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Klasies
Klasies, site of paleoanthropological excavations carried out since the late 1960s within a complex of South African coastal caves. Usually referred to as Klasies River Mouth, the site has yielded some of the oldest evidence ofHomo sapiens.
Discoveries made at Klasies have figured prominently in the search for the origin of modern people. Thehuman remains, tools, and other evidence of human activity found there may date as far back as 120,000 years ago. Although the material is fragmentary, enough of it is preserved to show that the people who lived there were essentially modern, unlikeNeanderthals or otherarchaic humans (genusHomo). Thedenizens of Klasies possessed prominent chins, modern faces, and limb bones like those of modern humans.
- Related Topics:
- archaeology
- Homo
- paleoanthropology
- Related Places:
- South Africa
In the oldest archaeological layers are flake-based MiddlePaleolithic tools traditionally referred to as African MiddleStone Age. At about 70,000 years ago a blade-based industry calledHowieson’s Poort begins; this industry is aprecursor of Upper Paleolithictechnology. Analysis of animal remains found at the site reveals some of the earliest evidence of humans’ making use of marine resources such as shellfish.
