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The Kalahari During MIS 6-2 (190–12 ka): Archaeology, Paleoenvironment, and Population Dynamics

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Africa from MIS 6-2

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

We present a synthesis of archaeological and paleoenvironmental information for the period MIS 6-2 in the Kalahari. Discussion centers on the implications of nine new, internally consistent OSL ages obtained from White Paintings Rock Shelter. These dates provide a better understanding of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) sequence. In addition, the revised chronology dates 11 buried soil A-horizons that were formed during wetter periods. The buried A-horizons, along with dated speleothems and high lake levels in the Kalahari correlate with Antarctic warming events (A) and North Atlantic Heinrich events (H). We also discuss the implications of the Kalahari megalake, paleolake Makgadikgadi , for human populations and compare dated changes in the archaeological sequence at WPS with dates established in Khoisan genetic evolutionary studies.

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Acknowledgments

Our research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Permission to do the research was granted by the Office of the President in Botswana . We are grateful to staff members of the National Museum of Botswana as well to as students, local peoples and other volunteers for assisting with the fieldwork. We thank Doctors Alison Brooks and John Yellen for re-exposing the main excavation section at WPS and for collecting the nine OSL samples discussed in this paper. We also thank Guoqiang Li who helped with the figures and David Thomas and two other reviewers who provided extremely valuable suggestions on how to improve this chapter. Above all, we wish to acknowledge the leadership and contributions of the late Alec Campbell to all of our research at Tsodilo and other locations in Botswana.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, 354 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Lawrence H. Robbins

  2. Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    George A. Brook

  3. Kalamazoo Valley Community College, 6767 West ‘O’ Ave, P.O. Box 49003-4070, Kalamazoo, MI, 49009, USA

    Michael L. Murphy

  4. Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118, USA

    Andrew H. Ivester

  5. P.O. Box 306, Crocodile Pools, Gaborone, Botswana

    Alec C. Campbell

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  1. Lawrence H. Robbins
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Correspondence to Lawrence H. Robbins .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, McDonald Inst. for Archaeological Rsch, United Kingdom

    Sacha C. Jones

  2. University of Michigan, Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, ANN ARBOR, Michigan, USA

    Brian A. Stewart

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Robbins, L.H., Brook, G.A., Murphy, M.L., Ivester, A.H., Campbell, A.C. (2016). The Kalahari During MIS 6-2 (190–12 ka): Archaeology, Paleoenvironment, and Population Dynamics. In: Jones, S., Stewart, B. (eds) Africa from MIS 6-2. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7520-5_10

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