Nationality: South African

Institution: University of the Witwatersrand

Department: Evolutionary Studies Institute

PAST programme support: Degree support

Research title: Fauna from a Late Quaternary Brown Hyena Lair at the Cave of Hearths

I am a master’s candidate in palaeontology at the Evolutionary Studies Institute, Wits University, where I focus on studying faunal remains from Stone Age contexts.

I hold an honours degree in palaeontology and co-authored a paper with Prof. Shaw Badenhorst, published in 2024 in the Journal of Archaeological Science, titled “Distinguishing Hominin and Brown Hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) Bone Accumulations from the Middle Stone Age in South Africa.” This research centred on identifying faunal accumulators at coastal sites in the Eastern and Western Cape. My current work involves analysing previously unstudied faunal remains from the Cave of Hearths, a Stone Age archaeological site in Limpopo Province.