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fish to the impending drop in water level. Essential maintenance between tides included re-

packing of any displaced stones to re-establish level tops. Building and maintenance required
a labour force. (Fig. 2.4.)

Spring Tides that occurred at night, especially during periods of New Moon during summer
were best, although any time of the year was considered likely to be productive. In recent

times scoop nets were used to harvest trapped fish. After use an opening (“rif”) was created

to allow fish to escape between uses. (It seems that this was not the normal practice of recent
landowners.)

As described in Avery (1975) the data collected by David Daniels at Die Dam (Fig. 2.5), and

information from local fisherman W. J. Moolman of Gansbaai and A. Absolom of Elim,
illustrate how productive the use of tidal fish traps can be.

Chronology

Goodwin (1946) suggested that the stone-walled traps might be indirectly associated with the

shell midden sites immediately inland of them and that information on their age and potential
as resources could be obtained from such sites. Based on evidence from Oakhurst Cave (near

George), which he claimed demonstrated the beginning of inshore fishing during Wilton
times, Goodwin (1938) estimated the fish traps to be of Wilton and post-Wilton date

(between approx. 6,000 and 3,000 years ago.). He noted that some middens close to fish traps

included fish bones and argued for dates for the fish traps of between 1,000 and 2,000 years.
He also cites a report of a fibre fishing line with a gorge tucked into a crevice in the wall of a

trap. However, (Avery 1976) and (Hine et al. 2010) were unable to confirm the association
between middens and fish traps in their excavations. Apart from the high frequencies of a

variety of fish species in sites like Eland’s Bay Cave on the Cape west coast (Poggenpoel
1987), Die Kelders Cave 1 on the Cape south coast (Schweitzer 1979), Byneskranskop 1

(Schweitzer and Wilson 1982), and Nelson Bay Cave at Plettenberg Bay (Inskeep 1987) at

none of which any traps exist, gorges (tiny double-pointed slivers of bone – tied in the middle
and baited, they acted like stuck chicken bones when swallowed) and stone sinkers are