1. Introduction:
“Two thousand years ago there was a major break in the economic and social world of southern Africa. Domestic animals and pottery were introduced for the first time into an environment of hunter-gatherers. There is considerable debate on the origin and spread of domestic animals on the subcontinent, but no argument that they have arrived from the north”
Quoted by Cummings et al. 2014:484).
According to Mountain (2003:40) the Khoekhoen have been regarded as the ethnographic puzzle of southern Africa and are in many ways similar to the San. Their languages and economies differed as well as their way of life. The Khoekhoen were pastoralists –meaning a society who relied upon domestic animals for a large component of their subsistence …show more content…
The new evidence of dates, as seen on the cattle horn core from the Koingnass site, suggests that cattle could have had an earlier introduction into southern Africa than previously …show more content…
Radiocarbon Dating Technique:
4.1 Definition
According to About.com (2015) the radiocarbon dating technique can be defined as:
“… a method used by archaeologist to date organic materials by comparing the amount of Carbon 14 (C14) available in living creatures as a measuring stick”.
4.2 Significance
DNA was extracted from two specimens in Namaqualand, a horncore from and a fragment of maxilla from Reception Shelter near Vredendal.
“A total of 2.86g of bone from the horncore and 1.1g of tooth extracted from the maxilla were ground using a sterile mortar and pestle, and DNA extraction was undertaken with using a silica/guanidinium thiocyanate protocol. A negative extraction control was processed in parallel with each specimen”
Quoted from Orton et al. (2013).
The mitochondrial genome - the DNA that is contained, expressed, and replicated within mitochondria - small parts found in most cells- and that is generally subject to maternal inheritance (Oxford University 2015)- found in the horn core was consistent with that found in the Bos Taurus (Mitchell et al 2013:4). Bos Taurus being the scientific name for cattle.
5.
“Two thousand years ago there was a major break in the economic and social world of southern Africa. Domestic animals and pottery were introduced for the first time into an environment of hunter-gatherers. There is considerable debate on the origin and spread of domestic animals on the subcontinent, but no argument that they have arrived from the north”
Quoted by Cummings et al. 2014:484).
According to Mountain (2003:40) the Khoekhoen have been regarded as the ethnographic puzzle of southern Africa and are in many ways similar to the San. Their languages and economies differed as well as their way of life. The Khoekhoen were pastoralists –meaning a society who relied upon domestic animals for a large component of their subsistence …show more content…
The new evidence of dates, as seen on the cattle horn core from the Koingnass site, suggests that cattle could have had an earlier introduction into southern Africa than previously …show more content…
Radiocarbon Dating Technique:
4.1 Definition
According to About.com (2015) the radiocarbon dating technique can be defined as:
“… a method used by archaeologist to date organic materials by comparing the amount of Carbon 14 (C14) available in living creatures as a measuring stick”.
4.2 Significance
DNA was extracted from two specimens in Namaqualand, a horncore from and a fragment of maxilla from Reception Shelter near Vredendal.
“A total of 2.86g of bone from the horncore and 1.1g of tooth extracted from the maxilla were ground using a sterile mortar and pestle, and DNA extraction was undertaken with using a silica/guanidinium thiocyanate protocol. A negative extraction control was processed in parallel with each specimen”
Quoted from Orton et al. (2013).
The mitochondrial genome - the DNA that is contained, expressed, and replicated within mitochondria - small parts found in most cells- and that is generally subject to maternal inheritance (Oxford University 2015)- found in the horn core was consistent with that found in the Bos Taurus (Mitchell et al 2013:4). Bos Taurus being the scientific name for cattle.
5.