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Site and People records
Waterdown II
Site

Brief description of site: RSA WAD2 is located perhaps 200 m downstream (north) of RSA WAD1 and higher up on the 1450 m contour in a large, lobed cave-like rock shelter. The site is up to 20 m long and each cave-like lobe is up to 5 m deep, with a third, smaller cave. The site is high and has a gently sloping expanse in front of it that has been used as a stock kraal. There is little vegetation near the site.

The floor is very dusty and has a lot of cattle dung overburden. The Archaeological deposit could be up to 1 m in places. Many hornfels stone tools are scattered on the surface.
Brief description of art: Weathering has taken its toll on these paintings and only the most recent paintings - of white and detailed cattle - as well as a few red eland and other antelope survive; perhaps 30 images in all. The eland are very detailed, with remnants of white paint for the legs and heads still visible, with black horns, hooves and eyes. There is a light red hartebeest and there are black human figures within one of the caves; possibly also baboon. There are 9 red Khoekhoen finger stripes/smears.

Waterdown I
Site

Brief description of site: RSA WAD1 is a huge and very high (> 10 m) krantz over 30 m long just below the dam wall (60 m) with some inner recesses on the 1 400 m contour with sandstone overlying a mudstone layer. The shelter has a very uneven floor of rock blocs. Riverine vegetation grows densely right up to the site. Localised view.

The floor is very dusty and gritty. Despite flooding, many stone artefacts were visible - both hornfels (indurated shale) as well as agates (crypto-crystalline silicates). A good quantity of ash has helped to preserve the bone and freshwater mussel remains. There are also many historic and recent tins, buttons and so forth. There is no great depth to the deposit, but pockets do occur. The site has clearly been a long-term focus for Bushman and Khoekhoen (previously 'Khoi' or 'Hottentot') communities - a case of topophilia or 'love of place'. Lithics (stone tools) of the Later Stone Age, which covers the period from about 25 000 years ago until historic times, are found here. Every stage of stone tool manufacture is present. There are cores - large lumps of rock from which stone tools are made. There are flakes - general-purpose cutting tools. Adzes are present and were used for woodworking in much the same way as a spokeshave. End and side-scrapers, often in the shape of a thumbnail were used to prepare leather. There are also rare burins and awls - used to pierce.
Brief description of art: Finger dots and Snakes.

This was once a major painted site but dust, flooding and unstable rock has obliterated the majority of the paintings. Here-and-there pockets of imagery survive such as a horse and rider, eland, smaller antelope, human figures, cattle, spears, baboon and a 500 mm tall human figure; these all mostly in red. There is one stand out panel however:

Entoptic Eland and Khoe Finger-painting panel: This 1.1 m x 0.2 m image cluster has very fine detail with two painting episodes. The first is of a tusked eland painted in red outline with paired parallel lines within its body forming a grid-like pattern. There is also an orange and with eared and tusked serpent that emerges from a step in the rock. Around these two creatures are at least 19 red human figures in extremely contorted body postures - arms held back, people bending over holding their hands to noses. At least two of these figures also have tusks. Their white faces and red bodies also have dots and stripes painted on. The second painted episode in a lighter red paint consist of rows of finger dots and a zigzag red line that are painted on top of the human figures and two creatures. A very large and faded white animal is also seen and which belongs to Episode 1.

Scrapfield I
Site

Brief description of site: RSA-SCR1 is an unusual shelter being located in a small kloof. The site is 10 m from a seasonal waterfall and waterpool in a small, deep, dome-like shelter that measures 3 m wide, up to 2.5 m deep and up to 3 m high on the 980 m contour. The shelter faces north-north-east and has a rock floor and small inner cave. A few trees grow around the shelter, obscuring it from view.

The site is flooded periodically which, together with the rock floor, means that there has been no build-up of archaeological deposit. . No artefacts were visible except for 1 possible grinding/preparing patch on a rock.
Brief description of art: There are two painted episodes on opposite walls:

Episode 1 - animals: This consists of 3 paintings - an orange and white eland with black horns; a fat black animal without a head - perhaps a cow; and a rough black animal and possible human figure. There is a paint smear on the roof too.

Episode 2 - Spirit World animals and people: Near the domed ceiling of the shelter is a 1.4 m x 0.75 m image cluster of at least 45 images that all seem to have been painted at the same time and constitute a 'scene' that has a common theme. Dominating this cluster are 3 bizarre slug-like animals painted in black and white with red details. The longest of these animals is 500 mm. These creatures have rudimentary front legs, a slug or eel-like body, alien-like antennae and a sting-like tail; suggesting a very composite creature. Each has white spots on a black body and hairs in white along the back/spine. Two of the creatures have white tusk-like mouth protrusions. The creature's heads is almost bovine with a very square muzzle. Above these three creatures are two black buck - probably very stylised eland - also covered in white dots with ears edged in red paint. The larger animal is 360 mm long and is only partially infilled with black paint. Around each of these five creatures are human figures in black and white (10) and red and black (21 and yellow and orange (5), many of which have bag-like objects dangling from their chests and also with front aprons and some have red and black flywhisks. These figures also have elaborate headresses and three have serpentine like creatures emerging from their stomachs. All the figures are closely engaging with the five creatures and are shown standing, bending, lying down, doing a 'backflip' and even assuming 'swimming'-like poses. There is a black and white cow to the right of this panel next to a large 250 mm tall, fat black human figure with a tulip like penis additament ('infibulation'). There may be another two black human figures.