Scavenging and processing of whale meat and blubber by Later Stone Age people of the Geelbek Dunes, Western Cape Province, South Africa

Although it has been postulated that the scavenging of beached whales played an important role in the subsistence strategy of Later Stone Age people in southern Africa, there exists limited material evidence to support this hypothesis. At the locality Pottery in the Geelbek Dunes of the Western Cape, new analysis has demonstrated a clear association between 34 pieces of whale barnacle (Coronula diadema) and a roasting platform consisting of burned calcrete. This relationship confirms that LSA people scavenged whales from the shores of southern Africa, while processing the meat and rendering the blubber at inland locations.