Cultural Heritage 2010\08\17

Cultural Heritage Site

We have a Unit standard that has to do with Cultural heritage and today we went to one of Sondela's Heritage sites at the "Water punt Koppie". We were like archeologist's and had to look for some historical artifacts that came from the stone and iron age.
We had to document the artifacts so that they do not loose there value. We GPS'ed the coordinates and describe what we found on a paper and took a photo of it.Hundreds of years ago colonies of people lived on Sondela and used the natural recourse's in there everyday live. First was the Stone age were people used various tools made out of clay, sandstone and flint.


Some examples we found

Pot Shards made out of clay baked at a high temperature.They are used to store water and foods like grain and mielies .A thin pot was used for water and a thicker one for food.
Sometimes they were
decorated with patterns.

Sandstone and flint tools that were shaped to make spear points to kill an animal,carving and cutting tools to cut meat and skin animals.

Round Boulders to grind various things
like grain and plant material.

Then the Iron age began. We found Guthuite and Slag materials used too make iron aged tools. This contains iron and was melted at high temperatures to form a tool.

Some examples we found

Slag and Guthuite were used as spear points, dongas and other large forms of tools used to plow lands. The tribe who had these iron items in its possession were far ahead of others concerning farming and hunting.

Slag is the leftovers that boils away
from the iron and gets thrown away

Guthuite is the rock before
it is melted to get the iron in it.




This was a great exercise because we got to excavate a site were real history took place and touch the actual things that these ancient people made with there hands. Places like these is were all modern tools came from and we should take great pride in protecting Cultural heritage sites like them!!!