De Kelders (or Afrikaans: Die Kelders, lit.'cellars') is a coastal village in the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa.

De Kelders
Die Kelders
De Kelders is located in Western Cape
De Kelders
De Kelders
De Kelders is located in South Africa
De Kelders
De Kelders
Coordinates: 34°34′S 19°21′E / 34.567°S 19.350°E / -34.567; 19.350
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictOverberg
MunicipalityOverstrand
Area
 • Total
2.23 km2 (0.86 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
1,070
 • Density480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • African2.0%
 • Coloured2.2%
 • Indian/Asian0.1%
 • White95.5%
 • Other0.3%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans84.4%
 • English12.6%
 • Other3.0%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
7220
PO box
7220
Area code028

Die Kelders Caves

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Die Kelders Caves

Die Kelders Caves are an archaeological site that is relevant to human evolution. The site consists of two caves that contain human remains dating to the Middle Stone Age. The remains include isolated teeth, two manual phalanges, one pollical phalanx (of the thumb), and a mandible.[2] The assemblage contains at least 10 (mostly) subadult individuals. The morphology of some of these bones are similar to other Middle Stone Age sites across Africa, including Klasies River Caves, Equus Caves, and Witkrans.[2]

Its name is Afrikaans for 'the cellars', derived from the coastal caves in sandstone cliffs.

Activities

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View of Walker Bay from De Kelders

The village itself is a holiday resort 19 km south-west of Stanford, between Gansbaai and Hermanus. It lies on the shore of Walker Bay, adjacent to Walker Bay Nature Reserve and Walker Bay Whale Sanctuary. De Kelders is also an excellent whale watching location; Southern right whales use Walker Bay to calve and mate.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Sub Place De Kelders". Census 2011.
  2. ^ a b Grine, Frederick E.; Marean, Curtis W.; Faith, J. Tyler; Black, Wendy; Mongle, Carrie S.; Trinkaus, Erik; le Roux, Stephan G.; du Plessis, Anton (2017-08-01). "Further human fossils from the Middle Stone Age deposits of Die Kelders Cave 1, Western Cape Province, South Africa". Journal of Human Evolution. 109: 70–78. Bibcode:2017JHumE.109...70G. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.009. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 28688461.
  3. ^ "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 139.
  4. ^ "De Kelders". www.sa-venues.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.