THE PINNACLE POINT SHELL MIDDEN COMPLEX: A MIDTO LATE HOLOCENE RECORD OF LATER STONE AGE COASTAL FORAGING ALONG THE SOUTHERN CAPE COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA

Surveys identified a series ofHolocene Later Stone Age shell middens along the westernmost extent of the Pinnacle Point estate near Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. Excavations of the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex (PPSMC) in 2006 and 2007 revealed a well-preserved record of human activity ranging from 3000 ± 75 BP to 890 ± 30 BP across seven spatially and temporally distinct shell middens. These ages indicate that the PPSMC spans the recognised introduction of pastoral economies on the south coast. Divided into Areas 1-5 of the PPSMC, each stratified midden presents an insight into human subsistence patterns through time. The earlier occupied Areas 1,2 and 4 indicate a coastal forager subsistence pattern, focus-ing on the local terrestrial and marine resources, namely fish and molluscs foragedfrom the adjacent shoreline. Area 3, the youngest and only area post-dating the introduction of pastoralism, represents a herder-forager subsistence pattern and displays a stone-lined, heat-retaining earth oven, extensive spatial patterning, and the presence of pottery and domestic animals.