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Excavations in the Acheulean Levels at the Earlier Stone Age Site of Canteen Koppie, Northern Province, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2013

John McNabb  and
Peter Beaumont
John McNabb
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield Southampton SO17 1BF
Peter Beaumont
Affiliation:
c/o McGregor Museum, PO Box 316, Kimberley, 8300, Northern Cape, Republic of South Africa
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Abstract

The fluvial gravels of the river Vaal in South Africa have long been known as a source for Earlier Stone Age (ESA) artefacts. Most were discovered through the open cast mining for diamonds that has left very little in situ fluvial sediment remaining today. The site of Canteen Koppie is an internationally famous location with a reputation for prolific Acheulean artefacts, especially handaxes and the enigmatic prepared core and Levallois-like technology known as Victoria West. Our understanding of this site, and most other Vaal locations, is almost solely based on highly selected artefact collections. Here, we report on the first controlled excavations ever to be conducted at Canteen Koppie. The deposits are likely to date to the Early and Middle Pleistocene, and our excavations sample the full depth of the stratigraphic sequence. The lower units, first identified in these excavations, add a considerable time depth to the Acheulean occupation of the site, making this the longest chrono-stratigraphic sequence in South Africa to our knowledge. Given the current international interest in the origins of Levallois/prepared core technology (PCT), its occurrence in Unit 2b Upper, and its presence alongside Victoria West technology in Unit 2a has significant implications for debates on the role of Victoria West in the origins of PCT. From the Canteen Koppie evidence, Levallois and Victoria West are clearly rooted in the Acheulean.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 78 , 2012 , pp. 51 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 2012

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References

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