A comparison of charcoal and stable carbon isotope results for the Caledon River Valley, southern Africa, for the period 13 500 - 5 000 yr BP

Esterhuysen, A B; Smith, J M

A comparison of charcoal and stable carbon isotope results for the Caledon River Valley, southern Africa, for the period 13 500 - 5 000 yr BP

Journal Article

2003

Journal Title

South African Archaeological Bulletin

Link to Journal

http://www.jstor.org/journal/soutafriarchbull

Publisher

South African Archaeological Society

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Archaeology

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Abstract

The terminal Pleistocene to middle Holocene in the interior of southern Africa is characterized by a warming trend culminating in temperatures similar to or greater than those of today. However, as more refined palaeoenvironmental sequences are produced it becomes increasingly evident that pronounced temperature fluctuations occurred during this period Studies at two contemporaneous archaeological sites in the Caledon River Valley (29?13 'S; 27?28 'E and 29?28'5; 2 7?46 'E) have yielded a proxy climatic history for the period between 13 500 and 5000 yr BP Two independent palaeoenvironmental studies, a charcoal andfaunal stable carbon isotope analysis, were carried out at each site. A comparison of the results of these two analyses indicates that more than one temperature fluctuation occurred during the terminal Pleistocene to the middle Holocene. The record suggests warming to warm temperatures at ca. 12 600-13 000 yr BP (12 925 cal. yr BP), ca. 10 000 yr BP (41 134 cal. yr BP), ca. 8500-8000 yr BP (-9051 cal. yr BP), and ca. 6000-5970 yr BP (-7000 cal. yr BP), while cooler conditions prevailed at ca. 9000-8800 yr BP (10 004 cal. yr BP) and ca. 7300-7000 yr BP (-8000 cal. yr BP). These fluctuations are compared to those recorded elsewhere, in particular those that correspond to the ca. 7300-7000 yr BP event.