Abstract
THE only ancient manganese mine yet recorded is in southern Africa, at Chowa near Broken Hill, Zambia1, Its rubble infilling contained crudely flaked mining tools chiefly of manganese, used as choppers, wedges and chisels, together with hammerstones, perforated stones, upper and lower grindstones and a single polished stone axe, but no metal objects or potsherds. The Kafulamadzi Hills 3 miles away revealed Later Stone Age assemblages in quartz, together with manganese tools identical to those found in the working. On this basis, Dart postulated in 1934 the existence of stone age mining in southern Africa.
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References
Dart, R. A., Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Africa, 22, 55 (1934).
Boshier, A. K., Scientific South Africa, 2 (7), 317 (1965).
Dart, R. A., S. African J. Sci., 63 (6), 264 (1967).
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DART, R., BEAUMONT, P. Amazing Antiquity of Mining in Southern Africa. Nature 216, 407–408 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216407a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/216407a0
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