A characterization of the MSA stone artefact assemblage from the 1984 excavations at Klein Kliphuis, Western Cape
RIS ID
105217
Abstract
The primary objective of this paper is to present a characterization of the Middle Stone Age assemblage from the site of Klein Kliphuis (KKH) in the Western Cape (Fig. 1). KKH was excavated in 1984 by a team from the South African Museum (now part of Iziko Museums of Cape Town). The excavation was to form part of a larger regional project looking at the nature and distribution of Later Stone Age (LSA) huntergatherer and herder sites. During the course of the excavation a single 1m 1m square was excavated below the perceived end of the LSA, into what were presumed to be Middle Stone Age (MSA) artefact-bearing layers. The excavator's original division between the LSA and MSA layers of Klein Kliphuis is retained here as a useful distinction, though it is the contention of this paper that some of the artefacts excavated from below this division are of LSA association. Information pertaining to the LSA component of the site was published (van Rijssen 1992), but although the MSA component was sorted, it was neither analysed in depth nor published.
Publication Details
Mackay, A. (2006). A characterization of the MSA stone artefact assemblage from the 1984 excavations at Klein Kliphuis, Western Cape. South African Archaeological Bulletin, 61 (184), 181-188.