Boomplaas Cave (Member OLP)
Basic information
Sample name: Boomplaas Cave (Member OLP)

Reference: J. T. Faith. 2013. Taphonomic and paleoecological change in the large mammal sequence from Boomplaas Cave, western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 65(6):715-730 [ER 3779]
Geography
Country: South Africa

State: Western Cape



Coordinate: 33° 22' 14" S, 22° 9' 31" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3779

Unit number: 10

Unit order: above to below

Ma: 0.044

Age basis: other

Geography comments: "Boomplaas Cave is located in the Cango Valley in the foothills of the Swartberg mountain range, north of Oudtshoorn, Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa".
The OLP member of the deposit has been dated by amino acid racemization to 44,000 ± 4000 BP.

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: bird accumulation,carnivore accumulation,cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "Boomplaas Cave contains a stratified sequence of Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) deposits spanning the last 65,000 years. People were the primary accumulators of the faunal remains in the LSA assemblages younger than ∼18,000 years ago (CL to BLD). In the LSA and MSA deposits dating from 18,000 to 50,000 years ago (BOL to GWA), a combination of humans, carnivores, and raptors accumulated the faunal remains, while the lowermost units were accumulated by carnivores and raptors".

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 208 specimens

Sampled by: H. J. Deacon

Years: 1974 - 1979

Sampling comments: "Excavations were conducted by H.J. Deacon from 1974 to 1979. In 2009 and 2010, taphonomic and taxonomic data were collected on thousands of previously unsorted specimens, in addition to those previously examined. All MSA and LSA units were examined with the exception of the uppermost pastoralist levels (member DGL)".

Metadata
Sample number: 4091

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2023-02-23 13:32:42

Modified: 2023-05-30 04:56:45

Abundance distribution
17 species
7 singletons
total count 208
geometric series index: 34.8
Fisher's α: 4.380
geometric series k: 0.7494
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7219
Shannon's H: 1.7945
Good's u: 0.9664
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Lepus capensis2
Bunolagus monticularis26
also 6 Leporidae indet.
Papio ursinus1620 kg
Canis cf. mesomelas17.9 kg carnivore
Herpestes pulverulentus1787 g carnivore-insectivore
Caracal caracal112 kg carnivore
"Felis cf caracal"
Panthera pardus433 kg carnivore
Procavia capensis1012.8 kg browser
Equus sp.4
zebra/quagga
Redunca fulvorufula729 kg
also 4 Redunca sp.
Connochaetes cf. gnou1 grazer
Damaliscus pygargus383 kg grazer-browser
"Damaliscus dorcas", also 3 Alcelaphinae indet.
Pelea capreolus2216 kg grazer
Antidorcas cf. marsupialis140 kg browser-grazer
Oreotragus oreotragus16 browser-grazer
Raphicerus melanotis19.1 kg
also 11 Raphicerus sp. and 4 Neotragini indet.
Syncerus caffer1548 kg grazer-browser