The rock shelter Mafusing 1 was excavated in 2011 as part of the Matatiele Archaeology and Rock Art or MARA research programme initiated in the same year. This programme endeavours to redress the much-neglected history of this region of South Africa, which until 1994 formed part of the wider ‘Transkei’ apartheid homeland. Derricourt’s 1977 Prehistoric Man in the Ciskei and Transkei constituted the last archaeological survey in this area. However, the coverage for the Matatiele region was limited, and relied largely on van Riet Lowe’s site list of the 1930s. Thus far, the MARA programme has documented more than 200 rock art sites in systematic survey and has excavated two shelters – Mafusing 1 ( MAF 1) and Gladstone 1 (forthcoming). Here we present analyses of the excavated material from the MAF 1 site, which illustrates the archaeological component of the wider historical and heritage-related programme focus. Our main findings at MAF 1 to date include a continuous, well stratified cultural sequence dating from the middle Holocene up to 2400 cal. BP . Ages obtained from these deposits are suggestive of hunter-gatherer occupation pulses at MAF 1, with possible abandonment of the site over the course of two millennia in the middle Holocene. After a major roof collapse altered the morphology of the shelter, there was a significant change in the character of occupation at MAF 1, reflected in both the artefact assemblage composition and the construction of a rectilinear structure within the shelter sometime after 2400 cal. BP . The presence of a lithic artefact assemblage from this latter phase of occupation at MAF 1 confirms the continued use of the site by hunter-gatherers, while the presence of pottery and in particular the construction of a putative rectilinear dwelling and associated animal enclosure points to occupation of the shelter by agropastoralists. Rock art evidence shows distinct phases, the latter of which may point to religious practices involving rain-serpents and rainmaking possibly performed, in part, for an African farmer audience. This brings into focus a central aim of the MARA programme: to research the archaeology of contact between hunter-gatherer and agropastoralist groups.

中文翻译：

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Matatiele 考古学和岩石艺术 (MARA) 计划挖掘：南非东开普省 Mafusing 1 Rock Shelter 的考古学

岩石掩体 Mafusing 1 于 2011 年被挖掘出来，作为 Matatiele 考古学和岩石艺术或 MARA 研究计划的一部分，于同年启动。该计划致力于纠正南非这一地区被严重忽视的历史，该地区直到 1994 年才成为更广泛的“特兰斯凯”种族隔离家园的一部分。Derricourt 1977 年在 Ciskei 和 Transkei 的史前人构成了该地区的最后一次考古调查。然而，Matatiele 地区的覆盖范围有限，主要依赖于 van Riet Lowe 1930 年代的站点列表。迄今为止，MARA 计划已在系统调查中记录了 200 多个岩画遗址，并挖掘了两个避难所——Mafusing 1 (MAF 1) 和 Gladstone 1（即将推出）。在这里，我们对来自 MAF 1 站点的挖掘材料进行了分析，这说明了更广泛的历史和遗产相关计划重点的考古组成部分。迄今为止，我们在 MAF 1 上的主要发现包括一个连续的、分层良好的文化序列，其历史可以追溯到全新世中期至 2400 cal。BP 。从这些矿床中获得的年龄表明 MAF 1 有狩猎采集者的职业脉搏，在全新世中期的两千年时间里，该地点可能被废弃。在一次重大的屋顶倒塌改变了避难所的形态之后，MAF 1 的居住特征发生了重大变化，这反映在人工制品组合的构成和 2400 卡路里之后的某个时间在避难所内建造的直线结构。BP 。来自 MAF 1 后期占领阶段的石器人工制品组合的存在证实了狩猎采集者继续使用该地点，而陶器的存在，特别是建造一个假定的直线住宅和相关的动物围栏表明占领农牧民的庇护所。岩画证据显示了不同的阶段，后者可能指向涉及雨蛇和造雨的宗教活动，部分可能是为非洲农民观众表演的。这使 MARA 计划的中心目标成为焦点：研究狩猎采集者和农牧民群体之间接触的考古学。而陶器的存在，特别是建造一个假定的直线住宅和相关的动物围栏，表明农牧民对庇护所的占领。岩画证据显示了不同的阶段，后者可能指向涉及雨蛇和造雨的宗教活动，部分可能是为非洲农民观众表演的。这使 MARA 计划的中心目标成为焦点：研究狩猎采集者和农牧民群体之间接触的考古学。而陶器的存在，特别是建造一个假定的直线住宅和相关的动物围栏，表明农牧民对庇护所的占领。岩画证据显示了不同的阶段，后者可能指向涉及雨蛇和造雨的宗教活动，部分可能是为非洲农民观众表演的。这使 MARA 计划的中心目标成为焦点：研究狩猎采集者和农牧民群体之间接触的考古学。