- Border Cave, 76,000 (Still Bay industry), 1 perforated Conus shell
- Blombos Cave, 75,000 (Still Bay), 41 perforated Nassarius kraussianus shell beads, usewear and ochre staining
- Sibudu Cave, >70,000 (Still Bay), 6 Afrolittorina africana, 3 perforated
- Diepkloof Shelter, 55,000 BP (Howiesons Poort), engraved ostrich shell bead
Still Bay (~77,000-70,000 BP) and Howiesons Poort (~66,000-58,000) are two early modern human industries with evidence for what archaeologists term 'behavioral modernity'. The artifacts in Still Bay assemblages include crescent-shaped blades and lanceolate stone and bone projectile points, red ochre and abstract portable art. Howiesons Poort and Still Bay sites are found in South Africa.
Perforations on the shell beads from Blombos are believed to have been created by piercing the shell with a sharp bone point; use-wear recorded on the perforation, the outer lip and parietal wall suggests that the shells were strung and worn. Thirty-one of the beads were found in groups of five to twelve beads; in the groups, the beads are similar in coloration, use-wear pattern and perforation size. Blombos is 20 kilometers from the nearest habitat for Nassarius tick shells, and 34.5 meters above sea level. The shells range between 7 and 11 mm in length.
One of the Sibudu cave Afrolittorina africana has extensive micro-chipping with red ochre stains. The piercing of the specimens from Sibudu is believed on the basis of experimental studies to have been made with bone or wooden awls. One of these shells is from a Howiesons Poort level, other five are from Still Bay. Sibudu is 15 kilometres from the shoreline and 100 meters above the sea. The shells measure between 5 and 8 millimeters in length.
