Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1007/978-94-017-7520-5_11 |
Paleoenvironments, Sea Levels, and Land Use in Namaqualand, South Africa, During MIS 6-2 | |
Dewar, Genevieve1; Stewart, Brian A.2 | |
通讯作者 | Dewar, Genevieve |
会议名称 | Conference on Africa from Stages 6 to 2 - Population Dynamics and Palaeoenvironments |
会议日期 | JUL 02-04, 2010 |
会议地点 | Cambridge, ENGLAND |
英文摘要 | In order to expand on the potential range of early human experiences and adaptive strategies, it is first necessary to determine the paleoenvironmental signatures for a given region of study. In this paper we report on proxy terrestrial, marine, and sea level data in order to reconstruct past environments of Namaqualand, South Africa, during MIS 6-2. Although this semiarid southern extension of the Namib Desert is a prime area to investigate early modern human adaptive innovations, environmental and human history of Namaqualand has been largely neglected. We present environmental, chronological, and subsistence data from recent excavations at Spitzkloof Rockshelter A, and review equivalent data from other sites in the Succulent Karoo Biome. The presence of handaxes on the landscape point to a pre-MIS 6 presence in the region, but current evidence suggests that a more dedicated human occupation of the region likely began during MIS 5. Subsequent human dispersals into Namaqualand are recurrent but heavily pulsed and typically linked to humid stadial phases when sea levels were lower. We propose that the westward movement of the coastline potentially increased the carrying capacity of the region by promoting the colonization of grasses onto the coastal plain, attracting larger game. The mechanism driving this change can be attributed to either an increase in inland precipitation as the Benguela-cooled coastline moved west or reduced evapotranspiration due to lowered temperatures. The strongest evidence for this pattern is during MIS 2 when faunal and floral data indicate a cold but humid environment. Faunal species from Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) layers at Spitzkloof A and Apollo 11 include large ungulates such as Equus capensis, a moisture-loving species that disappears toward the end of MIS 2 (similar to 14 ka) when conditions become more xeric. |
英文关键词 | Namaqualand Late Pleistocene Middle Stone Age Paleoenvironments Deserts Hunter-gatherers Climate change Southern Africa |
来源出版物 | AFRICA FROM MIS 6-2: POPULATION DYNAMICS AND PALEOENVIRONMENTS |
ISSN | 1877-9077 |
出版年 | 2016 |
页码 | 195-212 |
ISBN | 978-94-017-7519-9 |
EISBN | 978-94-017-7520-5 |
出版者 | SPRINGER |
类型 | Proceedings Paper |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | Canada;USA |
收录类别 | CPCI-S |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000379118600011 |
WOS关键词 | MIDDLE-STONE-AGE ; FECAL DEPOSITS HYRACEUM ; LATE PLEISTOCENE ; CAPE PROVINCE ; WESTERN-CAPE ; OSTRICH EGGSHELL ; HUMAN-BEHAVIOR ; BLOMBOS CAVE ; SHELL BEADS ; POLLEN |
WOS类目 | Paleontology |
WOS研究方向 | Paleontology |
资源类型 | 会议论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/305426 |
作者单位 | 1.Univ Toronto, Dept Anthropol, 1265 Mil Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada; 2.Univ Michigan, Museum Anthropol Archaeol, Ruthven Museums Bldg,1109 Geddes Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Dewar, Genevieve,Stewart, Brian A.. Paleoenvironments, Sea Levels, and Land Use in Namaqualand, South Africa, During MIS 6-2[C]:SPRINGER,2016:195-212. |
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