ArmaVeirana 2022

Closing Site: the Final Week The last week on site was hectic, as they always are. Finishing closing lots, replacing sandbags, and inventorying everything from blankets and plastic bags to specialist samples for further study. In all the week was a blur. Thursday in particular stands out as a highlight of the trip. In the middle of all the inventorying and closing site, a few of us began marinating beef and chicken for the final braai. Braai's are a cornerstone of South African culture, a barbecue on open coals doesn't quite sum it up and asking me to properly explain it is a bit like asking a Southerner to explain a cookout/pig pickin. The sense of community it provides is more comparable to a regular fourth of July celebration than anything else. Thursday was our last braai as a group as many of us were leaving Friday once work was finished, and even more early Saturday morning. There was a potent bittersweet taste to the crisp night air as we celebrated the end of the season

  Week 4 & 5: Last Week at Mossel Bay and Return To Boomplaas   The last week I spent at the Mossel Bay lab was an incredible experience. The weekend ended with a hike along the Kingfisher trail in Wilderness where our group was surrounded by vervet monkeys after a short river crossing.    The rain that came in Sunday night wound up washing a juvenile cape seal as well as a juvenile cormorant. As zooarchaeologists it was important that we collected their remains to bulk out our reference collection. So, they now sit in labelled garbage bags within the lab freezer. Both Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy, leading to another dead seal washing up on the beach. Luckily, by Saturday the rain had stopped, and the temperature had picked up significantly. Celebrating this we took a 20 km hike along the Cape St. Blaize trail. Between watching scores of dolphins swimming and the beautiful South African coast, it was the perfect ending to a great time doing faunal analysis in the Mossel B

Week 2: A busy week was just wrapped up for the Boomplaas field season near Oudtshoorn, SA! The team was busy opening the site, as well as having many of our members attend and present at the Southern African Society for Quaternary Research. As much of our work this week was moving sandbags and taking opening Total Station shots, as well as attending/presenting at the conference I think this is a good week to introduce the Boomplaas site a bit.   Site Crew loading equipment to carry up to the cave.   Boomplaas is located in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains in Southern South Africa. This place Boomplaas in what is locally called the Klein-Karoo (Afrikaans for Little Karoo). The Karoo is partially defined by its aridity, something which makes the well-watered foothills where Boomplaas is located special in the region.   Lunch Break outside the cave, overlooking the valley at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains. Boomplaas cave has been in use since potentially 80,000 years before