Pleistocene environments in the southern Kalahari of South Africa

Tufas indicate prolonged periods of water availability linked to human occupation in the southern Kalahari

“…We argue that the tufa intervals represent a southern Kalahari environment characterised by a positive hydrological balance and mild temperatures favourable for productive vegetation and soils. In accordance with other recent studies, our results challenge global generalisations of past climate change and highlight the necessity for regionally specific models [ 16 , 21 , 85 ].…”

“…At Kathu Pan, several wet periods between ~160–22 ka have been identified based on sedimentary analyses [ 25 , 26 ], and evidence for wetter conditions at Ga-Mohana Hill ~110–105 ka has also been reported [ 27 ]. Previous studies reveal significant complexities even at the intra-regional scale, however, due in part to the different types of proxies with variable resolutions and the variety of forcing factors at play [ 16 ]. They also reveal a complex relationship between palaeoenvironmental conditions and evidence for human occupation [ 15 , 28 ].…”

Homo sapiensorigins and evolution in the Kalahari Basin, southern Africa

“…Environmental variability in the Kalahari Basin makes it a particularly important region for understanding early human adaptations to environmental change, and several avenues (dune fields, palaeolakes, carbonate formations, fauna, OES, micro‐ and macro‐botanicals) are available for palaeoenvironmental investigations at sites and on the landscape. 59 , 68 , 95 , 128 , 129 , 132 , 135 Current research teams are leveraging this record of high‐amplitude variability to better understand the nature of Pleistocene human‐environment interaction in the Kalahari. These regional records for the Kalahari are critical given the reality that a glacial/interglacial dichotomy is an oversimplification, and climate change across the continent was asynchronous.…”

“…However, high aridity was not always the condition in the Kalahari Basin 129 . Through the Pleistocene and Holocene in the Middle Kalahari, there is extensive evidence for the intermittent existence of large lacustrine systems that are today ephemerally dry 95,130,131 .…”

“…However, high aridity was not always the condition in the Kalahari Basin. 129 Through the Pleistocene and Holocene in the Middle Kalahari, there is extensive evidence for the intermittent existence of large lacustrine systems that are today ephemerally dry. 95 , 130 , 131 In the Southern Kalahari, Pleistocene wet periods have been identified at pan and spring sites based on sedimentary analysis.…”