The role of small animals in transition period from hunting and gathering to herding in the late Holocene: Shashe-Limpopo Basin, Botswana

The research investigates the role of small animals during the transition from hunting and gathering to herding in the late Holocene of the Shashe-Limpopo area in Botswana. The results show that small animals and small-medium Bovids were highly exploited, with alternating shifts in the species emphasised depending on the period of occupation. The hunter-gatherer responses to the shifts in the environment indicate experimentation, which led to high-risk decisions such as trying out new animal species or reorganising the social and economic structures, which included reduced mobility and experimentation with domestic animals, resulting in the transition to herding.