Human Origins at Florisbad – A Day of Science, Fossils, and Firelight
By:
Will Archer
Date:
Sat, 16/08/2025 - 10:30
Branch:
Trans-!Garib
Venue: Florisbad Quaternary Research Station
Bring: Your own meat, drinks, and stories of survey and discovery to share around the fire!
RSVP: David Morris 082 222 4777
Join us on Saturday, August 16th, for a public lecture at the Florisbad Quaternary Research Station, one of South Africa’s most important sites for understanding later human evolution and environmental change in Africa.
At 10:30 AM, Dr. Will Archer will present a talk titled:
Fire, Water, and Stone: Human Origins in Southern Africa’s Freshwater Shallow Lake Ecosystems.
The lecture will explore the archaeological and fossil record of Florisbad and other Middle Stone Age sites, offering insights into how early Homo sapiens adapted to shifting environments across southern Africa’s diverse biomes. This includes a tour of the historic excavation area at Florisbad and a behind-the-scenes viewing of the Florisbad collections, featuring exceptionally preserved stone tools and fossils of extinct fauna—traces of ancient life along long-vanished lakeshores.
The talk will be followed by a relaxed bring-and-braai.
Bring: Your own meat, drinks, and stories of survey and discovery to share around the fire!
RSVP: David Morris 082 222 4777
Join us on Saturday, August 16th, for a public lecture at the Florisbad Quaternary Research Station, one of South Africa’s most important sites for understanding later human evolution and environmental change in Africa.
At 10:30 AM, Dr. Will Archer will present a talk titled:
Fire, Water, and Stone: Human Origins in Southern Africa’s Freshwater Shallow Lake Ecosystems.
The lecture will explore the archaeological and fossil record of Florisbad and other Middle Stone Age sites, offering insights into how early Homo sapiens adapted to shifting environments across southern Africa’s diverse biomes. This includes a tour of the historic excavation area at Florisbad and a behind-the-scenes viewing of the Florisbad collections, featuring exceptionally preserved stone tools and fossils of extinct fauna—traces of ancient life along long-vanished lakeshores.
The talk will be followed by a relaxed bring-and-braai.