Woodlands: New Discovery of a Small Acheulean Site in the Eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa (Houston Archeological Society Report No.) - Softcover

South Africa has been occupied by tool-producing hominins for at least two million years. The country occupies a pivotal place in the current discussions on both the origin of the genus Homo as well as its development toward becoming modern man (Homo sapiens). Its expansive size and wide variety of environmental terrains makes it ideal for the study of the development of early hominins. This is especially true for the Eastern Cape Province. Over the past 20 years, the author has received permission to explore a large number of farms across the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. These farms range from near the Eastern Cape-Free State border by Aliwal North to several areas in and around Burgersdorp (12 farms), three farms near Craddock, four farms in the general vicinity of Queenstown, and two locations on the coast – one near Humansdorp and the other near East London. This led to the discovery of three Middle Stone Age sites whose lithic assemblages correspond to the transitional Fauresmith Industry as described by Herries (2011), Underhill (2011), Wilkens and Chazan (2012), and Wilkins (2013). In 2017, the author returned to the Eastern Cape to partially excavate one of the three Middle Stone Age sites, Dalmanutha. During the course of this work, several discussions were held with the landowner, Mr. Bennie Lategan of Aliwal North, and his father, Mr. Ben Lategan of Burgersdorp. Mr. Lategan senior informed me that he believed there were flaked stone tools on another of his properties called Woodlands. A visit to the property during October, 2017 revealed the presence of a number of large, teardrop-shaped handaxes and large worked flakes on the surface. No other artifacts such as prepared cores, blades, or Levallois points, all of which characterize the Fauresmith Industry, were found. The site thus appears to be solely an Acheulean occupation that pre-dates the advent of the Middle Stone Age. As there are only a few known Acheulean sites in the Eastern Cape Province, this brief paper serves to record the location of the site and its lithic assemblage.