Late Quaternary Palaeoenvironments of Southern Africa

Abstract

Palaeoenvironmental research in Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude continents once focused almost exclusively on sedimentary and geomorphic sequences interpreted in terms of pluvials and interpluvials. New techniques have led to the development of more dynamic models. This book summarizes evidence from such diverse sources as dune systems, stable isotopes, pollen, fossil bones, and the distribution of Stone Age people to show the effects of climactic forcing on changes in terrestrial ecosystems in the southern Africa landscape. Information from the past 130,000 years is collated to give an overview of the nature, scale and timing of changes coincident with the worldwide interglacial-glacial-interglacial cycle of the Late Quaternary period. Topics covered include the potentials and pitfalls of palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and the implications for biogeography, human population distributions, and palaeoclimactic models .