Simon Se Klip at Steenbokfontein: the settlement pattern of a built pastoralist encampment on the West Coast of South Africa

Abstract

A major topic in southern African archaeology, particularly in the western Cape, concerns the differentiation of herder from hunter gatherer signatures. Argument has largelyfocused on the interpreta tion of direct evidence, in theform of remainsfrom domestic animals, and more indirect evidence, in theform of cultural markers derived from the typology of stone implements and ceramics, and average size of ostrich eggshell beads. Current views suggest a spectrum from hunter-gatherers to hunter-gatherers with sheep to herders andfinally to pastoralists, the latter having both a strong economic and cosmolog ical involvement with livestock. However, the assignment of individ ual sites and assemblages, particularly small ones, to these categories can be elusive. Simon Se Klip provides an alternative source of evidence relevant to this issue, namely settlement pattern. This is the first time in the western Cape that the use of stone as a building mate rial has enabled the virtually complete reconstruction of a precolonial settlement. The first millennium builders were able to provide con trolled access and secure penningfor their livestock by taking advan tage of natural topographicalfeatures of the site and augmenting these with rather minimal stone walling. Domestic areas were also partly defined by linear arrangements of rocks. The pattern demonstrates that livestock were a central concern for this pastoralist community.