Editing Namib (section)

== Human activity ==
[[File:Sperrgebiet-001.jpg|thumb|A warning sign in the [[Sperrgebiet]] from the government of [[South West Africa]], 1947|233x233px]]
Before the 20th century, some [[San people|San]] roamed the Namib, gathering edible plants on the shore, hunting in the interior, and drinking the juice of the [[Citrullus ecirrhosus|tsamma melon]] for water. Today, some [[Herero people|Herero]] still herd their livestock in the [[Kaokoveld]] in the Namib and take them from waterhole to waterhole. A few [[Nama people|Nama]] [[Khoikhoi]] still graze their livestock on the banks of the [[Kuiseb River]] in the desert. Most of the native people have left, leaving the vast majority of the desert uninhabited.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Namib|title=Namib {{!}} desert, Africa|last=Logan|first=Richard F.|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-07-28|language=en}}</ref>

The steppes in the southern half of the desert are mostly made up of ranches run by Europeans, who raise [[Karakul sheep]] with local help and send the pelts of the lambs to Europe for use in fur coats. Most of the rest of the desert is set aside for conservation. A vast portion of the desert, called the [[Sperrgebiet]], was access-restricted due to the presence of diamonds, which are mined in the area at the mouth of the [[Orange River]]. Although the desert is largely unpopulated and inaccessible, there are year-round settlements at [[Sesriem]], close to the [[Sossusvlei]] area, and other small outposts in other locations. [[Moçâmedes]] in Angola, and [[Lüderitz]], [[Walvis Bay]], and [[Swakopmund]] in Namibia, bordering on the desert, are the main settlements in the area.

The 2015 film ''[[Mad Max: Fury Road]]'' was filmed here.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Conway-Smith |first=Erin |title='Fury Road' sparks outrage in world's oldest desert |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/01/mad-max-fury-road-causes-rage-worlds-oldest-desert/81142948/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2019 the Namibian-German artist [[Max Siedentopf]] created an installation in the Namib consisting of a ring of large white blocks atop of which sit six speakers attached to a solar-powered [[MP3 player]] configured to continuously play the 1982 song "[[Africa (Toto song)|Africa]]" by the American band [[Toto (band)|Toto]]. The exact location of the installation has not been disclosed.<ref name="BBC-20190114">{{cite news|work=BBC News|date=14 January 2019|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46861137|title=Africa by Toto to play on eternal loop 'down in Africa'}}</ref><ref name="Guardian-20190115">{{cite news |last1=Aratani |first1=Lauren |title=Toto forever: Africa to play 'for all eternity' in Namib desert |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/15/toto-africa-desert-installation-play-for-all-eternity |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=16 January 2019 |date=15 January 2019}}</ref>