WATERBERG BIOSPHERE

The Waterberg - and its exciting discoveries

THE STAR, September 04 2001

By Winnie Graham

The Waterberg savannah biosphere reserve, a bushveld area of rugged beauty less than 300km north-west of Johannesburg, has been awarded international status by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and is set to becomeone of South Africa's prime tourist destinations. The Waterberg has long been regarde asSouth Africa's best-kept secrets. There are game reserves and rural villages, mountains and gorges, swamps and rivers, and a wide variety of mammals and birds. But even more exciting is the latest development. Renowned archaeologist Sid Miller (the man responsible for excavating Thulamela where the bones of the "leopard royals" were found five years ago) has started work on a dig at Melora, a mountain surface in the Lapalala Reserve. Though it is still too early to gauge, there is every indication that exciting new evidence of human existence here in the past will be found at the site. Miller says: "What we have found so far supports the research of author Sheila Cousens whose book, Myth of the Empty Land, was banned during the apartheid era." A site of human habitation during the late Iron Age The site was long ago identified as the one-time home of indigenous people. Early work at the site was done by Professor Jan Aukema 14 years ago but soon after placing pegs and doing a test excavation, he was killed in a car accident. But the bits of pottery and 1 400 bones he found were enough to establish the importance of Melora. Miller's team has revealed ancient footpaths and rock walls - a clear indication the area was once used for residential purposes. Miller thinks Melora was probably a site of human habitation during the late Iron Age. A number of grinding stones have been found there. Shards of pottery at the site reveal people lived there in the 1700s - possibly from the Sotho or Tswana groups - but it is thought that Stone Age people could have occupied the land considerably earlier. The Waterberg has been included in the world network of biosphere reserves About five years ago a pottery urn containing a foetus was found in the area. Experts say stillborn, aborted babies or infants who died under the age of 36 weeks used to be buried close to the mother - the pot representing a symbolic return of the dead child to the mother's womb. An iron adze set in a piece of wood is yet another indication that those early residents were highly knowledgeable about minerals and their uses. Even more interestingly, items made of tin - a metal not recognisable to the naked eye in its natural state - have been identified. Miller added: "We can't postulate yet but time will tell who lived here and how long ago." Students from the University of South Africa will work at the dig later this year. The Waterberg was in the headlines just two weeks ago when Tourism Minister Valli Moosa spoke at a function at the Nyathi Game Capture Centre near Vaalwater, marking the area's new status. Such recognition means that the Waterberg has been included in the world network of biosphere reserves - a network which includes the world's major ecosystem types and landscapes and which is dedicated to conserving biological diversity. There are two other internationally recognised biospheres in SA - one at St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, and the other at Langebaan, Western Cape. The world list includes 368 in 91 countries. Each biosphere is expected to fill three roles: a conservation role; a development role (which means combining the conservation objectives with the sustainable use of the ecosystem resources for the benefit of local communities); and a logistic role providing research, education and training opportunities. Clive Walker, chairperson of the Waterberg Biosphere Committee, says the initiative to obtain international status started more than four years ago. "Waterberg boasts a burgeoning conservation community involved in the sustainable use of wildlife, ranging from eco-tourism to hunting," he said. "The area's economic base lies largely within the tourism sector and we expect the new status of the reserve to result in a considerable increase in investment and job opportunities."