Rock Shelter Inhabitants Slept in Comfort 77,000 Years Ago

December 2011, Daily News

Thu, Dec 08, 2011

Excavations in a South African rock shelter uncover prehistoric bedding, opening an additional window on early modern human behavior.

Rock Shelter Inhabitants Slept in Comfort 77,000 Years Ago

The Sibudu rock shelter sits above the uThongathi river in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Here, archaeologists have over the past decade uncovered finds that have shed fascinating light on the behavior and life-ways of early modern humans. Finds have included perforated shells interpreted to have been used like bead ornaments, sharpened bone points likely used for hunting, evidence of bow and arrow technology, and even snares and traps for hunting and glue production for the hafting of stone implements. Now, an international team of scientists have discovered within the shelter what they believe to be mats that were used as bedding and as a living surface.

Led by Professor Lyn Wadley of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in collaboration with Christopher Miller of the University of Tübingen, Germany, Christine Sievers and Marion Bamford of the University of the Witwatersrand, and Paul Goldberg and Francesco Berna of Boston University, USA, the team has revealed at least 15 layers containing what they suggest to be deliberately laid plant bedding dated from 77,000 to 38,000 years ago. Consisting of layers of compacted leaves and stems from rushes and sedges spread out up to three square meters, at least some of the bedding contained evidence of plants that are also known to have medicinal and insecticidal properties.

"The selection of these leaves for the construction of bedding suggests that the early inhabitants of Sibudu had an intimate knowledge of the plants surrounding the shelter, and were aware of their medicinal uses. Herbal medicines would have provided advantages for human health, and the use of insect-repelling plants adds a new dimension to our understanding of behaviour 77,000 years ago," said Wadley. The inhabitants would have collected the sedges and rushes from along the uThongathi River, located directly below the site, and laid the plants on the floor of the shelter. The bedding was not just used for sleeping, but would have provided a comfortable surface for living and working."

Moreover, microscopic analysis of the bedding plants revealed that, after about 73,000 years ago, the bedding was repeatedly burned and refurbished after use during periods of occupation. Said geoarchaeologist Christopher Miller of the University of Tübingen, who conducted the analysis, "they lit the used bedding on fire, possibly as a way to remove pests. This would have prepared the site for future occupation and represents a novel use of fire for the maintenance of an occupation site."

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Sibudu excavations 2011. [Image courtesy of Prof. Lyn Wadley]

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Leaves in plaster jacket. Credit: Marion Bamford

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Sibudu cyperus sp., a herb spikelet about 73,000 years old found at Sibudu in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Credit: Christine Sievers

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Modern sedges being reaped by women on the uThongathi River in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. They will be used to make sleeping mats. Credit: Professor Lyn Wadley

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Associated with the bedding remains were fireplaces and ash dumps, the number of which increased significantly after about 58,000 years ago. This, according to the researchers, suggests that the population increased dramatically after this point in time, possibly corresponding to the time period when early modern humans began expanding out of Africa into Eurasia.

The detailed report of the research can be found in the December 9, 2011 issue of Science, published by the AAAS, the nonprofit science society.

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