New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Research jointly led by the University of Leicester argues that more archaeological work in the interior regions of South Africa – a country renowned for its globally-significant archaeological record – may reveal more about our ancient ancestors and their movements. The researchers’ conclusions have been published in the journal PNAS.
South Africa’s Stone Age archaeological record, particularly for the last 150,000 years has been the subject of a great deal of investigation, not least due to the presence of several remarkable coastal caves and rock shelter records. However, the presence of humans, and the resources available to them in the vast interior regions of the country have thus far remained much more enigmatic.
New research by an international team of researchers from South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France suggests several large bodies of water were sustained in the now arid South African interior during the last Ice Age, particularly 50,000-40,000 years ago, and again 31,000 years ago. Importantly, the group were able to model how much water was required to fill these palaeo-lakes, allowing the climatic changes necessary to create lakes, and the resulting impacts on the region’s hydrology, flora and fauna, to be reconstructed.
Read more at University of Leicester
Image: Andrew Carr collecting sediment samples dating to the Last Glacial Maximum from the dry lakebed at Swartkolkvloer. (Credit: Brian Chase)
