  location in South Africa | |
| Location | on the north side of the Howieson's Poort |
|---|---|
| Region | South Africa |
| Coordinates | 33°34′47″S 26°1′6″E / 33.57972°S 26.01833°E |
Howieson's Poort Shelter is a small rock shelter in South Africa containing the archaeological site from which the Howiesons Poort period in the Middle Stone Age gets its name. This period lasted around 5,000 years, between roughly 65,800 BP and 59,500 BP.[1] This period is important as it, together with the Stillbay period 7,000 years earlier, provides the first evidence of human symbolism and technological skills that were later to appear in the Upper Paleolithic.
- ^ Jacobs, Z; Roberts, RG; Galbraith, RF; Deacon, HJ; Grün, R; Mackay, A; Mitchell, P; Vogelsang, R; Wadley, L.; et al. (2008). "Ages for the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa: implications for human behavior and dispersal". Science. 322 (5902): 733–5. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.469.1059. doi:10.1126/science.1162219. PMID 18974351.