Bloukrans Farm Survey

The area for proposed survey lies on the Farm Bloukrans (Registered Windhoek) in the Northern Cape Province southwest of Reitfontein. Of interest is an escarpment running from the northwest to southeast to the east of Koppies Kraal Pan. This escarpment has been the subject of cosmogenic dating published by Vainer et al. 2022) which has determined an age of sediment accumulation between 2.2 and 1.7 million years ago. A brief visit was made to the site in 2022 to assess the archaeological potential of the escarpment given that the sediment accumulation correlates with the Oldowan and the onset of the Acheulean. No artifacts were visible associated with the escarpment. However, on the surface of the area below the escarpment a there is a low density of artifacts made on quartzite. The artifacts are mostly thick flakes and prepared cores. The purpose of the permit application is to allow for a collection of a representative sample of artifacts to provide a detailed description of the lithic assemblage, which might be either Fauresmith or Early Middle Stone Age, neither of which is an industry previously documented in this region.