Mussel Drying and Food Storage in the Late Holocene, SW Cape, South Africa

Very large and homogenous open air shell middens (“megamiddens”) along a stretch of Atlantic coastline in the SW Cape reflect hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies dramatically different from those employed before and after the megamidden phase. Presented here are the results of experiments in the drying and preservation of shellfish flesh as a means of understanding the behavior involved in depositing these middens. Various techniques for drying shellfish were attempted, the results of which were assessed by bacteriological and compositional analyses of the samples. Results indicate that shellfish can be dried effectively for later consumption with relatively little effort and technology. Bulk processing of mussels would appear to be one plausible explanation for the megamidden phenomenon. Dietary implications of this research are briefly considered.