Pinnacle Point Caves
Pinnacle Point
South Africa · Western Cape
In brief
The cave complex near Mossel Bay has provided evidence of early humans' use of marine resources and stone tool production. Excavations have focused particularly on the PP13B and PP5-6 sites.
What was found?
- 1Shellfish remains
Shells of organisms such as mussels, sea snails and limpets have been found. They are tangible evidence of the use of coastal resources for food.
- 2Red ochre
Red ochre used as a pigment has been found. According to researchers, the use of this material may be associated with symbolic behavior.
- 3Heat-treated siliceous stones
There is evidence that a stone called silcrete was altered using fire for tool production. This demonstrates the ability to prepare stone for production by controlling its properties.
- 4Small stone tools
The finds include small blades and microliths. They document advanced stoneworking aimed at producing small, sharp pieces.
What does it point to?
Pinnacle Point offers a window into the lives of people who obtained food from the sea and processed stone raw material using fire. According to researchers, pigment use indicates symbolic expression, while heat treatment indicates the ability to plan production in stages.
What did it teach us?
- It provided evidence placing the use of marine resources in human diets in very early periods.
- It showed that fire was used to alter stone raw material.
- It documented the coexistence of coastal food gathering, pigment use and small stone tool production in early human life.
Latest news / selected archive
2025: A new chronology using 169 dates for the PP5-6 layers refined the timing of human activities, achieving approximately century-level resolution in some sections.
Record
- First modern dig
- 2000
- Team / historical
- Curtis Marean; Arizona State University ve uluslararası ortaklar
- Coordinates
- -34.2078°, 22.0894°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- news.asu.edu
- news.asu.edu
- en.wikipedia.org
- Arizona Eyalet Üniversitesi — ASU News
- Arizona Eyalet Üniversitesi — Ask An Anthropologist
Nearby excavations
- Blombos Cave 83 km
- Klasies River Main Site 212 km
- Diepkloof Rock Shelter 394 km
- Wonderwerk Cave 721 km
- Sibhudu Cave 996 km
- Sterkfontein Caves 1,060 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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