This study gathers together the results of archaeological work on the South African Namaqualand region, focusing on human adaptation to the desert environment in the late Stone Age. Settlement patterns are a major concern, with a preponderance of short-stay sites. Faunal remains are also analysed for evidence of diet. Despite the existence of sheep bones at one cave site, there was no other indication of the introduction of pastoralism, and Genevieve Dewar concludes that diffusion rather than migration lay behind any developments that did occur.