Karen L Van Niekerk

Biographic Data

ID	3072465
NAME	Karen L Van Niekerk
GIVEN NAMES	Karen L
FAMILY NAME	Van Niekerk
SIGNATURE	VAN NIEKERK K L
AFFILIATIONS	University of Bergen
ORCID	0000-0003-2261-6861
VERIFIED	Yes
TOTAL WORKS	24
TOTAL CITATIONS	1160
AUTHOR COUNT	24
EDITOR COUNT	0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR	2001
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR	2026
H-INDEX	9

The Lithoscape of Blombos Cave, South Africa: A Foundation for Lithic Procurement and Forager Mobility during the Middle Stone Age
Open AccessJeremy A Beller, Elizabeth C Velliky et al.ARTICLEQuaternary Environments and Humans2026
Archaeological research in the southern coastal region of South Africa continues to demonstrate the importance of this region for understanding the emergence of complex behaviours among Homo sapiens . Specifically, the excavation of the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave (c. 100-72 ka) has identified extensive evidence for symbolism, such as portable art (engraved ochre) and personal ornaments (perforated shells). However, some recurrent sub…
Changing subsistence strategies during the MSA I and MSA II: A zooarchaeological analysis of the vertebrate fauna from the Witness Baulk at Klasies River Main Site: South Africa
Open AccessA C Pearson, Alexandra Pearson et al.ARTICLEArchaeological and Anthropological…2026
Klasies River is a key site in understanding coastal forager behaviour in the southern Cape of South Africa. Faunal remains from this site offer valuable insights into changing subsistence strategies, nutritional preferences, and prey selection over time. Here, a taphonomic and taxonomic analyses of fauna from the Deacon and Wurz excavations are presented to explore high-resolution subsistence patterns in the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 samples …
Ochre and manganese pigments from the Middle Stone Age layers at Klipdrift Shelter
Open AccessElizabeth C Velliky, B L Macdonald et al.ARTICLEArchaeological and Anthropological…2026References: 79
The use of mineral pigments is considered one of the trademarks of behavioural complexity during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. Though many sites report large mineral pigment assemblages during the Still Bay (ca. 71.9–71 ka BP) period, pigment behaviours during the Howieson’s Poort (HP; ca. 65–59.5 ka BP) are less understood in terms of mineral varieties, collection strategies, and associated practices. Though some previous work exists …
Shellfish gathering during MIS 5c-d at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: An inter-assemblage comparison
Open AccessKokeli Peter Ryano, Karen L Van Niekerk et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2024References: 47
New Blombos Cave evidence supports a multistep evolutionary scenario for the culturalization of the human body
Open AccessFrancesco D’errico, Karen L Van Niekerk et al.ARTICLEJournal of Human Evolution2023Cited by: 5References: 100
Variability in hunting behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa
Open AccessShaw Badenhorst, Joel Ezeimo et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2022References: 44
Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4
Open AccessMagnus M Haaland, Christopher E Miller et al.ARTICLEQuaternary Research2021
The archaeological assemblage recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels in Blombos Cave, South Africa, is central to our understanding of the development of early modern humans. Here, we demonstrate that the cultural and technological innovations inferred from the Blombos Cave MSA record also correlate with significant shifts in site use and occupational intensity. Through a comprehensive geoarchaeological investigation of three MSA occupa…
Later Stone Age human hair from Vaalkrans Shelter, Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, reveals genetic affinity to Khoe groups
Open AccessAlexandra Coutinho, Helena Malmström et al.ARTICLEAmerican Journal of Physical…2021Cited by: 2References: 68
Previous studies show that the indigenous people of the southern Cape of South Africa were dramatically impacted by the arrival of European colonists starting ~400 years ago and their descendants are today mixed with Europeans and Asians. To gain insight on the occupants of the Vaalkrans Shelter located at the southernmost tip of Africa, we investigated the genetic make‐up of an individual who lived there about 200 years ago. We further contextua…
Blombos Cave: The Middle Stone Age Levels
Open AccessChristopher S Henshilwood, Karen L Van NiekerkCHAPTEREncyclopedia of Global Archaeology2020
Differential accumulation of large mammal remains by carnivores and humans during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa
Open AccessShaw Badenhorst, Joel Ezeimo et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2020Cited by: 3References: 21
Hidden in plain sight: A microanalytical study of a Middle Stone Age ochre piece trapped inside a micromorphological block sample
Open AccessMagnus M Haaland, A Strau et al.ARTICLEGeoarchaeology2020Cited by: 3References: 56
A complete Middle Stone Age ochre piece was unintentionally collected and fully preserved within a micromorphological block sample intended to characterise a 74 ± 3 ka occupation horizon at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Previously recovered ochre pieces from the same stratigraphic context (Still Bay) have displayed intricate modification patterns with significant behavioural implications. Yet, in the case of the trapped ochre, a direct visual asses…
An abstract drawing from the 73,000-year-old levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa
Open AccessChristopher S Henshilwood, Francesco D’errico et al.ARTICLENature2018
The Technology of the Early Oakhurst Lithic Techno-Complex from Klipdrift Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa
Open AccessKokeli Peter Ryano, Sarah Wurz et al.ARTICLEAfrican Archaeological Review2017Cited by: 3References: 28
Blombos Cave: Middle Stone Age ochre differentiation through FTIR, ICP OES, ED XRF and XRD
Open AccessStanley Moyo, Dikeledi Salamina Mphuthi et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2015Cited by: 20References: 16
Subsistence strategies in the southern Cape during the Howiesons Poort: Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa
Open AccessJerome P Reynard, Emmanuel Discamps et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2015Cited by: 25References: 75
Assessing the Accidental Versus Deliberate Colour Modification of Shell Beads: A Case Study on Perforated Nassarius kraussianus from Blombos Cave Middle Stone Age levels
Open AccessFrancesco D'Errico, Marian Vanhaeren et al.ARTICLEArchaeometry2015Cited by: 30References: 52
Colour plays an eminent role in beadwork. Colour modifications are reported on early shell beads from Middle Stone Age sites. However, identifying the colouring agent and demonstrating the intentional nature of the colouring process is not straightforward. Here, we provide analytical data on colour and structural modifications observed on Nassarius kraussianus (Nk) collected in modern thanatocoenoses and on shells of the same species experimental…
A human deciduous molar from the Middle Stone Age (Howiesons Poort) of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa
Open AccessK Harvati, Catherine C Bauer et al.ARTICLEJournal of Human Evolution2015Cited by: 18References: 37
Rock Hyraxes (Procavia capensis) from Middle Stone Age Levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa
Open AccessShaw Badenhorst, Karen L Van Niekerk et al.ARTICLEAfrican Archaeological Review2014Cited by: 8References: 38
Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa: Preliminary report on the Howiesons Poort layers
Open AccessChristopher S Henshilwood, Karen L Van Niekerk et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science2014Cited by: 125References: 37
Thinking strings: Additional evidence for personal ornament use in the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa
Open AccessMarian Vanhaeren, Francesco D’errico et al.ARTICLEJournal of Human Evolution2013Cited by: 163References: 74
Middle Stone Age shellfish exploitation: Potential indications for mass collecting and resource intensification at Blombos Cave and Klasies River, South Africa
Open AccessGeeske H J Langejans, Karen L Van Niekerk et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2011Cited by: 82References: 35
Marine fish exploitation during the Middle and Later Stone Age of South Africa
Karen L Van NiekerkARTICLEAzania Archaeological Research in…2011Cited by: 8
Marine fish remains are not common in Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Africa. There are currently only two known MSA sites with good organic preservation in South Africa that contain marine fish remains in relatively high numbers: Blombos Cave (BBC) and Klasies River main site (KR). Marine fish exploitation is considered by some researchers as a marker of modern human behaviour, requiring cognitive and technological capacities thought to have onl…
Nassarius kraussianus shell beads from Blombos Cave: Evidence for symbolic behaviour in the Middle Stone Age
Open AccessFrancesco D’errico, Christopher S Henshilwood et al.ARTICLEJournal of Human Evolution2005Cited by: 371References: 53
Blombos Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa: Preliminary Report on the 1992–1999 Excavations of the Middle Stone Age Levels
Open AccessChristopher S Henshilwood, Judith Sealy et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science2001Cited by: 294References: 35