A New Pleistocene Hominin Tracksite from the Cape South Coast, South Africa

Abstract

A Late Pleistocene hominin tracksite has been identified in coastal aeolianite rocks on the Cape south coast of South Africa, an area of great significance for the emergence of modern humans. The tracks are in the form of natural casts and occur on the ceiling and side walls of a ten-metre long cave. Preservation of tracks is of variable quality. Up to forty hominin tracks are evident. Up to thirty-five hominin tracks occur on a single bedding plane, with potential for the exposure of further tracks. Five tracks are apparent on a second hominin track-bearing bedding plane. A number of individuals made the tracks while moving down a dune surface. A geological investigation at the site and stratigraphic comparison to published geochronological studies from this area suggest that the tracks are ~90 ka in age. If this is the case, the shoreline at the time would have been approximately 2 km distant. This is the first reported hominin tracksite from this time period. It adds to the relatively sparse global record of early hominin tracks, and represents the largest and best preserved archive of Late Pleistocene hominin tracks found to date. The tracks were probably made by Homo sapiens.

Newly identified hominin trackways from the Cape south coast of South Africa

“…Further sites have been reported subsequent to the publication of these reviews. 16,24,25 Compared with the three southern African sites thus far reported, there are only six generally accepted older hominin tracksites in the world [18][19][20] , and none of these are attributed to Homo sapiens. Thus southern Africa has to date proven to be the region in which to search for Middle Stone Age tracks of our species.…”

“…Ichnological evidence of the human presence on this coast was confirmed through description of a hominin tracksite at Brenton-on-Sea. 16 This discovery added to the sparse number of reported Pleistocene southern African hominin tracksites, namely Langebaan on the west coast and Nahoon on the southeast coast. 17 While the Langebaan tracks have not been universally accepted as having been made by humans 18 , for the purposes of this article we follow the consensus that they are of probable hominin origin.…”

“…As a result, southern Africa currently lays claim to the only hominin tracksites in the world older than 46 ka that have been attributed to Homo sapiens. 16,[18][19][20][21] In our continuing exploration of the Cape south coast we have identified further tracksites, which we are comfortable in ascribing to hominin trackmakers. The purpose of this article is to describe these newly identified ichnosites, to consider criteria for the identification of hominin tracks in this region in softer substrates, and to consider the implications of these discoveries.…”

“…The Brenton-on-Sea site, comprising as many as 40 tracks in hyporelief and cross-section on the ceiling and walls of a small coastal cave, was identified in 2016 and reported on in 2018. 16 The tracks occur in aeolianites in the Waenhuiskrans Formation of the Bredasdorp Group. 32 The tracks were made by a party of humans moving rapidly down a dune slope.…”

Pleistocene large reptile tracks and probable swim traces on South Africa’s Cape south coast

“…Fossil tracks and trackways are common in Middle and Late Pleistocene coastal aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits along the Cape south coast of South Africa. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] These Pleistocene rocks have been the focus of a 350-km ground survey by a team led by C.W.H. between 2007 and 2019, from Arniston in the west to Robberg in the east.…”