Worked bone and shell from forager and farmer sites in the Limpopo Valley

Abstract

In southern Africa, worked bone and shell have been found in both forager and farmer contexts dated to the last two thousand years. Foragers and farmers worked animal bone and shell into tools and personal objects, yet the range of tool types and possible activities in which the tools were used remains poorly understood. This paper presents the results of a morphological and use-trace analysis of 287 bone, shell and ostrich eggshell objects from three roughly contemporaneous forager and farmer sites in the Limpopo Valley of South Africa, namely Little Muck Shelter, Schroda and Pont Drift. It describes and contextualises the worked bone and shell forms, the production techniques and technology used and evidence regarding tool use. Objects present at both farmer and forager sites include arrow components, awls and needles and seem to have been used in similar activities, such as hunting, skin/hide working and basketry. Intensification of activities that incorporated bone technology at farmer sites can be linked to expanding local and long-distance trade activities.

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