Namib by Dr John Kinahan

Namib

The Archaeology of an African Desert

Dr John Kinahan

Boydell & Brewer Inc. · Print & ebook · February 20, 2024

The first full-length examination of the archaeology and history of the Namib Desert.

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Who it’s for
Trace human survival, resource access, and colonial history across a million years in Namib.
Genres
Archaeology, Southern African History, Colonialism & Its Aftermath
Published
Boydell & Brewer Inc., February 20, 2024

About this book

The first full-length examination of the archaeology and history of the Namib Desert. This is a story of human survival over the last one million years in the Namib Desert - one of the most hostile environments on Earth. Namib reveals the resilience and ingenuity of desert communities and provides a vivid picture of our species' response to climate change, and ancient strategies to counter ever-present risk.

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Dusty fragments of stone, pottery and bone tell a history of perpetual transition, of shifting and temporary states of balance. Namib digs beneath the usual evidence of archaeology to uncover a world of arcane rituals, of travelling rain-makers, of intricate social networks which maintained vital systems of negotiated access to scarce resources. Ranging from the earliest evidence of human occupation, through colonial rule and genocide, to the invasion of the desert by South African troops during the First World War, this is the first comprehensive archaeology of the Namib. Among its important contributions are the reclaiming of the indigenous perspective during the brutal colonial occupation, and establishing new material links between the imperialist project in German South West Africa during 1885-1915 and the Third Reich, and between Nazi ideology and Apartheid. Southern Africa: University of Namibia Press/Jacana

Namib Desert Archaeology

Trace human survival, resource access, and colonial history across a million years in Namib.

Come here for

  • Ancient strategies for countering risk amid climate change.
  • The Namib’s history from earliest occupation through colonial rule.

Expect

  • Indigenous perspectives on colonial occupation.
  • Material links between German imperialism, the Third Reich, and Apartheid.

Where it sits

Archaeology65%
Colonialism & Its Aftermath54%
Southern African History44%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Southern African History
  • Colonialism & Its Aftermath
  • Archaeology
Authors
Dr John Kinahan
Publisher
Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Published
February 20, 2024
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Southern African History