Border Cave, South Africa

Abstract

Border Cave in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, preserves a long and continuous archaeological record from 227 ka to 24 ka years ago, rendering it a key Middle Stone Age site in southern Africa. It has yielded the skeletal remains of eight anatomically modern Homo sapiens individuals, a lithic sequence that includes MSA 1, MSA 2, MSA 3, and Early Later Stone Age Industries, ochre, marine shells, the oldest burial associated with a personal ornament, and early expressions of complex cognition and innovation. Organic preservation is remarkable, with grass bedding that contains aromatic leaves with insecticidal properties found throughout the sequence. The bedding layers show that it was systematically placed on a layer of ash to deter crawling insects. Comprehending that aromatic leaves and ash deter pests, and using them as tools for delayed gratification following planning and strategizing, and organization that entailed a sequence of events, implies that complex cognition was in place from 200,000 years ago. Charred underground storage organs come from layers dated to 170,000 years ago, making them the oldest known examples of cooked starchy rhizomes. The fact that the rhizomes were cooked implies that the inhabitants of the shelter were able to make fire at will, another indication of complex cognition in early modern humans. A range of organic remains such as ostrich eggshell beads and bone points used as poisoned arrowheads are found in Early Later Stone Age layers starting at around 44,000 years ago, and they represent the earliest examples of modern human behavior as we know it.