Jan C De Vynck
Biographic Data
| ID | 3072932 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jan C De Vynck |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jan C |
| FAMILY NAME | De Vynck |
| SIGNATURE | DE VYNCK J C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Nelson Mandela University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1044-4046 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 116 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
An update on Pleistocene tortoise tracks on South Africa’s Cape south coast
Four new Pleistocene track-bearing aeolianite surfaces have been identified on South Africa’s Cape south coast, each portraying evidence of tortoise tracks. Together, they add to and buttress previous reports of tortoise tracks and trackways from the region. Globally, this remains the only area from which fossilized tortoise tracks have been recorded, and for the first time we illustrate the preservation of typical tortoise trackway morphology (i…
Repeated Harvesting of Fuelwood on the Forelands of the Cape South Coast Does Not Result in Declining Returns
A Pleistocene hyenid trackway from the Cape south coast of South Africa
The global record of fossil hyenid tracks is sparse—the only formal reports that can be considered reliable are of trackways from Tanzania and a single track from Greece. However, trackway and track patterns of the four extant members of the Hyaenidae are distinctive among the tracks of carnivorans. A Pleistocene trackway comprising five manus–pes pairs has been identified on an aeolianite surface on the Cape south coast of South Africa, and is a…
Pleistocene aardvark ( Orycteropus afer ) burrow traces on South Africa’s Cape coast
The aardvark ( Oryecteropus afer ) is a fossorial species with a widespread distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. It leaves distinctive tracks and traces of its presence, including large burrows. However, despite a substantial body fossil record, few trace fossils registered by aardvarks have been described. Its distribution range in southern Africa during historic and prehistoric times was probably broadly similar to that of today, with the ad…
Fuelwood harvesting rates from the perspective of early hunter-gatherers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
A Purported Pleistocene Sand Sculpture From South Africa
A purported cemented sand sculpture found in Pleistocene aeolianite deposits on the Cape south coast of South Africa resembles a stingray (minus a tail) in outline. Symmetry is evident in the rock’s shape and the pattern of grooves on its surface. It is postulated that it may be a three-dimensional example of representational art of another species. Optically stimulated luminescence studies of rocks in the vicinity indicate that it dates to the M…
Large Pleistocene tortoise tracks on the Cape south coast of South Africa
Although tortoises (Testudinidae) are a familiar clade of reptiles, with a body fossil record extending to at least the Eocene, hitherto no tortoise ichnosites have been described. Here, a number of sites attributed to tortoise trackmakers are identified within Pleistocene aeolianites on South Africa's Cape south coast. These date from late Marine Isotope Stage 6 to Marine Isotope Stage 4. The findings indicate large trackmakers, with evidence of…
Tracking the extinct giant Cape zebra ( Equus capensis ) on the Cape south coast of South Africa
The giant Cape zebra ( Equus capensis ) is one of the extinct Quaternary large mammal species of southern Africa, and the largest equid from the Quaternary of Africa. Twenty-six Pleistocene equid tracksites have been identified in aeolianites on the Cape south coast of South Africa. An age range of 161 ± 12 ka to 43 ± 4 ka has been established through Optically Stimulated Luminescence. More than half of the sites contain large-equid tracks, repre…
Pleistocene small-mammal and arthropod trackways from the Cape south coast of South Africa
A trackway and burrows of a small rodent-sized bounding mammal (attributed to the Cape gerbil, Gerbilliscus afra ) and a traceway of a large arachnid (spider) from the Pleistocene Waenhuiskrans Formation represent two biological groups not previously reported from this track-rich dune facies, which is widely distributed along the Cape south coast of South Africa. This may be due to biases against the preservation of small tracks. Trackways of hop…
Morphology of Pleistocene elephant tracks on South Africa's Cape south coast and probable elephant trunk-drag impressions
Aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits on South Africa's Cape south coast have the capacity to record and preserve events that transpired on them when they were composed of unconsolidated sand. Thirty-five Pleistocene elephant tracksites have been identified along this coastline. This abundance of sites along what was the margin of the vast Palaeo-Agulhas Plain allows for an appreciation of the forms that elephant tracks and traces can take …
Were prehistoric coastal sites more intensively occupied than inland sites? Using an agent-based model to understand the intensity of prehistoric coastal occupation, and what it means for studies on t…
Pleistocene golden mole and sand-swimming trace fossils from the Cape coast of South Africa
More than 250 Pleistocene vertebrate trace fossil sites have been identified on the Cape south coast of South Africa in aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits. These discoveries, representing the epifaunal tracks of animals that moved over these sand substrates, complement traditional body fossil studies, and contribute to palaeo-environmental reconstruction. Not described in detail until now, but also important faunal components, are the in…
New fossil sea turtle trackway morphotypes from the Pleistocene of South Africa highlight role of ichnology in turtle paleobiology
More than 130 late Pleistocene trackway sites from the coastal eolianites and beach deposits of the Cape south coast, South Africa, have previously mostly yielded tracks of large mammals and birds. However, two sites east of Still Bay, and a third near Garden Route National Park, yield distinctive trackways of hatchling sea turtles, made during the short posthatching (postemergence) interval when the trackmakers headed for the sea. One assemblage…
An agent-based approach to weighted decision making in the spatially and temporally variable South African Palaeoscape
Even a simple human foraging system has a large number of moving parts. Foragers require a complex decision making process to effectively exploit the spatially and temporally variable resources in an environment. Here we present an agent-based modelling framework, based in optimal foraging theory, for agent foragers to make mobility and foraging decisions by weighing expected caloric returns against geographic and social factors, and forecasted f…
Modern soil phytolith assemblages used as proxies for Paleoscape reconstruction on the south coast of South Africa
Return rates from intertidal foraging from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point
Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa
Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa
Underground storage organs (USOs) serve as a staple source of carbohydrates for many hunter-gatherer societies and they feature prominently in discussions of diets of early modern humans. While the way of life of hunter-gatherers in South Africa’s Cape is no longer in existence, there is extensive ethnographic, historical and archaeological evidence of hunter-gatherers’ use of such plants as foodstuffs. This is to be expected, given that the Cape…
Seasonal availability of edible underground and aboveground carbohydrate resources to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
The coastal environments of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) provide some of the earliest and most abundant evidence for the emergence of cognitively modern humans. In particular, the south coast of the CFR provided a uniquely diverse resource base for hunter-gatherers, which included marine shellfish, game, and carbohydrate-bearing plants, especially those with Underground Storage Organs (USOs). It has been hypothesized that these reso…
Stone Age people in a changing South African Greater Cape Floristic Region
The human origins story (palaeoanthropology) is often set in the African Palaeotropics, yet the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) plays an internationally prominent role that surpasses its small size. Some of the earliest evidence for the complex behaviours associated with fully modern humans is found here, with prehistoric stone age hunter-gatherers adapting to a unique and changing environment from about 1 million years ago to near-present. …
Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa
Modern soil phytolith assemblages used as proxies for Paleoscape reconstruction on the south coast of South Africa
Return rates from intertidal foraging from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point
Seasonal availability of edible underground and aboveground carbohydrate resources to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
The coastal environments of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) provide some of the earliest and most abundant evidence for the emergence of cognitively modern humans. In particular, the south coast of the CFR provided a uniquely diverse resource base for hunter-gatherers, which included marine shellfish, game, and carbohydrate-bearing plants, especially those with Underground Storage Organs (USOs). It has been hypothesized that these reso…
Were prehistoric coastal sites more intensively occupied than inland sites? Using an agent-based model to understand the intensity of prehistoric coastal occupation, and what it means for studies on t…
An agent-based approach to weighted decision making in the spatially and temporally variable South African Palaeoscape
Even a simple human foraging system has a large number of moving parts. Foragers require a complex decision making process to effectively exploit the spatially and temporally variable resources in an environment. Here we present an agent-based modelling framework, based in optimal foraging theory, for agent foragers to make mobility and foraging decisions by weighing expected caloric returns against geographic and social factors, and forecasted f…
Stone Age people in a changing South African Greater Cape Floristic Region
The human origins story (palaeoanthropology) is often set in the African Palaeotropics, yet the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) plays an internationally prominent role that surpasses its small size. Some of the earliest evidence for the complex behaviours associated with fully modern humans is found here, with prehistoric stone age hunter-gatherers adapting to a unique and changing environment from about 1 million years ago to near-present. …
Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa
Underground storage organs (USOs) serve as a staple source of carbohydrates for many hunter-gatherer societies and they feature prominently in discussions of diets of early modern humans. While the way of life of hunter-gatherers in South Africa’s Cape is no longer in existence, there is extensive ethnographic, historical and archaeological evidence of hunter-gatherers’ use of such plants as foodstuffs. This is to be expected, given that the Cape…
Seasonal availability of edible underground and aboveground carbohydrate resources to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
The coastal environments of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) provide some of the earliest and most abundant evidence for the emergence of cognitively modern humans. In particular, the south coast of the CFR provided a uniquely diverse resource base for hunter-gatherers, which included marine shellfish, game, and carbohydrate-bearing plants, especially those with Underground Storage Organs (USOs). It has been hypothesized that these reso…
Modern soil phytolith assemblages used as proxies for Paleoscape reconstruction on the south coast of South Africa
Return rates from intertidal foraging from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point
Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa
New fossil sea turtle trackway morphotypes from the Pleistocene of South Africa highlight role of ichnology in turtle paleobiology
More than 130 late Pleistocene trackway sites from the coastal eolianites and beach deposits of the Cape south coast, South Africa, have previously mostly yielded tracks of large mammals and birds. However, two sites east of Still Bay, and a third near Garden Route National Park, yield distinctive trackways of hatchling sea turtles, made during the short posthatching (postemergence) interval when the trackmakers headed for the sea. One assemblage…
An agent-based approach to weighted decision making in the spatially and temporally variable South African Palaeoscape
Even a simple human foraging system has a large number of moving parts. Foragers require a complex decision making process to effectively exploit the spatially and temporally variable resources in an environment. Here we present an agent-based modelling framework, based in optimal foraging theory, for agent foragers to make mobility and foraging decisions by weighing expected caloric returns against geographic and social factors, and forecasted f…
Pleistocene golden mole and sand-swimming trace fossils from the Cape coast of South Africa
More than 250 Pleistocene vertebrate trace fossil sites have been identified on the Cape south coast of South Africa in aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits. These discoveries, representing the epifaunal tracks of animals that moved over these sand substrates, complement traditional body fossil studies, and contribute to palaeo-environmental reconstruction. Not described in detail until now, but also important faunal components, are the in…
Pleistocene small-mammal and arthropod trackways from the Cape south coast of South Africa
A trackway and burrows of a small rodent-sized bounding mammal (attributed to the Cape gerbil, Gerbilliscus afra ) and a traceway of a large arachnid (spider) from the Pleistocene Waenhuiskrans Formation represent two biological groups not previously reported from this track-rich dune facies, which is widely distributed along the Cape south coast of South Africa. This may be due to biases against the preservation of small tracks. Trackways of hop…
Morphology of Pleistocene elephant tracks on South Africa's Cape south coast and probable elephant trunk-drag impressions
Aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits on South Africa's Cape south coast have the capacity to record and preserve events that transpired on them when they were composed of unconsolidated sand. Thirty-five Pleistocene elephant tracksites have been identified along this coastline. This abundance of sites along what was the margin of the vast Palaeo-Agulhas Plain allows for an appreciation of the forms that elephant tracks and traces can take …
Were prehistoric coastal sites more intensively occupied than inland sites? Using an agent-based model to understand the intensity of prehistoric coastal occupation, and what it means for studies on t…
Large Pleistocene tortoise tracks on the Cape south coast of South Africa
Although tortoises (Testudinidae) are a familiar clade of reptiles, with a body fossil record extending to at least the Eocene, hitherto no tortoise ichnosites have been described. Here, a number of sites attributed to tortoise trackmakers are identified within Pleistocene aeolianites on South Africa's Cape south coast. These date from late Marine Isotope Stage 6 to Marine Isotope Stage 4. The findings indicate large trackmakers, with evidence of…
Tracking the extinct giant Cape zebra ( Equus capensis ) on the Cape south coast of South Africa
The giant Cape zebra ( Equus capensis ) is one of the extinct Quaternary large mammal species of southern Africa, and the largest equid from the Quaternary of Africa. Twenty-six Pleistocene equid tracksites have been identified in aeolianites on the Cape south coast of South Africa. An age range of 161 ± 12 ka to 43 ± 4 ka has been established through Optically Stimulated Luminescence. More than half of the sites contain large-equid tracks, repre…
A Purported Pleistocene Sand Sculpture From South Africa
A purported cemented sand sculpture found in Pleistocene aeolianite deposits on the Cape south coast of South Africa resembles a stingray (minus a tail) in outline. Symmetry is evident in the rock’s shape and the pattern of grooves on its surface. It is postulated that it may be a three-dimensional example of representational art of another species. Optically stimulated luminescence studies of rocks in the vicinity indicate that it dates to the M…
A Pleistocene hyenid trackway from the Cape south coast of South Africa
The global record of fossil hyenid tracks is sparse—the only formal reports that can be considered reliable are of trackways from Tanzania and a single track from Greece. However, trackway and track patterns of the four extant members of the Hyaenidae are distinctive among the tracks of carnivorans. A Pleistocene trackway comprising five manus–pes pairs has been identified on an aeolianite surface on the Cape south coast of South Africa, and is a…
Pleistocene aardvark ( Orycteropus afer ) burrow traces on South Africa’s Cape coast
The aardvark ( Oryecteropus afer ) is a fossorial species with a widespread distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. It leaves distinctive tracks and traces of its presence, including large burrows. However, despite a substantial body fossil record, few trace fossils registered by aardvarks have been described. Its distribution range in southern Africa during historic and prehistoric times was probably broadly similar to that of today, with the ad…
Fuelwood harvesting rates from the perspective of early hunter-gatherers on the Cape south coast, South Africa
An update on Pleistocene tortoise tracks on South Africa’s Cape south coast
Four new Pleistocene track-bearing aeolianite surfaces have been identified on South Africa’s Cape south coast, each portraying evidence of tortoise tracks. Together, they add to and buttress previous reports of tortoise tracks and trackways from the region. Globally, this remains the only area from which fossilized tortoise tracks have been recorded, and for the first time we illustrate the preservation of typical tortoise trackway morphology (i…
Repeated Harvesting of Fuelwood on the Forelands of the Cape South Coast Does Not Result in Declining Returns
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (17 works) · Geography (16 works) · Archaeology (14 works) · Biology (12 works) · Cape (12 works) · Pleistocene (11 works) · Geology (9 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (8 works) · Paleontology (8 works) · Ecology (7 works)