Fish and other faunal remains from a Late Iron Age site on the Letaba River, Kruger National Park

Abstract

Fish remains from Late Iron Age sites in the Transvaal are relatively scarce. It seems as if the people did not utilize the riverine resources extensively. Therefore the unique assemblage of large numbers of fish bones on a Late Iron Age site, provides some insight into the fish population of a section of the Letaba River a few hundred years ago. The presence of other faunal remains provides some information on prehistoric utilization of the environment in general. Hunting strategies and aspects of herding can also be deduced from the faunal remains.

Keywords

• prehistory, Iron Age, fish, fauna, archaeozoology, Kruger National Park, hunting, herding.