1. Tufas indicate prolonged periods of water availability linked to human occupation in the southern Kalahari.
- Author
-
von der Meden J, Pickering R, Schoville BJ, Green H, Weij R, Hellstrom J, Greig A, Woodhead J, Khumalo W, and Wilkins J
- Subjects
- Aged, 80 and over, Botswana, Fossils, Humans, Occupations, Thorium analysis, Archaeology, Water
- Abstract
Detailed, well-dated palaeoclimate and archaeological records are critical for understanding the impact of environmental change on human evolution. Ga-Mohana Hill, in the southern Kalahari, South Africa, preserves a Pleistocene archaeological sequence. Relict tufas at the site are evidence of past flowing streams, waterfalls, and shallow pools. Here, we use laser ablation screening to target material suitable for uranium-thorium dating. We obtained 33 ages covering the last 110 thousand years (ka) and identify five tufa formation episodes at 114-100 ka, 73-48 ka, 44-32 ka, 15-6 ka, and ~3 ka. Three tufa episodes are coincident with the archaeological units at Ga-Mohana Hill dating to ~105 ka, ~31 ka, and ~15 ka. Based on our data and the coincidence of dated layers from other local records, we argue that in the southern Kalahari, from ~240 ka to ~71 ka wet phases and human occupation are coupled, but by ~20 ka during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), they are decoupled., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF