Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa

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iepkloof Rock Shelter (DRS) is a rock shelter formed in an inselberg of tabular quartzite in the Western Cape province of South Africa 180-200km from Cape Town. The east facing shelter is 18km upstream from the mouth of the Verlorenvlei river, which runs into the Atlantic Ocean. DRS is one of many sites on the west coast of South Africa and is in proximity to Elands Bay Cave, Hollow Rock Shelter, Klipfonteinrand, Klein Kliphuis and Ysterfontein.

The site was excavated from 1973 until 2013, exposing a 3.1m sequence without hitting the bedrock. This sequence shows that the site was occupied from the MIS3 to the MIS5 without a notable hiatus. The sequence was divided into 8 main phases, which were further divided into 160 stratigraphic units. The 8 phases include Lower MSA, MSA “Mike”, pre-Still Bay, early Howiesons Poort, MSA “Jack”, Intermediate Howiesons Poort, Late Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort.

This site is renowned not only for its long MSA sequence but also for its preservation of organic material and abundance of engraved ostrich eggshells.

Further reading

• Charrié-Duhaut A., Porraz G., Cartwright C.R., Igreja M., Connan J., Poggenpoel C. & Texier P.-J., 2013 – First molecular identification of a hafting adhesive in the Late Howiesons Poort at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape, South Africa). Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 3506-3518
• Porraz G., Texier P.-J., Archer W., Piboule M., Rigaud J.-P. & Tribolo C., 2013 – Technological successions in the Middle Stone Age sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 3376-3400
• Texier P.-J., Porraz G., Parkington J., Rigaud J.-P., Poggenpoel C. & Tribolo C., 2013 – The context, form and significance of the MSA engraved ostrich eggshell collection from Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 3412-3431