Drawing of Digging Stick and Stone Weights

The Khoikhoi were semi-nomadic pastoralists (herders of sheep and cattle), who hunted game and gathered edible plants, nuts, roots, berries, and honey to supplement their diets. There was a division of labor between men and women: men hunted and tended the cattle while women looked after small stock and gathered food in the surrounding countryside. One of the implements used by women was the digging stick weighted with stones. Although the implement may appear primitive, consider what went into making it and how practical it was in its environment for its intended uses.