Pollen analysis and dating of Late Quaternary faecal deposits (hyraceum) in the Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa

Pollen preserved in hyrax faecal accumulations (hyraceum) in the Pakhuis Pass Shelter, Western Cape, presents a proxy record of local vegetation community structure for the last 23,000 years. Several hyraceum fragments were individually radiocarbon dated to establish the sequence. The associated pollen assemblages suggest that the LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) vegetation was predominantly composed of low shrubs (low-spine pollen of Stoebe/Elytropappus type) and “pure fynbos” (including Ericaceae, Passerina, Cliffortia and Proteaceae), while Holocene vegetation consisted of a mosaic of fynbos and thicket vegetation (including Dodonea and Olea) with Aizoaceae type succulents and Asteraceae. This transition is probably the result of decreasing soil moisture and ambient temperatures although variations in the proportions of Asteraceae types, Cyperaceae and succulents apparently reflect millennial and shorter scale seasonality, temperature and moisture variations.