A Late Pleistocene Palaeoenvironmental Record for Northern Namaqualand, South Africa: Geoarchaeology, Geochronology, and Stable Isotopes from Spitzkloof A Rockshelter

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations at Spitzkloof A Rockshelter, northern Namaqualand, South Africa, identified a deep stratified sequence with pulsed occupation dating to the Last Glacial Maximum (23–17 kcal. BP) and Marine Isotope Stage 3 (>51 ka BP), while the lowest layers are candidates for U-series dating. Importantly, this period encompasses a time of marked climate change, with fluctuating environmental responses within Africa likely requiring human innovations and adaptive plasticity. Abundant ostrich eggshell throughout the deposit (including the undated layers) includes beads and flasks, presumably reflecting social and technological innovations allowing people to forage in the southern margins of the Namib Desert. High-resolution records of climate change in Namaqualand are sparse, yet reconstructing palaeoenvironments is fundamental to understanding how people engaged with the landscape. Large grazers in the LGM deposits suggest wetter environments, while arid-adapted specialists imply drier landscapes in MIS 3. To test these interpretations, we present new geoarchaeological, geochronological, and stable isotope results on ostrich eggshell (C, O, and N) to assess the palaeoenvironmental context and confirm that the LGM deposits reflect wetter environments than exist today. Ongoing analysis will extend to material from the MIS 3 and older deposits to verify the arid signal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40179.0