Blombos Cave is a Middle Stone Age (MSA) site located in the southern Cape, South Africa, that contains excellently preserved deposits that date to older than 70,000 years. Excavations at this site led by Christopher Henshilwood and Cedric Poggenpoel began in 1992, and have yielded remarkable, yet anomalous finds that are directly relevant to the 'modern' human behavior debate. These finds include a range of bone tools, finely crafted bifacial stone points, ochre pieces engraved with deliberate designs, an engraved bone fragment and evidence for 'modern' subsistence practices including fishing.
For more detailed information about Blombos Cave, see the article Blombos Cave: What it Means to be Human.
Sources
The official Blombos project website is an excellent source of information about ongoing excavations, with lots of artifact photographs and details.
A brief bibliography on Blombos Cave is available.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
