Abstract
Namib IV is located in the linear dune sea of the central Namib Desert (Fig. 1), where different generations of fossil calcrete have been exposed by sand shift in an interdune flat. Mid-Pleistocene faunal remains (including Elphas recki) were scattered over 62,500 m2 of the valley floor, some bearing residual traces of red calcrete. The industry may be closely paralleled from certain East African sites (Olorgesailie1, Kilombe2, PDK and HEB 1/2 and 3, Olduvai Bed IV (ref. 3)), suggesting a date between 400 and 700 kyr BP. I show here that Namib IV provides the first dated evidence for the presence of Acheulean man in South West Africa, the earliest Pleistocene faunal remains from the Namib Desert and a terminus post quem for the ecological change from savannah to sand desert.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Isaac, G. LI. Olorgesailie (University of Chicago Press, 1977).
Gowlett, J. A. in Geological Background to Fossil Man (ed. Bishop, W. W.) 337–361 (Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1978).
Leakey, M. D. in After the Australopithecines: Stratigraphy, Ecology and Cultural Change in the Middle Pleistocene (eds Butzer, K. W. & Isaac, G. LI.) 477–494 (Mouton, The Hague, 1975).
Isaac, G. LI. Wld Archaeol. 1, 1–28 (1969).
Dagley, P., Mussett, A. E. & Palmer, H. C. in Geological Background to Fossil Man (ed. Bishop, W. W.) 225–237 (Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1978).
Maglio, V. J. Trans. Am. philos. Soc. 63, 1–149 (1973).
Klein, R. J. Quat. Res. 10, 69–83 (1978).
Perkins, D. & Daly, P. Scient. Am. 219, 97–106 (1968).
Seely, M. K. & Sandelowsky, B. H. S. Afr. Arch. Bull. Goodwin Series 2, 61–64 (1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shackley, M. An Acheulean industry with Elephas recki fauna from Namib IV, South West Africa (Namibia). Nature 284, 340–341 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/284340a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/284340a0
This article is cited by
-
The archaeological significance of animal bones from Acheulean sites in southern Africa
The African Archaeological Review (1988)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.