Melk Boom I 51

• Melkboom

Brief description of site: The site RSA MEK1 has both Bushman (also known This site is located amongst an extensive but isolated scatter of doleritic rock outcrops. The site is by no means the largest or the smallest of these outcrops - it is on a medium sized outcrop with two peaks and extensive rock pavement area. The site seems to have been selected as a focus of human activity on account of the rocky water pools found there as well as the cave-like system present near the top of the easternmost peak. Though views are extensive, the landscape has a very localised character. The surrounding veld is a sandy thorn semi-arid scrubveld that supports a wide variety of game both now and in times past.

There is evidence of a Later Stone Age (c. 30 000 years ago until approx. CE 1850) Bushman campsite on the eastern side of the site, just off the rock pavement and near its southern foot. The deepest rock water pool is less than 100 m to the north-east. This campsite consists of numerous lithics (stone tools) located on the surface of the site. These stone tools are mostly made from both semi-precious opalines and from lydianite of 'hornfels' - also known as indurated shale. Among the stone tools are flakes - which were general purpose tools used to cut, scrape and so forth. There is no bone preserved but a few ostrich eggshell pieces and beads were observed. There may be pockets of archaeological deposit among the rocks but generally not. There is a well-preserved lower grindstone and also some upper grindstones that may date to within the last 2 000 years when the Bushmen had contact with Khoe herders. Grinding was, however, always an important part of Bushman food-processing and there are numerous grinding patches visible near this camp on the rock apron around smaller pools of water. On the top of the larger peak, there is an ashy deposit associated with the extensive cave-like system of rock blocs. Here bone and larger hornfels flakes are visible. This may represent a Khoe herder occupation, though no pottery was observed. There is also an Historic Period square and very substantial kraal (stock enclosure) at the southern and eastern end of the site.
Brief description of art: Bushman rock engravings: These form the majority of the engravings at the site. Most engravings have been made in the pecked technique. This includes pecked outlines and pecked infills, though there are also some images that have been scraped into the rock surface. This procedure removes the black outer layer or cortex of the rock, exposing the lighter, almost white heart rock beneath. Over time this white heart rock weathers through exposure to the elements and becomes browner and sometimes it even becomes black. As a general rule, the darker the engraving, the older it is - though a lot of this also depends on whether the engraving is made in a sheltered or exposed position. Melkboom is a significant Bushman rock engraving site in that it has more than a dozen engravings of animal spoor and human footprints. At one time thought to represent fossilised footprints of real animals, microscopic examination of the spoor shows typical engraved peck marks. In addition, no 7-toed feline is ever known to have existed and the very small human footprints are far too small to have been made by any human or ape now or in the past. Spoor engravings are, in fact, a feature of Northern Cape and Namibian rock art and relate to Bushman concerns with the extra-ordinary animals and people that are lived in the Spirit World, which was believed to have been located behind the engraved rock surface. There are many other engravings such as of the large antelope the eland (Tragelaphus oryx) as well antelope, buffalo, elephant, equids (probably zebra), felines, giraffe, human figures, jackal-like animals, ostrich, very rare depictions of porcupines, rhinoceros and so forth. The engravings cover a wide area but are concentrated in several clusters with isolated outliers. Most of these engravings occur on the rock pavement on the site's northern side.

Khoe herder rock engravings: There are fewer of these engravings- perhaps 50-75. Most of the Khoe herder rock engravings are located higher up on the larger peak, nearer the caves. These engravings have few representational forms and are dominated by geometric forms such as circles (with or without internal divisions), sunburst-like motifs, grids and so forth. There are also some Khoe engravings mixed in with the Bushman engravings and these take the forms of a few bags, at least one apron and a number of 'spread-eagle' animal skins.

Historic Period rock engravings: Usually fresh-looking there are a number of instances of 'graffiti' where people have pecked out names and dates. This 'graffiti' often has historical value as it chronicles the arrival and occupation of this landscape by White settlers as well as latter-day KhoeSan groups such as the Nama. Thus, much of this 'graffiti' is, in fact, Historical period rock art. A number (perhaps 20) of the animal engravings have been made by non-Bushman people. These include a horse, dog and some of the larger megaherbivores like elephant, buffalo and rhino.