The late pre-colonial site of Komkans 2 (KK002) and an evaluation of the evidence for indigenous copper smelting in Namaqualand, southern Africa

Excavations at the late Holocene archaeological site KK002 are described. This small rock shelter, 17 km from the coast in southern Namaqualand, South Africa, contained a shallow deposit with a rich assemblage. Limited evidence of mid-Holocene occupation occurs, but the majority of occupation took place within the last 2000 years and can be split into two primary layers. The finds included stone artefacts with many clear quartz backed tools, whole, broken and partly made ostrich eggshell beads, pottery, worked wood and reeds, wood shavings, metal artefacts of indigenous and European origin, glass trade beads and a variety of subsistence remains, including those of marine animals. All three copper-containing artefacts are of European origin. With so much having been said about the possibility of an indigenous source of copper in Namaqualand, further investigation of this suggests that copper was not mined locally, but that lumps of native copper were collected at times. There is also no evidence of copper-smelting south of the Orange River, although this was practised in central Namibia.Cet article décrit des fouilles sur le site de KK002, qui date de Holocène tardif. Ce petit abri sous roche, dans le sud du Namaqualand (Afrique du Sud) et à 17 km de la côte, révéla une stratigraphie peu profonde contenant un riche assemblage. Il subsiste peu de traces d'une occupation de l'Holocène Moyen, et la plus grande partie de l'occupation, qui se répartit en deux phases, tombe dans les 2000 dernières années. Parmi les artefacts, on compte des outils de pierre comprenant beaucoup d'outils à dos en quartz translucide, des perles en coquille d'œuf d'autruche entières, brisées et partiellement achevées, de la poterie, du bois et des roseaux travaillés, des copeaux de bois, des objets de métal d'origine locale et européenne, des perles de troc en verre, et toute une gamme de restes de subsistance, y compris des animaux marins. Les trois artefacts qui contiennent du cuivre sont d'origine européenne. Il a beaucoup été question de la possibilité d'une source locale de cuivre au Namaqualand; une investigation plus poussée de la question suggère que le cuivre n'était pas extrait localement, mais que des morceaux à l'état natif étaient collectés occasionnellement.Keywords: Later Stone AgeNamaqualandrocksheltertradeindigenous copper mining and production AcknowledgementsTim Hart and Dave Halkett originally found the site and Tim is thanked for showing it to me. Mr Koos Visagie allowed work on his property. Foreman Bandama conducted the microscopic analysis of the iron object and provided the photograph, while Judy Sealy funded the SEM analysis of the copper/brass artefacts which was carried out by Miranda Waldron. Duncan Miller, Foreman Bandama, Greg Moseley and Stephen Davey are thanked for their discussions of the metal artefacts and the occurrence of copper in Namaqualand. Richard Klein and Teresa Steele conducted the faunal analyses. Lita Webley shared her thoughts on and discussed the general subject matter of this paper. Duncan Miller is thanked for his comments on an earlier draft of parts of the manuscript, as are John Kinahan and Karim Sadr for their helpful review comments.Notes on contributor Jayson Orton is director of ASHA Consulting, a Cape Town-based heritage consultancy, and an Honorary Research Associate of the University of Cape Town. His research interests lie in the Later Stone Age of the arid western parts of South Africa, on which he recently (2012) completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford

Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology) · Geography · Holocene · Indigenous · Later Stone Age · Pleistocene · Pottery · Prehistory · Rock shelter · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Ecology · Geology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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