The KhoeSan

Archaeology has shown that the earliest human communities ever recorded lived in sight of Table Mountain. We cannot say for certain how they lived, but since the climate is quite arid, and there is no evidence of a complex civilisation, one can infer that they lived in small nomadic groups hunting animals and gathering edible plants.

This is not to say they lacked sophistication - their art, some dated at 27,000 years old, has been described as 'one of the high points of human visual creativity' (Ross, 1999, pg. 9).

The San

The San encamped under rock overhangs in the mountains or in small camps in dry areas. It is clear they lived in the mountain ranges just north of Cape Town until the nineteenth century.

They lived in small nomadic 'bands', numbering between 20 and 80 people, consisting of several family groups.

The women foraged around the camp for food, gathering bulbs (especially those of Arum lilies), roots, stalks and fruits. They also made clothes from skins sewn with catgut.

The Khoekhoe

The name 'Khoekhoe' means 'men of men'. Their herds of sheep and cattle gave them a stable, balanced diet and they lived in larger groups than the San.

Clan groups, descended from a common ancestor, lived with their chief in kraals where they kept their herds. They made their small homes of reed mats covered with animal skins. An elephant's ear served as a door.

Clans were identified with a particular territory, but were semi-nomadic, moving whenever grazing land became depleted. The territories were not rigid and overlapped. The chiefs of several clans recognised a paramount Chief and were loosely associated under him as a 'tribe'.