Archaeologists believe the megamiddens are, of course, the result of a large amount of shellfish processing, including removing the meat from the shell and possibly drying the meat for later use.
Other activities in evidence at the megamiddens include flint knapping and processing of other animals, vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrates identified within the megamiddens include cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp) and penguins (Spheniscus demersus), fish (Japonicus hololepidotus and Lithognathus spp), tortoise (Chersina angulata) and small bovids. Bovids represented in megamiddens range from eland Taurotragus oryx, cattle (Bos taurus) and steenbok or grysbok; gray duiker Sylvicapra grimmia; and after ca 1800 BP, domestic sheep Ovis aries.
Invertebrates found in shell middens include overwhelmingly black mussels (Choromytilus meridionalis), with some minor concentrations in limpets (Cymbula spp and Scutellastra spp), whelks (Burnupena spp and Nucella spp) and ribbed mussel (Aulacomya ater), barnacles (Austromegabalanus cylindricus, Notomegabalanus algicola, and Tetraclita spp) and venus-type mussels (Venerupis corrugata). Cape rock lobsters (Jasus lalandii) are also occasionally found.
Sources
A bibliography has been collected for this project.
