Landscape-scale perspectives on Later Stone Age settlement in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6041940 |
|---|---|
| Authors | E Hallinan (0000-0002-0698-8238, Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of the Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 419-462 |
| Publication date | 2022-10-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Azania Archaeological Research in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0067-270X • E-ISSN: 1945-5534 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0067270x.2022.2152990 |
| OpenAlex | W4320033694 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 128 |
The Late Pleistocene and Holocene settlement record of southern Africa shows clear discontinuities both through time and across space. While there is considerable variability between different ecological biomes, the sub-continent’s interior arid zones show particularly unstable occupation histories. However, understanding the nature of and reasons for these discontinuities is hampered by substantial spatial gaps in our archaeological knowledge. This paper presents evidence from the Tankwa Karoo region — intermediate between the well-studied Western Cape Cederberg Mountains and the interior Upper Karoo — to capture Later Stone Age (LSA) behaviour at the interface between Cape and Karoo environments. Off-site surveys recorded surface artefacts across a 100 km-long study area, documenting LSA settlement at a landscape scale and testing expected patterns against settlement records of regions to the west and east. The results indicate that in contrast to the strongly pulsed occupation evidence from the Cederberg Mountains and the Upper Karoo, no LSA phases show particularly high site densities or sustained use of longer-term sites. Additionally, the most arid parts of the eastern Tankwa Karoo show very limited LSA evidence. This suggests that this marginal environment was occupied only ephemerally during the LSA, potentially serving as a corridor between more reliably resourced regions
Archaeology · Arid · Biome · Cape · Classification of discontinuities · Ecosystem · Geography · Holocene · Later Stone Age · Middle Stone Age · Physical geography · Pleistocene · Settlement (finance · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Ecology · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |