CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Scientists in South Africa were surprised to discover that termite mounds that are still inhabited in an arid region of the country are more than 30,000 years old, meaning they are the oldest active termite mounds known.
Some of the mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand have been estimated by radiocarbon dating to be 34,000 years old, according to researchers at Stellenbosch University.
“We knew they were old, but not that old,” said Michele Francis, a senior professor in the university’s soil science department who led the study. Her article was published in May.
Francisco said the mounds existed while saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths roamed other parts of the Earth and large areas of Europe and Asia were covered in ice. They predate some of the earliest cave paintings in Europe.
Some fossilized termite mounds have been discovered that date back millions of years. The oldest inhabited mounds before this study were found in Brazil and are around 4,000 years old. They are visible from space.
Francisco said the Namaqualand mounds are a termite version of an “apartment complex” and evidence shows they have been consistently inhabited by termite colonies.
Termite mounds are a famous feature of the Namaqualand landscape, but no one suspected their age until samples of them were taken to experts in Hungary for radiocarbon dating.
“People don’t know that these are ancient and special landscapes that are preserved there,” said Francisco.
Some of the largest mounds – known locally as “heuweltjies”, which means small hills in the Afrikaans language – measure around 30 meters in diameter. Termite nests are up to 3 meters deep.
Researchers had to carefully excavate parts of the mounds to collect samples, and the termites went into “emergency mode” and began filling in the holes, Francis said.
The team completely rebuilt the mounds to keep the termites safe from predators like aardvarks.
Francis said the project was more than just a fascinating look at ancient structures. It also offered a glimpse into a prehistoric climate that showed that Namaqualand was a much wetter place when the mounds were formed.
Southern harvester termites are specialists in capture and store carbon collecting branches and other dead wood and placing it back deep into the ground. This has benefits in offsetting climate change, reducing the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
It’s also good for the soil. Masses of wildflowers bloom atop termite mounds in a region that receives little rain.
Francisco called for more research into termite mounds, given the lessons they offer about of Climate Changesustaining ecosystems and perhaps even improving agricultural practices.
“We would do well to study what the termites did in the mounds. They were considered very annoying,” she said.
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