African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience
 
Home /  Research Articles

Contact information
Ms Ira Tzitzika
ACCP Administrator
Ira.Tzitzika@mandela.ac.za

Research Articles

Publications

2026

  • Dodd, C., Cawthra, H. C., Massmann, G., Adams, J. B., Anderson, C. R., Human, L. R., Lemley, D. A., O’Connell, T. W., & Rishworth, G. M. (2026). Nutrient dynamics and buffering capacity of coastal groundwater-dependent microbialite ecosystems. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 110081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2026.110081
  • Dodd, C., Cawthra, H., Licha, T., Massmann, G., Sültenfuß, J., & Rishworth, G. M. (2026). A multi-tracer study to constrain the age and origin of nearshore groundwater discharge in a data-scarce region. Available at SSRN 6539927.https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6539927
  • Helm, C. W., Carr, A. S., Cawthra, H. C., Dam, #., De Vynck, J. C., Dixon, M. G., Kunta, S., Nǂamce, /., Stear, W. M., Thompson, C. R., & Venter, J. A. (2026). An update on Pleistocene tortoise tracks on South Africa’s Cape south coast. Quaternary Research, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2026.10078
  • Helm, C. W., Cawthra, H., de Vynck, J. C., & Thompson, C. R. (2026). San Master Trackers: Deploying Ancient Skills to Enhance Palaeo-Ichnological Interpretation on South Africa’s Cape South Coast. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1014695
  • Borde, H., Carr, A., Cawthra, H., & Cowling, R. (2026). Extending the record of coastal aeolian landscape change into the Middle and Early Pleistocene: a multi-method comparison SAR-OSL, TT-OSL and post-IRIR, Walker Bay, South Africa(No. EGU26-641). Copernicus Meetings. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-641
  • Helm, C. W., Dixon, M. G., Stear, W. M., & Van Berkel, F. (2026). Cretaceous dinosaur tracks in the Brenton Formation, Western Cape. South African Journal of Science, 122(1-2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2026/22809
  • Fahey, B. P., & Marean, C. W. (2026). Diaphysis cortical thickness as a predictor of body-size in terrestrial mammals and its application to zooarchaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science, 186, 106456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106456
  • Singels, E., Kraaij, T., Parkington, J., Esler, K., & Cowling, R. M. (2026). Spatial and temporal variation in the diversity, abundance, and energetic returns of underground storage organs on the coastal lowlands of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 187, 106471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106471

2025

  • Cleghorn, N. E., Villagran, X., Saktura, R. B. K., & Jacobs, Z. (2025). Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1 – Stratigraphy, chronology, and archaeological find density from MIS 3 to MIS 1 on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (south coast, South Africa). Quaternary Science Reviews, 351, 109180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109180
  • Watson, S. E., Zwyns, N., Steele, T.E., MacKay, A., Cleghorn, N. Robberg Lithic Technology from Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology. I8(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-025-00214-5
  • Golovanova, L. V., Doronichev , V.B; Doronicheva, E.V.; Poplevko, G.; Cleghorn, N.; Kulkov, A.; Potrakhov, N.; Bessonov, V.; Staroverov, N. On the Mousterian origin of bone-tipped hunting weapons in Europe: Evidence from Mezmaiskaya Cave, North Caucasus. Journal of Archaeological Science. 179(July). 106223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106223
  • Pablos, A., Grine, F. E., Cleghorn, N., Elmes, K., Mongle, C. S., & Marean, C. W. (2025). A Late Pleistocene Human Pedal Phalanx from the Pinnacle Point PP5-6N Rock-Shelter, Western Cape Province, South Africa. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 187(3), e70086. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70086
  • Humphries, M.S., Mey, R., Reimer, P.J., Quick, L.J. (2025). Intensification of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds during the last deglaciation (18.5–14.0 kcal yr BP): Evidence from Pearly Beach on the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Journal of Quaternary Science, 41(1):25-35. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70031
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Quick, L.J., Stear, W., Stuart, M. (2025). The unusual, unique ichnologya of the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) in South Africa. Ichnos, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940.2025.2546373
  • Mosher, S.G., Power, M.J., Chase, B.M., Quick, L.J., Haberzettl, T., Kasper, T., Braun, D.R., Faith, J.T. (2025). Evaluating climatic and anthropogenic drivers of fire activity over four millennia at Eilandvlei, southern Cape coast, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 366, 109520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109520
  • Benoit, J., Helm, C., Bordy, E.M. 2025. Paleontological Knowledge aamong the Basotho and San of Lesotho: A Review Including Insights from Paul Ellenberger’s Archives. Geoheritage 17(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-025-01191-5
  • Helm, C., Cawthra, H., Daqm, #., De Vynck, J., Nǂamce, /., Thompson, C. 2025. A Pleistocene hyenid trackway from the Cape south coast of South Africa. Quaternary Research 123, 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2024.31
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Gräbe, P-J., Rust, R., Steer, W. 2025. Pleistocene aardvark (Orycteropus afer) burrow traces on South Africa’s Cape coast. Quaternary Research 124, 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2024.48
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., Daqm, #oma, De Vynck, J.C., Gräbe, P.-J., Nǂamce, /uce, Thompson, C.R. 2025. A probable Pleistocene pangolin (Order: Pholidota) trackway from South Africa’s Cape south coast. South African Journal of Science,121(3/4), 18687. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2025/18687
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Stear, W. 2025. Modern anthropogenic patterns in Pleistocene deposits on South Africa’s Cape coast. Rock Art Research 42(2),191–203. https://rockartresearch.com/index.php/rock/issue/view/88
  • Helm, C.W., Banda, G., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Gräbe, P-J., Malan, J.A., Stear, W.M., Thesen, G.H.H. 2025. Vertebrate tracks in Pliocene aeolianite deposits of the Wankoe Formation, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 136(6), 101149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101149
  • Helm, C., Cawthra, H., Daqm, #., De Vynck, J., Kunta, S., Nǂamce, /. 2025 Pleistocene rhinoceros tracks from the Cape coast of South Africa. Pachyderm 66, 177–185. https://pachydermjournal.org/index.php/pachyderm/article/view/1326
  • Helm, C.W., Banda, G., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Van den Heever, A. 2025. Pleistocene hamerkop Scopus umbretta (Scopidae) tracks and other new avian ichnosites on South Africa’s Cape south coast. Ostrich 96(4), 233–248. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2025.2591795
  • Paterson, A., Rust, R., Helm, C. 2025. The case for seismic communication among mammoths in Palaeolithic art. Rock Art Research 42(1), 32–48. https://rockartresearch.com/index.php/rock/article/view/535/426
  • Plint, A.G., Helm, C.W., Van Berkel, F., Dixon, M.G. 2025. Soft-sediment deformation structures in the Lower Cretaceous Robberg Formation, South Africa: distinguishing the effects of dinosaurs and earthquakes in an estuarine, rift basin setting.  Ichnos 32(2), 116–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940.2025.2463341
  • Plint, A.G., Helm, C.W., Dixon, M.G. 2025. Metre-scale, upward-radiating burrow systems in Pleistocene aeolian sandstone, Cape South Coast, South Africa: a new ichnotaxon. Ichnos 32(3), 258-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940/2025.2533954
  • Whitfield, A., Helm, C., Rust, R., Stear, W., Thackeray, F. 2025. The Coastal Hypothesis: one possible migration route for Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens from the southern tip of Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. Published online. https://doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2025.2545798

 

2024

  • Oster, S., Reynard, J.P., Cawthra, H.C., Esteban, I., Pargeter, J., Fisher, E.C. 2024. Late Pleistocene and Holocene fauna from Waterfall Bluff Rock Shelter, Mpondoland, South Africa. S Afr J Sci. 120 (11/12). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2024/17449
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Paterson, A., Rust, R., Stear, W., Thesen, G.T.T., Van Berkel, F., Van Tonder, M. 2024. Elephant seismicity: ichnological and rock art perspectives from South Africa. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 135(1): 18-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.006
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., Cowley, P.D., De Vynck, J.C., Gräbe, P-J., Rust, R., Stear, W., Whitfield, A.K. 2024. A purported Pleistocene sand-sculpture from South Africa. Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) 41(1): 58-73.
  • Helm, C.W., Catchpole, R.M., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Rust, R., Stear, W., Thesen, G.H.H. 2024. Scratch circles and circular purported ammoglyphs: novel observations from the Cape south coast of South Africa. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 135: 247-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2024.03.004
  • Helm, C.W., Paterson, A., Rust, R. 2024. The first known painting of the African rail. Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) 41(2): 146-154.
  • Helm, C.W., Carr A.C., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Rust, R., Scamvougeras, A., Stear, W., Thesen, G.H.H., Van Berkel, F. 2024. Ichnological evidence for the use of sticks by ancestral hominins on South Africa's Cape south coast. In: Taylor, L.H., Raynolds, R.G., Lucas, S.G. (Eds.), Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95, pp. 157-177.
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.C., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Lockley, M.G., Rust, R., Stear, W., Thesen, G.H.H., Van Berkel, F., Venter, J.A. 2024. Pleistocene ichnological geoheritage in national parks on the Cape coast. Koedoe 66(2): a1786. https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v66i2.1786
  • Helm, C., Van Tonder, M., Carr, A., Cawthra, H., De Vynck, J., Gräbe, P.-J. 2024. Pleistocene fossil elephant tracks in the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Pachyderm 65: 160-167. https://doi.org/10.69649/pachyderm.v65i.1296
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.C., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Hattingh, S., Rust, R., Stear, W., Thesen, G.H.H., Van Berkel, F., Zipfel, B. 2024. A cluster of Pleistocene hominin ichnosites on South Africa’s Cape South Coast. Ichnos 31(4): 293-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940.2024.2415141
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C. 2024. Late Pleistocene vertebrate trace fossils of the Walker Bay Nature Reserve. Palaeontologia africana 58: 37-52. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/42923
  • Helm, C., Thompson, C., De Vynck, J. 2024. The contribution of Ju’ǀhoansi Indigenous Master Trackers to the Cape south coast ichnology project. Journal Namibia Scientific Society 71: 9-14.
  • Rishworth, G.M., Wooldridge, T.H., Bakken, T., Miranda, N.A.F., Perissinotto, R., Simon, C.A. 2024. Niche appropriation by a widespread nereidid polychaete within estuarine-like modern coastal stromatolite pools. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 300: 108708.
  • Perissinotto, R., Irish, J. 2024. A new species of Ischnostomiella Krikken, 1978 from the Limpopo Province of South Africa (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae, Xiphoscelidini). Fragmenta entomologica 56(1): 13-20.
  • Perissinotto R, Malec P. 2024. Review of the Amaurina Kolbe, 1895 of Angola, with description of a new species (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae, Leucocelina). Fragmenta entomologica 56(1): 1-12.
  • Perissinotto, R., Léonard, P. 2024. A new species of Leucocelis (Amauroleucocelis) Bourgoin, 1913 from Burundi (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae, Leucocelina). Fragmenta entomologica 56(2): 175-180.
  • Mosher, S.G., Power, M.J., Quick, L.J., Haberzettl, T., Kasper, T., Kirsten, K.L., Braun, D.R. and Faith, J.T. 2024. Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone. Quaternary Science Advances 14: 100194.
  • Quick, L.J., Chase, B.M., Chevalier, M., Grobler, B.A., Manzano., S. 2024. Fire drives major Holocene vegetation shifts between subtropical and Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a case study from a biodiversity hotspot in South Africa. Ecography 12: e07485.
  • Chapman, E., Liddle, C.R., Williams, B., Hilmer, E., Quick, L.J., Garcia, A.G., Suárez, D.C., White, D., Bunting, M.J., Walker, P. and Cabaneros, S.M.S. 2024. Airborne microplastic monitoring: developing a simplified outdoor sampling approach using pollen monitoring equipment. Journal of Hazardous Materials 480:136129.
  • Gharbi, D., Berman, D., Neumann, F.H., Hill, T., Sidla, S., Cillers, S.S., Staats, J., Esterhuizen, N., Ajikah, L., Moseri, M.E., Quick, L.J., Hilmer, E., Van Aardt, A., John, J., Garland, R., Finch, J., Hoek, W., Bamford, M., Seedat, R.Y., I. Manjra, A., Peter, J. 2024. Ambrosia (ragweed) pollen - A growing aeroallergen of concern in South Africa. World Allergy Organization Journal 17: 101011.
  • Bezuidenhout, H., Morgenthal, T., Kraaij, T., Brown, L.R. 2024. Mapping plant communities of the Karoo National Park, South Africa, using Sentinel-2 and topo-morphological data. South African Journal of Botany 173:295-311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2024.08.021
  • Kraaij, T., Geerts, S., Malan, N. 2024. Seed banks and post-fire recovery of invasive alien Metrosideros excelsa in South Africa: Implications for control. Austral Ecology 49: e13524. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13524
  • Yebra, M., Scortechini, G., Adeline, K., ….., Kraaij, T., et al. 2024. Globe-LFMC 2.0, an enhanced and updated dataset for live fuel moisture content research. Scientific Data 11 (1):332 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03159-6
  • Kraaij, T., Msweli, S.T., Potts, A.J. 2024. Flammability of native and invasive alien plants common to the Cape Floristic Region and beyond: fire risk in the wildland-urban interface. Trees, Forests and People 15: 100513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100513

 

2022

  • Botha, M.S., Cowling, R.M., De Vynck, J.C., Esler, K.J. and Potts, A.J., 2022. The response of geophytes to continuous human foraging on the Cape south coast, South Africa and its implications for early hunter-gatherer mobility patterns. PeerJ, 10, p.e13066.
  • Benoit, J., Bednarik, R., Helm, C. 2022. Manuports predate modern humans: a response to Wilkins et al. (2021).  South African Archaeological Bulletin 77 (216): 76–78.
  • Brooke, C.F., Marean, C.W., Wren, C.D., Fritz, H., Venter, J.A., 2022. Using functional groups to predict the spatial distribution of large herbivores on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, South Africa, during the Last Glacial Maximum. Journal of Quaternary Science, 37, 1056-1068. 1056-1068.
  • Cawthra, H.C., Jacobs, Z., Wadley, L. 2022. Winds of change: Climate variability in a mild glacial on the east coast of South Africa, inferred from submerged aeolianites and the archaeological record of Sibudu. Quaternary International 638-639, 23-36.
  • Cooper, J.A.G., Smith, A., Rishworth, G., Dodd, C., Forbes, M., Cawthra, H., Anderson, C. 2022. Microbialites of modern siliciclastic rock coasts. Sedimentary Research 92, 619-634.
  • Davies, B., Power, M.J., Braun, D.R., Douglass, M.J., Mosher, S.G., and Quick, L.J. 2022. Fire and human management of late Holocene ecosystems in southern Africa Quaternary Science Reviews 289, 107600
  • Dinckal, A., Fisher, E.C., Herries, A.I.R., Marean, C.W., 2022. Mapping magnetism: Geophysical modelling of stratigraphic features by using in situ magnetic susceptibility measurements at Pinnacle Point 5-6 North, South Africa. Geoarchaeology. 1-18, doi.org/10.1002/gea.21924.
  • Filander, Z., Smith, A.N.H., Cawthra, H.C., Lamont, T. 2022. Benthic species patterns within and around the Cape Canyon: a large submarine canyon off the western passive margin of South Africa. Frontiers of Marine Science 9, 1025113.
  • Gravel-Miguel, C., De Vynck, J., Wren, C.D., Murray, J.K. and Marean, C.W., 2022. Were prehistoric coastal sites more intensively occupied than inland sites? Using an agent-based model to understand the intensity of prehistoric coastal occupation, and what it means for studies on the evolution of the coastal adaptation. Quaternary International.
  • Grobler, B.A. and Cowling, R.M. 2022. Which is the richest of them all? Comparing area-adjusted plant diversities of Mediterranean- and tropical-climate regions. Frontiers of Biogeography. 14:3 e56241
  • Hains, D., Schiller, L., Ponce, R., Bergmann, M., Cawthra, H.C., Cove, K., Echeverry, P., Gaunavou, L., Kim, S-P., Lavagnino, A.C., Maschke, J., Mihailov, M.E., Obura, V., Oei, P., Pang, P.Y., Plackal, G.P.N., Sharma, S.L. 2022. Hydrospatial – update and progress in the definition of this term. International Hydrographic Review 28, 221-225.
  • Helm, C.W., Bamford, M.K., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck., J.C., Dixon, M.G., Quick, L.J., Steer, W. 2022. Coprolites in Cemented Pleistocene Deposits on the Cape South Coast of South Africa. Journal of Coastal Research. 
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M., Stear, W., Stuart, C., Stuart, M., Venter, J. 2022. Possible Pleistocene Pinniped Ichnofossils on South Africa’s Cape South Coast. Journal of Coastal Research 38(4), 735-749.
  • Helm, C.W., Carr, A.S., Cawthra, H.C., de Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Lockley, M.G., Stear, W., Venter, J.A. 2022. Large Pleistocene tortoise tracks on the Cape south coast of South Africa. Quaternary Research 1-18
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Hattingh, R., Lockley, M.G. 2022. Possible Pleistocene hominin tracks from South Africa’s west coast. South African Journal of Science 118(1/2), 96-99.
  • Kraaij T, Msweli ST & Potts AJ. 2022. Fuel trait effects on flammability of native and invasive alien shrubs in coastal fynbos and thicket (Cape Floristic Region). PeerJ 10:e13765.
  • Lockley, M.G., Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Venter, J.A. 2022. Pleistocene small-mammal and arthropod trackways from the Cape south coast of South Africa. Quaternary Research 1–15 107, 178–192.
  • Marean, C.W. (2022). The Evolutionary Roots of our Blue Heritage.  In “The Palgrave International Handbook on Blue Heritage.” Edited by Rose Boswell. Palgrave MacMillan Publishing, Cham. Pages 13-24.
  • Oertle, A., Szabo, K., Gaqa, S., Cawthra, H.C., Esteban, I., Pargeter, J., Fisher, E.C. 2022. Peering into the unseen: novel methods in identifying shell taxa from archaeological micro-fragments. Journal of Archaeological Science 147, 105667.
  • Otárola-Castillo, E.R., Torquato, M.G., Keevil, T.L., May, A., Coon, S., Stow, E.J., Rapes, J.B., Harris, J.A., Marean, C.W., Eren, M.I., Shea, J.J., 2022. A New Approach to the Quantitative Analysis of Bone Surface Modifications: the Bowser Road Mastodon and Implications for the Data to Understand Human-Megafauna Interactions in North America. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 1-36.
  • Rivers, N., Truter, H.J., Strand, M., Jay, S., Portman, M., Lombard, A.T., Amir, D., Boyd, A., Brown, R.L., Cawthra, H.C., Faure Beaulieu, N., Findlay, K., Gal, G., Grossmark, Y., Perschke, M.J., Pillay, T., Pyrgies, O., Ramakulukusha, M., Smit, K.P., Stockdale, V., Stockill, J., Schwartz, I., Treibitz, T., Vargas-Fonseca, O.A., Vermeulen (Miltz), A. 2022. Shared visions for marine planning: insights from Israel, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Ocean and Coastal Management 220, 106069.
  • Strobel, P., Bliedtner, Carr, A.S., Struck, J., Du Plessis, N., Glaser, B., Meadows, M.E., Quick, L.J., Zech, M., Zech, R., Haberzettl, T. 2022. Reconstructing Late Quaternary precipitation and its source on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: A multi-proxy paleoenvironmental record from Vankervelsvlei Quaternary Science Reviews 284, 107467
  • Strydom T, Kraaij T, Grobler B, Cowling RM. 2022. Canopy plant composition and structure of Cape subtropical dune thicket are predicted by the levels of fire exposure. PeerJ 10:e14310.
  • Wadley, Lyn, Antonites, A.R., Biemond, W., Hodgskiss, T., Jacobs, Z., Laue, G., Mauran, G., Sievers, C., Thorp, C., and Zwane B. 2022. Late Holocne use of Kaingo Sheep Rock Shelter in the western Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa. Southern African Humanities 35: 10.-148
  • Ward, I., Bastos, A., Carabias, D., Cawthra, H.C., Farr, H., Green, A., Sturt, F. 2022. Submerged Palaeolandscapes of the Southern Hemisphere (SPLOSH) – What is emerging from the Southern Hemisphere. World Archaeology (RWAR).
  • Wiles, E.A., Loureiro, C., Cawthra, H.C. 2022. Shoreline variability and coastal vulnerability: Mossel Bay, South Africa. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 268, 107789.

 

2021

  • Bailey, G. and Cawthra, H.C. 2021. The significance of sea-level change in ancient, submerged landscapes in human dispersal and development: A geoarchaeological perspectiv. Oceanologia
  • Braun, D.R., Faith, J.T., Douglass, M.J., Davies, B., Power, M.K., Aldeias, V. Conard, N.J., Cutts, R.,  DeSantis, L.R.G., Dupont, L.M., Esteban, I., Kandel, A.W., Levin, N.E., Luyt, J., Parkington, J., Pickering, R., Quick, L.J., Sealy, J. and Stynder, D. 2021.  Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa.. Evolutionary Anthropology Issues, News, and Reviews 30(1), 50-62.
  • Braun, K., Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A., Ayalon, A., Zilberman, T., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E.C., Herries, A.I.R., Brink, J.S., and Marean, C.W. 2021. Comparison of climate and environment on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain to the Little Karoo (South Africa) in Marine Isotope Stage 5-3 as indicated by speleothems. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105803.
  • Brooke, C.F., Marean, C.W., Wren, C.D., Fritz, H., and Venter, J.A. 2021. Retrodicting large herbivore biomass for the last glacial maximum on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (South Africa) using modern ecological knowledge of African herbivore assemblages and rainfall. Quaternary Research 104, 136-150. doi:10.1017/qua.2021.23
  • Cawthra, H.C., Bergh, E.W., Wiles, E.A., and Compton, J.S. 2021. Late Quaternary deep marine sediment records off southern Africa. South African Journal of Geology 124 (4), 1007 – 1032.
  • Chevalier, M., Chase, B.M., Quick, L.J., and Scott, L. 2021. An atlas of southern African pollen types and their climatic affinities. Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics – the African Pollen Database 239-258.
  • Cowling, R.M. and Hoffman, M.T. 2021. Multi-decal vegetation in dune vegetation of the southeastern Cape Floristic Region: Is thicket expansion without fire inevitable? South African Journal of Botany 142, 73-81.
  • Du Plessis, N., Chase, B.M., Quick, L.J., and Meadows, M.E. 2021. A Late Holocene pollen and microcharcoal record from Eilandvlei, southern Cape coast, South Africa. Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics – The African Pollen Database 293-300.
  • Du Plessis, N., Chase, B.M., Quick, L.J., Strobel, P., Haberzettl, T., and Meadows, M.E. 2021. A.c. 650 year pollen and microcharcoal record from Vankervelsvlei, South Africa. Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics – The African Pollen Database 301-308.
  • Gravel-Miguel, C., Murray, J.K., Schoville, B.J., Wren, C.D., and Marean, C.W. 2021. Exploring variability in lithic armature discard in the archaeological record. Journal of human evolution 155, 102981.
  • Grobler, B.A. and Cowling, R.M. 2021. The composition, geography, biology and assembly of the coastal flora of the Cape Floristic Region. PeerJ 9, e11916.
  • Hahn, A., Neumann, F.H., Miller, C., Finch, J., Frankland, T., Cawthra, H.C., Schefuß, E., and Zabel, M. 2021. Mid-to-late Holocene climatic and anthropogenic influences in Mpondoland, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 261, 106938.
  • Hallett, E.Y., Marean, C.W., Steele, T.E., Álvarez-Fernández, E., Jacobs, Z., Cerasoni, J.N., Aldeias, V., Scerri, E.M.L., Olszewski, D.I., Hajraoui, M.A.E.I., and Dibble, H.L. 2021. A worked bone assemblage from 120,000–90,000 year old deposits at Contrebandiers Cave, Atlantic Coast, Morocco. iScience 24(9), 102988. doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102988.
  • Hawley, G., Brownlie, S., Cowling, R.M., Hoare, D. and Collory, B.South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). 2021. Ecosystem Guidelines for the Albany Thicket Biome. South African National Biodiversity Institute, an entity of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/7456.
  • Helm, C.W., and Lockley, M.G. 2021. Pleistocene reptile swim traces confirmed from South Africa’s Cape south coast. South African Journal of Science 117(3/4). 10.17159/sajs.2021/8830
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., De Vynck, J.C., Lockley, M.G., Marean, C.W., Dixon, M.G., Helm, C.J.Z., Stear, W.M., Thesen, G.H.H., and Venter, J.A. 2021. Protecting and preserving South African aeolianite surfaces from graffiti. Koedoe – African Protected Area Conservation and Science 63(1). 10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1656
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M., and Stear, W. 2021. Elephant Tracks: A biogenic cause of potholes in Pleistocene South African coastal rocks. Journal of Coastal Research 34 (1); 59-74.
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J.Z., Rust, R., and Stear, W. 2021. Large geometric patterns from the middle stone age in Aeolianites on the Cape South Coast, South Africa. Rock Art Research 38: 10-22.
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J.Z., Rust, R., Stear, W., 2021. Palaeoart on South Africa’s Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Art History 35(2), 53-66. ISSN 0258-3542
  • Helm, C.W., Lockley, M.G., Moolman, L., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Stear, W.M., and Thesen, G.H.H. 2021. Morphology of Pleistocene elephant tracks on South Africa's Cape south coast and probable elephant trunk-drag impressions. Quaternary Research 1-15. doi:10.1017/qua.2021.32
  • Hoffman, T., Cowling, R.M., Petersen, H. and Walker, C. 2021. Karoo research update: Progress, gaps and threats. South African Journal of Science 117 (1/2), Art. #8695
  • Karkanas, P., Marean, C.W., Bar-Matthews, M., Jacobs, Z., Fisher, E.C., and Braun, K. 2021. Cave life histories of non-anthropogenic sediments help us understand associated archaeological contexts. Quaternary Research 99, 270-289.
  • Lockley, M.G., Abbassi, N., and Helm, C.W. 2021. Large, unwebbed bird and bird‐like footprints from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic: a review of ichnotaxonomy and trackmaker affinity. Lethaia. December 2021.
  • Lockley, M.G., Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., and Perrin, M.R. 2021. Pleistocene golden mole and sand-swimming trace fossils from the Cape coast of South Africa. Quaternary Research 101: 1-16. 10.1017/qua.2020.97
  • Lockley, M.G., Plint, A.G., Helm, C.W., Sharman, K.J., and Vannelli, K.M. 2021. Crocodylian swim tracks from the Gates Formation (Albian), British Columbia, Canada: comparisons with Cretaceous crocodylian ichnology in western USA. Cretaceous Research 128(1): 104967
  • Malta, J.V., Castro, J.W.A., Cabral, C.L., Fernandes, D., and Cawthra, H.C. 2021. Genesis and age of beachrocks on the Rio de Janeiro coastline, Southeast-Brazil. Marine Geology 442, 106649
  • Pillay, T. Cawthra, H.C., Lombard, A.T., and Sink, K. 2021. Benthic habitat mapping from a machine learning perspective on the Cape St Francis inner shelf, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Marine Geology 440, 106595.
  • Pillay, T., Cawthra, H.C., Lombard, A.T. 2021. Integration of machine learning using hydroacoustic techniques and sediment sampling to refine substrate description in the Western Cape, South Africa. Marine Geology 440, 106599.
  • QUA volume 101 Cover and Back matter (2021). Quaternary research, 101 B1-B2. doi:10.1017/qua.2021.35
  • Quick, L.J. 2021. Future directions of palaeoecological research in the hyper-diverse Cape Floristic Region: The role of palynological studies. Quaternary vegetation Dynamics – The African Pollen Database 225-238
  • Quick, L.J., Chase, B.M., Carr, A.S., Chevalier, M., Grobler, B.A., and Meadows, M.E. 2021. A 25,000 year record of climate and vegetation change from the southwestern Cape coast, South Africa. Quaternary Research 1 – 18.
  • Strydom, T., Grobler, B.A., Kraaij, T. and Cowling, R.M. 2021. Pre-and post fire architectural guilds of subtropical dune thicket species in the southeastern Cape Floristic Region. Journal of Vegetation Science 32(5), e13079.
  • Tassone, E.E., Miles, L.S., Dyer, R.J., Rosenberg, M.S., Cowling, R.M. and Verrelli, B.C. 2021. Evolutionary stability, landscape heterogeneity, and human land-usage shape population genetic connectivity in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot. Evolutionary Applications 14, 1109-1123.

 

Non-peer reviewed articles

  • Helm, C., Lockley, M., Cawthra, H., De Vynck, J., Dixon, M., Helm, C., Rust, R., Stear, W. and Thesen, G. 2021. Southern African Middle Stone Age Hominin Tracksites. The Digging Stick 38(1), 19-23.
  • Helm, B.C., Cawthra, H., De Vynck, J., Helm, C., Rust, R. and Stear, W. 2021. Large geometric Pleistocene Palaeoart on the Cape South Coast. The Digging Stick 38(2), 17-20.

 

Conferences

  • Smith, E., Johnsen, R., Ren, M., Hirniak, J, Fisher, E.C., Campisano, C., and Marean, C.W. 2021. Discovery of the Youngest Toba Tuff in South Africa; Challenges of extremely low abundance Cryptotephra. Annual VM Goldschmidt Conference
  • Mosher, S.G., Power, M.J., Quick, L.J., Haberzettl, T., Adler, E., and Faith. J.T. 2021. Fire in the Fynbos: A high-resolution investigation into mid-Holocene fire activity at Eilandvlei, southeastern Cape coast, South Africa. AGU Fall Meeting 2021

 

2020

  • Botha, M.S., Cowling, R.M., Esler, K.J., de Vynck, J.C., Cleghorn, N.E. and Potts, A.J., 2020. Return rates from plant foraging on the Cape south coast: Understanding early human economies. Quaternary Science Reviews, 235, p.106129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106129
  • Braun, K., Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A., Ayalon, A., Zilberman, T., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E.C., Herries, A.I.R., Brink, J.S., and Marean, C.W. 2020 Comparison of climate and environment on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain to the Little Karoo (South Africa) in Marine Isotope Stages 5–3 as indicated by speleothems. Quaternary Science Reviews. 235: 105803.
  • Cawthra, H.C., Anderson, R.J, de Vynck, J., Fisher, E.C., Jacobs, Z., Jerardino, A., Kyriacou, K., Marean, C.W, 2020. Migration of Pleistocene shorelines across the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: evidence from dated sub-bottom profiles and archaeological shellfish assemblages. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 106107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106107
  • Cawthra, H.C., Anderson, R.J., De Vynck, J.C., Jacobs, Z., Jerardino, A., Kyriacou, K. and Marean, C.W., 2020. Migration of Pleistocene shorelines across the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: Evidence from dated sub-bottom profiles and archaeological shellfish assemblages. Quaternary Science Reviews, 235, p.106107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106107
  • Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., Andò, S., Marean, C.W., 2020. Geological and soil maps of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain for the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.040
  • Cawthra, H.C., Frenzel, P., Gander, L., Hahn, A., Compton, J.S., Zabel, M., 2020. Seismic stratigraphy of the inner to mid Agulhas Bank, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105979
  • Chase, B.M., Boom, A., Carr, A.S., Quick, L.J. Reimer, P.J. (2020). High-resolution Holocene cliamte change dynamics from southern Africa's temperate-tropical boundary, Baviaanskloof, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 539: 109518. DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109518
  • Chevalier, M., Chase, B.M, Quick, L.J., Dupont, L.M. and Johnson, T.C. (2020). Temperature change in subtropical southerastern Africa during the past 790,000 yr. Geology 49 (1): 71–75 . DOI: 10.1130/G47841.1
  • Cleghorn, N., Potts, A.J., Cawthra, H.C., 2020. The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: A lost world and extinct ecosystem. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 106308. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106308
  • Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.*, Franklin, J., Midgley, G.F., and Marean, C.W., 2020, Describing a drowned ecosystem: Last Glacial Maximum vegetation reconstruction of the PalaeoAgulhas Plain, Quaternary Science Reviews 235:106059 (Special Issue) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105866
  • De Vynck, J.C., Difford, M., Anderson, R., Marean, C.W., Cowling, R.M. and Hill, K., 2020. The resilience to human foraging of intertidal resources on the south Cape coast of South Africa and the implications for pre-historic foragers. Quaternary Science Reviews, 235, p.106041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106041
  • De Vynck, J., Marean, C.W, Hill, K., Difford, M., Cowling, R.M., and Anderson, R.M.  2020.  The resilience to human foraging of intertidal resources on the south Cape coast of South Africa and the implications for pre-historic foragers. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106050 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106041
  • Du Plessis, N., Chase, B.M., Quick, L.J., Haberzettl, T., Kasper, T. and Meadows, M.E. (2020). Vegetation and cliamte change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: Pollen evidence from Bo Langvlei. The Holocene 30 (12):1716-1727. DOI: 10.1177/0959683620950444
  • Engelbrecht F. A., C. W. Marean, R. M. Cowling, C. Engelbrecht, F. H. Neumann, L. Scott, R. Nkoana, D. O’Neal, E. Fisher, E. Shook, J. Franklin, M. Thatcher, J. McGregor, J. Van der Merwe, Z. Dedekind and M. Difford, 2019, Downscaling Last Glacial Maximum climate over southern Africa, Quaternary Science Reviews 226:105879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105879
  • Esteban, I., Albert, R.M., Cabanes, D., and Marean, C.W. 2020. Estratègies de recol·lecció de plantes i paleoambients durant la Middle Stone Age a Pinnacle Point (costa sud de Sud-àfrica): les anàlisis de fitòlits
  • Esteban, I., Bamford, M.K., House, A., Miller, C., Neumann, F.H., Schefuss, E., Pargeter, J., Cawthra, H.C., Fisher, E.C., 2020. Coastal palaeoenvironments and hunter-gatherer plant-use at Waterfall Bluff rock shelter in Mpondoland (South Africa) from MIS 3to the Early Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews 250, 106664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106664
  • Esteban, I., Fitchett, J., and De la Pena, P. 2020 Plant taphonomy, flora exploitation and palaeoenvironments at the Middle Stone Age site of Mwulu’s Cave (Limpopo, South Africa): an archaeobotanical and mineralogical approach. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 12 (9) 10.1007/s12520-020-01181-4
  • Esteban, I., Marean, C.W., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E.C., Cabanes, D., Albert, R.M. Palaeoenvironments and plant availability during MIS 6 to MIS 3 on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (south coast, South Africa) as indicated by phytolith analysis at Pinnacle Point. Quaternary Science Reviews. 235: 105667
  • Faith, J.T., Braun, D.R., Davies, B., DeSantis, L.R.G., Douglass, M.J., Esteban, I., Hare, V., Levin, N.E., Luyt, J., Pickering, R., Power, M.J., Sealy, J., Stynder, D. 2020. Ecometrics and the paleoecological implications of Pleistocene faunas from the western coastal plains of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Journal of Quaternary Science 35 (8), 1007-1020. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3247
  • Fisher, E.C., Cawthra, H.C., Esteban, I., Jerardino, A., Neumann, F.H., Oertle, A., Pargeter, J., Saktura, R., Szabó, K., Winkler, S., Zohar, I., 2020. Coastal occupation and foraging during the last glacial maximum and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Mpondoland, South Africa. Quaternary Research 1-41. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.26
  • Fisher, E.C., Cawthra, H.C., Esteban, I., Jerardino, A., Neumann, F.H., Oertle, A., Pargeter, J., Saktura, R.B., Szabo, K., Winkler, S., and Zohar, I. 2020. Coastal occupation and foraging during the last glacial maximum and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South Africa. Quaternary Research 97, 1-14.
  • Grobler, B.A., Cawthra, H.C., Potts, A.J., Cowling, R.M., 2020. Plant diversity of Holocene dune landscapes in the Cape Floristic Region: the legacy of Pleistocene sea-level dynamics? Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 106058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106058
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., Combrink, X., Helm, C.J.Z., Rust, R., Stear, W., van den Heever, A., 2020. Pleistocene large reptile tracks and probable swim traces on South Africa’s Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Science 116 (3-4), 85-93. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/6542
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., De Vynck, J.C., Lockley, M.G., Marean, C.W., Thesen, G.H.H.,Venter, J.C. 2020. Pleistocene vertebrate tracksites on the Cape south coast of South Africa and their potential palaeoecological implications. In: Cleghorn, N., Potts, A.J., Cawthra, H.C. (eds.), The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: a lost world and extinct ecosystem. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.039
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J., Rust, R. and Stear, W., 2020. Drawing a line in the sand. Rock Art Research, 37(1), 95-99.
  • Helm, C.W., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J., Thesen, G.G., Cawthra, H.C., 2020. Large Pleistocene avian tracks on the south coast of South Africa. Ostrich 1-17. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2020.1789772
  • Helm, C.W., Lockley, M.G., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M.G., Helm, C.J.Z., Thesen, G.H.H. 2020. Newly identified hominin trackways from the Cape south coast of South Africa. South African Journal of Science 116(9/10), Art. #8156, 13 pages. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/8156    
  • Helm, C.W., Lockley, M.G., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J.Z., Thesen, G.H.H. 2020. Large Pleistocene avian tracks on the Cape south coast of South Africa. Ostrich 91(4), 275–291. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2020.1789772
  • Helm., C.H., Lockley, M.G., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Dixon, M., Helm, C.J.Z., Thesen, G.H.H., 2020.  Newly identified hominin trackways from the Cape South Coast of South Africa. South African Journal of Science 116(9/10) 48-61. https://doi.org/10.17159/ sajs.2020/8156   
  • Hodgkins, J., Marean, C.W., Venter, J., Richardson, L., Roberts, P., Zech, J., Difford, M., Copeland, S.R., Keller, H.M., Lee-Thorp, J.A., 2020. An isotopic test of the seasonal migration hypothesis for large grazing ungulates inhabiting the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (south coast, South Africa). Quaternary Science Reviews 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106221
  • Jacobs, Z., Jones, B.G., Cawthra, H.C., Henshilwood, C.S., Roberts, R.G., 2020. The chronology, sedimentary and environmental context for the archaeological deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105850 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.032
  • Karkanas, P., Marean, C.W., Bar-Matthews, M., Jacobs, Z., Fisher, E., Braun, K., 2020. Cave life histories of non-anthropogenic sediments help us understand associated archaeological contexts. Quaternary Research 99, 270-289. https://doi:10.1017/qua.2020.72
  • Kirsten, K.L., Kasper, T., Cawthra, H.C., Strobel, P., Quick, L.J., Meadows, M.E., Haberzettl, T. (2020). Holocene variability in climate and oceanic conditions in the winter rainfall zone of South Africa - inferred from a high resolution diatom record from Verlorenvlei. Journal of Quaternary Science 35 (4): 572 – 581. DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3200
  • Kraaij T, Engelbrecht F, Franklin J & Cowling RM. 2020. A fiery past: a comparison of glacial and contemporary fire regimes on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, Cape Floristic Region. Quarternary Science Reviews 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106059
  • MacHutchon, M.R., de Beer, C.H., van Zyl., F.W., Cawthra, H.C., 2020. What the marine geology of Table Bay, South Africa can inform about the western Saldania Belt, geological evolution and sedimentary dynamics of the region. Journal of African Earth Sciences 162, 103699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2019.103699
  • Marean, C.W., Cowling, R.M., Franklin, J., 2020, The Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: Temporal and spatial variation in an extraordinary, extinct ecosystem of the Pleistocene of the Cape Floristic Region, Quaternary Science Reviews 235:106161 (Special Issue) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106161
  • Matthews, T., Marean, C.W., Cleghorn, N., 2020. Past and present distributions and community evolution of Muridae and Soricidae from MIS 9 to MIS 1 on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (south coast, South Africa). Quaternary Science Reviews 235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.05.026
  • Murray, J.K., Harris, J.A., Oestmo, S., Martin, M., Marean, C.W., 2020. A new approach to identify heat treated silcrete near Pinnacle Point, South Africa using 3D microscopy and Bayesian modeling. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 34, 102622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102622
  • Oestmo, S., Janssen, M.A., Cawthra, H.C., 2020. Applying Brantingham’s Neutral Model of Stone Raw Material Procurement to the Pinnacle Point Middle Stone Age Record, Western Cape, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, 105901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105901
  • Phelps, L., Chevalier, M., Shanahan, T., Aleman, J., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Kiahtipes, C., Broennimann, O., Marchant, R., Shekeine, J., Quick, L.J., Davis, B.A.S., Guisan, A. and Manning, K. (2020). Asymmetric response of forest and grassy biomes to climate variability across the African Humid Period: influenced by anthropogenic disturbance? Ecography 43 (8): 1118 - 1142. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.04990
  • Pillay, T., Cawthra, H.C., Lombard, A., 2020. Characterisation of seafloor substrate using advanced processing of multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, and side-scan sonar in Table Bay, South Africa. Marine Geology 429, 106332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2020.106332
  • Rishworth, G., Cawthra, H.C., Dodd, C., Perissinotto, R., 2020. Peritidal stromatolites as indicators of stepping-stone freshwater resources in the Palaeo-Agulhas landscape. Quaternary Science Reviews 235  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.026
  • Rishworth, G.M., Dodd, C., Perissinotto, R., Bornman, T.G., Adams, J.B., Anderson, C.R., Cawthra, H.C., Dorrington, R., du Toit, H., Edworthy, C., Gibb, R.-L.A., Human, L.R.D., Isemonger, E., Lemley, D.A., Miranda, N.A.F., Peer, N., Raw, J.L., Smith, A.M., Steyn, P.-P., Strydom, N.A., Teske, P.R., Welman, S., 2020. Modern supratidal microbialites fed by groundwater: functional drivers, value and trajectories. Earth-Science Reviews 210, 103364. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103364
  • Sifogeorgaki, I., Klinkenberg, V., Esteban, I., Murungi, M., Carr, A.S., Van den Brink, V.B., Dusseldorp, G.L. 2020. New Excavations at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Stratigraphic and Taphonomic Evaluation. African Archaeological Review 37, 551-578.
  • Strydom, T., Kraaij, T., Difford, M., and Cowling, R.M. 2020. Fire severity effects resprouting of subtropical dune thicket of the Cape Floristic Region. PeerJ 8e9240. doi:10.7717/peerj.9240
  • Venter, J.A., Brooke, C., Marean, C.W., Fritz, H., Helm, C.W., 2020. Large mammals of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain showed resilience to extreme climate change but vulnerability to modern human impacts. Quaternary Science Reviews 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106050
  • Wadley, L., Esteban I., De la Pena, P., Wojcieszak, M., Stratford, D., Lennox, S., D’’Errico, F., Rosso, D.E., Orange, F., Backwell, L., and Sievers, C. 2020. Fire and grass-bedding construction 200 thousand years ago at Border Cave, South Africa. Science 369 (6505), 863-866. DOI: 10.1126/science.abc7239
  • Williams, H.M., Lee-Thorp, J., Matthews, T., and Marean, C.W. 2020. Micromammal and macromammal stable isotopes from a MIS 6 fossil hyena den (Pinnacle Point Site 30, south coast, South Africa) reveal differences in relative contribution of C4 grasses to local and regional palaeovegetation on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain.  Quaternary Science Reviews 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106221
  • Wren C.D., Botha S., De Vynck J., Janssen MA.., Hill K., Shook E., Harris J.A., Wood B.M., Venter J., Cowling R., Franklin J., Fisher, E.C., Marean, C.W., The foraging potential of the Holocene Cape south coast of South Africa without the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain. Quaternary Science Reviews, 235: 105789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.012

   

2019

  • Cawthra, H.C., Frenzel, P., Hahn, A., Compton, J.S., Gander, L. and Zabel, M. (in press) Seismic stratigraphy of the inner to mid Agulhas bank, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105979
  • Chase, B.M., Boom, A., Carr, A.S., Chevalier, M., Quick, L.J., Verboom, G.A. and Reimer, P.J. (2019). Extreme hydroclimate response gradients within the western Cape Floristic region of South Africa since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews 219: 297 – 307
  • Engelbrecht, F.A., Marean, C.W., Cowling, R.M., Engelbrecht, C.J., Neumann, F.H., Scott, L., Nkoana, R., O'Neal, D., Fisher, E., Shook, E., Franklin, J., Thatcher, M., McGregor, J.L., Van der Merwe, J., Dedekind, Z. and Difford, M. (2019) Downscaling Last Glacial Maximum climate over southern Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 226: 105879
  • Helm, C.W., Chawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.J., Rust, R. and Stear, W. (2019) Patterns in the sand: A Pleistocene hominin signature along the South African coastline? Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2019.08.004
  • Lockley, M.G., Cawthra, H.C., De Vynck, J.C., Helm, C.W., McCrea, R.T. and Nel, R. (2019) New fossil sea turtle trackway morphotypes from the Pleistocene of South Africa highlight role of ichnology in turtle paleobiology. Quaternary Research 1 - 5. 10.1017/qua.2019.40
  • Strobel, P., Kasper T., Frenzel, P., Schittek K., Quick, L.J., Meadows, M.E., Mausbacher, R. and Haberzettl, T. (2019). Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change in the year-round rainfall zone of South Africa derived from peat sediments from Vankervelsvlei. Quaternary Science Reviews 218: 200 – 214.

2018

  • Braun, K., Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A., Ayalon. A., Cowling, R.M., Karkanas, P., Fisher, E.C., Dyez, K., Zilberman, T. and Marean, C.W. et al. (2018) Late Pleistocene records of speleothem stable isotopic compositions from Pinnacle Point on the South African south coast. Quaternary Research 91: 265-288.
  • Carr, A.S., Bateman, M.D., Cawthra, H.C. and Sealy, J. (2018) First evidence for onshore marine isotope stage 3 aeolianite formation on the southern Cape coastline of South Africa. Marine Geology 407: 1 – 15.
  • Cawthra, H.C. (2018) Pinnacle Point geology – why early humans could live there. Quest Magazine 14: 18-21.
  • Cawthra, H.C., Jacobs, Z., Compton, J.S., Fisher, E.C., Karkanas, P. and Marean, C.W. (2018) Deposition and Sea-level history from MIS 6 (Termination II) to MIS 3 on the southern continental shelf of South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 181: 156 – 172.
  • Cawthra, H.C., Jacobs, Z., Compton, J.S., Fisher, E.C., Karkanas, P. and Marean, C.W. (2018) Depositional and sea-level history from MIS 6 (Termination II) to MIS 3 on the southern continental shelf of South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 181:156-172.
  • Chase, B.M. and Quick, L.J. (2018) Influence of Agulhas forcing of Holocene climate change in South Africa's southern cape. Quaternary Research 90: 1 – 7.
  • Cowling, R.M. (2018) The PalaeoAgulhas Plain: An ice-age refuge for Homo sapiens. Quest Magazine 14:10-13.
  • Cowling, R.M., Gallien, L., Richardson, D.M. and Ojeda, F. (2018) What predicts the richness of seeder and resprouter species in the fire-prone Cape fynbos: Rainfall reliability or vegetation density? Austral Ecology 43: 614 – 622.
  • Esteban, I., Marean, C.W., Fisher, E.C., Karkanas, P., Cabanes, D. and Albert, R. (2018) Phytoliths as an indicator of early modern humans plant gathering strategies, fire fuel and site occupation intensity during the Middle Stone Age at Pinnace Point 5-6 (south coast, South Africa). PLoS ONE 13(6)
  • Hahn, A., Miller, C., Ando, S., Bouimetarhan, I., Cawthra, H.C., Garzanti, E., Green, A.N., Radeff, G., Schefuß, E. and Zabel, M. (2018) The Provenance of Terrigenous Components in Marine Sediments Along the East Coast of Southern Africa. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 19.
  • Helm, C.W., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., de Vynck, J.C., Marean, C.W., McCrea, R. and Rust, R. (2018) Palaeoecology of giraffe tracks in Late Pleistocene aeolianites on the Cape south coast. South African Journal of Science 114 (1/2):1–8.
  • Helm, C.W., McCrea, R.T., Cawthra, H.C., Lockley, M.G., Cowling, R.M., Marean, C.W., Thesen, G.H.H., Pigeon, T.S. and Hattingh, S.  (2018) A New Pleistocene Hominin Tracksite from the Cape South coast, South Africa. Scientific Reports 8:37772.
  • Helm, C.W., McCrea, R.T., Lockley, M.G., Cawthra, H.C., Thesen, G.H.H. and Mwanjunda, J.M. (2018) Late Pleistocene vertebrate trace fossils in the Goukamma Nature Reserve, Cape south coast, South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 52:59–101.
  • Marean, C.W. (2018) People on the PalaeoAgulhas Plain. Quest Magazine 14:14-17.
  • Rundel, P.W., Arroyo, M.T.K., Cowling, R.M. and Keeley, J.E. (2018) Fire and plant diversification in Mediterranean-Climate regions. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:851.
  • Smith, E.I., Jacobs, Z., Johnsen, R., Ren, M., Fisher, E.C., Oestmo, S., Wilkins, J., Harris, J.A., Karkanas, P., Fitch, S., Ciravolo, Keenan, D., Cleghorn, N., Lane, C.S., Matthews, T. and Marean, C.W. (2018) Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74 000 years ago. Nature 55:511-515.
  • Wundsch. M., Haberzettl, T., Cawthra, H.C., Kirsten, K.L., Quick, L.J., Zabel, M., Frenzel, P., Hahn, A., Baade, J., Daut, G., Kasper, T., Meadows, M.E. and Mausbacher, R. (2018) Holocene environmental change along the southern Cape coast of South Africa – Insights from the Eilandvlei sediment record spanning the last 8.9 kyr. Global and Planetary Change 163:51–66.

 

2017

  • Collareta, A., Marean, C.W., Jerardino, A. and Bosselaers, M. (2017) Cetopirus complanatus (Cirripedia: Coronulidae) from the late Middle Pleistocene human settlement of Pinnacle Point 13B (Mossel Bay, South Africa). Zootaxa 4237 (2): 393-400.
  • Cowling, R.M., Bradshaw, P.L., Colville, J.F. and Forest, F. (2017) Levyns’ Law: explaining the evolution of a remarkable longitudinal gradient in Cape plant diversity. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 72:184-201.
  • Esteban, I., Vlok, J., Kotina, E.L., Bamford, M.K., Cowling, R.M., Cabanes, D. and Albert, R.M. (2017) Phytoliths in plants from the south coast of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (South Africa). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 245:60-84.
  • Hahn, A., SchefuB, E., Ando, S., Cawthra, H.C., Frenzel, P., Kugel, M., Meschner, S., Mollenhauer, G. and Zabel, M. (2017) Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation drives oceanic and climatic conditions in late Holocene southernmost Africa. Climate of the Past 13:649-665.
  • Helm, C.W., Anderson, R. J., Buckley, L. G., Cawthra, H.C. and de Vynck, J.C. (2017) Biofilm assists recognition of avian trackways in Late Pleistocene coastal aeolianites, South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 52:78-83
  • Roberts, D.L., Neumann, F.H., Cawthra, H.C., Carr, A.S., Scott, L., Durugbo, E.U., Humphries, M.S., Cowling, R., Bamford, M.K., Musekiwa, C. and MacHutchon, M. (2017) Palaeoenvironments during a terminal Oligocene or early Miocene transgression in a fluvial system at the southwestern tip of Africa. Global and Planetary Change 150:1-23.

 

2016

  • Copeland, S.R., Cawthra, H.C., Fisher, E.C., Lee-Thorp, J.A., Cowling, R.M., le Roux, P.J., Hodgkins, J. and Marean, C.W. (2016) Strontium isotope investigation of ungulate movement patterns on the Pleistocene Paleo-Agulhas Plain of the Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 141: 65–84. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.04.002
  • De Vynck, J., Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.J. and Marean, C.W. (2016) Seasonal availability of edible underground and aboveground carbohydrate resources to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa. PeerJ 4:e1679. doi:10.7717/peerj.1679
  • De Vynck, J.C., Anderson, R., Atwater, C., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E.C., Marean, C.W., Walker, R.S. and Hill, K. (2016) Return rates from intertidal foraging from Blombos Cave to Pinnacle Point: Understanding early human economies. Journal of Human Evolution 92: 101–115. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.01.008
  • De Vynck, J.C., Van Wyk, B.E. and Cowling, R.M. (2016) Indigenous edible plant use by contemporary Khoe-San descendants of South Africa’s Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Botany 102: 60–69. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2015.09.002
  • De Vynck, J.C., Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.J. and Marean, C.W. (2016) Seasonal availability of edible underground and aboveground carbohydrate resources to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa. PeerJ.
  • Esteban, I., De Vynck, J.C., Singels, E., Vlok, J., Marean, C.W., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E.C., Cabanes, D. and Albert, R.M. (2016) Modern soil phytolith assemblages used as proxies for Paleoscape reconstruction on the south coast of South Africa. Quaternary International doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.01.037
  • Faith, J.T., Patterson, D.B., Blegen, N., O’Neill, C.J., Marean, C.W., Peppe, D.J. and Tryon, C.A. (2016) Size variation in Tachyoryctes splendens (East African mole-rat) and its implications for late Quaternary temperature change in equatorial East Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 140:39–48. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.03.017
  • Grimm, G.W., Bouchal, J.M., Denk, T. and Potts, A.J. (2016) Fables and foibles: A critical analysis of the Palaeoflora database and the Coexistence Approach for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 233:216–235. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2016.07.001
  • Grimm, G.W. and Potts, A.J. (2016) Fallacies and fantasies: The theoretical underpinnings of the Coexistence Approach for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Climate of the Past 12: 611–622. doi:10.5194/cp-12-611-2016.
  • Hodgkins, J., Marean, C.W., Turq, A., Sandgathe, D., McPherron, S.J.P. and Dibble, H. (2016) Climate-mediated shifts in Neandertal subsistence behaviors at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal (Dordogne Valley, France). Journal of Human Evolution 96:1-18.
  • Marean, C.W. (2016) The transition to foraging for dense and predictable resources and its impact on the evolution of modern humans. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 371: 160–169. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0239
  • Marean, C.W. (2016) When the Sea Saved Humanity. Scientific American 25:36–43.
  • Potts, A.J., Veldkornet, D.A. and Adams, J.B. (2016) A phylogeographic break in a South African coastal saltmarsh macrophyte, Juncus kraussii. South African Journal of Botany 107:80–83. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2016.08.006
  • Rundel, P.W., Arroyo, M.T.K., Cowling, R.M., Keeley, J.E., Lamont, B.B. and Vargas, P. (2016) Mediterranean biomes: evolution of their vegetation, floras, and climate. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 47:383-407.
  • Sealy, J., Lee‐Thorp, J., Loftus, E., Faith, J.T. and Marean, C.W. (2016) Late Quaternary environmental change in the Southern Cape, South Africa, from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in faunal tooth enamel from Boomplaas Cave. Journal of Quaternary Science 31:919–927. doi:10.1002/JQS.2916
  • Singels, E., Potts, A.J., Esler, K.J., Cowling, R.M., Marean, C.W. and de Vynck, J. (2016) Foraging Potential of Underground Storage Organ Plants in the Southern Cape, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 101:79-89.

 

2015

  • Cowling, R.M. and Potts, A.J. (2015) Climatic, edaphic and fire regime determinants of biome boundaries in the eastern Cape Floristic Region. South African Journal of Botany 101: 73-81.
  • Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.J., Bradshaw, P., Colville, J., Arianoutsou, M., Ferrier, S., Forest, F., Fyllas, N.M., Hopper, S.D., Ojeda, F., Procheş, Ş., Smith, R.J., Rundel, P.W., Vassilakis, E. and Zutta, B.R. (2015) Variation in plant diversity in mediterranean-climate ecosystems: the role of climatic and topographical stability. Journal of Biogeography 42: 552-564.
  • Franklin, J, Potts, A.J., Fisher, E.C., Cowling, R.M. and Marean, C.W. (2015) Paleodistribution modeling in archaeology and paleoanthropology. Quaternary Science Reviews 110:1-14.
  • Marean, C.W., Anderson, R.J., Bar-Matthews, M., Braun, K., Cawthra, H.C., Cowling, R.M., Engelbrecht, F., Esler, K.J., Fisher, E., Franklin, J., Hill, K., Janssen, M., Potts, A.J. and Zahn, R. (2015) A new research strategy for integrating studies of paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and paleoanthropology. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 24:62-72.

 

2013

  • Roberts, D., Cawthra, H. and Musekiwa, C. (2013) Dynamics of late Cenozoic aeolian deposition along the South African coast: a record of evolving climate and ecosystems. Geological Society Publication, Special Publications 388:353-387.

 

Conferences

  • Botha, S., Cowling, R., Potts, A., Esler, K. & de Vynck, J.: The foraging potential of edible plants foods in the Southern Cape.
  • Cowling, C.: What environment conditions were associated with the emergence of modern humans on the Cape South Coast?
  • De vynck, J., Hill, K., Anderson, R., Cowling, R. & Marean, C.: Productive and resilient intertidal marine resources available to human foragers on the South Coast of South Africa.
  • De Vynck, J.C., Hill, K., Anderson, R., Cowling, R.M. & Marean, C.W. (2015) Foraging for shellfish in a predictable and productive inter-tidal environment, the south coast of South Africa  In: 80th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California.
  • Engelbrecht, F., Nkoana, R., Cowling, R.M., Fisher, E., Franklin, J., Marean, C., O'Neal, D., Potts, A. & Shook, E. (2015) Detailed dynamic modelling of glacial climate over the Cape south coast of South Africa. In: Paleoanthropology Society 2015 Annual Meeting San Francisco, California.
  • Esler, K., Potts, A., Midgley, G. & Cowling, R.: Resource-scapes, what, why, when and how?
  • Faltein, Z.: How might CO2 levels change the resource-scape picture? An assessment of geophyte growth at sub-atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
  • LeRoux, P., Lee-Thorp, J., Cowling, R., Cawthra, H. & Copeland, S. (2015) Testing the Paleo-Agulhas Plain Migration Ecosystem hypothesis with serial isotope analysis of fossil fauna. In: 80th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California.
  • Potts, A., Cowling, R., Scheiter, S., Higgins, S. & Franklin, J. (2015) Peering into the past Cape vegetation during the Last Glacial Maximum using species distribution modelling and dynamic global vegetation modelling. In: 80th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California.
  • Potts, A.J. (2015) An operational framework for biome boundary research outlined using examples from the Greater Cape Floristic Region In: Fynbos Forum, Montagu.
  • Potts, A.J.: Reconstructing the vegetation of the Cape paleolandscape using correlative and mechanistic models
  • Shook, E., Wren, C., Marean, C.W., Potts, A.J., Franklin, J., Engelbrecht, F., O'Neal, D., Janssen, M., Fisher, E., Hill, K., Esler, K.J., Cowling, R.M., Scheiter, S. & Moncrieff, G. (2015) Paleoscape model of coastal South Africa during modern human origins: progress in scaling and coupling climate, vegetation, and agent-based models on XSEDE. In: Proceedings of the 2015 XSEDE Conference: Scientific Advancements Enabled by Enhanced Cyberinfrastructure, pp. 1-8. ACM, St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Singels, E., Esler, K. & Parkington, J.: Underground storage organs in time and space.
  • Singels, E., Esler, K., Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.J. & de Vynck, J. (2015) Foraging for bulbs in the Cape Floristic Region In: 80th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California.







© 2026 Nelson Mandela University    WCMS