Sehonghong (GAP)
Basic information
Sample name: Sehonghong (GAP)

Reference: I. Plug and P. Mitchell. 2008. Sehonghong: hunter-gatherer utilization of animal resources in the highlands of Lesotho. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 45:31-53 [ER 3742]
Geography
Country: Lesotho

State: Thaba-Tseka



Coordinate: 29° 46' S, 28° 47' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Holocene

Section: 3742

Unit number: 1

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.00171

Min Ma: 0.00124

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Sehonghong is a large rock-shelter on the banks of the Sehonghong River, close to its confluence with the Senqu (Orange/Gariep) in the Thaba Tseka District of the highlands of Lesotho. The site lies at an elevation of 1800 m above sea level".
"Layer GAP is bracketed by radiocarbon dates of 1710 ± 20 BP at its base and 1240 ± 50 BP at its top".

Environment
Lithology: ash

Taphonomic context: human accumulation,rock shelter

Archaeology: ceramics,hearths,stone tools,other structures

Habitat comments: "The GAP (Grey Ash with Pottery) layer is a soft, loose, light grey, charcoal-rich ashy layer". It marks the beginning of the period where the site was occupied by makers of a Ceramic Wilton lithic industry. "Identifiable features included a hearth and two pits, both 150 mm deep and densely packed with bone and potsherds".
"While not all of the animal remains in the deposit would have been accumulated by people, the intense degree of fragmentation and burning that characterizes the Sehonghong assemblages strongly suggests that people were responsible for acquiring almost all of the faunal remains".

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals,birds,lizards,frogs,fishes,crustaceans,clams,snails

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 1668 specimens

Sampled by: P. Mitchell

Years: 1992

Sampling comments: "The primary excavation of the site was conducted by P. Mitchell in 1992. All sediment removed from the deposits was dry-sieved through a 1.5 mm mesh".
For GAP, "19 buckets of deposit were removed and the layer was excavated in a total of 10 units".

Metadata
Sample number: 3979

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-08-25 12:07:46

Modified: 2023-05-30 01:41:23

Abundance distribution
30 species
10 singletons
total count 1668
geometric series index: 56.1
Fisher's α: 5.195
geometric series k: 0.7806
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.3686
Shannon's H: 0.9876
Good's u: 0.9940
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Papio hamadryas812 kg
Ictonyx striatus4753 g invertivore-carnivore
Herpestidae indet.1
"Mongoose"
Felis sp.2
Equus africanus asinus1287 kg
"Equus asinus"
Procavia capensis312.8 kg browser
Bos taurus1337 kg
Connochaetes gnou1 grazer
Alcelaphus buselaphus3143 kg grazer-browser
Sylvicapra grimmia113 kg browser-grazer
Oreotragus oreotragus4 browser-grazer
Raphicerus campestris49.7 kg browser-grazer
Pelea capreolus1316 kg grazer
Hippotragus equinus1246 kg grazer
Taurotragus oryx13393 kg browser-grazer
"Tragelaphus oryx"
Redunca fulvorufula229 kg
also 55 Bovidae indet.
Pedetes capensis12.4 kg
Hystrix africaeaustralis115 kg browser
Otomys sp.9
also 6 Rodentia indet.
Lepus saxatilis12.0 kg
also 4 Lepus sp. and 3 Lagomorpha indet.
Aves indet.2
Lacertilia indet.2
also 7 Reptilia indet.
Anura indet.10
"Frog/toad"
Potamonautes sp.1
Achatina sp.5
Unionidae indet.19
Labeobarbus kimberleyensis12
Labeobarbus aeneus1316
Labeo capensis70
also 2515 Labeoninae indet.
Austroglanis sclateri129