A high-resolution, multi-method palaeoenvironmental record from pan sediments at Maralaleng Pan, southern Kalahari basin

Abstract

Human traces in semi-arid environments such as the Kalahari have been linked to the presence of water in the landscape. However, low organic preservation and an uneven distribution of studied sites have resulted in a gap in the knowledge of the environmental conditions under which Homo sapiens adapted to drylands in the Late Pleistocene. The Kalahari boasts numerous seasonal waterbodies (pans) that may provide stratified sequences containing a variety of palaeoenvironmental proxies. Despite this, these environmental archives have rarely been used. In this study, we report on a multi-method investigation of the palaeoenvironmental context of Maralaleng Pan, a pan site with archaeological material in the southern Kalahari basin. Geoarchaeological methodologies, luminescence dating, and plant wax biomarkers have been combined to create a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record. This contribution reveals that pan sediments from Maralaleng Pan were deposited in an environment characterised by alternating processes indicative of wet (lake) and dry (evaporative) conditions. The integration of our results with the archaeological investigation of Maralaleng Pan suggests that hominins frequented the landscape during a fluctuating lacustrine environment in MIS 5, while the greatest moisture availability occurred during MIS 3.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. PLoS ONE, 2026 · DOI ↗