The Pinnacle Point Caves near Mosselbay were recently declared a Provincial Heritage Site.

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Wednesday, 1st May 2013

DECLARATION OF HERITAGE RESOURCES AS PROVINCIAL HERITAGE SITES PINNACLE POINT SITE COMPLEX

In terms of Section 27 of the National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999, Heritage Western Cape declared the Pinnacle Point Site Complex as a Provincial Heritage Site.

Significance

The Pinnacle Point Site Complex (PPSC) preserves in a short stretch of coastline Africa’s densest concentration of well-preserved archaeological sites, some of which date to the time of the origin of our species (Homo sapiens). All the Pinnacle Point sites have excellent fossil bone preservation in the older layers, unlike many other caves along the Cape coast. The Pinnacle Point Site Complex contain s some of the world’s oldest evidence for coastal exploitation (shellfish), some of the earliest radiometrically dated use of pigment (ground red ochre), and early evidence for heat treatment technology. Later Stone Age sites are abundant at the Pinnacle Point Site Complex as well, and the most recent pre- colonial human occupation of the area is represented by coastal shell midden deposits.

The Pinnacle Point Site Complex preserves a rich record for palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment in the form of speleothems, raised beaches, fossil dunes, and palaeontological assemblages. All are spread continuously across the area and together provide a valuable record of human, climate, and environmental co-evolution in Africa. The Pinnacle Point Site Complex preserves a unique sequence of human occupation from 170,000 years ago to pre-colonial human occupation embedded in a rich record for climate and environmental change.

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