STEENBOKFONTEIN 9KR: A MIDDLE STONE AGE SPRING SITE IN LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA

摘要

Steenbokfontein 9KR is a Middle Stone Age spring site in the Waterberg, Limpopo. It is situated in a geological remnant, the Vaalwater Formation, a former basin that filled with fine-grained siltstone and sandstone. The ready supplies of water and siliceous rock attracted Stone Age settlement. The petrographic and XRF analyses suggest that the rock used is silicified siltstone. The outcrop is exposed at the spring and the site appears to have been deliberately exploited for tool-making rock. Here, people tested rock slabs for their suitability and knapped some flakes and blades on site. The excavated area shows signs of post-depositional disturbance, and damage that resembles trampling is present on both lithics and geological pieces of siltstone. Phytolith preservation is excellent and a woodland savanna is implied by the identifications. Cyperaceae once grew around the spring, although they no longer do.