Since the earliest appearance of modern Homo sapiens is assumed in the
Middle Stone Age, this particular period is of great significance in the
prehistoric development of the whole of southern Africa. This is all the
more endorsed by the sensational discovery of painted slabs at the site
“Apollo 11” in the southern part of Namibia. At an age of 27,000 years
they are the oldest works of art in Africa and are amongst the earliest
art world-wide. This thesis presents, for the first time, the archaeological
context of these finds, and correlates them with the historico-cultural
context of the other Middle Stone Age sites of the region.
In the last decades research on the Middle Stone Age has been relatively
neglected. Wolfgang E. Wendt is the first to have carried out extensive
excavations in Namibia. In course of his work Middle Stone Age layers
were found at nine sites, although they were not finally analysed and
published. These sites make up the basis of this publication by Ralf Vogelsang.
In addition, all other known Middle Stone Age sites of the south-western
part of Namibia are compiled in this publication. With regard to the few
multi-sequenced sites “Apollo 11”, “Pockenbank” and “Bremen 1C” it has
been possible to formulate a chronological framework, permitting the cultural
classification of the other excavated assemblages. The five elaborated
Middle Stone Age complexes point out that, irrespective of the local variability
of the assemblages, there are changes of the stone artefact material reflecting
superior trends. Therefore, this publication bridges and completes an
incomplete stage of the Old Stone Age research in southern Africa. It
also shows on the other hand the urgent need for further research in the
surrounding regions, especially in the northern parts of Namibia.
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