Antiquity of stone-walled tidal fish traps on the Cape coast  South African

Hine, Phillip James; Sealy, Judith; Halkett, David; Hart, Tim

Antiquity of stone-walled tidal fish traps on the Cape coast South African

Journal Article

2010

Journal Title

South African Archaeological Bulletin

Link to Journal

http://www.archaeologysa.co.za/saab

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Archaeology

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Abstract

This paper attempts to answer a long-standing question in South African archaeology: the age of stone-walled tidal fish traps generally believed to date back to pre-colonial times. Since the stone walls cannot be directly dated, we sought datable fish bone in nearby archaeological sites. Four open shell middens at Paapkuil Fontein, near Cape Agulhas, were excavated and analysed and the contents of two previously excavated middens at Still Bay were studied. Both areas are renowned for their numerous fish traps, but lack detailed archaeological studies. The middens yielded very little, if any fish bone, so are probably unrelated to the traps. There is, by contrast, a great deal of archival evidence for the building and use of stone fish traps by historical communities, with traps repeatedly built and dismantled in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Given the lack of any direct evidence in Later Stone Age sites, a pre-colonial age for the practice of fishing with stone-walled tidal fish traps can no longer be entertained.