À partir de Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Namibia and southern Africa
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The Namibian archaeological sequence records human presence and cultural change from possible Pliocene–Pleistocene pebble-tool industries through the Early, Middle, and Later Stone Ages, the Holocene, and the emergence of ceramics, metallurgy, farming, and complex social traditions. Its evidence illuminates human adaptation to Namibia’s environment, technological development, regional diversity, and early contact with the outside world, while remaining uneven because preservation and research coverage vary sharply across the country.
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Le récit
Namibia’s archaeological sequence begins with evidence extending deep into the Pleistocene. The pages describe possible informal pebble tools dating to around the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary, approximately two million years ago, followed by Early and Middle Stone Age evidence. Later Stone Age remains appear before the Last Glacial Maximum, while the Holocene begins about 10,000 years ago and is associated with the development of classic hunter-gatherer cultures of the recent precolonial period.
The later parts of the sequence document increasingly varied forms of adaptation. The Holocene record includes the first appearance of ceramics, metallurgy, and farming within the last 2,000 years. Across the sequence, archaeology addresses human evolution, cognitive and technological advances, regional diversity, adaptation to the Namibian environment, and the development of complex social traditions.
The evidence is unevenly preserved and distributed. Stone artefacts are particularly common below the Namibian escarpment, where natural deflation can leave quarry and workshop sites exposed, while sheet erosion has removed many traces from the highlands and extensive areas of the Namib and Kalahari deserts conceal sites beneath sand. The pages also note that dated hominid remains are scarce in Namibia, even though evolutionary continuity in southern Africa supports a broader hypothesis of Pleistocene human dispersal through the Old World.
À partir de Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Namibia and southern Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Namibian archaeological sequence records human presence and cultural change from possible Pliocene–Pleistocene pebble-tool industries through the Early, Middle, and Later Stone Ages, the Holocene, and the emergence of ceramics, metallurgy, farming, and complex social traditions. Its evidence illuminates human adaptation to Namibia’s environment, technological development, regional diversity, and early contact with the outside world, while remaining uneven because preservation and research coverage vary sharply across the country.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Namibia’s archaeological sequence begins with evidence extending deep into the Pleistocene. The pages describe possible informal pebble tools dating to around the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary, approximately two million years ago, followed by Early and Middle Stone Age evidence. Later Stone Age remains appear before the Last Glacial Maximum, while the Holocene begins about 10,000 years ago and is associated with the development of classic hunter-gatherer cultures of the recent precolonial period.
The later parts of the sequence document increasingly varied forms of adaptation. The Holocene record includes the first appearance of ceramics, metallurgy, and farming within the last 2,000 years. Across the sequence, archaeology addresses human evolution, cognitive and technological advances, regional diversity, adaptation to the Namibian environment, and the development of complex social traditions.
The evidence is unevenly preserved and distributed. Stone artefacts are particularly common below the Namibian escarpment, where natural deflation can leave quarry and workshop sites exposed, while sheet erosion has removed many traces from the highlands and extensive areas of the Namib and Kalahari deserts conceal sites beneath sand. The pages also note that dated hominid remains are scarce in Namibia, even though evolutionary continuity in southern Africa supports a broader hypothesis of Pleistocene human dispersal through the Old World.