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Climate scientists have identified the establishment of historical baseline data from which to determine degrees of climate change as a significant challenge. In this article the use of ships' logbooks and other sources for maritime history, to provide evidence of weather and climatic conditions pre-dating the era of modern meteorological data measurements, is discussed. The CLIWOC and TANAP projects utilising international archival resources to provide climatological and related information are examined. The discussion is then focused on the Indian Ocean rim countries and the archival and historical resources that may yield similar information. The article concentrates on sources in the Republic of South Africa, and sources in the Sultanate of Oman and Western Australia are discussed for comparative purposes. Utilising archival sources to provide historical climate-change related data aligns archivists and information scientists with the major imperatives of the South African Government. A beginning can also be made with developing southsouth scientific and archival co-operation that can unlock new sources of historical and climatological knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the historical context in which the so-called 'Ashanti Golden Stool' was acquired as an iconic artefact for the new Natal Museum in the first decade of the 20th century, the heyday of imperialism. The multi-layered symbolism surrounding the stool and the importance of chiefly stools as symbols of authority in Ghana are explored. The role of the donor, Sir Matthew Nathan, governor of Natal and former governor of the Gold Coast (Ghana), in obtaining the stool and the West African collection for the museum is discussed in the context of inter-colonial imperialism. The history of the memorial stool provides a case study for historians examining artefacts of material culture as sources of historical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]