Zoo Park Elephant Remains

In 1962, excavations for the reconstruction of Zoo Park in Independence Avenue, Windhoek, by the Windhoek Municipality were halted due to an exciting and vital archaeological discovery. The remains of at least two elephants—slaughtered by Stone Age hunters over 5,000 years ago—were found in the form of tusks, various teeth, jaws, vertebrae, ribs, pelvic bones and a femur. Radiocarbon analysis conducted later placed the site at roughly 4,500–5,000 years before present, confirming its Late Stone Age origins.

A variety of stone tools were also uncovered. They were made of quartz and were used mainly for chopping and cutting. These tools were made for killing elephants before butchering the meat. Archaeologists classify the tools as part of a Late Stone Age toolkit typical of central Namibia during that period. They were embedded in a sand and peat deposit, and subsequent analysis indicated that the area known today as Windhoek was once a wet and marshy region. The surrounding vegetation was a savannah that included scattered grasses and Terminalia trees, similar to what grows around the capital today—though without the marshes and elephants, of course. Evidence from the sediments also suggests that the marshy environment was fed by natural hot springs—the same geothermal system that still influences Windhoek’s groundwater temperatures today.

To protect this remarkable archaeological find, a semi-circular showcase was built around the site. This ensured that it would be protected from weathering while allowing tourists and visitors to view the artefacts predominantly as they were found. Today, the original elephant remains and tools are stored at the National Museum of Namibia in Windhoek for improved conservation, as elephant kill sites of this age are extremely rare in southern Africa, and for additional protection from would-be illegal collectors. They were proclaimed a National Monument of Namibia on 15 August 1963.

The original site of the remains and tools is now commemorated by a memorial sculpture by Dörte Berner, commissioned and erected as part of a competition held by the Windhoek Municipality and overseen by the National Monuments Council’s Regional Committee in 1990—a ceremony slightly overshadowed by Namibia gaining independence earlier that same year.

This sculpture in Zoo Park also commemorates the fact that Windhoek was, in prehistoric times, an area of hot springs attracting animals and Stone Age hunters alike. The artwork includes depictions of an elephant hunt spiralling around the column, with a sculpted elephant skull placed proudly at the top. These narrative panels illustrate the communal hunting practices believed to have been used during the Late Stone Age, when cooperative hunting was essential for taking down such large animals.