Mumbwa Caves, Archaeological cave system in Kafue National Park, Zambia
Mumbwa Caves is a cave system made up of three chambers carved into a granite and quartzite plateau inside Kafue National Park, Zambia. The chambers hold layered sediment deposits where artifacts from many different prehistoric periods have been found, one layer sitting on top of another.
The earliest signs of human presence at the caves go back to the Middle Pleistocene, hundreds of thousands of years ago. People continued to return to this spot repeatedly until the Late Holocene, leaving behind traces at each visit.
The caves contain stone tools, ochre fragments, and bone remnants scattered through different layers that reveal how early people lived and worked. These items tell the story of daily survival and adaptation in this place.
Access to the caves requires an authorized guide, arranged through the National Heritage Conservation Commission of Zambia. The site sits deep inside Kafue National Park, so plan for a long drive on unpaved roads before you arrive.
Excavations recovered more than 60,000 stone artifacts sorted by period, which is a rare quantity for a single site in the region. The layers also contain ochre fragments, pointing to an early use of color pigment that goes beyond simple tool-making.
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