Mussel Point also known as Mike Taylor's Midden (MTM) is possibly the largest of 13 megamiddens found along the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n West Coast. MTM is the only open site with remains from the early pottery period (3000 and 2000 years before present) in the

Elands Bay Elands Bay is a town in South Africa, situated in the Western Cape Province, on the Atlantic Ocean, at . The town is located about 220 kilometres (two and a half hours drive) north from Cape Town. It is a world class surfing location and is also n ...

and

Lamberts Bay Lambert's Bay is a small fishing town in the Western Cape province of South Africa situated north of Cape Town. It is part of the Cederberg Municipality. The coast town has been proclaimed 'the Diamond of the West Coast' because of its white bea ...

areas at . There are only a handful of shell middens along the West Coast of South Africa that are as large and deep as Mussel Point. These very large sites, named "megamiddens", are the expression of unique social and economic (subsistence) solutions to environmental and demographic challenges that precolonial San hunter-gatherers faced between 3000 and 2000 years before present (BP). MTM is at least long and wide and has a depth that varies between . It dates to between 980 and 2800 BP, however, much of this occupational sequence dates to between 2100 and 2500 BP. For this reason, MTM is singular among megamiddens in that it offers the best chronological resolution (greatest volume for shortest time) for the later part of this unique period of the precolonial history of South Africa.

Megamiddens

Megamiddens are large shell middens that are found along the shoreline of the West Coast and consist of large mounds of shells (mostly from

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

, along with barnacles,

whelk Whelk (also known as scungilli) is a common name applied to various kinds of sea snail. Although a number of whelks are relatively large and are in the family Buccinidae (the true whelks), the word ''whelk'' is also applied to some other marin ...

s, limpets, those of

tortoises Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

, and fish and bird bones). The megamiddens were created over a 1,200-year period, between 3,000 and 1,800 years ago. The middens have been studied extensively since the 1970s, particularly by archaeologists. A significant debate has developed among scholars about the purpose of the middens and the history of the people who lived on the South African West Coast during the Later Stone Age.

Provincial heritage site

In April 2009, the provincial heritage resources authority

Heritage Western Cape Heritage Western Cape (HWC) is a provincial heritage resources authority established by the Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport of the government of the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is a public entity set up under the terms of ...

declared Mussel Point a provincial heritage site in the terms of Section 27 of the National Heritage Resources Act.Provincial Notice 4618, Province of the Western Cape Provincial Gazette, No. 6621, Cape Town: 9 April 2009, p.548 This gives the site Grade II status and provides the site with protection under South African heritage law.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal, last1=Jerardino, first1=Antonieta, last2=Yates, first2=Royden, title=Excavations at Mike Taylor's Midden: A Summary Report and Implications for a Re-Characterisation of Megamiddens, journal=The South African Archaeological Bulletin, volume=52, issue=165, year=1997, pages=43, issn=00381969, doi=10.2307/3888975, jstor=3888975 Shell middens Protected areas of South Africa Archaeological sites in South Africa Buildings and structures in the Western Cape