Occupational intensity is a common theme in current research and has been linked to significant demographic trends in the past. The Late Pleistocene in the southern Cape may be especially important in understanding the impacts of socio-demographic change given its association with developments in ‘modern’ human behaviour. The ubiquity of archaeo-faunal remains at Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites makes these convenient datasets for documenting site-specific occupational patterns. In this paper, zooarchaeological and taphonomic data are evaluated as proxies for occupational intensity, and occupational trends are explored in the southern Cape. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic data from three southern Cape MSA sites—Klipdrift Shelter, Blombos Cave and Pinnacle Point—are compared with previously determined higher and lower occupational levels within each site to assess the value of these proxies in tracking temporal changes in settlement intensity. The results show that, while frequencies of small mammals and larger ungulates often covary with occupational levels, these are problematic indicators because of the impact of carnivores. Similarly, faunal diversity generally corresponds well with increasing human occupations but is a problematic proxy because of the effects of animal activity. Anthropogenic bone surface modifications appear to be effective in tracking occupational patterns, with trampling a particularly useful indicator. Faunal and shellfish density, and transverse bone fracture patterns, are valuable proxies of occupational intensity at all sites. Generally, the data suggests close links between occupational intensity at these sites and marine transgressions. Evidence of increased exploitation of small game in the later MSA may imply periods of subsistence intensification possibly linked to increased demographic pressure during Marine Isotope Stage 4.

职业强度是当前研究的共同主题，并且过去与重要的人口趋势相关。鉴于开普敦南部的更新世与“现代”人类行为的发展有关，因此在了解社会人口变化的影响方面可能尤其重要。中石器时代（MSA）遗址普遍存在的考古动物遗骸使这些方便的数据集可用于记录特定地点的职业模式。本文将动物考古学和人类工程学数据作为职业强度的评估指标，并在南开普省探索职业趋势。来自南开普省MSA南部三个地点（克利夫福特庇护所，将Blombos Cave和Pinnacle Point与每个地点以前确定的较高和较低的职业水平进行比较，以评估这些代理在跟踪沉降强度随时间变化时的价值。结果表明，尽管小型哺乳动物和大型有蹄类动物的频率经常随职业水平变化，但由于食肉动物的影响，这些指标还是有问题的。同样，动物多样性通常与人类的职业增加有很好的对应关系，但由于动物活动的影响，它是一个有问题的替代物。人为造成的骨表面修饰似乎在追踪职业模式方面是有效的，践踏是一种特别有用的指标。动物和贝类的密度，以及横向骨折的方式，是所有地点职业强度的宝贵代表。一般来说，数据表明，这些地点的职业强度与海洋犯罪之间有着密切的联系。在随后的MSA中，对小游戏的开发利用增加的证据可能暗示了生存强化期可能与海洋同位素第4阶段人口统计学压力的增加有关。