Elands Bay Cave is located near the mouth of the Verlorenvlei estuary on the Atlantic coast of South Africa's Western Cape Province. The climate has continuously become drier since the habitation of hunter-gatherers in the Later Pleistocene. The archaeological remains recovered from previous excavations at Elands Bay Cave have been studied to help answer questions regarding the relationship of people and their landscape, the role of climate change that could have determined or influenced subsistence changes, and the impact of pastoralism and agriculture on hunter-gatherer communities.
Archeology
Archaeological excavations at Elands Bay Cave began in the 1970s. Scientific interest has focused on investigating coastal changes, subsistence and seasonal mobility.[1] Faunal remains representing the time period of 13.600-12.000 years ago were left behind by the cave's occupants. The majority of the faunal assemblage consists of grazing animals and is indicative of a grassland environment. The faunal remains were examined and compared to collections at the South Africa Museum in Cape Town.
