{
  "abstract": "Human traces in semi-arid environments such as the Kalahari have been linked to the presence of water in the landscape. However, low organic preservation and an uneven distribution of studied sites have resulted in a gap in the knowledge of the environmental conditions under which Homo sapiens adapted to drylands in the Late Pleistocene. The Kalahari boasts numerous seasonal waterbodies (pans) that may provide stratified sequences containing a variety of palaeoenvironmental proxies. Despite this, these environmental archives have rarely been used. In this study, we report on a multi-method investigation of the palaeoenvironmental context of Maralaleng Pan, a pan site with archaeological material in the southern Kalahari basin. Geoarchaeological methodologies, luminescence dating, and plant wax biomarkers have been combined to create a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record. This contribution reveals that pan sediments from Maralaleng Pan were deposited in an environment characterised by alternating processes indicative of wet (lake) and dry (evaporative) conditions. The integration of our results with the archaeological investigation of Maralaleng Pan suggests that hominins frequented the landscape during a fluctuating lacustrine environment in MIS 5, while the greatest moisture availability occurred during MIS 3.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany",
    "Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, United States of America",
    "Institute for Ecosystem Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany",
    "Department of National Museum and Monuments, Gaborone, Botswana",
    "Department of History, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana",
    "State Office for Monument Preservation Baden-Württemberg, Germany",
    "Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Germany",
    "Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany",
    "Archaeology Department, Kimberley, South Africa"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Inèz Faul"
    },
    {
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        1
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      "name": "Taylor Grandfield"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Chris Green"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Elena A. Hensel-Karamalakidou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Phillip Segadika"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Rowena Winterhalder"
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    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Mothulatshipi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Stefan Dreibrodt"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Nils Andersen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marine Frouin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michaela Ecker"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3t3n969ewgbk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357461",
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  "id": "e3t3n969ewgbk",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
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  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357461",
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  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Paleontology/Paleobiology"
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Paleontology/Paleobotany"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Paleontology/Paleoenvironments"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geology/Petrology/Sediment"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geology/Sedimentary geology/Sediment"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Mineralogy/Minerals/Quartz"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Paleontology/Paleobiology"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Paleontology/Paleobiology/Paleobotany"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Paleontology/Paleobotany"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Paleontology/Paleoenvironments"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical compounds/Carbonates"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Physics/Particle physics/Composite particles/Atoms/Isotopes/Stable isotopes"
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  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0357461&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-17",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3t3n969ewgbk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357461",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357461"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:paleobiology",
      "subfield": "evolutionary-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A high-resolution, multi-method palaeoenvironmental record from pan sediments at Maralaleng Pan, southern Kalahari basin",
  "title_text": "A high-resolution, multi-method palaeoenvironmental record from pan sediments at Maralaleng Pan, southern Kalahari basin",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3t3n969ewgbk",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}