The archaeology of the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin, Lesotho, southern Africa: changes in Later Stone Age regional demography.

The archaeology of the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin, Lesotho, southern Africa: changes in Later Stone Age regional demography. Field survey of an unexplored zone of southern Africa enlarges anddevelops knowledge of the region's prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to .IntroductionDespite earlier projects in other parts of the country (Carter 1978;Parkington et al. 1987) and the sporadic interest of a few SouthAfrican-based workers (e.g. Malan 1942), western Lesotho has largelybeen neglected archaeologically. This paper summarizes research carriedout between 1988 and 1990 to establish a local cultural-stratigraphicsequence and to investigate the settlement and subsistence patterns ofits hunter-gatherer inhabitants. Initial results indicate major changesin regional land-use within the Holocene as well as between the Middleand Later Stone Ages.The Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin (PTB PTB Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany)PTB Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (Brazilian Labor Party)PTB Phosphotyrosine-BindingPTB Powers That BePTB Power Tab Basin) was chosen. Much ofit had already been extensively explored in the search for rockpaintings (Smits 1983) and many archaeological sites, some with obviousexcavation potential, were already known. It lies close to the importantSouth African site of Rose Cottage Cave across the Caledon River The Caledon River, or Mohokare in Sesotho, is located in south-east Africa, rising in the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho. It then flows south-west, marking the border with South Africa before entering South Africa's Free State province. (Malan1952; Beaumont 1978), the focus of a major research project in theeastern Orange Free State (Wadley 1991), opening up the possibility ofcomparing results and integrating observations to produce a prehistoryof the Caledon Valley as a whole. Thirdly, the location of the NationalUniversity of Lesotho within the study area provided a central base andgreatly facilitated research.Previous archaeological work in the PTB Basin has been extremelylimited. Macfarlane MacFarlane or Macfarlane is a surname shared by: Alan Macfarlane (born 1941), a professor of anthropological science at Cambridge University Alexander Macfarlane (mathematician) (1851-1913), a Scottish-Canadian logician, physicist, and mathematician (1943) noted Middle Stone Age (MSA) artefacts in agravel bed near Masianokeng, while Ellenberger (1960: 460-62) reportedtheir occurrence at Liphokoaneng and Thaba Bosiu, and excavated nearMorija to the south of the Basin (Vinnicombe 1976: 113). Subsequently,Mokoallong shelter, a small site near the University campus, wasexcavated prior to its destruction during road construction. It seems tohave had some 35 cm of culture-bearing stratigraphy stratigraphy,branch of geology specifically concerned with the arrangement of layered rocks (see stratification). Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition, which states that in a normal sequence of rock layers the youngest is on top and the oldest on the as well as a basallayer that yielded 'a great quantity of bone and evidence of alarge number of "hearths" consisting of bone and carbonisedblack and reddish material in close proximity' (Connelly 1981), butthe excavation was carried out with minimal controls and the finds havesince been lost; the brief description suggests they were Later StoneAge (LSA). Investigation of two abandoned Basotho village sites byWalton (1956) completes the record of pre-1988, non-rock art archaeologyin the PTB Basin; along with his earlier investigation of another suchsettlement (Walton 1953), it represents the only Iron Age research thusfar within Lesotho.The exception to this dearth of activity is the ARAL ARAL Aromaten/Aliphaten (German Gasoline Company)ARAL Average Route Acquisition Latency rock-artrecording project of Smits (1983), which intensively surveyed theeastern two-thirds of the Basin, the first rock art study in the regionsince the pioneering work of Wilman (1911). All paintings found by ARALwere comprehensively photographed and sketched, and some tracings weresubsequently made from slides. A detailed analysis of the distributionof these sites in relation to the physical environment and each otherwas undertaken, but studies of the paintings' subjects usinginformation obtained from San ethnography (cf. Lewis-Williams (1981))remain to be carried out.Environment and palaeoenvironmentThe research area is bordered on the west by the Caledon River, theboundary between Lesotho and the Orange Free State province of SouthAfrica South Africa,Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. , and on the east by the Front Range of the Maluti Mountains.Through its centre, the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu River flows in agenerally northeast-southwest direction. Vegetation, topography andaltitude allow three geographical zones to be distinguished (afterGuillarmod 1971): lowlands, foothills and mountains. In the lowlands,steep bluffs and cliffs form the perimeter of large plateaux with agently rolling landscape in between, cut across by prominent dolerite dol��er��ite?n. Chiefly BritishA dark, fine-grained igneous rock; diabase.[French dol��rite, from Greek doleros, deceitful (from its easily being mistaken for diorite) dykes. The dykes are archaeologically important as sources of flakeablestone where they have metamorphosed older sedimentary rocks. Over muchof the lowlands, sandstones of the Clarens Formation The Clarens Formation is a prominent fossil site in the Tuli Basin, in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. Flora and Fauna of the Clarens FormationTermites Semionotus capensis Pachygenelius monus Tritylodon maximus are the outcroppingrock; most of the rock-shelters in the Basin are within them, typicallybelow plateau summits or in river valleys. Extensive boulder fieldsoccur on mesa slopes, and these were also a focus for prehistoricoccupation. The lowlands, now densely settled and cultivated, werebefore the early 19th century covered by a mixed to sourCymbopogon-Themeda grassland (Acocks 1975: 88), in which trees were muchmore numerous than they are now (Arbousset & Daumas 1968). On-goingsoil erosion and donga (gully) formation are relatively recent (Germond1968).The foothills, a zone of highly irregular outline, follow the contourof the mountains; they begin between 1800 and 1900 m above sea-level atthe junction between the Clarens sandstone and the overlying overlyingsuffocation of piglets by the sow. The piglets may be weak from illness or malnutrition, the sow may be clumsy or ill, the pen may be inadequate in size or poorly designed so that piglets cannot escape. basalts ofthe Lesotho Formation. Much of this area is also heavily cultivated,with higher areas principally used for grazing. Trees are more commonhere, and vegetation is transitional to the alpine grassland thatdominates in the mountains, of which only the area west of the watershedof the Front Range of the Maluti falls within the region studied. Thisalpine grassland, dominated by Themeda triandra Themeda triandra is a perrenial grass widespread in Australia, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as the kangaroo grass, in South Africa it is known as red grass or is Afrikaans rooigras. and, particularly athigher elevations and on north-facing slopes, species of Festuca,extends eastward, broken only by the valleys of major rivers, as far asthe Natal border. Pipe amygdales in the basalt basalt(bəsôlt`, băs`ôlt), fine-grained rock of volcanic origin, dark gray, dark green, brown, reddish, or black in color. Basalt is an igneous rock, i.e., one that has congealed from a molten state. foothills and mountainsare the source of the opalines (crypto-crystalline silicas) that were apreferred lithic lith��ic?1?adj.Consisting of or relating to stone or rock.Adj. 1. lithic - of or containing lithium2. lithic - relating to or composed of stone; "lithic sandstone" raw material, either eroded out and carried downstreamin rivers or as veins exposed in the lava.The region's climate is subhumid -- warm summers and coolwinters -- with considerable local and annual variation in bothtemperature and precipitation. At Maseru, July temperatures range from amean maximum of 28 |degrees~ C to a mean minimum of 14.3 |degrees~ C,with corresponding January figures of 15.5 |degrees~ C and -0.1 |degree~C. Mean annual rainfall at Maseru is 638 mm and rises rapidly onapproaching the Front Range of the Maluti (Bawden & Carroll 1968).Most rain falls in summer, with frequent hail and thunderstorms. Snow ismostly a winter phenomenon, persisting for up to several weeks in themountains, and frosts are extensive. Droughts are not uncommon, althoughnot always as severe as that of 1991/92.Palaeoenvironmental observations from within the research area derivefrom charcoal and archaeozoological studies. Early Holocene faunalassemblages suggest that environmental conditions at that time differedfrom the historically observed situation. Both red duiker duiker(dī`kər, dā`–), name for members of a group of small, light antelopes, found in thick brush and forest over most of Africa. All stand under 25 in. (64 cm) high at the shoulder. (Cephalophusnatalensis) and blue duiker (C. monticola) occur at Ha Makotoko,pointing to increased tree/bush cover between 10,000 and 8000 b.p.,while the early Holocene fauna at Rose Cottage Cave includes vervetmonkey vervet monkeyor vervetAny of several African races of slim, arboreal, diurnal Old World monkeys of the guenon species Cercopithecus aethiops and C. pygerythrus (family Cercopithecidae). They have large cheek pouches. (Cercopithecus aethiops), kudu kudu(k`d), short-haired African antelope, genus Strepsiceros. (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) andsable antelope (Hippotragus cf. equinus) indicating that 'thevalley of the Caledon River, or perhaps the area in general, could havebeen more wooded' (Plug & Engela 1992). The now-extinct blueantelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) occurs at both these sites as well asat Tloutle and Ntloana Tsoana in the first half of the Holocene, but thepossibility that it survived in the Orange Free State into historictimes (Colahan 1990; Loubser et al. 1990) means that this is unlikely tohave palaeoenvironmental implications.These archaeozoological observations can be checked against theresults obtained from analysing charcoals at Rose Cottage Cave (Wadleyet al. 1992). The early Holocene levels in which the above-mentionedspecies occur are also unique in having charcoals dominated by Buddleja,suggesting slightly warmer and/or drier conditions than the middle andlater Holocene assemblages in which a wider variety of species is commonand the more moisture-demanding Leucosidea sericea Leucosidea sericea, commonly known as Oldwood, is a species of evergreen tree and large shrub native to the Afromontane regions of Southern Africa. It is the sole species of genus Leucosidea.L. dominant. Theoccurrence of trees such as Acacia karroo Acacia karroo is a species of Acacia, native to southern Africa from southern Angola east to Mozambique, and south to South Africa.[2]It is a shrub or small tree which grows to height of 12m. and Grewia monticola alsosuggests that conditions were warmer than at present between 5000 and6000 b.p. The much higher frequency of ostrich ostrich,common name for a large flightless bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa and parts of SW Asia, allied to the rhea, the emu and the extinct moa. It is the largest of living birds; some males reach a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb eggshell in early/middle,compared to recent, Holocene PTB Basin assemblages may also indicatethat conditions before 5000 b.p. were a little warmer and/or drier thanin the 19th century, when ostriches appear to have been absent from theregion.The late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of Eemian interglacial phase before final glacial episode of Pleistocene 126,000 �� 5,000 years ago. levels at Rose Cottage Cave, dominated by Protea proteaof South Africa. [Flower Symbolism: WB, 7: 264]See : Flower Or Plant, National and other heathland Noun 1. heathland - a tract of level wasteland; uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetationheathbarren, wasteland, waste - an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation; "the barrens of central Africa"; "the trackless wastes of species, are not relevant as only minimally datedlate Pleistocene assemblages were recovered in the PTB Basin (Mitchell& Steinberg 1992). Analysis of charcoal assemblages from siteswithin the Basin is currently under way to enlarge upon the Rose CottageCave observations.Resources for hunter-gatherers and a model for land-useAssessment of the resources available within the PTB Basin to ahunting-gathering population is based partly upon archaeological sourcesand partly upon what is available there today. Although intensiveagricultural settlement has greatly impoverished the present-day fauna,early 19th-century accounts (e.g. Arbousset & Daumas 1968) documentlarge numbers of antelope, and the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Riveritself is named after the common duiker The Common Duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia, also known as the Gray or Bush Duiker, is a small antelope with small horns found in west, central, east, and southern Africa- essentially everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the horn of Africa and the (Sylvicapra grimmia Sylvicapra grimmiasee duiker. ; Phuti inSesotho). Faunal assemblages from archaeological contexts confirm thepresence of other species (Plug 1993). A shift in exploration to smalland medium-sized bovids and from large bovids and equids c. 9500 b.p. isthe only clear sign of temporal change. As well as a wide variety ofungulates ungulates, ungulataanimals with hooves; cattle, sheep, goat, pig, horse and many wild and other domesticated species. , LSA populations in the PTB Basin made use of ground game,notably rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) and porcupine porcupine, in zoologyporcupine,member of either of two rodent families, characterized by having some of its hairs modified as bristles, spines, or quills. (Hystrixafricae-australis), while occasionally exploiting birds, fish andfresh-water molluscs (Plug 1993; Mitchell 1993a).No plant remains except charcoals were recovered from theexcavations, and there is therefore no direct evidence for plant-foodexploitation. However, a wide range of plant foods is still present(Mitchell 1993b: table 18) and Arbousset & Daumas (1968: 250) referto the gathering of geophytes, which are likely to have concentrated inthe foothills zone and along dolerite dykes. With patches of indigenousforest more widespread before 1820 than today, fruit-bearing trees arelikely to have been common in the lowlands and in kloofs in thefoothills.FIGURE 1 shows that foothill and lowland zones substantiallyinterpenetrate in��ter��pen��e��trate?v. in��ter��pen��e��trat��ed, in��ter��pen��e��trat��ing, in��ter��pen��e��tratesv.intr.To become mixed or united by penetration: planes that interpenetrate in a painting. within the PTB Basin. Consequently, it would have beenpossible to be based almost anywhere within the Basin and still have hadeasy access to both zones. This is reflected, for example, in the faunalassemblage from Tloutle (Plug 1993), which includes lowland species suchas zebra (Equus burchelli), black wildebeest (Conno-chaetes gnou) andspringbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), as well as those characteristic ofhilly slopes (e.g. mountain reedbuck Redunca arundinum) and rockyoutcrops (e.g. klip-springer Oreotragus oreotragus). Specific localfactors, such as site aspect and size or the local availability of plantfoods and firewood, may thus have conditioned the choice of which siteto occupy and at what time of the year, rather than macroscaleecological variation. In Humphreys' (1987) terms, the PTB Basin mayhave been a relatively unstructured environment. The one probableexception are the mountains along the eastern edge of the PTB Basin,where both plant and animal resources are likely to have beencomparatively scarce, and, well above the Clarens sandstone, naturalshelter is also lacking. Survey of parts of this area finds very fewsites, either at valley necks or where opaline o��pal?n.1. A mineral of hydrated silica.2. A gemstone made of this mineral, noted for its rich iridescence.[Middle English opalus, from Latin, alteration of Greek veins outcrop at the topof the basalt (Parkington & Mitchell 1993). Such sites consist ofartefact See artifact. scatters with few formal tools reflecting an ephemeraloccupation, either transient between the Basin and the main valleys ofthe Senqunyane and Senqu Rivers, and/or probably seasonal andactivity-specific, one possible activity being the acquisition ofopaline raw materials.Summary of fieldworkIn this archaeological terra incognita in��cog��ni��ta?adv. & adj.With one's identity disguised or concealed. Used of a woman.n.A woman or girl whose identity is disguised or concealed. the primary objective of thefirst two field seasons was to locate and excavate sites with longcultural sequences. Survey concentrated where the Clarens sandstoneoutcrops and shelters occur. In 1990 attention switched to the locationand test-excavation of smaller shelters to provide a balance with thelarger ones already excavated. Open sites, mostly discovered en passant,do not appear to be common, although finds of isolated artefacts arewidespread. The further expansion of survey coverage away from theClarens sandstone and areas bordering it is a matter for futureresearch. Estimating overall site density is difficult; combining datafrom ARAL (Smits 1983) with those from the areas surveyed in 1988-90, itseems likely that 500 or so sites, including those with paintings, mayexist in the Basin.lab. no. uncalibrated layer associated determination b.p. assemblageHa MakotokoPta-5191 8370|+ or -~80 GWA 'later Oakhurst'Pta-5192 8950|+ or -~80 BLOS-UR 'later Oakhurst'Pta-5204 9290|+ or -~90 BLOS-LR OakhurstPta-5205 9970|+ or -~90 BLOS-LR OakhurstNtloana TsoanaPta-5238 8780|+ or -~30 MCS 'later Oakhurst'Pta-5207 9690|+ or -~120 BLOS OakhurstPta-5237 9420|+ or -~110 BLOS OakhurstPta-5208 10,200|+ or -~100 BLOS OakhurstPta-5236 12,110|+ or -~120 BLOS OakhurstTloutleOxA-4069 715|+ or -~65 Interior post-classic WiltonOxA-4070 375|+ or -~65 Interior post-classic WiltonOxA-4068 5080|+ or -~80 BGL classic WiltonPta-5158 6140|+ or -~100 CCL classic WiltonPta-5162 6910|+ or -~80 CSLUP classic WiltonPta-5171 7230|+ or -~80 CSLLR early WiltonPta-5172 8680|+ or -~70 GS 'later Oakhurst'TABLE 1. Radiocarbon dates from the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin sites.At each site the presence/absence of stone artefacts, paintings, dagaplaster and stone-walling were recorded, along with basic locationaldata. Excavation potential was assessed by extent of visiblearchaeological deposit and of surface artefact scatters. In all, sixshelters were excavated, three in the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Valleyitself, two at the upper limit of the Clarens sandstone and one in amore open, lowland situation. The surface artefacts from two open sitesand nine further shelters have also been analysed. Results ofexcavations at Tloutle (Mitchell 1990; 1993b), Ha Makotoko (Mitchell1993a), Ntloana Tsoana (Mitchell & Steinberg 1992; Mitchell 1993a)and Leqhetsoana (Mitchell et al. in press) have already been TABULARDATA OMITTED published. Dating of these sites is provided by 13conventional radiocarbon dates, supplemented by six AMS AMS - Andrew Message System dates on boneartefacts from Tloutle and Leqhetsoana.Contrasts in Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age settlement patternsIn an earlier consideration of site patterning in Lesotho, Bousman(1988) identified contrasting MSA and LSA settlement patterns in theSenqunyane Valley. The distribution of MSA and LSA sites in the PTBBasin shows similar patterning, although survey coverage was neithercomplete nor statistically random. While the majority of MSA sites areopen, most LSA sites are rock-shelters, more than 90% if sites withpaintings but no artefacts are included. Burial of MSA artefacts beneathsubsequent deposit such that they are not visible to surface inspectionis not considered a biasing factor here. The few shelters with MSAartefacts occur exclusively in the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Valley oralong the escarpment escarpmentor scarp,long cliff, bluff, or steep slope, caused usually by geologic faulting (see fault) or by erosion of tilted rock layers. An example of a fault scarp is the north face of the San Jacinto Mts. in California. at the top of the Clarens sandstone, whereas smallnumbers of LSA shelters are found in both the foothills and thelowlands. A further contrast is apparent in the open sites: MSA sitesconcentrate in the foothills, gorge and escarpment, LSA sites in thelowlands. Furthermore, MSA open sites often occupy prominent positionswithin the landscape that give excellent views over wide areas. Sitessuch as 2927 BC 19 and 2927 BC 39 may have been look-out stations forobserving game. The absence of LSA sites in comparable situations mayimply differences in hunting strategy compared with the MSA, possiblyincluding a shift from hunting larger groups of animals (with largernumbers of people?) to more individually targeted hunting with traps andsnares.The PTB Basin data fit well those reported by Bousman (1988), andpreliminary analysis of site distributions in the Upper Orange RiverValley (Mitchell in prep.) suggests the same pattern. Identity ofpattern does not mean identity of cause, and we should be wary both ofbiases in our data (e.g. MSA occupations of shelters may be evident onlyfrom excavation, and not from any surface indications), and ofcontrasting too strongly MSA and LSA patterns, generated over longperiods and under differing environmental conditions, that may subsume sub��sume?tr.v. sub��sumed, sub��sum��ing, sub��sumesTo classify, include, or incorporate in a more comprehensive category or under a general principle: much chronological and organizational variability. Although Bousman(1988: 35) has tentatively identified the patterns found in theSenqunyane Valley with the radiating/rotating dichotomy of Marks &Friedel (1977), he correctly points out that more information is neededbefore MSA and LSA settlement patterns in Lesotho can be accuratelycharacterized.Changes in Later Stone Age settlement patternsWith the exception of a terminal Pleistocene Robberg Industryassemblage from the base of the deposit at Tloutle (Mitchell 1990;1993b), LSA archaeology in the PTB Basin appears entirely to post-date12,000 b.p. Three phases can be identified.At Ntloana Tsoana and Ha Makotoko highly informal assemblages datingto between 12,000 and 9500 b.p. have been assigned to the OakhurstComplex; they differ from the better known Lockshoek industry of theKaroo ka��rooalso kar��roo ?n. pl. ka��roosAn arid plateau of southern Africa.[Afrikaans, from Nama !garo-b, desert. and Orange Free State, notably in being dominated by opalinesrather than hornfels horn��fels?n. pl. hornfelsA fine-grained metamorphic rock composed of quartz, feldspar, mica, and other minerals, formed by the action of intrusive rock upon sedimentary rock, especially shale. , despite the widespread availability of bothmaterials in western Lesotho (Mitchell 1993a). This may indicate adeliberate choice on the part of the assemblages' makers to asserta social identity distinct from groups to the west of the Caledon River,where opalines are not found (Mitchell & Vogel 1992). No open sitescan be assigned to this period, and there is no occupation at RoseCottage Cave at this time (Wadley & Vogel 1991), or at other sitesin the Caledon Valley. A relatively sparse settlement seems to havefavoured large shelters.Among several changes apparent around 9500 b.p. is the appearance oflarge numbers of relatively high scrapers with a steep adze-like retouchalong one or both lateral edges, apparently to assist hafting Hafting is a process by which an artifact, often bone, metal, or stone, is attached to a handle or strap. This makes the artifact more useful by allowing it to be fired (as in the case of an arrowhead), thrown (as a spear), or leveraged more effectively (as an axe or adze). . These'Woodlot scrapers' (Mitchell et al. in press), a distinctiveaspect of the widespread 'duckbill scraper' phenomenon(Goodwin & Van Riet Lowe 1929), form a well-defined horizon inLesotho and the northeastern Cape Province between 9500 and 7000 b.p.Also evident in the Ha Makotoko and Ntloana Tsoana sequences areincreases in bipolar flaking and in the amount of crystal quartz, thefirst appearance of ilmenite ilmenite(ĭl`mĕnīt), black mineral, iron titanium oxide, FeTiO3, crystallizing in the hexagonal system. It is sometimes found as tabular hexagonal crystals but occurs more commonly as small grains in igneous and metamorphic (source of a black pigment extensively usedin the 19th century; Arbousset & Daumas 1968) and an increasedconcentration on smaller bovids rather than large bovids and equids inthe faunal assemblages. Similar assemblages occur elsewhere in theCaledon Valley, at the base of sequences at Liphofung in northwesternLesotho (J. Kaplan pers. comm.) and Masitise in the southwest (Mitchellet al. in press), while Rose Cottage Cave was also reoccupied c. 9250|+or -~70 b.p. (Wadley & Vogel 1991). No open sites of this age werefound in the PTB Basin, but such a site occurs at Woodlot insouthwestern Lesotho (Parkington et al. 1987) and Ellenberger (1960:471) records finding 'duckbill' scrapers in open-air contextsnear Cana, Berea District.Assemblages belonging to the succeeding Interior Wilton Industry arerepresented in the PTB Basin only at Tloutle, though they also occur atRose Cottage (Wadley 1991) and Masitise (Mitchell et al. in press). Theyshow a marked increase in the frequency of backed microliths,particularly segments (which appear for the first time), and shifts inscraper morphology away from long, quadrilateral quadrilateralhaving four sides. forms with adze-likelateral retouch towards smaller scrapers that are more diverse in planform, position of retouch and the blank used for their manufacture. Aswith the earlier assemblages, archaeological occupation seems to havebeen mostly tied to large shelters; the settlement pattern is largelythe same as that for the assemblages with Woodlot scrapers. Between c.7200 and 6100 b.p. the high artefact and bone densities at Tloutle alongwith the presence of the only grindstones and hearths withstone-settings in the Tloutle sequence may indicate that this sitefunctioned in an aggregation role by some of Wadley's (1987)criteria. The concentration of ostrich eggshell beads, IndianOcean-derived Nassarius kraussianus shells and ochre at Ha Makotokocontrasts with their virtual or complete absence at Ntloana Tsoanabetween 10,000 and 8400 b.p.; the former site may also have been used ina phase of social aggregation and the latter in a phase of dispersal.Small-scale excavation has not confirmed this in the spatial patterningof artefact distributions and nor are differences in lithic assemblagesapparent. Identification of specific site roles within the regionalsettlement system requires further excavation and will need a conceptualframework that goes beyond an aggregation/dispersal dichotomy.FIGURE 5 shows that the dearth of radiocarbon-dated occupations inthe PTB Basin between 5000 and 1000 b.p. reflects the situation in theCaledon Valley as a whole -- and in eastern Lesotho (Carter et al.1988), the northeastern Cape Province (Opperman 1987) and the MiddleOrange River Valley (Sampson 1972), although in these cases reoccupationis evident earlier than in the Caledon Valley. While no simpleexplanation of this phenomenon is likely, its widespread natureimplicates environmental factors; Deacon (1974) has argued that morearid conditions, between 6000 and 4500 b.p., may have increased the riskto hunter-gatherers of using the interior of the subcontinent. Massivebodies of a fine, tan-coloured silt deposited sometime after 8370|+ or-~80 b.p. cap the levels containing Woodlot scrapers at Ha Makotoko andNtloana Tsoana; the same sediment occurs at other sites (e.g. Ha Nqosaand possibly Tloutle) in the research area. Apparently aeolian Ae��o��li��an?adj.1. Of or relating to Aeolis or its people or culture.2. Greek Mythology Of or relating to Aeolus.3. aeolian Variant of eolian.n.1. inorigin, it may have been laid down during the warmer, more aridconditions of the mid Holocene. Nevertheless, the lack of dated sitesfor several millennia after 4500 b.p. remains puzzling; field surveyneeds to investigate the possibility that occupation shifted entirelyaway from rock shelters and into the open at this time.The PTB Basin was reoccupied, c. 700 b.p., in a very differentsettlement pattern that has left the most obvious archaeological imprinton the present landscape. Recent LSA occupation can be found in severallarge shelters, but is associated with little build-up of deposit and isoften more strongly indicated by surface artefact scatters and paintingson shelter walls. Occupation is also evident as artefact scatters withinand on the talus slopes of many small overhangs and in front of largeboulders which were presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. the focus for brush shelters. Arbousset& Daumas (1968: 250) describe early 19th-century San settlements as'some huts of branches, and three or four cabins of another kindconstructed among the rocks, with which they might readily be confoundedat a distance'. Associated artefact assemblages arescraper-dominated, but also rich in adzes; backed microliths arerelatively few TABULAR DATA OMITTED in number, and various kinds ofbacked bladelet and backed point are often more common than segments. AtTloutle and Leqhetsoana bone points are found; it is likely theypartially replaced backed microliths as arrow armatures (Humphreys1979). Fragments of bifacially pressure-flaked arrowheads occur at twosites and several pressure-flaked backed microliths at Leqhetsoana(Mitchell 1991).While most recent Holocene LSA assemblages in the PTB Basin sharethis 'standard' post-classic Wilton pattern, two assemblagesstand out by having a relatively low scraper: adze adze,tool similar in purpose and use to an axe but with the cutting edge at right angles to the handle rather than aligned with it. The details of construction of a particular adze will depend on its intended application. ratio (Mokhokhong and2927 BD 27), and one (2927 BD 16) is both poor in formal tools andhornfels-dominated. Variation in assemblage composition over smalldistances is also a feature of southern Lesotho and differs markedlyfrom the higher-level geographical variation in formal tool frequenciesthat has elsewhere in southern Africa been related to the carrying outof different activities in different ecological zones (e.g. Carter 1978;Cable 1984). In the PTB Basin our small number of observations hints atformal tools being more common in the west than in the east. Why isthere so little spatial patterning in assemblage composition? Firstly,the scale of the analysis may be too small, and ecological variationwithin the PTB Basin relatively minor: assemblage variability will onlybecome apparent along a longer transect running from the Orange FreeState up into the Maluti. Secondly, land utilization, more uniform inthe PTB Basin than in eastern Lesotho/southern Natal, may not haveinvolved major seasonal movements. If site use was conditioned by morespecific local factors and underwent changes of function over time,artefact signatures may have blurred into a generalized pattern,scraper-dominated, but rich in adzes. Anomalous signatures may representsites occupied less often. This would fit both the model of land-useproposed above, and observations from the northeastern Cape Province(Opperman 1987) that suggest long-distance seasonal movements havepreviously been overemphasized in Drakensberg prehistory.A small site, rock-focused recent LSA pattern is also evident insouthern Lesotho (Mitchell et al. in press) and in other parts of thesubcontinent (e.g. Parkington 1987). Along with a more dispersedsettlement pattern we may infer smaller group size and more frequentresidential shifts; in recent centuries this pattern, linked to theintensive exploitation of plant foods, ground game and small bovids, mayhave been a response to the sharing of the landscape, not always onfriendly terms, with food-producers (Parkington et al. 1986). Occupationof the Caledon Valley by Iron Age agropastoralists seems to have takenplace from the beginning of the 17th century AD, although older sitesare known in the northern Orange Free State (Maggs 1976); seasonalgrazing and trade with indigenous hunter-gatherers may have preceededformal Iron Age settlement. That both the PTB Basin and the CaledonValley as a whole appear to witness a reoccupation by hunter-gatherersabout 600-700 years ago (with the exception of a single, slightly olderdate from Rose Cottage Cave) may not be coincidental; did the near-bypresence of Iron Age people act as a 'magnet' to drawhunter-gatherers back into the Caledon Valley in archaeologicallyvisible numbers? Attractions may have included cereals, iron, livestockand livestock products, with hunter-gatherers offering services asherders and producers of ostrich eggshell beads, feathers, skins, honey,wild game and other resources. Archaeologically, we can document onlyostrich eggshell beads at several Iron Age sites in the Orange FreeState (Maggs 1976), but exchange of other products is attested in Sothooral tradition. For example, the grandmother of the Phuti chief Moorosiis said to have bartered tobacco and hemp hemp,common name for a tall annual herb (Cannabis sativa) of the family Cannabinaceae, native to Asia but now widespread because of its formerly large-scale cultivation for the bast fiber (also called hemp) and for the drugs it yields. which she had grown for hyrax hyrax(hī`răks), name for rabbit-sized mammals of Africa and SW Asia comprising the family Procavidae. Although rodentlike in appearance, hyraxes are hoofed mammals, or ungulates (see Chordata), most closely related to elephants and sea cows. skins and ostrich feathers procured by the San (Ellenberger 1911: 27),while San use of iron for arrowheads is documented by Casalis (1930).San hunter-gatherers continued to exist in TABULAR DATA OMITTED thePTB Basin, as in other parts of Lesotho, into the early 19th century.Arbousset & Daumas (1968) and Stow (1905: 183) noted that at leastthe western part of the PTB Basin 'from the Makaleng or KornetSpruit to beyond Thaba Bosigo, including the 'Kheme (Qeme)'was occupied by a group that extended southwards as far as theWepener/Zastron area. This group was called Baroa ba Makhoma Khotu bythe Basotho as some of them possessed cattle (Makhomo) and they had'chiefs', possibly hinting at the development of moreformalized for��mal��ize?tr.v. for��mal��ized, for��mal��iz��ing, for��mal��iz��es1. To give a definite form or shape to.2. a. To make formal.b. leadership roles. Loubser (in press), reviewing San/Sothointeraction in the Caledon Valley from an Orange Free State perspective,suggests that domestic livestock in rock paintings are only depicted(largely south of Rose Cottage Cave) where San maintained a mostlyindependent existence and could acquire and retain livestock beyond thezone of intensive agropastoralist settlement. Both he and Wadley (1992)both note that grass-tempered pottery of Smithfield type occurs inrock-shelters within this area, but not to the north.The PTB Basin appears anomalous in this regard. Domestic livestockare painted at some sites (e.g. Malimong and 2927 AD 7 at Qeme), butthere is no grass-tempered pottery at any of the more than 100 LSA sitessurveyed in 1988-90. The pottery that does occur is generally quitethick, undecorated except for occasional TABULAR DATA OMITTEDburnishing burnishing/bur��nish��ing/ (bur��nish-ing) a dental procedure somewhat related to polishing and abrading. burnishing,n , and grit-tempered; it falls within the historically knownSotho ceramic tradition (Lawton 1967) like that found on Iron Age siteswithin the Caledon Valley. Those rock-shelters where it occurs inquantity (Tloutle, Leqhetsoana, Malimong, Mokhokhong) are preciselythose lived in by Sotho-speakers during the 19th century. Explanation ofthese anomalies is hampered by the comparative lack of archaeologicalfieldwork in southwestern Lesotho; if Loubser (in press) is correct inviewing paintings of domestic livestock as more recent than the adventof a LSA ceramic tradition in the western Caledon Valley, factors suchas differences in site use between the eastern and western banks of theriver or the acquisition of Iron Age pottery by hunter-gatherers inLesotho, rather than manufacture of ceramics of their own, may be atwork. Differential participation in exchange relations withSmithfield-pottery producers, another possibility, may be gainsaid bypressure-flaked arrowheads occurring within the PTB Basin and on thewestern side of the Caledon River as elsewhere in the northeastern Karooand southern Orange Free State (Humphreys 1991). Excavation of siteswithin western Lesotho where recent LSA assemblages occur inwell-stratified, dateable contexts may provide some answers; as manysites are now used as livestock kraals the search has not yet beenproductive.Summary and conclusionExcavation and survey in the Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin ofwestern Lesotho has established a Later Stone Age cultural-stratigraphicsequence for this area and detailed changes in regional settlementpattern over time. Middle Stone Age settlement choices appear to havediffered substantially from those of the Later Stone Age; one factor mayhave been different hunting strategies. In the several Holocenesettlement phases identified, the principal contrast is between anearly/middle Holecene pattern (large shelters and no open sites) and arecent Holocene pattern (ephemeral use of large shelters and widespreaduse of smaller sites, many of them painted). Although assemblages varymarkedly over distances of no more than a few kilometres, spatialpatterning relating to differential activity performance in differentzones of the landscape is not seen. Recent LSA occupation of theresearch area appears relatively unstructured ecologically.Small excavations and limited palaeo-environmental knowledge renderexplanation of these changes difficult. We need to view the PTB Basin asone part of a larger region encompassing both halves of the CaledonValley. The strong ecological zonation zo��na��tion?n.1. Arrangement or formation in zones; zonate structure.2. Ecology The distribution of organisms in biogeographic zones. evident in Lesotho andsurrounding parts of South Africa should lead us to investigatevariability in hunter-gatherer land-use and settlement/subsistencesystems, including responses to Iron Age settlement, across ecologicaltransects (Mitchell 1992b). The Phuthiatsana-ea-Thaba Bosiu Basin isideally placed to be part of such studies along both a north-south axiswithin the Caledon Valley and one running west-east from the southernhigh veld veldor veldt(both: vĕlt, Du. fĕlt)[Du.,=field], term applied to the grassy undulating plateaus of the Republic of South Africa and of Zimbabwe. to the Indian Ocean.Acknowledgements. Permission to carry out fieldwork in Lesotho and toexport finds for study abroad was given by the Protection andPreservation Commission of Lesotho. Without the assistance in the fieldof J. Steinberg, H. Thompson, T. Durden and D. Hall and many localworkers, particularly J. Sengoara and M. Tsunyane, little would havebeen accomplished. The logistical support of B. and P. Hargreaves, E.Kalula and R. Meakins and the assistance of the chiefs and headmen The Headmen is a group of fictional supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. They first appeared (as a team) in The Defenders #21 (March 1975). HistoryThe Headmen are a group of would-be masterminds who use magic, science, and surgery to gain superpowers. ofvillages adjacent to the excavated sites were also invaluable. I amgrateful to Dr I. Plug for the identification of faunal remains and DrsJ. Vogel and R. Housely for radiocarbon dates. Conversation with N.Barton, B. Hargreaves, R. Inskeep, R. Meakins, J. Parkington, G. Prasad Prasāda (Sanskrit: प्रसाद), prasād/prashad (Hindi), Prasāda in (Kannada), prasādam (Tamil), or prasadam ,D. Roe and L. Wadley has also been productive, although they are notresponsible for the opinions presented.Fieldwork and post-excavation analysis were supported by the BritishAcademy, the Swan Fund, the Sir Henry Strakosch Memorial Trust, theSociety of Antiquaries Society of Antiquaries can refer to: Society of Antiquaries of London Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , the Faculty of Anthropology and Geography of theUniversity of Oxford, the Prehistoric Society, and St Edmund Hall,Oxford. The research was carried out during tenure of a British Academypost-doctoral research fellowship at the Baden-Powell Quaternary quaternary/qua��ter��nary/ (kwah��ter-nar?e)1. fourth in order.2. containing four elements or groups.qua��ter��nar��yadj.1. Consisting of four; in fours. 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