Several Middle Stone Age (MSA) site in southern Africa present evidence of environmental changes during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 3 between 70ka and 50ka. Of these, Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, has yielded a detailed record of how globalscale climate change events manifest locally. During MIS 4 (70ka to 60ka) conditions were similar to those during the Last Glacial Maximum. During the transition between MIS 4 and MIS 3 at around 60ka the Sibudu environment changed from a predominantly forested community to more open grass/woodland mosaic. Other MSA sites from across South Africa provide complementary palaeoenvironmental proxy data but imprecise dating presents a cross-correlation challenge. Archaeological sites on the western portion of South Africa appear to have been abandoned earlier and for longer than sites in the East, most likely as a result of adverse climatic conditions. Regional scale climate events in southern Africa are driven by ocean/atmosphere interactions, and at this time weakening of the palaeo-Agulhas Current and an eastward shift of the Agulhas Retroflection resulted in lower sea surface temperatures and a corresponding decrease in humidity and rainfall.
Reference:
Hall, G and Woodborne, SM. 2010. Ecosystem change during MIS4 and early MIS 3: Evidence from Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa. African Palaeoenvironments and Geomorphic Landscape Evolution: Palaeoecology of Africa Vol. 30, an International Yearbook of Landscape Evolution and Palaeoenvironments
Hall, G., & Woodborne, S. (2010). Ecosystem change during MIS4 and early MIS 3: Evidence from Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa., Chapter in a boook CRC Press. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4771
Hall, G, and SM Woodborne. "Ecosystem change during MIS4 and early MIS 3: Evidence from Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa" In CHAPTER IN A BOOOK, n.p.: CRC Press. 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4771.
Hall G, Woodborne S. Ecosystem change during MIS4 and early MIS 3: Evidence from Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa.. Chapter in a boook. [place unknown]: CRC Press; 2010. [cited yyyy month dd]. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4771.
African Palaeoenvironments and Geomorphic Landscape Evolution: Palaeoecology of Africa Vol. 30, an International Yearbook of Landscape Evolution and Palaeoenvironments