Shellfish gathering during MIS 5c-d at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: An inter-assemblage comparison

Abstract

Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, both situated in the southern Cape, South Africa, provide new insights on shellfish harvesting behaviour during MIS 5c-d. This is a period linked to the MSA II Lower or Mossel Bay techno-complex. The shellfish assemblage composition at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave are somewhat different and fluctuation in species representation occurs through time at each site. For example, at Klasies River main site, Turbo sarmaticus and Perna perna are predominant while some of the lesser represented species include Diloma sinensis and Burnupena cincta limbosa. T. sarmaticus dominates the Blombos Cave shellfish assemblage followed by Cymbula oculus, P. perna, Dinoplax gigas, and Scutellastra argenvillei. The coastal habitat at both sites were generally rocky with smaller sandy shores during some periods, especially in layers Black Occupational Soils Three (Klasies River main site) and CJ (Blombos Cave). Sea surface temperatures were relatively colder than today in the southern Cape during this period. T. sarmaticus individuals are larger at Blombos Cave than at Klasies River Main site and there are clear differences in the ratio of T. sarmaticus shell weight to opercula weight at Klasies River main site compared to Blombos Cave. Size differences may be explained by climatic or environmental factors, and contrasting ratios may have resulted from different processing strategies at these two sites. Alternatively, the Klasies River deposits may have been subjected to more intensive post depositional processes influencing the preservation of the shell.