Orangia

Middle Stone Age site in the Orange River valley in the extreme south of the Orange Free State, South Africa. The artifacts are analogous to those of the Pietersburg complex to the north. It is the type site of an early Middle Stone Age Pietersburg-like flake-blade industry. It is now inundated by a dam.

An important but undated site in the Orange River valley in the extreme south of the Orange Free State, South Africa. The artefacts are analogous to those of the Petersburg complex from further to the north, with which they are presumably broadly contemporary. In the undisturbed levels at Orangia were preserved at least six semi-circular settings of stones, open to the west and some 2-3 metres in diameter. Inside each setting the surface of the gound had been hollowed away, and it seems reasonable to interpret these features as the remains of shelters or sleeping places. Since part of the site has been eroded away, up to 12 of these shelters may originally have been present: assuming that all were in use at the same time, a population of some 2030 individuals may be indicated.