100th century BCE
Southern and eastern Africa
Meat drying was a major resource-processing practice associated with Middle Stone Age occupations in Africa. Archaeological evidence includes dispersed ash, carbonized material, and heavily comminuted or burned bone, while ethnographic observations from Malawi describe raised drying structures over fires. The practice extended the storage life of meat, supported seasonal hunting strategies, and may have enabled exchange between groups.
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The Story
Layers of dispersed ash and carbonized material associated especially with the early blade Howieson's Poort tradition have been interpreted as possible traces of burned bedding or meat-drying operations. Their similarity to features documented in Later Stone Age contexts and in modern Malawi favors the second interpretation. These remains suggest that some Middle Stone Age camps were organized around preserving meat during difficult seasonal conditions.
In the Malawi process described in the passage, two lines of wooden stakes supported a grid of green sticks, on which meat was laid above a fire. The fire continued until drying was complete, producing a broad accumulation of ash. During the rainy season, the operation had to take place under shelter, precisely when migratory animals were moving and more dispersed hunting by larger groups became possible.
The process also involved breaking or chopping butchered limbs and other carcass portions so that meat could be divided into strips for drying, transport, and consumption. Some of the resulting bone waste became burned, and similarly comminuted remains are reported from Border Cave and Klasies River Mouth. Dried meat could be kept for several weeks as a reserve of protein and may also have served as a medium of exchange between groups.
100th century BCE
Southern and eastern Africa
Meat drying was a major resource-processing practice associated with Middle Stone Age occupations in Africa. Archaeological evidence includes dispersed ash, carbonized material, and heavily comminuted or burned bone, while ethnographic observations from Malawi describe raised drying structures over fires. The practice extended the storage life of meat, supported seasonal hunting strategies, and may have enabled exchange between groups.
Continue exploring
The Story
Layers of dispersed ash and carbonized material associated especially with the early blade Howieson's Poort tradition have been interpreted as possible traces of burned bedding or meat-drying operations. Their similarity to features documented in Later Stone Age contexts and in modern Malawi favors the second interpretation. These remains suggest that some Middle Stone Age camps were organized around preserving meat during difficult seasonal conditions.
In the Malawi process described in the passage, two lines of wooden stakes supported a grid of green sticks, on which meat was laid above a fire. The fire continued until drying was complete, producing a broad accumulation of ash. During the rainy season, the operation had to take place under shelter, precisely when migratory animals were moving and more dispersed hunting by larger groups became possible.
The process also involved breaking or chopping butchered limbs and other carcass portions so that meat could be divided into strips for drying, transport, and consumption. Some of the resulting bone waste became burned, and similarly comminuted remains are reported from Border Cave and Klasies River Mouth. Dried meat could be kept for several weeks as a reserve of protein and may also have served as a medium of exchange between groups.
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