Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

since the origin of humankind, its identity has always been shaped by the
surrounding environment. Human beings will not be defined as complete
without the soils, mountains, trees, animals and such related natural
features. Human life is impossible without these environmental features.
Human beings have since depended on soil for their survival activities such
as cultivating crops and settlement, and from the earliest occupation of the
Makgabeng, soil was very important for both purposes. The Makgabeng
mountains were not only significant strongholds for security against possible
attacks, they also provided grazing grounds for livestock. They also
harboured hundreds of wild animals which formed food supplements for
hunting communities. Various species of trees in that area provided food for
both human beings and animals. Humans also used them for building and
medicine.
The Makgabeng is a rugged plateau rising about 200 meters above the
surrounding plains. The plateau is underlain by characteristic, fine-grained
sandstone, and in some places younger, coarser sandstone and
conglomerate outcrops form the steep-side spires which tower over the
northern parts of the plateau. The finer sediments are thought to be almost
2 billion years old and represent the remains of fossilised pre-Cambrian
desert 87 . The characteristic sloping strata represent windblown sands which
87 E. B. Eastwood, et al., “Archaeological and rock art survey of the Makgabeng plateau, Central
Limpopo Basin”, The Digging Stick, 19, 1, p. 1.
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