Understanding the Depositional History of the Archaeological Open-Air Site, Klein Hoek 1, South Africa, Using Geophysical Geoarchaeology

Abstract

Archaeological field research in South African archaeology has been dominated by rock shelters. While rock shelters provide the advantage of a defined area of investigation and more limited processes of erosion and sediment accumulation, they only capture part of the archaeological, environmental and landscape records. More of the record can be found in open-air sites; however, these require a different methodological approach within which geophysical techniques can be used to provide information on the stratigraphy of a site and identify possible subsurface archaeological anomalies, potentially reducing uncertainty and time-and-labour costs associated with traditional survey and excavation techniques. This study uses two geophysical methods, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and magnetometry, to further understand the stratigraphy and archaeology of Klein Hoek 1, an open-air site located adjacent to the Doring River in South Africa. This site contains one of the most important collections of bifacial points in southern Africa, which is a key region for understanding the emergence of behaviourally modern humans. The results of the ERT survey demonstrate that the stratigraphic unit from which the cluster of bifacial points protrudes extends throughout the subsurface of the site and is at least 8 m thick. The magnetometry survey reveals evidence of possible hearth anomalies within the subsurface, which are interpreted as areas of archaeological potential due to a correlation between the cluster of bifacial points and prehistoric burning. The results of this survey demonstrate that geophysical methods can be effective components of archaeological investigations in a southern African open-air context.