The Apollo 11 Cave is an
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in the
ǁKaras Region
The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain ra ...
of south-western
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, approximately southwest of
Keetmanshoop. The name given to the surrounding area and presumably the cave by the Nama people was "Goachanas".
[John Mason, "Apollo 11 Cave in Southwest Namibia: Some Observations on the Site and Its Rock Art" The South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 61, No. 183 (Jun., 2006), pp. 76-89] However, the cave was given its name by German
archaeologist Wolfgang Erich Wendt in reference to
Apollo 11's then recent return to Earth.
[Wiebke Schmidt]
''Auf den Spuren der ältesten Kunst.''
Allgemeine Zeitung, ''May 2, 2008''
Overview
The cave contained some of the oldest pieces of mobile art ever discovered in
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
, associated with charcoal that was radiocarbon dated from 27,500 to 25,500
BP. The art slabs found in this cave are referred to as the Apollo 11 Stones. In total, seven grey-brown
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
slabs were excavated from the cave.
Besides the slabs, the cave contained several white and red paintings. The subject of paintings ranged from simple geometric patterns to
bees, which are still a nuisance to the unwary traveler.
Art was also found near the cave in the form of engravings on the banks of a riverbed and a large limestone boulder located from the cave. The engravings consisted of depictions of animals as well as simple geometric patterns.
It is hard to pinpoint dates of the engravings and paintings, but the paintings may belong to period as far back as 10,400 BP and the engravings may come from early settlers in the first millennium AD. These dates come from Wendt's
stratigraphic record of the site as well as evidence from other sites in the surrounding area.
More recent finds include two rib pieces (one with 26 notches; the
other with 12 notches) dated to 80,000 BP.
See also
*
Caves of Namibia
*
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
*
Late Stone Age
References
Further reading
* John C. Vogel: ''Suitability of Ostrich eggshell for radiocarbon dating.'' Radiocarbon, Bd. 43 (1), S. 133–137.
* Tilman Lenssen-Erz, Marie-Theres Erz, Gerhard Bosinski (Hrsg): ''Brandberg. Der Bilderberg Namibias, Kunst und Geschichte einer Urlandschaft.'' Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, 3-7995-9030-7, S. 89.
* Ralf Vogelsang: ''The Rock-Shelter „Apollo 11“ – Evidence of Early Modern Humans in South-Western Namibia.'' In: Megan Biesele, Cornelia Limpricht (Hrsg.): ''Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia: In-depth Views of the Country.'' TUCSIN-Festschrift, Klaus Hess Verlag, Windhoek Göttingen 2008, , S. 183–193.
* Ralf Vogelsang et al.: New Excavations of Middle Stone Age Deposits at Apollo 11 Rockshelter, Namibia: Stratigraphy, Archaeology, Chronology and Past Environments
''Journal of African Archaeology'' 8 (2) 2010, pp. 185-218.
External links
Apollo 11 Cave (Namibia) c. 28,000 BPThe South African Archaeological BulletinGardner's Art Through the Ages
{{Authority control
Caves of Namibia
Geology of Namibia
ǁKaras Region
Archaeological sites in Namibia
Archaeological sites of Southern Africa