Mike Taylor's Midden (MTM) is a megamidden, one of the largest of 13 enormous shell mounds in the Western Cape region of South Africa. MTM is located on the headland of Mussel Point, on Eland's Bay of the. It is one of only a few shell middens in the Western Cape that contain evidence of use within a few centuries after the end of the megamidden period, ca. 1700-1800 BP.
The surface expression of the site--where the shell can be seen on the ground--covers an area of some 200x120 meters, although the mound itself must be somewhat larger. Twelve layers were identified within the shell mound, radiocarbon dated (on charcoal) roughly between 2400-1700 BP.
During the megamidden phase of use (2400-2000 BP), food represented in the midden include dominant black mussels (Choromytilus meridionalis), as well as small amounts of Cape cormorant, Cape penguin, tortoise and fish.
Changes at Mike Taylor's Midden
Black mussels were the dominant shellfish in the mound until ~1800 BP, when barnacles, whelks and limpets became more common. A bone point, Donax shell scrapers, and ostrich egg shell beads, were recovered, mst of which were dated to the post-1800 layers. Abundant charcoal was found in patches throughout the site, but the total amount sharply decreases after 1800 BP. Finally, the presence of pottery and sheep bones signal the post-megamidden era.
Excavations at Mike Taylor's Midden were undertaken by Mike Taylor, then a post-graduate student at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and Cedric Poggenpoel, in 1973. Three smaller excavations were carried out in the 1980s, and additional excavations were completed by Antonieta Jerardino and Royden Yates of UCT in the 1990s. Mike Taylor's Midden has been declared a provincial heritage site.
Sources
Jerardino A, and Yates R. 1997. Excavations at Mike Taylor's Midden: A Summary Report and Implications for a Re-Characterisation of Megamiddens. The South African Archaeological Bulletin 52(165):43-51.
