Oldest Known ‘Mattresses’ Discovered in South African Rock Shelter

This is a Sibudu cyperus sp. spikelet about 73,000 years old found at Sibudu in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. (Christine Sievers)

Humans living in a South African rock shelter 77,000 years ago used plants, some with insect-repelling properties, to make bedding mattresses, reports an international team of archaeologists in the journal Science.

The team, led by Lyn Wadley of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, discovered several thin layers of preserved plant bedding during excavations at the Sibudu rock shelter, which has been excavated since 1998.

The compacted, centimeter-thick (0.4 inches) layers of the stems and leaves of sedges and rushes are preserved in at least 15 different layers in the 3-meter-thick (10 feet) section of sediments exposed in the excavation, dated to between 77,000 and 38,000 years old, the researchers reported.

“The inhabitants would have collected the sedges and rushes from along the uThongathi River, located directly below the site, and laid the plants on the floor of the shelter,” said Wadley in a press release. “The bedding was not just used for sleeping, but would have provided a comfortable surface for living and working.”

The grass-like sedges are still used by people living in the area today to make sleeping mats.

The oldest bedding is particularly well preserved, say the researchers, and is 50,000 years older than previous reports of plant bedding. It is made up of a layer of sedge stems and leaves, which are overlain by a thin layer of leaves identified as River Wild-quince (Cryptocarya woodii). Leaves from this tree may have been specifically chosen as they contain mosquito-repelling chemicals.

“The selection of these leaves for the construction of bedding suggests that the early inhabitants of Sibudu had an intimate knowledge of the plants surrounding the shelter, and were aware of their medicinal uses,” Wadley said. “Herbal medicines would have provided advantages for human health, and the use of insect-repelling plants adds a new dimension to our understanding of behaviour 77,000 years ago.”

Through careful microscopic examination of the material, Christopher Miller of Germany’s University of Tubingen discovered that after 73,000 years ago, the Sibudu inhabitants regularly replaced their bedding materials and burned them after use.

“They lit the used bedding on fire, possibly as a way to remove pests. This would have prepared the site for future occupation and represents a novel use of fire for the maintenance of an occupation site,” said Miller in the release.

From about 58,000 years ago the number of fireplaces, ash dumps, and bedding layers increases dramatically, reported the researchers, which they interpret as evidence of increased occupation of the site.

Many other interesting finds have been unearthed at the Sibudu rock shelter over the years, including shells beads, sharpened bone points, evidence of bow and arrow technology, use of snare and traps, and production of glue for securing stone tools to wooden handles.