115-602: The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa . The park borders on the Sun City entertainment complex. It is administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board . The area lies in the root zone of an extinct volcano, and is defined by alternating ridges and valleys forming concentric rings, a geological formation that rises abruptly in
230-598: A completely eroded caldera created by volcanic eruptions some 1,200 million years ago. It is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its type in the world, the rare rock types and formations make it a unique geological feature, and a number of rare minerals occur in the park. Scattered throughout the park are various sites that are assigned to the Iron and Stone Ages and illustrate the presence of man during those early periods. The park has an area of 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi), and visitors can travel through in
345-522: A crucial element of the symbolic behavioral package in the MSA. Although the advent of anatomical physical modernity cannot confidently be linked with palaeoneurological change, it does seem probable that hominid brains evolved through the same selection processes as other body parts. Genes that promoted a capacity for symbolism may have been selected for, suggesting that the foundations for symbolic culture may well be grounded in biology. However, behavior that
460-464: A greater ability to manufacture symbolic artifacts and social networks. According to the research team in Jebel Irhoud , the discovery means that Homo sapiens —not members of a rival or ancestor species ( Homo heidelbergensis , Homo naledi )—were the ones who left behind Middle Stone Age hand tools that have since been unearthed all over Africa. Numerous sites in southern Africa reflect
575-459: A large northwestern bantustan , for administration and control. As a result, the only remaining private property inside the Pilanesberg reserve amounts to 3 small sections (likely graveyards, approximately 3 hectares each in size) as well as a farm (approximately 608 hectares) registered in the name of Catherina Clark, a daughter of Jan Smuts . A planning committee was established to develop
690-749: A large piece of land to the park in the next two years. A recent poll conducted by the South African Tourism Board found that the Pilanesberg has jumped to the number 1 ranking on the list of most popular public game reserves in South Africa. This comes after many years of trailing the Kruger National Park . Activities in the park include hot air ballooning safaris and game drives in open-top vehicles. There are also guided safari walks and birding safaris to view more than 300 species of bird with bird hides situated along
805-764: A memorial. Rustenburg was the home of Paul Kruger , president of the South African Republic , who bought a 5 square kilometer farm to the north-west of the town in 1863. The homestead on his farm, Boekenhoutfontein , is now the Paul Kruger Country Museum. When the Boer and the British came to blows in the Second Boer War (1899), the territory around Rustenburg became a battlefield. The two sides clashed at nearby Mafikeng , where
920-467: A mental template of the process they would follow), possibly using pyrotechnology to facilitate fat extraction from bone, using a probable recipe to produce the compound, and the use of shell containers for mixing and storage for later use. Ochre is reported from some early MSA sites, for example at Kapthurin and Twin Rivers, and is common after c. 100 ka. Barham argues that even if some of this ochre
1035-533: A new level of innovation in their increased efficacy and more complex manufacturing process. The ability to conceptualize beyond the mere reduction of stone cores demonstrates cognitive flexibility, and the use of glue, which was often processed with ochre, to attach flakes to hafts demonstrates an understanding of chemical changes that can be utilized beyond the simple use of color. Adhesives were used to construct hafted tools by 70ka at Sibudu Cave in South Africa. Many of these adhesives were made from local conifers of
1150-455: A remarkable advance. These data have been used to support theories of social and stylistic development throughout the MSA. In southern Africa, we see the technocomplexes of Howiesons Poort and Stillbay , named after the sites at which they were first discovered. Several others have not been dated or have been dated unreliably; these include the Lupemban technocomplex of central Africa,
1265-516: A single company located within Rustenburg. These Shopping locations are central to different areas of the city and all offer anchor Supermarkets and a variety of other shops. Boitekong Mall . Waterfall Mall, Phokeng Mall, Tlhabane Square- located in Tlhabane, Rustenburg Mall, Moruleng mall, Suncity village shopping centre. Rustenburg is home to the two largest platinum mines in the world and
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#17327805074251380-424: A standard road vehicle. Most of the 188 kilometres of track is not surfaced, and is not maintained in good condition. The three main tarred roads are named Kgabo, Kubu and Tshwane. There are several camps, including Bakgatla and Manyane, serving the park. For day visitors, there is a restaurant and gift shop at the old Pilanesberg Magistrates Court. Near the centre of the park, there is an artificially constructed lake,
1495-446: A thorough, albeit significantly overlapping, discussion of behavioral modernity. As early Homo sapiens began to diversify the ecological zones that they inhabited during the MSA, the archaeological record associated with these zones begins to show evidence for regional continuities. These continuities are significant for a number of reasons. The expansion of Homo sapiens into various ecological zones demonstrates an ability to adapt to
1610-580: A variety of environmental contexts including marine environments, savanna grasslands, relatively arid deserts, and forests. This adaptability is reflected in MSA artifacts found in these zones. These artifacts display stylistic variability depending on zone. During the Acheulian, which spanned from 1.5 million years ago to 300 thousand years ago, lithic technology displayed incredible homogeneity throughout all ecological niches. MSA technologies, with their evidence for regional variability and continuity, represent
1725-557: A way that best fits a scenario in which historical contingencies and environmental rather than cognitive changes are seen as main drivers". There have been two migration events out of Africa. The first was the expansion of H. erectus into Eurasia approximately 1.9 to 1.7 million years ago, and the second, by H. sapiens began during the MSA by 80 – 50 ka MSA out of Africa to Asia, Australia and Europe. Perhaps only in small numbers initially, but by 30 ka they had replaced Neanderthals and H. erectus . Each of these migrations represent
1840-662: A wide range of environments, including coastal and inland areas of southern and eastern Africa, and in at least one case MSA foragers were exploiting high-altitude glaciated environments, at Fincha Habera in Ethiopia. This, however, is not the only evidence of innovativeness that can be seen in early Homo sapiens. The development of new, regionally relevant tools, such as those used for the collection of marine resources seen at Abdur, Ethiopia, Pinnacle Point Cave, South Africa, and Blombos Cave , South Africa. The use of fire demonstrates another innovative aspect of human behavior when it
1955-589: Is a walk-in aviary with over 80 species of indigenous birds. Humans have been in the Pilanesberg area since the Middle Stone Age . Many artefacts from this period can be found throughout the Park. Hunter-gatherers roamed the area well before the first Setswana -speaking people settled as cattle and grain farmers. During the later Iron Age period, the ancestors of the Tswana people and Sotho people occupied
2070-721: Is difficult to find beyond 40ka, and indirect evidence is essentially intangible, thus technological evidence is the most fruitful of the three. Today there is widespread agreement among archaeologists that the world's first art and symbolic culture dates to the African Middle Stone Age. Some of the most striking artifacts, including engraved pieces of red ochre, were manufactured at Blombos Cave in South Africa 75,000 years ago. Pierced and ochred Nassarius shell beads were also recovered from Blombos, with even earlier examples (Middle Stone Age, Aterian ) from
2185-535: Is during this time that we see evidence of the origins of modern human behavior . According to McBrearty and Brooks, there are four features that are characteristic of modern human behavior: abstract thinking, the ability to plan and strategize, "behavioral, economic and technological innovativeness," and symbolic behavior. Many of these aspects of modern human behavior can be broken down into more specific categories, including art, personal adornment, technological advancement, yet these four overarching categories allow for
2300-553: Is excellent with over 360 species having been recorded. Though some are migrants, most others are permanent inhabitants. Their food sources vary with some eating carrion or live prey, others eat seeds, fruit or tiny water organisms. There is a self-guided trail in the Walking Area at the Manyane Complex in the east, which offers environmental education whilst game viewing and bird watching on foot. Also at Manyane, there
2415-519: Is located. The England national football team also used this as their base camp for the tournament. Before European settlers arrived, the area had been settled by agrarian Setswana -speaking tribes. Rustenburg's population is primarily Tswana people . Partially belonging to the Royal Bafokeng Nation , extensive landowners earning royalties from mining operations. The Royal Bafokeng are descendants of Sotho settlers who displaced
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#17327805074252530-587: Is no evidence of crossover in this region. ESA Acheulean sites are well documented across West Africa (except from the most tropical regions) but mostly remain undated. A few late Acheulean sites ("MSA" in the sense of late Acheulean, not Levallois) have been dated. Middle Pleistocene (pre 126 kya) sites are known from the northern Sahelian zones, while Late Pleistocene (post 126 kya) sites are known both from northern and southern West Africa. Unlike elsewhere in Africa, MSA sites appear to persist until very late, down to
2645-603: Is twinned with: Famous people with roots in Rustenburg include: Middle Stone Age The Middle Stone Age (or MSA ) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age . It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550–500,000 years ago and as such some researchers consider this to be
2760-418: Is used in order to create stronger tools, such as the heated silcrete at Blombos, Howiesons Poort and Still Bay, and the heat treated bone tools from Still Bay. Hafted tools are further representative of human innovation. The large cutting tools of the Acheulian technocomplex become smaller, as more complex tools are better suited towards the needs of highly diversified environments. Composite tools represent
2875-919: The Anglican Church (1871), the Dutch Reformed Church (1898–1903) and the Zinniaville Jamme Mosque in Zinniaville, the historic statue of the Voortrekker girl and the Rustenburg Museum. There are many Shopping centers which bring in an influx of people from around Rustenburg such as Waterfall mall, Rustenburg mall, Sun Central, Greystone Crossing and Platinum square where one can go shopping and dining. Rustenburg has much to entertain which include Golf Courses, hot Air ballooning, mountain climbing, hiking,
2990-650: The Bambatan in southeast Africa, 70–80ka, and the Aterian technocomplex of northern Africa, 160–90ka. Evidence of abstract thinking can be seen in the archaeological record as early as the Acheulean–Middle Stone Age transition, approximately 300,000–250,000 years ago. This transition involves a shift in stone tool technology from Mode 2, Acheulean tools, to Mode 3 and 4, which include blades and microliths. The manufacture of these tools requires planning and
3105-662: The Howiesons Poort (c. 70–55 ka) is indicative of modern human behavior . A family basis to foraging groups, color symbolism and the reciprocal exchange of artifacts and the formal organization of living space are, he suggests, further evidence for modernity in the MSA. Lyn Wadley et al. have argued that the complexity of the skill needed to process the heat-treated compound glue (gum and red ochre) used to haft spears would seem to argue for continuity between modern human cognition and that of humans 70,000 BP at Sibudu Cave . In 2008, an ochre processing workshop likely for
3220-712: The Kapthurin Formation in Kenya and Kathu Pan in South Africa. Backed pieces from the Twin Rivers and Kalambo Falls sites in Zambia , dated at sometime between 300 and 140,000 years, likewise indicate a suite of new behaviors. A high level of technical competence is also indicated for the c. 280 ka blades recovered from the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya . The stone tool technology in use during
3335-467: The O.R. Tambo International Airport . Two interprovincial rail lines traverse Rustenburg. One is in the middle part of Rustenburg connecting Rustenburg eastwards to Brits and northwards to Thabazimbi , the other rail line runs through the eastern part of Rustenburg connecting it south-easterly to Krugersdorp and south-westerly to Koster . There is a possibility of upgrading the existing Rustenburg Railway network to better cater to passengers as part of
3450-782: The Omo Kibish Formation , the Herto Member of the Bouri Formation , and Mumba Cave contain fossil evidence to support this conclusion as well. There have been a number of theories proposed regarding the development of modern human behavior, but in recent years the mosaic approach has been the most favored perspective in regards to the MSA, especially when taken in consideration with the archaeological evidence. Some scholars including Klein have argued for discontinuity, while others including McBrearty and Brooks have argued that cognitive advances can be detected in
3565-518: The Pilanesberg Game Reserve and mainly serves tourists visiting the Sun City resort. It has a 2750m long and 30m wide runway and handles about 8000 passengers per year. The other nearest international airport to Rustenburg situated 140 km (87 mi) south-easterly is the O. R. Tambo International Airport which is located to the east of Johannesburg . Currently, international travelers to Rustenburg come predominantly via
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3680-697: The Taforalt Caves . In addition, ostrich egg shell containers engraved with geometric designs dating to 60,000 years ago were found at Diepkloof , South Africa, beads and other personal ornamentation have been found from Morocco which might be as much as 130,000 years old, and the Cave of Hearths in South Africa has yielded a number of beads dating from significantly prior to 50,000 years ago. At Panga ya Saidi in Kenya, marine shell beads appear perhaps as early as 67,000 years ago and certainly by 33,000 years ago, and engraved ochre by 48,500 years ago. Evidence for
3795-543: The adolescence problem. The young culprits were all shot. The creation of the Pilanesberg National Park is considered one of the most ambitious programs of its kind to be undertaken anywhere in the world. Operation Genesis is still the largest game translocation undertaken in the world, and as a result, the park now has in excess of 10,000 animals. In 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released, tourism in South Africa boomed. Camps and lodges were built on
3910-597: The 1980s. It was subsequently partially rebuilt. A new building, the Pilanesberg Centre, was also erected near where the court used to stand.) Additionally, all non-native flora were razed from the region in an attempt to ensure only authentic native plant life would exist in the park. Following negotiations with the Bophuthatswana government, the Bakgatla tribe, under Chief Tsidimane Pilane, agreed to
4025-521: The 2016 census). In 2017, the city's Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) reached ZAR 63.8 billion, accounting for 21.1% of the GDP of the North West Province , and 1.28% of the GDP of South Africa . Rustenburg was one of the official host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup , being in close proximity to Phokeng , the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation , where the Royal Bafokeng Stadium
4140-531: The African continent, conventionally divided into five regions: northern Africa, comprising parts of the modern countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya; eastern Africa, stretching roughly from the highlands of Ethiopia to the southern part of Kenya; central Africa, stretching from the borders of Tanzania and Kenya to include Angola; southern Africa, which includes the numerous cave sites of South Africa; and western Africa. In northern and western Africa,
4255-516: The Bakgatla) tribe. This land constitutes much of the northern region of today's Pilanesberg reserve. What is now the southern section of the Pilanesberg reserve was originally a set of farms which were sold to and registered in the names of a number of Boer farmers by the South African Republic government in the 1860s. These farmers were responsible for building the Houwater dam - now known as
4370-470: The Bakubung tribe to purchase their land within the southern region of the park. The tribe was offered land on adjacent farms Zandrivierspoort, Palmietfontein, and Mahobieskraal, in exchange for portions of the farms Ledig, Koedoesfontein, and Wydhoek, on a hectare-for-hectare basis. As the agricultural value of the new land on offer exceeded that of the old, the Bakubung eventually accepted the offer. (Around
4485-508: The British garrison found itself under siege for months. Among the early residents of Rustenburg were settlers of Indian origin. One of the first families of Indian origin was the Bhyat family, whose contribution to the city's history was marked by the renaming of a major street name to Fatima Bhayat Street in honour of Fatima Bhyat who arrived in Rustenburg with her husband in 1877. Platinum mining in Rustenburg began in 1929, shortly after
4600-471: The Central African site of Katanda dating to about 90,000 years ago. The arrows and needle, along with hide working tools, from Sibudu Cave are seen as evidence of making weapons with compound heat treated gluing technology. Evidence also exists for the systematic heat treating of silcrete stone to increase its flake-ability for the purpose of toolmaking, beginning approximately 164,000 years ago at
4715-551: The Central Rift Valley of Kenya constituted a major center for behavioural innovation. It is likely that the large terrestrial mammal biomass of these regions supported substantial human populations with subsistence and manufacturing patterns similar to those of ethnographically known foragers. Archaeological evidence from eastern Africa extending from the Rift Valley from Ethiopia to northern Tanzania represents
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4830-553: The Holocene boundary (12 kya), pointing to the possibility of late survival of archaic humans , and late hybridization with H. sapiens in West Africa. Furthermore, such results highlight significant spatiotemporal cultural variability and suggest that long inter-group cultural differences played a major role in later stages of human evolution in Africa. Early blades have been documented as far back as 550–500,000 years in
4945-438: The MSA and that the origin of our species is linked with the appearance of Middle Stone Age technology at 250–300 ka. The earliest remains of Homo sapiens date back to approximately 300 thousand years ago in Africa. The continent was mainly populated by groups of hunter-gatherers . In the archaeological record of both eastern Africa and southern Africa, there is immense variability associated with Homo sapiens sites, and it
5060-529: The Mankwe Dam . There is one perennial river and a number of freshwater and saline springs that form smaller dams with animal hides nearby. Near the centre is Thabayadiotso, which means "the Proud Mountain". The Black Rhino Game Reserve is a private reserve found in the north-west section of the Pilanesberg National Park. Wildlife is free to roam between both sections. The scenic terrain lies in
5175-603: The Mankwe Dam. Other activities include fishing, archery, tennis and quad biking. Rustenburg Rustenburg ( / ˈ r ʌ s t ə n b ɜːr ɡ / ; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈrœstənbœrχ] , Afrikaans and Dutch : City of Rest ) is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province , South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in
5290-578: The Mankwe dam - which is the Pilanesberg's largest standing water reservoir. During the 1960s, these farms were re-purchased by the South African government, which, under Apartheid policies, re-settled the Bakubung tribe from nearby Ventersdorp onto the farms Wydhoek, Koedoesfontein, and Ledig. These farms, situated on and in the southern part of the Pilanesberg reserve adjacent to Sun City, North West , were subsequently delivered to Bophuthatswana ,
5405-661: The Matebele from a Sotho-Tswana kingdom to the south, and together, they defeated the Matebele. As the Boers settled in the area, called their settlement Rustenburg because they had relatively friendly relations with their Bafokeng allies in the area, and after the many violent military conflicts with other African chiefdoms, such as the Matebele, they believed they could rest ("rusten" in Dutch) in this settlement, whose name literally means "Resting Town." Although had already long lived in
5520-658: The Middle Stone Age is presented in Marwick (2003) in which the distance between the source of raw material and location in which a stone artifact was found was compared throughout sites containing early stone artifacts. Five Middle Stone Age sites contained distances between 140–340 km and have been interpreted, when compared with ethnographic data, that these distances were made possible through exchange networks. Barham also views syntactic language as one aspect of behavior that in fact allowed MSA people to settle in
5635-624: The Middle Stone Age shows a mosaic of techniques. Beginning approximately 300 kya, the large cutting tools of the Achuelian are gradually displaced by Levallois prepared core technologies, also widely used by Neanderthals during the European Middle Palaeolithic . As the MSA progresses, highly varied technocomplexes become common throughout Africa and include pointed artifacts, blades, retouched flakes, end and side scrapers, grinding stones, and even bone tools. However,
5750-482: The Middle Stone Age shows a pattern of innovation followed by disappearance. This occurs with technology such as the manufacture of shell beads , arrows and hide working tools including needles, and gluing technology. These pieces of evidence provide a counterpoint to the classic "Out of Africa" scenario in which increasing complexity accumulated during the Middle Stone Age. Instead, it has been argued that such technological innovations "appear, disappear and re-appear in
5865-577: The Park have been described as follows: The park has a rich array of southern African wildlife including the Big Five , the five most dangerous game animals in Africa . Most of the large animal species of southern Africa live in the Pilanesberg National Park today, including lions , elephants , black rhinos , white rhinos , Cape buffaloes , leopards , cheetahs , zebras , giraffes , hippos and crocodiles . The Cape wild dog ( Lycaon pictus pictus )
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#17327805074255980-1165: The Pilanesberg Game Reserve lies above. The complex is set on the slopes of a valley in the Pilanesberg Mountains. Sun City is a world renown destination by Sun International and remains one of the best resorts in Southern Africa. Tourist amenities include a shopping mall, casinos, the 'Valley of the Waves' and two championship golf courses. Protea hotel hunters rest borders the Kgaswane Nature reserve. Just 5 km from Waterfall mall . There are many amenities at this resort including, hiking, swimming, golf, horse riding, and game drives. Shopping Waterfall Mall nestled in Waterfall Park of Cashan in Rustenburg. Offers indoor shopping with just around 200 shops to visit. Platinum Square, Lifestyle Square, Rustenburg Square are all owned by
6095-431: The South African site of Pinnacle Point and becoming common there for the creation of microlithic tools at about 72,000 years ago. Characteristically modern human behaviors, such as the making of shell beads, bone tools and arrows, and the use of ochre pigment, are evident at Panga ya Saidi in Kenya by 78,000–67,000 years ago. Evidence of early stone-tipped projectile weapons (a characteristic tool of Homo sapiens ),
6210-510: The University of Stellenbosch made this confession on behalf of the entire DRC: "[I] confess before you and before the Lord, not only my own sin and guilt, and my personal responsibility for the political, social, economic and structural wrongs that have been done to many of you and the results [from] which you and our whole country are still suffering, but vicariously I dare also to do that in
6325-566: The ability to plan subsistence strategies based on this awareness demonstrates an ability to think beyond the present tense and act upon this knowledge. This planning depth is also seen in the presence of exotic raw materials at a variety of sites throughout the MSA. Procurement of local raw materials would have been a simple task to accomplish, yet MSA sites regularly contain raw materials that were obtained from sources over 100 km away, and sometimes farther than 300 km. Obtaining raw materials from this distance would require an awareness of
6440-486: The actual end of the Achaeulean around 130 kya is taken as the beginning of the MSA. The MSA so defined is associated with the gradual replacement of archaic humans by anatomically modern humans . In a different convention, MSA refers to sites characterized by the use of Levallois methods for flake production, to the exclusion of Acheulean sites with large cleavers or handaxes. Following McBrearty and Tryon (2006),
6555-515: The airfield. It currently has a 1225m long and 15m runway and serves small planes for skydiving and parachuting. As part of Rustenburg's Aerodrome Master Plan, the Airfield will receive an upgrade. Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY), located at 50 km (31 mi) to the North of RLM , is an airport serving Sun City in the North West Province of South Africa . It is located close to
6670-599: The area when the Boers arrived, the Bafokeng bought land rights from the Boers, and they purchased their first tracts of land in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century from the colonial rulers, some in exchange for serving in the Boer Wars . Although these land purchases were technically illegal, Paul Kruger, who would become a president of the Transvaal Boer Republic, but was then a veld kornet,
6785-510: The area with the districts of Koster , Swartruggens and Rustenburg featuring battlefields, memorial graves and ruined forts. The area also has archaeological remains from the Iron Age and Stone Age . Key attractions in this area include the nature reserves around Rustenburg. This includes: Sun City and the Lost City resorts located within the crater of the dormant volcano which
6900-406: The area. They were cattle farmers and pastoralists who also worked copper and iron. Major Tswana towns were established during the late 18th century. Most of these towns were destroyed during the Difaqane wars that raged in the Pilanesberg/ Magaliesberg region in the late 1820s, when Mzilikazi occupied the region. The towns were destroyed and the South Ndebele people ruled over the area during
7015-476: The attempted forceful reoccupation of Bophuthatswana by various factions in 1994, President Mangope was deposed and Bophuthatswana was reincorporated within the Republic of South Africa, placing the entire Pilanesberg National Park officially within South Africa's borders. The size of the park was increased from 552 to 572 km in May 2004 as part of a workable 10-year plan to establish a corridor between Pilanesberg and Madikwe Game Reserve . The 20 km that
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#17327805074257130-510: The beginnings of the MSA. The MSA is often mistakenly understood to be synonymous with the Middle Paleolithic of Europe, especially due to their roughly contemporaneous time span; however, the Middle Paleolithic of Europe represents an entirely different hominin population, Homo neanderthalensis , than the MSA of Africa, which did not have Neanderthal populations. Additionally, current archaeological research in Africa has yielded much evidence to suggest that modern human behavior and cognition
7245-560: The city's revitalization. Previously, the railway lines served long-distance passengers, but are now only used for transporting platinum and chrome concentrates to smelters. The Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) Bus rapid transit network will incorporate 40 km (25 mi) (half bi-directional) transport networks, walk ways and 17 sub-stations with and over 260 buses. Schools in Rustenburg include : Higher education & further education colleges include : Other Tertiary Education Institutions close to Rustenburg : Rustenburg
7360-563: The components of the RRT system design, it will not be an exclusively BRT driven operation. The routes have been planned to integrate with bus routes servicing townships, suburbs and outlying village areas as well as long-distance bus services, which will work in unison to move people around the city and region. Rustenburg Airfield (FARG), situated in the middle part of the city, is the Rustenburg Local Municipality Airfield, licensed according to Civil Aviation Authority standards. Rustenburg SkyDiving Club operates every weekend year round from
7475-403: The country. The 6000 animals were released into the quarantine area of 10 km in groups and after a few weeks the fences were dropped. As the purpose of the park was a feeder for other parks no lions or cheetahs were brought in. However, leopards were naturally present as were brown hyena and mountain reedbuck . Currently, Pilanesberg has the highest concentration of hyena of any game park in
7590-446: The discovery of the Platinum Reef by Hans Merensky , later named the Merensky Reef . The mine is located about 3 km from the town centre and owned and managed by the Anglo American plc . According to legend, the farmer that owned the land sold the mineral rights to Anglo American for R10 000. The township of Boitekong on the northeast side of Rustenburg has one of the highest incidences of AIDS orphans in South Africa Rustenburg
7705-473: The earliest MSA sites. Faunal preservation, however, is not spectacular, and standardization in site excavation and lithic classification was, until recently, lacking. Unlike northern Africa, shifts between lithic technologies were not nearly as pronounced, likely due to more favorable climatic conditions that would have allowed for more continuous occupation of sites. Central Africa reflects similar patterning to eastern Africa, yet more archaeological research of
7820-439: The end of the 2017/18 financial year, the Rustenburg Metropolitan had spent about R2.7 billion on the upgrading of old and the construction of new public transport infrastructure in and around the city. The infrastructure includes 20 km (12 mi) of bi-directional Transitway Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) Bus rapid transit lanes, walk ways and 17 Sub-stations. After completion, 37 safe and clean enclosed stations on
7935-519: The famous Ten Flags Theme park and much more. Rustenburg is also close to Magaliesburg which offers a number of restaurants and outdoor activities. There are several sites of cultural and historical significance in and around Rustenburg. Some of these related to the indigenous Bafokeng, Bakgatla and Botswana tribes, whose totemic tribal traditions are of interest. There is also the German community of Kroondal that traces its origins back to 1857. A number of Anglo-Boer and ethnic war battles took place in
8050-402: The form of hills 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft) above the surrounding plains. The Pilanesberg is named for chief Pilane of the Kgafêla people, who ruled from Bogopane, Mmamodimokwana and eventually Mmasebudule during the 1800s. The 'Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex' is the park's primary geological feature. This vast circular feature is geologically ancient, being the ring dikes that fed
8165-420: The form of shellfish exploitation for food. Based on his analysis of the MSA bovid assemblage at Klasies , Milo reports MSA people were formidable hunters and that their social behavior patterns approached those of modern humans. Deacon maintains that the management of plant food resources through deliberate burning of the veld to encourage the growth of plants with corms or tubers in the southern Cape during
8280-431: The game reserve, which was to include the whole of the Pilanesberg mountains. However, to facilitate this new designation, people residing in the area had to be re-settled. Following that, all buildings in the area, including the mission church on Driefontein but excluding the magistrate court building, were demolished. (The magistrate court building, a lovely Cape Dutch style structure, burned down in an accidental blaze in
8395-483: The genus Podocarpus , using a process based on distillation. Other technological innovations of the period include specialized projectile weapons found at various sites in Middle Stone Age Africa such as: bone and stone arrowheads at South African sites such as Sibudu Cave (along with an early bone needle also found at Sibudu) dating approximately 60,000–70,000 years ago, and bone harpoons at
8510-550: The goal of becoming a world-class green, efficient, sustainable and intricately interconnected Smart City where all communities enjoy a high quality of life. This includes the redevelopment and rejuvenation of existing CBD areas to new world-class commercial centres with a conspicuous signature skyline incorporating a plethora of high-rise landmark buildings and skyscrapers as part of the smart space planning and smart maximization of land usage that sustainably creates breathing room for people to move, live, work and play. As at
8625-613: The gradual displacement of Acheulian by MSA technologies is further supported by this layering and contemporaneous placement, as well as by the earliest appearance of MSA technologies at Gademotta and the latest Acheulian technologies at the Bouri Formation of Ethiopia, dated to 154 to 160 kya. This suggests a possible overlap of 100–150 thousand years. Late Acheulean artefacts associated with Homo sapiens have been found in South African cave sites. The Cave of Hearths and Montague Cave in South Africa contain evidence of Acheulian technologies, as well as later MSA technologies, however there
8740-450: The high elevation. It has very warm summers (from December to February) and mild winters (from June to August). Due to the altitude, summers are not quite as hot as one might expect. Precipitation occurs mainly in summer. There is occasional frost at night in winter. The city is located on major highway routes and close to 2 major centres, making it a hub for tourist activities. Within the city are some historic churches and Mosque, including
8855-416: The inclusion of the mountainous region of their property within the Pilanesberg reserve. The 60 families of the Bakgatla tribe farming and living near the mission station at Driefontein were re-settled under an agreement with the tribal authority. They were moved to a newly planned town on the farm Sandfontein, to the east of the Pilanesberg National Park. The Bophuthatswana administration also negotiated with
8970-461: The increased flexibility of the genus Homo to survive in widely varied climates. Based on the measurement of a large number of human skulls a recent study supports a central/southern African origin for Homo sapiens as this region shows the highest intra-population diversity in phenotypic measurements. Genetic data supports this conclusion. However, there is genetic evidence to suggest that dispersal out of Africa began in eastern Africa. Sites such as
9085-516: The largest archaeological evidence of the shift from the Late Acheulian to the Middle Stone Age tool technologies. This transition is characterized by stratigraphic layering of Acheulian stone tools, a bifacial handaxe technology, underneath and even contemporaneous with MSA technologies, such as Levallois tools, flakes, flaked tools, pointed flakes, smaller bifaces that are projectile in form, and, on rare occasions, hafted tools. Evidence of
9200-492: The local tribes from the region, which they came to call 'place of dew' (Phokeng). In the early 1800s, the Bafokeng and other Tswana communities were conquered in a series of devastating wars launched by an offshoot of the Zulu kingdom, called the Matebele. The Boers had also fought the Zulu and Matebele, and so the Boers and Tswana found in the Matebele a common enemy. The Tswana and Boers planned together and worked toward defeating
9315-427: The making of paints by a complex process also exists dating to 100,000 years ago in South Africa, and for the use of pigments in Kenya dating to about 320,000 years ago. A series of innovations have been documented by 170–160,000 years ago at the site of Pinnacle Point 13B on the southern Cape coast of South Africa . This includes the oldest confirmed evidence for the utilization of ochre and marine resources in
9430-468: The mining industry by the ANC Youth League . The majority of people in the region 20 years after the fall of apartheid still live in abject poverty despite the massive profits yielded by the platinum royalties. This has led in recent years to claims of kleptocracy against the 'royal' family and land claim disputes. Agriculture in the region has been in constant decline since the decimation of
9545-450: The more diversified toolkit of the Middle Stone Age, as well as in the subsistence patterns of the period. As MSA hominins began to migrate into a range of different ecological zones, it became necessary to base hunting strategies around seasonally available resources. Awareness of seasonality is evident in the faunal remains found at temporary sites. In less forgiving ecological zones, this awareness would have been essential for survival and
9660-470: The most difficult aspects of modern human behavior to distinguish archaeologically. When searching for evidence of symbolic behavior in the MSA, there are three lines of evidence that can be considered: direct evidence reflecting concrete examples of symbols; indirect evidence reflecting behaviors that would have been used to convey symbolic thought; and technological evidence reflecting the tools and skills that would have been used to produce art. Direct evidence
9775-580: The name of the NGK [the white DRC], of which I am a member, and for the Afrikaans people as a whole." The conference finally resulted in the signing of the Rustenburg Declaration, which moved strongly toward complete confession, forgiveness, and restitution. Rustenburg has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cwa ), with a relatively high degree of diurnal temperature variation due to
9890-459: The only 'private' stadium that hosted games in the 2010 World cup. The Royal Bafokeng regard themselves as a 'separate nation' which is in contradiction to the Rainbow nation espoused by Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela . This 'nationhood' is regarded by many today as a divide and rule tactic orchestrated by the mining conglomerates which has subsequently led to the calls for nationalization of
10005-556: The park's perimeter and it became a tourist destination. In response to this, in 1993, the focus was changed from game animals to predators . Lions from the Etosha National Park in Namibia were relocated to this park despite serious concerns from the surrounding communities. Since then, the lions' numbers have been increasing in the park. A similar attempt with cheetahs from Namibia was not equally successful. Following
10120-492: The period. In the late nineteenth century, Pilanesberg served as a sanctuary to Mzilikazi’s rebel Zulu warriors who passed through the area as they fled the wrath of the Zulu king, Shaka . A mission station was established more or less in the northwestern part of the park, on the farm Driefontein , which lay wedged between a large section of land traditionally owned by the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela (commonly known as
10235-456: The possible making of projectile points. It is observed by the authors of three 2018 studies on the site, that the evidence of these behaviors is approximately contemporary to the earliest known Homo sapiens fossil remains from Africa (such as at Jebel Irhoud and Florisbad ), and they suggest that complex and modern behaviors had already begun in Africa around the time of the emergence of Homo sapiens . Symbolic behavior is, perhaps, one of
10350-440: The production of paints was uncovered dating to ca. 100,000 years ago at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Analysis shows that a liquefied pigment-rich mixture was produced and stored in the two abalone shells, and that ochre, bone, charcoal, grindstones and hammer-stones also formed a composite part of the toolkits. Evidence for the complexity of the task includes procuring and combining raw materials from various sources (implying they had
10465-476: The purification and supply to Boitekong. Life for the majority under the rule of the 'Royal Bafokeng' has parallels to the apartheid era. In the Apartheid era, forced removals of old settlements were on the basis of racial divide whereas now it is done for installation of massive mining operations sometimes engulfing entire villages. The Royal Bafokeng company own the stadium selected as a World Cup 2010 venue,
10580-528: The region is certainly required. Southern Africa consists of many cave sites, most of which show very punctuated starts and stops in stone tool technology. Research in southern Africa has been continuous and quite standardized, allowing for reliable comparisons between sites in the region. Much of the archaeological evidence for the origins of modern human behavior is traced back to sites in this region, including Blombos Cave , Howiesons Poort , Still Bay , and Pinnacle Point . The term "Middle Stone Age" (MSA)
10695-584: The regional development reaches all levels of society. Rustenburg has been highly dependent on mining which is responsible for more than 65% of local GDP and 50% of all direct jobs. The secondary GDP contributors are, by a considerable margin, finance (9%) and retail (8%). Since Platinum mining is projected to decline after 2040, the Rustenburg Local Municipality formulated the Rustenburg Vision 2040 in 2014, with
10810-410: The reserve's perimeter. This reintroduction was still ongoing when the Pilanesberg National Park, was opened in the early 1980s by President Mangope with Chief Pilane present. 6000 animals were resettled into the park over the course of the early 1980s with Operation Genesis, which was featured on a two-part episode on Wild Kingdom in 1981. It was the largest game resettlement program in the history of
10925-441: The resources, a perceived value in the resources, whether it be functional or symbolic, and, possibly, the ability to organize an exchange network in order to obtain the materials. The ability to expand into new environments throughout Africa and, ultimately, the world, displays a level of adaptability and, consequently, innovativeness that is often seen as characteristic of behavioral modernity. Middle Stone Age sites are found in
11040-463: The same time, Sun International obtained a ninety-nine-year leasehold over the adjacent farm Doornhoek and built the Sun City complex, which abuts the Pilanesberg reserve, along the common boundary with the farm Ledig.) It was at this point that work began on Operation Genesis, which involved the reintroduction of long-vanished species after completion of approximately 100 km of fencing around
11155-513: The stone tips of javelins or throwing spears, were discovered in 2013 at the Ethiopian site of Gademotta , and date to around 279,000 years ago. Evidence was found in 2018, dating to about 320,000 years ago, at the Kenyan site of Olorgesailie , of the early emergence of innovations and behaviors including: long-distance trade networks (involving goods such as obsidian), the use of pigments, and
11270-548: The term "early MSA" (EMSA) refers to sites predating the 126 kya interglacial, and "later MSA" (LMSA) refers to site younger than 126 kya. In this convention, Fauresmith sites of 500 to 300 kya are within the ESA, and the MSA begins after about 280 kya and is largely associated with H. sapiens , the earliest reliably dated MSA site in East Africa being Gademotta in Ethiopia, at 276 kya. The Middle Awash valley of Ethiopia and
11385-402: The transition zone between Kalahari and Veld , and both types of vegetation are found here. As a result of the park being in a transition zone, there are overlaps in mammals, birds, and vegetation. Today, Pilanesberg National Park accommodates almost every large mammal of southern Africa. Distinct vegetation communities can be found in the Pilanesberg. The broad vegetation communities present in
11500-557: The tropical forest environments of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Many authors have speculated that at the core of this symbolic explosion, and in tandem, was the development of syntactic language that evolved through a highly specialized social learning system providing the means for semantically unbounded discourse. Syntax would have played a key role in this process and its full adoption could have been
11615-449: The trunk lines stations will be fully operational along 40 km (25 mi) of road using at least 100 articulated buses to transport passengers along the main corridors. On completion of Phase 1 of the 4 phase project, the RRT is projected to deliver 225 000 passenger trips a day through 13 routes, 240 bus stops and 15 BRT stations using around 268 buses. While Bus rapid transit is one of
11730-494: The understanding of how striking a stone will produce different flaking patterns. This requires abstract thought, one of the hallmarks of modern human behavior. The shift from large cutting tools in the Acheulian to smaller and more diversified toolkits in the MSA represents a better cognitive and conceptual understanding of flintknapping, as well as the potential functional effects of distinct tool types. The ability to plan and strategize, much like abstract thinking, can be seen in
11845-645: The use of blades (associated mainly with the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe) is seen at many sites as well. In Africa, blades may have been used during the transition from the Early Stone Age to the Middle Stone Age onwards. Finally, during the later part of the Middle Stone Age, microlithic technologies aimed at producing replaceable components of composite hafted tools are seen from at least 70 ka at sites such as Pinnacle Point and Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South Africa. Artifact technology during
11960-650: The vast citrus estates of Rustenburg in the 1970s and 1980s due to pollution from increased smelting and beneficiating processes by mines. There are only a fraction of the original citrus farms remaining. In 1990, the first post-Apartheid conference between the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa) and the South African churches was held in Rustenburg. During this conference, professor Willie Jonker of
12075-450: The wet-dry cycles of the modern Sahara desert has led to fruitful archaeological sites followed by completely barren soil and vice versa. Preservation in these two regions can vary, yet the sites that have been uncovered document the adaptive nature of early humans to climatically unstable environments. Eastern Africa represents some of the most reliable dates, due to the use of radiocarbon dating on volcanic ash deposits, as well as some of
12190-504: The world's largest platinum refinery, PMR Home (Precious Metal Refiners), which processes around 70% of the world's platinum. As a result of the mining activity in this mineral-rich area, there is also an increased focus on social development. Rustenburg is one of only 5 South African cities to have a community foundation, called the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation (GRCF), that seeks to ensure
12305-436: The world. Also brought in was a family of elephants. As no mature bulls were brought in as they were too large, the young bulls caused a bit of havoc and killed 17 rhinoceroses. The reason for this was there was no parental care and the young bulls came into adolescence at too young an age. However, by this time the transport techniques had improved so 6 older bulls were brought in from the Kruger National Park . This suppressed
12420-482: Was added on the northwestern was the first bit from Pilanesberg's side. On the Madikwe's side, there have already been several additions towards the southeast. There are also several private owners dropping fences from the middle moving towards Pilanesberg and Madikwe. Property, that was selling for South African rand 30,000/km 2 years ago, is now selling for South African rand 500,000/km. Plans are being concluded to add
12535-653: Was beginning to develop much earlier in Africa during the MSA than it was in Europe during the Middle Paleolithic. The MSA is associated with both anatomically modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) as well as archaic Homo sapiens , sometimes referred to as Homo helmei . Early physical evidence comes from the Gademotta Formation in Ethiopia, the Kapthurin Formation in Kenya and Kathu Pan in South Africa. There are MSA archaeological sites from across
12650-649: Was extirpated from the park by poachers, but subsequent reintroduction efforts were successful. The Pilanesberg is not in a location which the Big Five animals would naturally inhabit, however they have been brought into the 550 square kilometres of African bushland. The reserve is also home to brown hyenas . As of December 2010 the total count of large mammals was approximately 10,000, including: Other cats can be found, such as caracals . Indigenous southern African mammals that are not present are bontebok , blesbuck , nyala and roan antelope . The diversity of birdlife
12765-498: Was friendly to the Bafokeng and helped arrange many of these purchases. A public hospital has been named after Paul Kruger. Rustenburg was established in 1851 as an administrative centre for an Afrikaner farming area that produced citrus fruit, tobacco, peanuts, sunflower seeds , maize, wheat and cattle. On 10 February 1859, the Reformed Churches in South Africa was founded under a Syringa tree , now commemorated with
12880-491: Was mediated by symbolism may have only come later, even though this physical capacity was already in place much earlier. Skoyles and Sagan, for example, argue that human brain expansion by increasing the prefrontal cortex would have created a brain capable of symbolizing its previously non-symbolic cognition, and that this process, slow to begin with, increasingly accelerated during the last 100,000 years. Symbolically mediated behavior may then feed back upon this process by creating
12995-585: Was proposed to the African Archaeological Congress by Goodwin and Van Riet Lowe in 1929. The use of these terms was officially abandoned in 1965, although the term remains in use in the context of sub-Saharan Africa , beginning with a transitional late Acheulean period known as the Fauresmith industry . The Fauresmith industry is poorly dated, according to Herries (2011) beginning around 511–435 kya. This time, rather than
13110-456: Was the venue for World AIDS Day commemoration in December 2010. The township is in a geographical area which bears the brunt of the catchment area of the toxic effects of the mining industry coupled with a very poor quality of water supply from the local Bospoort Dam , the water from which was for decades considered too toxic for human consumption until water shortages in the nineties compelled
13225-625: Was used in a symbolic, color-related role then this abstraction could not have worked without language. Ochre, he suggests, could be one proxy for trying to find the emergence of language. Formal bone tools are frequently associated with modern behaviour by archaeologists. Sophisticated bone harpoons manufactured at Katanda, West Africa at c. 90 ka and bone tools from Blombos Cave dated at c. 77 ka may then also serve as examples of material culture associated with modern language. Language has been suggested to be necessary to maintain exchange networks. Evidence of some form of exchange networks during
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