Changes in the Social Relations of Precolonial Hunter-Gatherers after Agropastoralist Contact: An Example from the Magaliesberg, South Africa

Author: Wadley L.

Source: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Volume 15, Number 2, June 1996 , pp. 205-217(13)

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Abstract:

Jubilee Shelter in the Magaliesberg of the North West Province, South Africa, was occupied by hunter-gatherers during three phases of agropastoralist contact. This contact began in about 225 A.D. when Bambata pottery was introduced to the site. At this stage there was no change in the hunter-gatherers' seasonal pattern of aggregation and dispersal. Later there is evidence for cooperative contact between the hunter-gatherers and the farmers and considerable changes are recorded in Jubilee Shelter. Seasonal markers alter and evidence for aggregation disappears. At the same time Stone Age scrapers appear in the local Iron Age village of Broederstroom and it appears that hunter-gatherers may have been processing hides for the villagers. When Late Iron Age settlement began in the Magaliesberg, the impact on hunter-gatherers was even greater. In Jubilee Shelter material culture becomes impoverished and in the local Iron Age villages there are also few Stone Age artifacts. At this stage, the hunter-gatherers either became assimilated into the village communities or moved to other areas.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: Department of Archaeology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Publication date: 1996-06-01