Border Cave is a rockshelter in the Lebombo Mountains between South Africa and Swaziland, in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Discovered in 1933 and excavated first in 1940 by W. E. Barton, the site deposits include Middle to Late Stone Age Transition (ca. 30,000 to 50,000 years ago), and Middle Stone Age Howiesons Poort occupations (45,000 to 75,000 years ago).
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens skeletons as well as stone tools and chipping debris were found at Border Cave. Scholarly debate continues about the age of the human skeletal materials, some of which were recovered from the Howiesons Poort levels. The most recent electronic spin resonance dating puts at least one of the elements at 74,000 ± 5000 years before the present, which is very early for an anatomically modern Homo sapiens.
Source
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to the Middle Stone Age in Africa and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Lee-Thorp, Julia A. and Matt Sponheimer 2003 Three case studies used to reassess the reliability of fossil bone and enamel isotope signals for paleodietary studies. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 22(3):208-216.
