The Archaeology of the Coastal Desert of Namaqualand, South Africa

Description

In this book, nine open-air sites from the coastal desert of Namaqualand, South Africa are analysed, with a focus on identifying settlement patterns and subsistence strategies within the context of a desert environment. Using radiocarbon dates and palaeoenvironmental indices, the author determines that most occupation of the region is linked to periods that were cooler and wetter than today. Using faunal and stable isotope analysis, it is found that people ate mixed diets including both marine and terrestrial species. The dominance of short-stay sites with limited ranges of artefacts suggests that settlement patterns were mobile, with paucity of water as a potential catalyst. In addition to these and other conclusions, this research has, for the first time, identified sites where people mass harvested specific animals, and identified the locations of a prehistoric Cape fur seal rookery and an African penguin hatchery, which will be of value to long-term ecological studies.