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Last Interglacial Sea Levels and Coastal Caves in the Cape Province, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Q. B. Hendey  and
T. P. Volman
Q. B. Hendey
Affiliation:
South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
T. P. Volman
Affiliation:
Intercollege Program in Archacology, 265 McGraw Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 USA
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Abstract

The dating of the 6 to 8-m shoreline in southern Africa as early Pleistocene prompted a reassessment of evidence from archaeological cave sites on the south coast of the Cape Province which had suggested that this shoreline is of last interglacial age. The successions in the caves at Klasies River Mouth and Die Kelders have been misinterpreted. In fact, they confirm a pre-last interglacial age for this feature. These sites, together with Herolds Bay Cave, indicate that in southern Africa the only last interglacial shoreline above present sea level is at about 4 m, and that it dates from isotope substage 5e.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , March 1986 , pp. 189 - 198
Copyright
University of Washington

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