Sediment analysis of three open-air sites and two rock shelters in the Brandberg, Namibia, provided the opportunity to examine site formation and disturbance in an arid environment. Geomorphic processes peculiar to site settings at different scales are considered in explaining intersite and intrasite variation among sediment samples. The evidence for environmental trends and cultural patterning beneath this geomorphic overlay is discussed, and the sedimentary and geochemical configurations are attributed to cultural processes.