Alan Whitfield – The Conversation

Coastal food resources gave some groups of people an advantage over others. Illustration by Maggie Lambert-Newman, courtesy of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

October 30, 2025

Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

Alan Whitfield, National Research Foundation; Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University; Francis Thackeray, University of the Witwatersrand; Renee Rust, Nelson Mandela University, and Willo Stear, Nelson Mandela University

A coastal migration up and out of Africa was more likely to succeed than an overland journey.

Tracks in the sand aren’t always as ephemeral as we think. jahmaica/Getty Images

December 5, 2024

Fossil tracks paint a picture of South Africa’s ancient coastal landscape: five essential reads

Natasha Joseph, The Conversation

Tracks and traces from long ago are preserved in cemented dune surfaces.

The blue stingray’s disc-like shape would have made it ideal for tracing. Kyle Smith

March 31, 2024

Stingray sand ‘sculpture’ on South Africa’s coast may be oldest example of humans creating an image of another creature

Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University and Alan Whitfield, National Research Foundation

The sculpture might have begun with tracing a blue stingray specimen in the sand.

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