Social implications of archaeology at Little Muck Shelter during the contact period: 150–1300 CE

Abstract

Little is known of forager behavioural shifts in the middle Limpopo Valley, especially after the arrival of farmers. Studies have shown changes in forager toolkits, as to what these represent is not clear. At Little Muck Shelter, toolkits remain similar, that is a dominance of stone scrapers, but upon closer inspection, the use of these toolkits changes slightly after the appearance of farmer communities in the region. Here we evaluate all findings at Little Muck Shelter to date and discuss how various discoveries indicate forager involvement in the local Iron Age economy. We argue that Little Muck was a specialised site for creating tools that could be used to obtain goods for trade from the onset of contact to the time when trade wealth was driving the appearance of wealthy elites and state-level society. It is also clear that the interactions between foragers and farmers in the Limpopo Valley is far more complex than first realised and that a great deal is left to discover. The findings demonstrate the need for careful conservation of archaeological resources and the curation of excavated materials.