Micromorphology and site formation at Die Kelders Cave I, South Africa

Abstract

The deposits of Die Kelders I were previously described and studied by Tankard and Schweitzer (1974, 1976) from the standpoint of classical granulometric analysis of sand from a coastal cave in order to infer the geological history of the cave and its environs. This paper supplements these earlier works by taking a more holistic approach toward site formation processes by including investigation of the biogenic and anthropogenic influences on the cave deposits and history. The study employs the technique of soil micromorphology, which is the study of resin-impregnated, undisturbed blocks of sediment and petrographic thin sections, in which sediments from all areas of the cave were examined. The study showed that diagenesis of the deposits in the eastern areas of the excavation resulted in decalcification, which in turn brought about slumping and compaction. Equivalent stratigraphic layers exposed in the western and central areas were only mildly decalcified and consequently, these sediments contain limestone rock fall and relatively abundant marine and terrestrial mollusks, the latter not dissimilar to the Late Stone Age (LSA) midden which covers these deposits. Thus, in spite of lowered and more distant shorelines, marine resources were exploited during Middle Stone Age (MSA) times. Observations from these calcareous units also clearly demonstrates that previously recognized 'occupational horizons' (e.g. Layers 6, 8 and 10) can be resolved micromorphologically into several ephemeral events, such as burning/fire, redistribution of ashes by wind and water, and non-deposition; the latter is shown by phosphatic alteration of sediments exposed on former surfaces and accumulation of guano, or the presence of millimeter-thick truncation surfaces below which aeolian dust infiltrated. Both field and microscopic observations illustrate that the deposits in caves are highly variable from wall to center, and that excavations should not be localized in just one microenvironment of the cave site.