STUDIES IN PALAEONTOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE SALDANHA REGION

Summary

Late Cenozoic deposits in the Saldanha region contain abundant palaeontological and archaeo logical materials. The vertebrate fossil record dates back about five million years, with the Varswater Formation at Langebaanweg being the most prolific source of Pliocene fossils in Africa. Significant fossil occurrences of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene age are also recorded. Human occupation of the region apparently began in the Middle Pleistocene, although most of the local archaeological sites are much younger and date from the latter part of the Holocene.