Ostrich eggshell isotope data from Bundu Farm, South Africa and new evidence on middle stone age environments in the Upper Karoo

Abstract

Pans and diatomaceous deposits along dry river beds in the Karoo of central South Africa attest to the presence of wet climatic phases in the region during the Pleistocene. Data for these wet climatic phases is largely restricted to the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, with little evidence for earlier periods. This study presents the results of new stable isotope analysis (δ18O and δ13C) and amino acid racemisation analysis of ostrich eggshell samples from Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Bundu Farm, associated with a Florisian faunal assemblage >200ka. Data from the site is compared to previously published data from Wonderwerk Cave and Equus Cave to provide the first direct evidence of Mid-Pleistocene climates and environments in the upper Karoo and their relationship with Middle Stone Age occupation of the region, 150 ka -300 ka, indicating MSA hominins occupation in the region during cooler and wetter phases associated with an expansion of productive grassland.