Blombos Cave

The Blombos Cave is a 1991 scientifically researched cave in South Africa, east of Cape Agulhas, which is (Homo sapiens) for several records relating to the history of modern humans and South Africa became the center of the archaeological and art-critical discussion since the turn of the millennium: In their hundreds and hundreds of pieces of ocher stone tools have been found.

Location and date

The cave is located a few hundred meters from the present coastline, 34.5 meters above sea level. In the transition from Pliocene to Pleistocene it was at sea level and was washed out by the waves. Around 75000-70000 years ago ( M1 phase ), and in approximately 90000-75000 years ago ( M2 phase), approximately 140,000 and 90,000 before: With the help of thermoluminescence more than 20 distinguishable Fund horizons of the cave were divided into three stages today. (M3 - phase). It alternated periods of colonization of the cave with uninhabited periods.

The terrain in the vicinity of the cave was the grandfather of Christopher Henshilwood acquired in 1961 in order to obtain gainful the fishing can. Henshilwood had made ​​there as a teenager repeatedly holidays and thereby collected stone tools.

Archaeological finds

Two of the Blombos Cave found, incised ocher pieces are of an age of approximately 77,000 years significantly older than all known to this discovery works of art of the Middle Stone Age, and thus - the authors of the 2002 study published by Christopher Henshilwood, according to - the oldest known works of art mankind. Is X-shaped notches which are traversed by three horizontal lines. 2008 it was reported about the discovery of 13 other pieces of ocher, which may be even older.

2011 additional evidence for dealing with ocher were published in the Blombos cave, this time dated to around 100,000 years ago. In two abalone shells were discovered remains of ocher color, which is why the two shells were interpreted as " storage container " for that color. Further stones were discovered in the same horizon Fund, which had been used for rubbing of ocher dust and fine elongated bone pieces with Farbanhaftungen who had probably served the mixing of color.

2010 by researchers at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and the University of Colorado at Boulder ( USA) has made ​​another startling study published. Through experimental archeology had been understood that the technique of "pressure flaking ", in which the edges of the used for tool production stones are processed controlled with pressure, already 75,000 years ago - in the Middle Stone Age - was known to the representatives of the Still Bay Industry; by that time the archaeologists had this only about 20,000 -year-old documents.

A large number of pierced and inked with red chalk snail shells, which became known in 2005, also comes from a 75,000 -year-old treasure layer.