<< Feature Articles >> Some Prehistoric Sites to visit in Namibia - Africa’s true Jewel
Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 27 February 2018 Page Views: 5834
Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: Namibia
Local legend has it that the Fish River Canyon came into existence after an angry dragon whipped its tail, forming the dramatic chasm that snakes its way through the dusty Namibian landscape. The jagged canyon is 160km long, 27km wide and 550m deep, making it number two in the world after the Grand Canyon. It is thought that the Fish River Canyon is 500 million years old and a visit to it will you make you feel tiny.
If you visit towards the end of summer, you may be lucky to be treated to the magnificent sight of the Fish River when the wet season transforms the area into beautiful interconnecting streams and rivers as the bottom of the canyon rages with floods. There are amazing views from Hell’s Corner and some of the best landscape photo opportunities anywhere in the world. You can take on the four-day trek deep into the canyon - a tough experience, but one you will remember for the rest of your life.
At Spitzkloof, the AMEMSA Project found prehistoric stone tools, hearth sites, and decorated ostrich egg fragments from 60,000 years ago. The rockshelter is one of three dome shaped hollows eroded from an outcrop of quartzite, near a dry tributary of the Holgat River.In the Namib-Naukluft National Park are the desert dunes of Sossusvlei - some stretching 300 meters into the blue sky. or even the shifting sands of Namib Desert – the world’s oldest desert. If you want to get the most out of your visit, arrive at sunrise when the rays of the sun coming from the east paint a clear black and orange contrast over the dunes.
Here you can walk amongst fossilized acacia trees and visit the ancient bushmen’s shelters around the Mirabib Rock. This is known as an ‘Inselberg’, and rises in the middle of a desert plane. Stanley Kubrick filmed Part 1 of 2001- A Space Odyssey here, where we first see the iconic black monolith - it's an awesome place in the middle of nowhere.
Enormous and breathtakingly beautiful, Namibia is one of those travel destinations to strongly consider when planning a visit to Africa. It’s a serene country that will bring you face to face with incredible nature, and beautiful scenery. It’s also a super affordable destination right now, given that Lonely Planet rated it as the No.2 best value destination in 2017. So, get your visa ready or go for a passport renewal if it has expired, here are some more recommendations of prehistoric sites to visit in Namibia.Twyfelfontein has a large concentration of prehistoric rock art, including rhinoceroses, elephants, ostriches, and giraffes, also human and animal footprints - over 2000 engravings have so far been recorded at this sit. There are painted rock shelters with human figures in red ochre. archaeological finds on the site suggest the site has been used from the Late Stone Age.
When you visit the nearby rock paintings, you’ll be delighted to discover that they have stone circles as well. They were created by the same people that painted and carved the rocks in the area and the circles were no doubt used by shaman to perform rituals. There are several in the area - the one pictured is just 10m from the only rock carvings in the valley (the rest being paintings). These show circles and other geometric shapes that could be connected with trance-like states.64.6km SSE from here there are Rock paintings known as the White Lady Group (top image). The White Lady is a bit of a misnomer as the figure herding animals are rather darker, and from from closer inspection of his bodily appendages is a male and quite possibly a shaman. Another twenty minutes hike up the valley is a second set of rock paintings in a better state of preservation than those by the White Lady, presumably as fewer tourists make the effort to go up to them. On our page we have a selection from both sites taken by Kai Hoffman. In warm weather be sure to take plenty of water with you.
Here we looked at just a small selection of ancient sites in Namibia - for more see our guide here - or try our new map of Namibia.
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