Geological Survey Museum Namibia
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Geological Survey Museum Windhoek Namibia
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This is a Museum that most tourists
overlook simply because they don't know it's there. You don't have
to be a Geologist to understand and appreciate the many and varied
displays. Each subject is explained in terms that even us 'laymen'
can understand. This page concentrates on the fossil finds in
Namibia. The museum's geological samples and history presentation
are excellent and we soon hope to develop a page that will do it
justice.
Getting There: Take the south road leading our
of the city - Auas Road. after 500 meters you will see the Ministry
of Mines and Energy Building on your right hand side and also the
Safari Hotel and Eros Airport. Turn right into Aviation Road. The
Ministry's building is on your left hand side. You can drive through
the security gate for good parking. The Geological Survey Museum is
inside the main building. The reception desk staff will direct you.
There is no entry charge.
Pleistocene / Holocene (1,81 Ma to 10,000
years)
This Brain Cast of Orange River Man (100,000 to 50,000
years ago) shows well developed blood vessels in the parietal region
of the skull and less clear development on the frontal lobes which
is indicative that hearing and vision were extremely important for
these archaic homo sapiens.
Jurassic Period (200 to 146 Ma years ago)The fossilized remains of the below replica prosauropod
dinosaur, Massospondylus were discovered in the Etjo sandstone formation
at the National Waterberg Plateau Park in 1999. Massospondylus
is of one of the oldest known of dinosaurs and grew to a length of
about 6 m. As can be seen the forelegs, although used for walking
on, are much shorter than the hind legs. It is thought that this
dinosaur could have also walked and run by using just its hind legs.
The blade-like teeth were used for slicing through the vegetation
that it ate, indicating its food source was at ground level.
Massospondylus also swallowed small pebbles to assist in the
digestion of its food, in a similar way to some modern day birds,
e.g. Ostrich. It was many millions of years later that the more well
known of dinosaurs achieved their massive size.
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Orange River Man |
Massospondlyus 2 Kannemeyeria Erythosuchus |
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Triassic Period (251 - 200 million years ago)Kannemeyeria:
A mammal-like reptile herbivore common in Namibia some 230 million years ago and this is
the largest known skull of the species. The snout was beak-like and
was accompanied by two tusk like canines that extended below the
upper jaw. The head weighed +-15kg and the large flanges at the
rear of the head are for the massive neck muscles .
Erythrosuchus was a Thecodont (socket toothed)
carnivorous reptile that were the ancestors of crocodiles and dinosaurs
and birds, and at 5 meters were the largest land predator of their time.
They probably preyed on large mammal-like reptiles such as Kannemeyeria.
The above fossilized skull and jawbone were found in Omingonde Riverbed
in Northern Namibia in 1992.
The Permian Period (299 to 251 Ma years ago)
The below fossil of a Mesosaurus tenuidens
was found in a band of Karoo Sequence Limestone in the southern
Karas Region of Namibia.
Mesosaurus tenuidens was the
earliest of the reptiles that returned to living in
the water. Following the time of the melt of the Great
Gondwana
Ice Age a large inland sea formed across where large areas of the
the South African Karoo, Southern Namibia, Brazil and
Mesosaurus tenuidens |
Uruguay used to be before the continents of Africa and
South America separated some 130 to 120 Ma years ago.
Mesosaurus fossils have been
found in both Brazil and Namibia and thus help support the theory of
Continental Drift.
Several excellent examples of
Mesosaurus
tenuidens fossils can be seen on the farm Spitzkoppie about 45
km north west of Keetmanshoop.
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Stromatolite |
Proterozoic
(2,500 to 530 Ma)
The Air That We Breath: The oldest known of fossils in the world are of
the green-blue algae known as cynobacteria that lived at the edges
of the ancient oceans as early as 3,500 million years ago. These
simple algae increased to be the dominant life force on the planet
for most of the Eon of time known as the
Proterozoic,
and derived their energy from the sun's rays by the process of
photosynthesis. 3,000 Ma ago the earth's atmosphere was rich with
carbon dioxide and devoid of oxygen, but over a period of 1 billion
years the activity of these small algae had increased the |
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activity of these small algae had increased the atmosphere's
oxygen content to about 20% which in turn allowed for more complex life
forms to evolve. These algae with their glutinous sheaths as protection grew
in colonies and carpeted the sea bed. Grains of sand would cling to the
sheath's and eventually block the sun's light from them. The algae's
survival response was that of growing up through the layer of grains in
order that they could continue with the process of photosynthesizing. This
pattern of early life continued over hundreds of millions of years and
eventually led to the building of the great carbonate mountain chains. The
fossilized remains of these algae 'constructions' are named Stromatolites and represent the some of the oldest of
all fossils. Good examples 830 to 760 Ma can be found in
the Otavi Mountains of northern Namibia.
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Passage Through Time - The Fossils
of Namibia: This book takes you on a
journey that began some 4,5 billion years ago. It explains in
fascinating detail and in language that the layman can understand
the complete record of the geological development of Namibia right
up to the present time and the important relationship that exists
between geology and palaeontology. The story of how life evolved in
the ancient seas some 3,5 billion years ago and the life and times
of the large variety of strange and wonderful creatures and plants
of which fossils have been uncovered in Namibia. You'll learn about
the time when Namibia was in the grip of a long ice age that was followed by
great deluges that formed a vast inland sea where creatures such as
Mesosaurus tenudiens lived; of volcanic upheavals, the building
of great mountains, and the coming and going of deserts. After reading this book you'll see Namibia in a different
and more interesting light.
Written by Dr. Gabi Schneider
and beautifully illustrated by Christine
Marais This book is a must read. Published in 2004 by Gamsberg
Macmillan ISBN 99916-0-515-0
Acknowledgements and further reading: G3, GV3, P1.
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Local Area Attractions and Articles of
Associated Interest
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► Alte
Feste Museum ►Daan
Viljoen Game Reserve ►
Gibeon Meteorites
► Heroes' Acre ►
Windhoek
►
Dinosaur Tracks
► Geological Time-Table
►
Hoba
Meteorite ►
Mesosaurus Fossils
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