Sample name: Plovers Lake

Reference: D. J. de Ruiter, J. K. Brophy, P. J. Lewis, S. E. Churchill, and L. R. Berger. 2008. Faunal assemblage composition and paleoenvironment of Plovers Lake, a Middle Stone Age locality in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 55(6):1102-1117 [ER 3718]

Lithology: limestone

Taphonomic context: carnivore accumulation, cave

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "Plovers Lake is a dolomitic cave infill with two principal fossiliferous deposits": an internal deposit and a much older (c. 1 Ma) external deposit. "The internal deposit is comprised mainly of loosely calcified sediments with abundant faunal and archaeological materials. There are two discrete faunal assemblages of this deposit, a relatively undisturbed in situ component (FBU1), and a more heavily disturbed ex situ component above (PDU)".
"It is hypothesised that the PDU materials actually represent a disturbed component of the in situ FBU1 deposit that was displaced by miners. The two assemblages evince similar taxonomic representation, and the similarity in skeletal part representation supports a common origin for the two assemblages from the FBU1 sediments". As such, "the two assemblages represent a single faunal entity".
"Stone tools are present throughout, alongside human skeletal remains in FBU1". The tools consist of a total of 2072 lithic pieces, of which 1449 are undiagnostic chunks and debitage and 623 are identifiable cores, flakes, blades, and flake-blades".
Despite the presence of stone tools, human skeletal material, and some cut-marked bone, such "indications are too rare to consider Plovers Lake a human occupation site. Instead, a high abundance of carnivores, coprolites, and carnivore damaged bones point to brown hyenas as the principal, though not exclusive, bone accumulating agent".

Life forms: carnivores, primates, rodents, ungulates, other large mammals, other small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes, turtles, fishes

Sampling methods: quarry, screenwash

Sample size: 1739 specimens

Years: 2002 - 2004

Net or trap nights: 0

Basal area status: not applicable

Sampling comments: "Excavations of the Plovers Lake internal deposit were conducted from 2002–2004".
The PDU materials were excavated from two areas: above the upper flowstone inside the cave, and scattered in the vicinity of the entrance to the cave. After clearing the PDU sediments, portions of the capping Flowstone I were removed to allow access to the in situ FBU1 materials. Excavation proceeded using a point-provenience system whereby each skeletal element and artifact was individually plotted using an infrared theodolite. Sediments were sieved through a series of descending-size screens down to 0.4 mm, allowing for total recovery of all materials, including microfauna".

Sample no: 3942

Contributor no: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-04-01 13:42:20

Modified: 2022-04-05 07:12:36