Stilbaai People
The Stilbaai people were artists and mystics who settled in Blombos cave in Namaqua-Natal in 78,110 BP, and were eventually driven out and killed off by large predators who migrated into the region at the start of the Ougrosian Turning in 71,660 BP.
Origin
Stilbaai culture emerged from a group of Xãgoã people who settled in Blombos cave, making it their semi-permanent home. The cave shelter was high on the cliff face, giving it a beautiful view and making it relatively easy to protect from the small animals in the region. It was the ideal location for a collective who wanted to focus their attention on art, beauty, and mystical visions.Lifestyle
The Stilbaai people planned and drew complex murals using ochre, ash, and other pigments. They carved totems in flint and sandstone. They developed entire technology sets for artwork, with tools for etching and creating pigments. They used fire to create new pigment colors and refine their tools for drawing with ochre and carving sandstone totems. They developed a way to heat stone before shaping the blade edge in order to get more precise tools.Dissolution
Although the Stilbaii were not aware of it, there was an ecological disaster happening far to the north in Kasai between roughly 75,000 BP and 72,000 BP. The climate of the Recosian Turning triggered a collapse of the entire ecological system that devastated the jungles of Kasai. Hundreds of species were wiped out, and many large predators responded by migrating southward looking for more suitable habitats. Many of these large predators arrived in Namaqua-Natal. The semi-sedentary lifestyle of the Stilbaai, perched prominently on their cliff face, was suddenly no longer as safe as it used to be. Their home became the target of constant attacks, until they gave up and attempted to regain the nomadic way of life of their ancestors. Some of the tools they developed for artwork, specifically using heat to sharpen blades, offered some advantage in weapon-making as well. Unfortunately, this was not enough: the Stilbaai were simply not hunters at heart, and ended up dying off by 71,660 BP.Migration Maps
founded during
The Recosian Turning
Species
Key Attributes
gatherer stone-working fire use semi-nomadic
Founding
78,110 BP
Disbandment
71,660 BP
Parent culture(s)
Homeland