Revisiting the Acheulean at Namib IV in the Namib Desert, Namibia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Namib IV (S23° 44.829’, E14° 19.720’) is frequently cited, as it is one of few Earlier Stone Age sites in the Sand Sea of the Namib Desert. The site was first investigated in 1978 by Myra Shackley, who described 582 artifacts on the surface of a pan as representing an Acheulean butchery site. Descriptions of the artifacts, their number, and area were inconsistently reported. Recently rediscovered, the site of Namib IV is a rare example of a tool-rich and fossil fauna-bearing pan system in the Namib Sand Sea. This project aims to investigate when, how, and under what environmental conditions hominins utilized these landscapes. This article presents the first archaeological research conducted at the site in over 40 years. Typological and technological data was collected from surface-exposed artifacts and large cutting tools (LCTs) and compared to Shackley’s assemblage. Data demonstrate that her collection is representative of the Namib IV site and raise many new questions about the original research and the site.