Fields of study

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) in southern Africa has garnered significant research attention in recent decades. However, much of this archaeological focus has centred on South Africa’s coastal and near-coastal regions, which are rich in well-preserved, well-dated rock shelters with extensive cultural sequences. This coastal emphasis has fostered the assumption that the Kalahari was largely uninhabited before ~90,000 years ago due to its arid conditions, in contrast to the more hospitable coastal regions. Contrary to this assumption, evidence now reveals human occupation in the Kalahari Basin dating back as far as ~1.3 million years ago. Stone tool studies from Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, along with comparisons to other sites in and around the Kalahari, such as Erfkroon, Florisbad, and White Paintings Rockshelter, reveal a clear pattern of coherence and similarity in various aspects of lithic technology. This remarkable uniformity in the assemblages suggests connectivity and social ties among the human groups that inhabited the Kalahari Basin and its environs during the MSA. Additionally, findings from sites within the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve indicate that people in this area prioritized high-quality raw materials sourced from locations over 10 km away from their sites, highlighting a preference for quality over proximity in resource procurement. Collectively, this evidence offers a holistic perspective on the region’s past, demonstrating that humans in the Kalahari exhibited complex adaptive behaviors, which enhance our understanding of human evolution in southern Africa’s interior landscapes.