The San (or Bushmen) and Khoisan (or Khoe-San) peoples of Southern Africa are among the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa, with a history spanning tens of thousands of years, primarily residing in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa

Genetic studies suggest they are the oldest humans on Earth

Population stratification between southern Africa (the region south of the Zambezi River) and the rest of Africa probably existed for at least 300 thousand years, perhaps up to a million years. Such deep stratification may result from admixture with an unknown archaic African group predating the divergence of Homo sapiens from Neandertals and Denisovans1,5, and/or from isolation from other groups...

Open access article, December 3 2025:

Homo sapiens-specific evolution unveiled by ancient southern African genomes

lower img from "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09811-4

Sara Baartman (1789–1815), also known as Saartjie Baartman, was a Khoisan woman from South Africa who became a symbol of exploitation and racial discrimination. Born in the Eastern Cape, she was a member of the Khoikhoi people. Baartman was taken to Europe under false pretences in 1810, lured by promises of wealth and a better life. Instead, she became the subject of public exhibition due to her physical features, particularly her large hips and buttocks, which European audiences regarded with a mix of fascination and derision.

In England and later France, she was displayed as part of "freak shows" and referred to as the "Hottentot Venus," a derogatory term that reflected the racist and colonial attitudes of the time. Her body was objectified and subjected to pseudoscientific scrutiny, particularly by French naturalists, who used her as a case study to perpetuate racist theories of human inferiority.

Sara Baartman died in Paris on December 29, 1815, at the age of 26, likely from pneumonia, smallpox, or syphilis. After her death, her body was dissected, and her remains, including her skeleton and preserved genitals, were displayed in French museums for over a century.

Here’s my newest rendition of my Kaggen design! The last one I did was one of my first forays into digital art so it’s pretty crusty, so I wanted to give him another go now that I’m a little better!

Katrina Esau (87) is the last remaining South African who can speak the ancient Khoisan San language N|uu, which is said to be 25 000 years old.

Last month she published a children’s book in her mother tongue, titled '!Qhoi n|a Tjhoi' ('Tortoise & Ostrich'/'Skilpad en Volstruis').