hetismij2

Namibian trackers have interpreted the footprints left in Peche Merle 15,000 years ago.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160...ric-footprints

traveller1959

Thank you for posting this interesting article with the link to the scientific publication:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...40618215300380

I have been in Pech Merle - which is the most spectacular cave with prehistoric paintings for me and certainly better than the reproductions of other caves which have been banned from public visiting.

Also, with our family of three generations, we have joined the San in Namibia on a tour through the bush, where they showed us how they hunt (shooting animals with poisoned arrows, then tracking them for 24 hours) and how they interpret the rock paintings. It was a most remarkable experience.

A most magical moment was, when a downpour started and the San led us into a crevice for shelter. There we were sitting, DW and me, our sons, 80-year-old MIL, our San guide, his father, his six-year-old daughter and his daughters girlfriend, and waiting for the rain to cease. Funny, that for the almost naked "natural" people, the rain was as unpleasant as for us. A feeling of solidarity emerged between us.

And what did we do during this half an hour or so? We talked about family, daily life in Namibia and Europe, and played with the children. It was a social experience just like it would have evolved in a similar situation in Europe or anywhere else. And an experience of deep human understanding and common feelings, despite minor differences in pigmentation and clothing.

Can highly recommend travelling to Namibia. Together with Alaska, certainly my most memorable travel experience (if I am allowed to write this in the Europe forum). We visited the San village of Omandumba near Ai Aiba lodge in the Erongo mountains.

http://www.omandumba.de/en/san

(The pictures on the homepage show our guide (drinking water), his father (smiling) and his daughter together with her girlfriend.)

http://www.aiaiba.com/

But back to Europe. The BBC report writes "Andreas Pastoors at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany".

The Neanderthal Museum is a gem that is sadly overlooked by Fodorites. It is located close to Düsseldorf (which is an attractive city, BTW, despite the constant ranting of a certain Fodorgarch who has been there briefly and not liked it). There you find the site where the bones of the prehistoric Neanderthal man were dug out, nicely arranged, a beautiful valley with a murmuring stream, meadows, forests and corrals of ice-age animals and a state-of-the-art museum that contains not only the original bones but a complete history of mankind. It is a most impressive museum and the only one of its kind that I know.

http://www.neanderthal.de/en/home.html

I can do nothing but strongly suggest visiting this museum.

kja

What a fascinating article -- thank you so much hetismij2!

When visiting that cave, I imagined the experience of the young child who was led into the area with the paintings by an adult. I can so easily imagine my mother taking me, as soon as I was old enough, to see this very special place! I love thinking that we now have "proof" that the child went with others, too, and that there is evidence that the child did what I think we all would do -- s/he "changed direction and speed." Wow!

Kudos to all involved!

@ traveller1959 -- great descriptions of your time in Namibia. Thanks -- I want to go NOW!

traveller1959

kja: Namibia is easy to travel and offers a lot - spectacular scenery, animals, super-friendly people, history - and great infrastructure, good roads, clean water, excellent hotels and lodges, superb food, low crime rates. For me the easiest country in Africa!

(P.S. We did a self-organized tour. We rented SUVs and booked lodges, hotels or apartments - very easy. Alternatively, you can sleep in tents on the roofs of your vehicles - friends have done that and enjoyed it very much.)

kja

@ traveller1959 -- thanks! In an odd way, you are confirming my decision to defer Namibia for now: Much as I hope to see it, it seems like a place that I can visit somewhat more easily than some other places on my high-priority list, perhaps when my body is a bit less amenable to other types of travel than it is now. ;-)