A cow horn believed to be the oldest known example of a medicine container in southern Africa has been discovered in a South African cave. It sheds light on the herbal remedies used by indigenous healers more than 500 years ago, including one known as the "cancer bush".
The horn was discovered by South African hiker Rodger Smith when he was camping in the cave with his wife and daughter in the Eastern Cape province in 2020. An analysis of its contents has only just been published in the South African Journal of Science.
