African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Aug 2019)
Tourism potential at Florisbad: an important archaeozoological site at Free State Province, South Africa.
Abstract
Florisbad is an important archaeozoological site, situated ~ 45 km north west of Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa. This site is important for four reasons: 1) the existence of a natural hot spring, a fossil bearing spring mound, 2) the discovery of the Florisbad hominid (Homo helmei) by a certain Prof T Dreyer in 1932, 3) the existence of a collection of artefacts and an enormous number of faunal fossil remains representing the Florisian Land Mammal Age, with an age of ~ 400 Kyr and, lastly, 4) the excavation and identification of Middle Stone Age tools and faunal remains. The discovery of the Florisbad hominid prompted further archaeological, palaeoanthropological, geological and geomorphological research in the Florisbad area. The Florisbad spring site has a complex stratigraphy because the deposits are lithologically variable due to the fact that they are the product of an unusual depositional environment. Many hypotheses have being proposed in trying to understand the complex depositional environment at Florisbad. The overall geomorphology, suggests a shallow depression (Florisbad-Soutpan) in which both fluvial and aeolian processes have conspired to create a unique landscape which has promoted the formation and preservation of dune deposits and the unique archaeological site which is Florisbad. This article argues that Florisbad is a unique place (geographically) with a rich archeological history and has great potential for geotourism and archaeotourism. The article concludes that tourism at Florisbad can enhance the unique geomorphological character of this site and its cultural heritage.
