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- Title
IN THE AIR: A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE BIRDS FROM SIBUDU CAVE, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA.
- Authors
PLUG, INA; CLARK, JAMIE L.
- Abstract
Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, has deep Middle Stone Age deposits from possibly older than 75 ka to ∼37 ka ago. Organic preservation is reasonable and bird remains occur throughout the sequence. Most of the taxa that were identified from the deposits still occur in the region. Many of the remains are from birds that roost and nest in caves and shelters. Although bird remains are particularly plentiful in the pre-Still Bay and Still Bay deposits, taxonomic diversity peaks in the overlying Howieson's Poort. Members of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons) are the most frequently represented throughout the deposits. Studies of micromammals suggest that owls were probably the main accumulators of small animals, including birds. Water birds occur throughout the sequence and attest to the presence of open, fresh water. The pelagic and coastal birds could have been scavenged by people on the beach, but could also have been blozon inland during storms. The paucity of bird bones in the thick anthropogenic deposits of the post-Howieson's Poort, late MSA and final MSA suggests that birds were seldom, if ever, hunted. Preliminary taphonomic analysis indicates an absence of damage that may be associated with human processing on the bones. Fewer burnt bones (mammal and birds), the presence of many complete or nearly complete bird bones, and the high bird bone to mammal bone ratio in the lower deposits, particularly in the pre-Still Bay and Still Bay, suggest periods, however brief, of less intensive human occupation. The bird remains provide no clear evidence of climate or environmental change.
- Subjects
SIBUDU Cave (South Africa); SOUTH Africa; BIRDS; VERTEBRATES; CAVES
- Publication
Goodwin Series, 2008, Vol 10, p133
- ISSN
0304-3460
- Publication type
Article