Out of all the southern hemisphere desert regions, Namibia has the longest archeological record. Archeologists split up Namibian history over three time periods. The Historic period is the period of time within 500 years of the present. A time where European countries began to come more and more into contact with early African states. The Holocene period is from 10,000 years ago to now. It marks the development of complex hunter-gather societies in Africa. And, finally, the Pleistocene period covers the largest chunk of the past, from 2 million years ago to 10,000 years ago, where modern humans sporadically appeared and disappeared.
Namibian archeology is most well-known for an extensive collection of "rock art" from the Holocene period. These rock art sites have been found in the large granite mountain areas, and document hunter-gatherer societies through their transition to nomadic pastoralism.
Archaeologists continue to discover these ancient sites in Namibia, but increasing development and mineral exploration is threatening the permanence of these sites. Large sources of uranium have been detected in Namibia, and much of Namibian history is under threat.
Sources:
http://www.archaeologynamibia.com/
http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/kinahan325/
Posted by Romain Screve
What does it mean to have the longest archaeological record? That the oldest artifacts were found there? -Mini Racker
ReplyDeleteI think they meant it as both oldest but also most complete. - Romain Screve
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! I'm curious about where the rock art is located throughout the country, and how the patterns/designs change regionally.
ReplyDelete