Stone Age: Dwelling places among desert dunes

Former guests at BüllsPort had relatives in the Namib Desert. Between Solitaire and the coast. BüllsPort learnt this in Windhoek from a visitor from the USA. He had tracked them down in June on a forced march through the sea of dunes. However, he only found a few of their daily utensils…

No wonder. The former guests at BüllsPort and their relatives were our ancestors. They had lived in the Middle Stone Age. This refers to a period from around 280,000 years ago to about 25,000 years ago (see Wikipedia).

And the visitor from the USA is the archaeologist Dr George Leader. He had travelled through the Namib in June with a team of experts from other disciplines. From Solitaire to a point south of Sandwich Harbour.

The US archaeologist Dr George Leader and his team on the expedition along the (pre-)Tsondab across the Namib Desert. Source: Photo from Dr Leader’s lecture

At a lecture at the Namibia Scientific Society in Windhoek in mid-July, he reported on the initial results of his expedition. Leader has been researching in the area south of the Kuiseb River (Dry River) since 2022.

Tsondab carried water into the Namib desert

To be more precise: at Narabeb. This is a pan in the Namib dunes. Around 30 km south-west of the Gobabeb desert research station. About 60 km east of the coast and 100 km north-west of Solitaire.

At Narabeb in the Dune Namib about 150 kilometres west of BüllsPort, Stone Age people lived on the banks of the (pre-) Tsondab tens of thousands of years ago. Photo: Graphic from the lecture by US archaeologist George Leader

There, the research team led by Leader found layers of sediments from a standing or very slow-flowing body of water. One layer was formed around 220,000 years ago, another about 130,000 years ago.

This roughly corresponds to the phases of wetter climates known from research. There is also a (dry) river course that must have carried water during these wetter phases: The (predecessor of the) Tsondab.

Today’s Tsondab only makes it as far as the Tsondab Vlei during good rainfall in its catchment area. At Tsondab Vlei dunes have blocked the Tsondab’s path to the Atlantic in drier climatic phases.

The Tsondab Vlei is a pan like the famous Sossusvlei (see ‘more experiences’), which lies around 100 kilometres further south. There, the highest dunes in the world prevent the Tsauchab Rivier (dry river) from reaching the coast.

The stone tools that have been found at Narabeb so far fit very well into these periods. This is because the nature of these tools and the way they were worked means that they can be clearly assigned to the Middle Stone Age (roughly 280,000 years ago to around 25,000 years ago, see above).

Is the Tsondab much younger than assumed?

Typical for the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa: Stone tools and flakes found near Narabeb on the lower reaches of the Tsondab River in the Namib Desert. Photo: Slide from the lecture by US archaeologist George Leader

However, Leader was surprised that he did not find any tools from the Early Stone Age. Archaeologists define this as the period from around 3.3 million years ago to about 250,000 years ago (see Wikipedia).

This is surprising because the (pre-)Tsondab is considered to be much older. Our ancestors should therefore have lived on its banks even earlier. In order to gain a more accurate picture, Leader and his team wanted to search the entire lower reaches of the (pre-)Tsondab for possible traces.

Hence the hike from Solitaire across the Namib dunes to the mouth of the Pre-Tsondab on the Atlantic. And indeed, the researchers discovered 55 sites in pans between the dunes where people had lived.

The most important result of the twelve-day expedition: Leader only found tools from the Middle Stone Age everywhere. According to him, finds from the Early Stone Age can only be found further north, on the Kuiseb Rivier (dry river).

This also raises exciting questions for geologists: Is the Tsondab perhaps much younger than previously assumed? And was there an older landscape formation that has so far escaped research?

Dr George Leader’s lecture at the Namibia Scientific Society can also be found on YouTube.

Back to the Stone Age on the Archaeological Trail

Today’s BüllsPort guests are faced with a completely different question. Narabeb is about 150 kilometres away and the new archaeological sites are even further west. So what does all this have to do with BüllsPort?

Plain and simple. The Tsondab runs right past the lodge and campsite at BüllsPort. The ‘lodge’ of our ancestors is located on the rocky outcrop of Bull’s Head: A cave with a view of the Tsondab. Less than 3 kilometres from the lodge and less than 300 metres from the campsite.

Stone tools have been found in many places at BüllsPort. Rivers have always been lifelines for animals and humans. In dry areas, game always moves to where there is pasture.

The hunter-gatherer follows them. BüllsPort therefore assumes that its ‘guests’ at the time also had contact with their contemporaries on the lower course of the Tsondab.

Approximate course of the (pre-)Tsondab from the gate of the valley cut in the Naukluft Mountains near BüllsPort through the Namib Desert to the Atlantic coast. Graphic: Google Maps, Sven-Eric Stender

Detour to the ‘lodge’ of our ancestors

Today’s guests of BüllsPort are excited to be transported back to the world of that time. An archaeological hiking trail in the hiking paradise of BüllsPort leads to sites with views over the plain to the east and the valley of the Tsondab in the Naukluft Mountains. Ideal spots to look out for game and plan your hunt.

If you like, you can also make a detour to the cave near the top of Bull’s Head. An information leaflet to take with you helps you to follow the well-marked trail. It points out the sites and brings the world of our ancestors to life.

‘Lodge’ of our ancestors on the Bull’s Head mountain overlooking the valley of the Tsondab River in the Naukluft Mountains at BüllsPort Lodge & Farm. Photo: Sven-Eric Stender