019 our primary focus was to excavate Middle Stone Age deposits at the front of the cave, with the aim of eventually exposing a large area of the cave floor dated to over 100 000 years ago. We started by removing archaeologically sterile dune sand that overlies the Middle Stone Age de-
Blombos Cave
