Fishing in the Lesotho Highlands
26,000 Years of fish exploitation, with special reference to Sehonghong shelter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12859247 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ina Plug (University of South Africa, corresponding author), Peter Mitchell (0000-0002-3112-3578, University of Oxford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 33-55 |
| Publication date | 2008-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of African Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1612-1651 • E-ISSN: 2191-5784 |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.3213/1612-1651-10102 |
| OpenAlex | W2012730268 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
Significant numbers of fish bones have been identified from three Later Stone Age sites in the Lesotho Highlands. They comprise two rock-shelters on the Sehonghong River, Sehonghong and Pitsaneng, and one open-air campsite on the banks of the Senqu River, Likoaeng. Pitsaneng was occupied during the second millennium AD and Likoaeng for much of the Postclassic Wilton, ca 4000-1200 bp. Sehonghong, in contrast, has a history of fish exploitation spanning at least 26,000 years, from before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the second millennium AD. Fish were identified from all levels of this site, but three distinct periods can be distinguished when fishing was of particular importance, namely around 20,000 bp, 12,200 bp and again after 1700 bp. The same five species were identified throughout the deposits. Labeobarbus aeneus overwhelmingly dominates all the assemblages, but Labeo capensis and Austroglanis sclateri may have become more important during the Holocene. Standard Length estimates reveal that fishes caught during the Holocene were mostly of pre-breeding size, whereas the fishes caught during the Pleistocene were mostly of breeding age. Sehonghong and Pitsaneng show similarities in the relative abundances of different fish, but present a marked contrast with Likoaeng. The likely ages of the fish also differ. Overall, the Sehonghong sequence confirms the late Pleistocene antiquity of fishing in the interior of southern Africa and helps contest suggestions that fishing only became important in the late Holocene
Archaeology · Biology · Fish · Fishery · Fishing · Geography · Holocene · Last Glacial Maximum · Pleistocene · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Fish Ecology and Management Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Ecology
‘Discourse on Rivers, and Fish and Fishing’
The Zooarchaeology of Pleistocene Africa
Bringing the Kalahari debate to the mountains
Toward an improved Holocene palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction for eastern Lesotho
Late Holocene fishing strategies in southern Africa as seen from Likoaeng, highland Lesotho
Regional Variability in Lithic Miniaturization and the Organization of Technology in Late Glacial Southern Africa (~18-11 kcal BP)
Contextual approaches to studying unretouched bladelets
Is Niche Construction Theory Relevant to the Proposed Adoption of Domesticates by Hunter-Gatherers in Southern Africa
New ages from Sehonghong rock shelter
Afromontane foragers of the Late Pleistocene
Faunal Exploitation Strategies During the Later Pleistocene in Southern Africa
Raw Material Surveys and Their Behavioral Implications in Highland Lesotho
Shellfish Exploitation Strategies at the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex, South Africa, During the Later Stone Age
The technology and ecology of Lesotho's highland hunter-gatherers
A zooarchaeological perspective on late pleistocene/early holocene human behaviour in the Maloti-Drakensberg region, southern Africa
Hafting adhesives from the final Later Stone Age layers at Sehonghong, Lesotho
Fishing in a fluctuating landscape
Iron Age fauna from Sibudu Cave in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Chemical evidence of dairying by hunter-gatherers in highland Lesotho in the late first millennium ad
Beyond the drip-line
| Citations per year | 1.11 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2008 - 2024 (17) |
| Highly cited | No |