Abstract:
This paper presents the first insight into the interpretation of the wood charcoal from the Holocene layers of
Wonderwerk Cave. Situated in the Northern Cape Province in the arid interior of South Africa, the site provides a
unique and valuable chronological record of past environmental fluctuations and responding human behavioural
adaptations spanning the last two million years. The Holocene strata have been dated to cover the last 12.5 ka cal
BP years, but exclude the last 100 years because of contamination. A sizeable amount of charcoal was recovered
from these strata and remnants have been identified, described and the species composition amongst the strata
compared. Most identified species are those that tolerate hot, dry conditions, signalling an arid trend during the
Holocene. Comparison with present day species distributions suggests an eastwards shift in modern vegetation.
The charcoal data also indicate that during the mid Holocene there was a wetter period from 6.2 to 4.5 ka cal BP,
coinciding with stratum 4a.
