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This paper provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of publication trends in the South African Archaeological Bulletin and discusses them with respect to archaeology’s broader history in southern Africa. Peer-reviewed articles published in the Bulletin over the four decades from 1980 to 2019 are analysed with respect to both authorship (by gender, ‘race’, geographical location, and institutional affiliation) and content (primary research theme and culturehistorical association). While the representation of women has increased significantly, that of South African authors of African, coloured, and Indian descent, though improving, still falls far short of the country’s demographic reality. Notable changes are evident in the last two decades with respect to increased publications by authors based outside Africa and those operating out of universities (as opposed to museums) in both South and southern Africa. Overall, proportions of publications discussing work in South Africa compared to the rest of the region or other parts of Africa have changed little, but significant imbalances exist between South Africa’s provinces. Thematically, papers addressing heritage management and the archaeological records of the Earlier and Middle Stone Ages show particularly marked increases since 2000 compared to preceding decades [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) are referred to differently in different contexts and circumstances. Related conceptions include 'Traditional Knowledge Systems' (TKS), 'Endogenous Knowledge Systems' (EKS) and 'Classical Knowledge Systems' (CKS). A focus on IKS implies an archaeology and re-appropriation of those knowledges that were not allowed to 'be', to enhance our human understanding, and develop, protect, and promote them. Most exigent in a decolonised context is the transformative challenge of developing appropriate protocols, codes of conduct, and terms for any dialogue and integration. This paper argues that at a systems level, IKS demands: establishing an ethically sound and ecologically constituted way of thinking; affirming the multiplicity of worlds and forms of life; creating a shared paradigm shift; self-reflexive praxis; becoming critical explorers of human and societal possibilities; establishing new evaluation and appraisal criteria; and a transformation to new futures. Such a transformation recognises cognitive justice as a plurality of ways of knowing.

Twenty-four years ago, the National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999 (NHRA) was enacted in South Africa. This was a moment of change, when the heritage of those marginalised during the colonial and Apartheid eras would finally be given its rightful place on the national heritage list. There was a sense of optimism amongst politicians that the African past was finally to be recognised in an inclusive and representative future. This was echoed in archaeology, given its central role in uncovering and telling the story of precolonial South Africa. The discipline slowly opened its doors to academics of all ethnic groups and new perspectives were identified. But an examination of the practical consequences and impact of this progressive legislation for transforming officially declared heritage in the past 24 years shows surprisingly little change in the overall body of recognized, listed heritage. Recent studies of transformation in South African archaeology have focussed on institutional transformation; possible transformation of the types and frequency of sites declared as national and provincial heritage sites has not yet been examined. It is this issue which our paper addresses. The paper presents analysis that relies on the South African Heritage Resources Information System (SAHRIS) database covering the period 1936 to mid-2022. Whilst sites associated with European colonialism still predominate, there has been a change in the frequency of types of heritage declared since 1999, with an increase in sites associated with the Black liberation struggle. Yet the list remains very unbalanced, with only a single heritage site connected to the precolonial past of Black South Africans having been declared as a national heritage site since 1999. We discuss and classify the types of heritage declared since 1999 and suggest reasons for the distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study conducted by Curtis Marean, an archeologist at the Arizona State University, regarding modern man's earliest seafood diet in Tempe, Arizona. Result shows that modern individuals integrated shellfish into their diets and it is proven on the evidences gathered by Marean and his team. Marean conducted his research on the caves of early modern humans in South Africa and they found mollusc in sediments on the cave floor that was dated around 164,000 years ago. Such findings made him conclude that shellfish consumption already exist thousands of years ago.

Geospatial technologies have become an essential component of archaeological research, aiding in the identification, mapping, and analysis of archaeological sites. Several journals have published existing narratives on the development and impact of geospatial technologies in the study of archaeology and cultural heritage. However, this has not been supported by a systematic review of articles and papers, where meticulously collected evidence is methodically analysed. This article systematically reviews the trends in the use of geospatial technologies in archaeology and cultural heritage through the search for keywords or terms associated with geospatial technologies used in the two fields on the Scopus database from 1990 to 2022. Bibliometric analysis using the Scopus Analyze tool and analysis of bibliometric networks using VOSviewer visualisations reveals how modern archaeological studies are now a significant discipline of spatial sciences and how the discipline enjoys the tools of geomatic engineering for establishing temporal and spatial controls on the material being studied and observing patterns in the archaeological records. The key concepts or themes or distinct knowledge domains that shape research in the use of geospatial technologies in archaeology and cultural heritage, according to the Scopus database (1990–2022), are cultural heritage, archaeology, geographic information systems, remote sensing, virtual reality, and spatial analysis. Augmented reality, 3D scanning, 3D modelling, 3D reconstruction, lidar, digital elevation modelling, artificial intelligence, spatiotemporal analysis, ground penetrating radar, optical radar, aerial photography, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are some of the geospatial technology tools and research themes that are less explored or less interconnected concepts that have potential gaps in research or underexplored topics that might be worth investigating in archaeology and cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the wealth of Late Pleistocene archaeology that exists across southern Africa's open landscape, it is routinely neglected in favour of rock shelter (re)excavation, biasing interpretation of human–environment interaction. This is compounded by the scarcity of open-air studies that use geoarchaeological methods to investigate the history and processes involved in their formation. The open-air archaeology of the Doring River Valley is an example of this, despite nearly a decade of dedicated study and publication. Consequently, there remains a limited and untested understanding of the valley's formation history. This paper rectifies this by providing a sedimentary context for the surface archaeology exposed across one of the Doring River Valley's artefact-baring localities, Uitspankraal 7 (UPK7). Characterisation, particle size, mineralogical, morphometric, and geophysical analysis of UPK7′s sand mantle resulted in the identification of four artefact-bearing sedimentary units, the aeolian and pedogenic processes involved in their formation, and their proposed order of deposition. This provides a stratigraphic, taphonomic, and environmental context against which chronometric dating and an analysis of the taphonomic, spatio-temporal, and technological composition of UPK7′s surface archaeology can be compared. This work is the first vital step towards understanding the depositional and behavioural history of a landscape, irrespective of context type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining why human populations used specific technologies in the Final Pleistocene is critical to understanding our evolutionary path. A key Final Pleistocene techno-tradition is the Howiesons Poort, which is marked by an increase in behavioral complexity and technological innovation. Central to this techno-tradition is the production of backed artifacts-small, sharp blades likely used as insets in composite tools. Although backed artifacts were manufactured for thousands of years before the Howiesons Poort, this period is marked by a phenomenal increase in their production. In this paper we test both social and environmental hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. We correlate environmental data with changing frequencies of backed artifact production at Sibudu and assess morphological similarity across seven sites in southern Africa. We find that these artifacts are made to a similar template across different regions and that their increased production correlates with multiple paleo-environmental proxies. When compared to an Australian outgroup, the backed artifacts from the seven southern African sites cluster within the larger shape space described by the Australian group. This leads us to argue that the observed standardized across southern Africa is related to cultural similarities and marks a strengthening of long-distance social ties during the MIS4., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Iron Age studies in South Africa are dominated by Huffman's (1982, 1986, 1993, 2001) ethnographically derived Central Cattle Pattern model, which identifies the cattle-based bridewealth institution of South Eastern Bantu-language speakers by the spatial distribution of specific archaeological features. The idea of the spatial expression 'on the ground' of a variety of symbolic codes was Adam Kuper's (1980, 1982) interpretation of predominantly Swazi ethnography. Surprisingly, Kuper's work has never been interrogated and consequently his misunderstanding of the ethnography was carried into the Central Cattle Pattern and interpretations of the last 1600 years of Iron Age, farmer archaeology in southern Africa. Two particular features, burials and subterranean grain storage pits, and their relationship to cattle-kraals are explored. Because cattle are central to the Central Cattle Pattern, much archaeological attention has been given to looking for evidence of cattle at archaeological sites, either by dung, bones or cattle-kraals. The paper presents the views of contemporary Swazi, Xhosa and Mfengu people that suggest the symbolic importance of cattle-kraals; in the extreme they may not reflect the presence of livestock at all, yet their persisting presence demonstrates the continuing importance of cattle, real or imagined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological explorations of the meaning of 'trade objects', such as glass beads and cowrie shells, remain hampered by theoretical and methodological limitations in both their analyses and interpretations. In this paper, we develop a methodology for critically engaging in multi-scalar questions of the circulation, exchange, and value of cowrie shells in African archaeological contexts. Species, size, dorsal modifications, and depositional contexts were compared across five sites from South Africa dating between 750 and 1350 CE. These results were positioned within a review of cowries from archaeological sites in the region and compared to the documented distribution of cowries from wider African archaeological contexts. Monetaria annulus were the prevalent cowrie species in southern African archaeological contexts over the last 2000 years, with a notable absence of Monetaria moneta, prevalent at contemporaneous sites in West Africa, as well as a variety of endemic southern African species. Breakage patterns on the dorsal surface correspond to different modification techniques, such as chipping and grinding. Combined analyses of modification, use-wear, and depositional patterns show variation, revealing a diversity in the biographies of individual cowries. While a comparison of the distribution of cowries across the continent confirms the circulation of cowries through known trade routes, such as the trans-Saharan trade network and the European mercantile network, they also reveal new pathways for exchange that highlight the need for further exploration of intra African networks. Finally, the breadth of the results of this study demonstrates the value of a focus on a specific artefact to address a wide range of themes, from exchange to the archaeology of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal symbolism is a prominent feature of many human societies globally. In some cases, these symbolic attributes manifest in the technological domain, influencing the decision to use the bones of certain animals and not others for tool manufacture. In southern Africa, animals feature prominently in the cosmogenic narratives of both hunter-gatherer and Bantu-speaking farmer groups. Whenever these two culturally distinct groups came into contact with each other there would be an assimilation of cosmogenic concepts of power and the adoption of certain symbolically important animals. In this paper, we report on which animals were selected to make bone tools during the first millennium AD contact period in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, and explore the extent to which this selection may have been influenced by the symbolic associations of specific animals. Our results show selective targeting of specific animals for tool manufacture at some sites, with a narrowing of the range of selected species during the first millennium AD contact period. Certain antelope tribes, such as Aepycerotini, Cephalophini and Antilopini, appear to have been deliberately avoided, thus arguing against opportunistic selection. Nor does the range of selected animals appear to show any obvious mechanical considerations, as has been noted in similar studies. We highlight the potential of ZooMS for understanding the dynamics of animal symbolism in the past., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Copyright of Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Archaeological Review is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Heritage-making is discussed in this paper as it manifests in the South African museum space, specifically that of the Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Tourism Centre in South Africa’s Northern Cape. This is an archaeologically rich site with the histories of diverse peoples having left impressions on the landscape. It is a relevant microcosm of South Africa’s past fraught with contending histories. The interpretive space at the tourism centre is an example of the hits and misses within the South African heritage landscape in terms of the practice of multivocality; that is, the co-existence of diverse perspectives and narratives. Discussing transformation and democratisation in the South African museum space, the paper highlights two main interpretive efforts at Wildebeest Kuil, the introductory film and the 31 Battalion military exhibition that show both the progress in decolonising the museum space as well as setbacks to that process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents preliminary results from a newly excavated open-air Later Stone Age site attributed to the Wilton Industry at Kathu Pan 6 in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Basic data on the lithics, fauna (including a large ivory fragment), and ostrich eggshell (including beads) recovered during two seasons of excavation (2016–2017) are presented and this material is contextualized through comparison with neighboring sites. Spatial analysis of the artifact distribution from the small exposure from the 2017 season suggests a spatially structured occupation. The Wilton open-air occupation of Kathu Pan 6 offers a new perspective on the poorly understood Later Stone Age of the southern fringes of the Kalahari. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oldest recognized artifacts at the Swartkrans cave hominid-bearing site in South Africa have long been known to occur in the Lower Bank of Member 1, now dated with the cosmogenic nuclide burial method to ca. 1.8-2.19 Ma. However, the affinities of this industry have been debated due to small sample size. In this paper we present newly excavated material from the Lower Bank retrieved since 2005 in the Swartkrans Paleoanthropological Research Project. The sample is now large enough to confirm its affinity with the Oldowan industrial complex. The assemblage is highly expedient and core reduction strategies are largely casual. Although freehand flaking is present, the bipolar technique is most significant, even in non-quartz raw materials. The Swartkrans assemblage shows some significant contrasts with the Sterkfontein Oldowan, ca. 2.18 Ma, which can be explained by its closer proximity to raw material sources, its somewhat different geographic context, and its more expedient nature. The Swartkrans Oldowan now provides us with the first good indication of Oldowan variability in southern Africa, where only two sizeable assemblages have thus far been discovered. Comparisons are made with other sites across Africa that help to place this variability within our overall understanding of the Oldowan industrial complex., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The discipline of archaeology has, like any other discipline, undergone transformation of various kinds over years. Such transformation is encouraged by various factors, which may range from the need to improve research techniques and theoretical frameworks to extract better results from the material culture to racial transforming within the discipline. The latter is true in the case of South Africa. An effort to bring about racial transformation within South African archaeology was initiated in 2007 by three African archaeologists who had the desire to see meaningful changes happening in the discipline following the democratic transition in 1994. A transformation charter was approved by the professional structure of archaeology in Southern Africa a year later. In it, we not only strive to achieve racial balance within the archaeological discipline, but explore how archaeology is practised in the context of archaeological heritage management. What does this transformation agenda mean for the management of archaeological resources? How can South African archaeological heritage management, through the transformation charter, bring about a truly post-colonial and Africanist archaeology? A review of post-colonial and Africanist ideology in the context of heritage management will be presented. In the case of South Africa, current archaeological heritage management principles are one-dimensional and Eurocentric in that the physical approach to heritage management is emphasized. This approach is at loggerheads with an approach based on African understanding of archaeological heritage management. To highlight this phenomenon, I shall briefly discuss the current heritage legislation. I conclude the paper by arguing that a post-colonial and Africanist archaeology cannot be meaningfully achieved by a mere change of theoretical principles, but by the full incorporation of professionals from across the racial divide. In the context of the paper, archaeological heritage management should not be about managing African heritage for the Africans in their absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open-air archaeology plays a limited role in southern African Late Pleistocene research, with most studies focused on rock shelter assemblages. Recently, archaeologists have noted discrepancies in the composition of Late Pleistocene lithic assemblages between some of the region's open-air and rock shelter sites. For example, although relatively abundant in rock shelters, Late Pleistocene Later Stone Age (LSA, c. 44–12 kcal. BP) bipolar cores are rare in open-air contexts. In this paper, we assess this discrepancy by testing for differential preservation of specific artefact classes and sizes in semi-arid open-air conditions. We placed a replicated assemblage of miniaturised cores and flakes on an archaeologically sterile sediment surface in the Doring River Valley (South Africa) and recorded their movements over 22 months. Our results indicate that bipolar and freehand cores moved comparable distances within the study interval and that surface slope is the strongest predictor of miniaturised tool movement. We also show that (1) relatively flat lithics move disproportionately more and (2) random artefact orientations do not preclude local (i.e. metre) scale artefact transport. In terms of the archaeology of our study area, the observed clustering of surface artefacts on sediment bodies likely results from their recent exposure. Our data suggest that the paucity of open-air bipolar artefacts in Late Pleistocene LSA assemblages may have more to do with human behavioural variability at landscape scales than differential preservation. Southern Africa's rich rock shelter record is, therefore, unlikely to represent the full suite of prehistoric hunter-gatherer behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) has in recent years become increasingly important for our understanding of the emergence of ‘modern human behaviours’. Several key innovations appeared in this context for the first time, significantly pre-dating their re-invention in the European Upper Palaeolithic. One of these innovations was heat treatment of stone to improve its quality for the production of stone tools. Heat treatment may even be the oldest well-documented technique used to intentionally alter the properties of materials in general. It is commonly thought of as requiring the skilled use of fire, a high degree of planning depth and complex cognitive abilities. However, to work on these fundamental concepts we need to analyse the techniques and procedures used to heat-treat and we need to understand what they imply. In this paper, we present a direct and expedient comparison between the technical complexities of four alternative heat treatment procedures by coding the behaviours required for their set-up in so-called cognigrams, a relatively new method for understanding complexity based on the problem-solution distance. Our results show that although the techniques significantly differ in complexity, the techniques used in the MSA fall within the range of complexities known from other MSA techniques. Heat treatment in above-ground fires, as it was practised during this period in South Africa, was even one of the most complex techniques at the time of its invention. Early heat treatment can therefore be considered an important behavioural proxy that may shed light on the behaviour and socioeconomic structure of past groups. The implications of this are highlighted by the ongoing debate about ‘modernity’, ‘behavioural flexibility’ and ‘complex cognition’ of early anatomically modern humans in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to the growing reference to archaeological evidence by linguists and geneticists interested in the spread of early farmers and pastoralists in southern Africa. It presents two databases. The first contains the archaeological evidence for pastoralism and farming in southern Africa, for the period 550 BC to AD 1050. This is the first time that the seven different types of archaeological evidence that have traditionally been used to identify both spread events are presented together at this scale. This was stimulated by our interest in investigating the antiquity of an early ‘Iron Age package’ relative to the spread of single archaeological traits. The analysis shows that the package appears approximately 700 years after sites containing pottery, cattle and sheep, without agriculture, appear in the drier parts of the sub-continent. It post-dates the appearance of earlier sites with pottery associated with farmers, metal-working and cultivation in the eastern half of the sub-continent. While poor preservation undoubtedly explains the absence of some parts of the package, the analysis suggests that other explanations should be considered. The second database is a quantitative, spatial study of archaeological publications on southern African farming and pastoralism for the period 1950 to 2016, covering the same geographical area and archaeological timeframe. This is presented as a proxy for research-intensive areas in attempt to show the gaps in archaeological fieldwork and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People heat treated silcrete during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in southern Africa but the spatial and temporal variability of this practice remains poorly documented. This paucity of data in turn makes it difficult to interrogate the motive factors underlying the application of this technique. In this paper we present data on heat treatment of silcrete through the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort of the rock shelter site Mertenhof, located in the Western Cape of South Africa. In contrast to other sites where heat treatment has been documented, distance to rock source at Mertenhof can be reasonably well estimated, and the site is known to contain high proportions of a diversity of fine grained rocks including silcrete, hornfels and chert at various points through the sequence. Our results suggest the prevalence of heat treatment is variable through the sequence but that it is largely unaffected by the relative abundance of silcrete prevalence. Instead there is a strong inverse correlation between frequency of heat treatment in silcrete and prevalence of chert in the assemblage, and a generally positive correlation with the proportion of locally available rock. While it is difficult to separate individual factors we suggest that, at Mertenhof at least, heat treatment may have been used to improve the fracture properties of silcrete at times when other finer grained rocks were less readily available. As such, heat treatment appears to have been a component of the MSA behavioural repertoire that was flexibly deployed in ways sensitive to other elements of technological organisation.

Information about several papers discussed at the conference of scholars held at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa on November 6-9, 2006. The scholars were interested in determining the evolutionary origins and developments of language. They have also focused on the problems of collaboration between the archeologists and the linguists.

Copyright of Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to identify the spatial patterning of burning and occupation within an early Middle Stone Age (MSA) sea cave in the Western Cape Province of South Africa by creating a multidimensional model of archaeomagnetic data recovered from all excavated units. Magnetic susceptibility and other mineral magnetic parameters are shown to provide an excellent proxy for the anthropogenic alteration and spread of burnt material into the surrounding unaltered cave deposits. The identification of combustion features and areas of occupation or different activities within the site can be determined because the movement of people throughout the cave mixes magnetically strong hearth material with magnetically weak unaltered sediments. This is also indicated by micromorphological analysis. The degree of enhancement is also shown to indicate the extent to which a deposit has been altered, and therefore, intensity of occupation, because multiple heatings of deposits are needed to form the concentrations of iron minerals occurring in some layers. This is further supported by a comparison with artifact density for the layers. Variation in the magnetic values between different areas of the site is noted with major occupation or fire building occurring in the front of the cave during earlier MIS 6 periods, while during later MIS 5 periods the entire cave is occupied intensively. The oldest, MIS 11 deposits at the rear of the cave indicate no evidence of enhancement and an apparent absence of any anthropogenic signature., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Systematic collection of shellfish has been increasingly recognized as an important component of human adaptation to aquatic environments and as part of the archaeological evidence found in association with the appearance of early Homo sapiens. Over the last forty years, South Africa has played a prominent role in recording the earliest evidence of shellfish in and substantial expansion of the early human diets as shown by several Middle Stone Age (MSA) coastal sites along the west and south coasts. In this paper, we report on the abundance of marine invertebrate species from PP13B cave and interpret these abundances in terms of paleoenvironmental changes, the likely shellfish procurement behaviors involved in both rocky and sandy shore contexts, and the significance of the collection of marine shells for purposes other than food collection. Possible cognitive implications of shellfish gathering as a reflection of modern behavior are also suggested., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper examines variability and the emergence of the Howiesons Poort within the Middle Stone Age lithic technologies of Klasies River Mouth. Here I present a pattern recognition study using multivariate statistical techniques examining the data presented by [Singer, R., Wymer, J.J., 1982. The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa. Chicago University Press, Chicago]. Using this model, the Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithics from Klasies River Mouth load on three main factors: (1) a Levallois flake manufacture factor, (2) a blade manufacture factor, and (3) a worked point factor. The MSA I assemblage from Cave 1 and the MSA II assemblage from Shelter 1a correlate strongly with the worked point factor, the MSA II assemblage from Cave 1 correlates strongly with the Levallois factor, and the Howiesons Poort assemblage from Shelter 1a correlates strongly with the blade factor. The Howiesons Poort from Shelter 1a is differs more from all other industries than the remaining industries do from each other. In addition, the Howiesons Poort from Cave 2 groups closely with the MSA III assemblage from Shelter 1a due to similarities in raw material frequencies.

This paper seeks to re-describe democratization of heritage by focusing on controversies connected to the work with the exhibition entitled Stories of People's History in Southern Africa staged at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum (South Africa). The investigation is based on archival material as well as participant observation and qualitative interviews. The material is analysed using performance theory and theories about democratization processes. The article comes to the conclusion that a focus on curatorial performances reveals controversies and developments that fall outside the traditional conceptualization of a democratization process. The text argues that this focus assists in moving beyond the binary position that democracy and "non-democracy" have received in scholarly publications. The text proposes that a democratization of heritage involves an entanglement of ideas and values. It does not necessarily involve a "better" heritage but instead an appropriation from a different political perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents Diaz Street Midden, a Later Stone Age site discovered during recent development of a property in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. It began accumulating some 6000 years ago but the upper deposits were destroyed prior to excavation. The small excavation yielded a spectacular silcrete-dominated lithic assemblage with an unusually high frequency and variety of retouched artefacts. Ostrich eggshell beads were made on the site and seals and shellfish comprised the primary food sources. Several burials date to a later occupation than that represented by the deposits. The loss of this highly significant site is tragic given its richness and the rarity of similar aged sites on the Western Cape coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has a colonial and apartheid past of social injustice, epistemological oppression, and exclusion. These mechanisms are historically inscribed in the designs, practices, and content of higher education—including in occupational therapy curriculum. If these historical markers are not consciously interrogated, patterns of reproduction are reified along the fault lines that already exist in society. The focus of this article is to demonstrate how an archaeological Foucauldian method was crafted from foundational Foucauldian archaeology analytics and existing approaches of Foucauldian discourse analysis to unearth the rules of the formation of the occupational therapy profession. These rules pertain to the formation of (a) the 'ideal occupational therapist'; (b) who had a say about the profession; (c) the ways of preferred reasoning; and (d) underlying theoretical themes and perspectives about the future. Data sources for this archaeology analytics included commemorative documents of universities on the origin of their programmes; historical regulatory documents; and the South African Journal of Occupational Therapy archive from the period 1953–1994. The analysis rendered two subthemes for each of the rules of formation including 'white exceptionalism', white male national, and international, regulatory bodies, the profession's know-how practical knowledge, and its need for recognition within a bio-medical paradigm. Unearthing the historical markers of a curriculum and viewing it as discourse may enable a conscious reconfiguration thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Archaeological Review is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Flat bones and shale implements have been recovered from archaeological contexts dated to the Later Stone Age from the site of Matjes River in the southern Cape of South Africa. However, their use has remained speculative. One of the interpretations that have been considered is that these flat bones were used as "palettes" for the grinding of ochre, possibly for the preparation of paint. However, in this research it is proposed that these "palettes" could have been used as clappers for music or sound production. The analysis included morphological analysis, an experimental approach and microscopic use-wear analysis of both the archaeological pieces and the experimental pieces. Microscopic use-wear analysis was conducted on the archaeological pieces to look for any ochre residues and any other use-wear signatures. This was done to test the earlier hypothesis that the palettes could have been used for ochre processing. The assumption is that if the palettes were used for pigment preparation the probability of finding ochre/paint residues on them is high. Some shale palettes have ochre residues, but none was found on the bone palettes. Experimental bone clappers were made from an eland rib, then analysed microscopically to compare the experimental use-wear results with the use-wear patterning on the archaeological pieces. Results indicated that the replicas developed minimal shiny polish and the archaeological bone clappers also have minimal polish, but it is difficult to tell whether the bone palettes were used as clappers since they have other taphonomic features like pitting, cracks and manganese stains that are superimposing the polish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My first title in fact comprises two independent books. Within a section dedicated to Graeco-Roman art and archaeology, the subject may come as something of a surprise: the case study is not 'Greek' or 'Roman', nor does it derive from the extended Mediterranean. Rather, From Memory to Marble analyses the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, inaugurated in 1949. Elizabeth Rankin and Rolf Michael Schneider have delivered a pair of volumes almost as monumental as the installation they describe, the first examining the context, origin, and legacy of the building's frieze, the second cataloguing its twenty-seven scenes. One of the many remarkable aspects of these two books is that both have been made available as free downloads. But what really stands out in the analysis is the 'unconditional collaboration' (5) between an art historian and a classical archaeologist: on the one hand, the project showcases how a broader art-historical training can enrich the traditional sorts of questions posed by classical archaeology, especially when it comes to issues of pictorial narrative; on the other, it demonstrates what classical archaeological formalism can offer to contemporary art history, and indeed larger debates about cultural history and contemporary identity politics. The result will be essential reading for anyone concerned with the legacy of classical ideas and imagery in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper considers the transition from Howiesons Poort to post-Howiesons Poort technologies at the rock shelter site of Klein Kliphuis, South Africa. The transition at this site is shown to be gradual, with incremental changes in material selection and in the size and shapes of flakes and cores. Implements which appear to blend characteristics of those distinctive of the earlier and later industries appear briefly at the mid-point of the transition. The results suggest that there is unlikely to have been an occupational hiatus between the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort. Explanations for the Howiesons Poort phrased in terms of population expansion and contraction are also difficult to support. Technological changes at this time may relate to environmental variation, though the limited nature of terrestrial archives documenting changes in resource productivity necessitate that any such suggestion be made with caution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There are few methods of ceramic analysis in accumulations research that can help distinguish discrete depositional areas and evaluate previous interpretations of activity organization at archaeological sites. This paper introduces a quantitative method of ceramic analysis that evaluates whether the fragmentation and functional variation of ceramic objects distinguish depositional areas resulting from different accumulation activities at early farming sites. Applied to the analysis of ceramics from the 9th-10th century AD. site of Ndondondwane in South Africa, this study tests previous functional interpretations of the site and provides more detailed and dynamic ones for the activities contributing to the development of spatially and temporally discrete archaeological deposits during the main occupation of the settlement. This approach to the study of ceramic discard at Ndondondwane illustrates both a method as well as important caveats based on site formation and accumulations research that must be considered in attempts to interpret variation in the spatial organization of activities in past farming settlements in tropical Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominin site of Drimolen is located approximately 5.5km north of the other well-known South African Plio-Pleistocene sites (Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, Coopers). It was discovered by A.W. Keyser in 1992. Systematic excavations led to the recovery of a remarkable number of fossil vertebrate taxa, including hominins. Most of the specimens collected consist of isolated teeth or those in jaws. The aim of this paper is to provide a morphological description of the dental specimens. The taxonomic allocation of each specimen is also reported, either confirming or revising previous provisional attributions. The analysis confirms the occurrence of two hominin species, Paranthropus robustus and Homo sp. With over 80 fossil hominin specimens recovered so far, Drimolen is the second largest sample of P. robustus, after Swartkrans. At Drimolen, P. robustus is represented mostly by craniodental specimens (63) among which are 47 isolated teeth and the remainder are maxillary and mandibular fragments with teeth. The assemblage markedly increases the dental sample of P. robustus. Furthermore, the Drimolen sample includes tooth classes not present in the Swartkrans or Kromdraai samples. The new tooth classes include both deciduous upper lateral incisors (DNH 31) and canines (DNH 23). In the dental sample described here there are nine specimens probably attributable to Homo, although a specific attribution is not yet possible. These specimens expand the small sample of early Homo from South African sites. Basic dimensions (MD and BL) of the Drimolen dental remains are compared in a preliminary analysis with other hominin samples. This analysis delineates the Drimolen P. robustus dental sample as characterized by smaller teeth overall than the Swartkrans sample (and in some cases also smaller than the Kromdraai sample), as well as a greater size range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the neutron tomography investigation on archaeological artifacts from museums in South Africa. While X-rays fail to penetrate the brass matrix of the samples, neutrons can easily reveal, on a non-invasive manner, the content and structure of these precious samples. The South African Neutron Radiography (SANRAD) facility, located at the SAFARI-1 nuclear research reactor, operated by Necsa near Pretoria, South Africa, was utilized in a tomography mode during the investigations. For the 3D tomographical reconstruction of the sample, 375 projections were collected while the sample was rotated around a defined axis through 360° rotation interval. The results show that the technique is able to reconstruct structural features very well and in particular, highly absorbing zones and the presence of defects in the bulk. The samples originate from collections at museums in South Africa and these investigations were the first of its kind performed in the country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Archaeologists commonly cite the high mobility of pastoralists and destruction by modern development and agriculture to explain the low number of herder sites known to date. This paper presents an alternative explanation. Here it is argued that the type of research itself is at least partly responsible for the limited results. The focus on deeply stratified archaeological deposits in caves and coastal middens at the expense of open landscape surveys, the persistence of typological classification and the lack of research into the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Khoekhoen are presented as causal factors. A dominant theoretical model links all three. The cultural identity or 'dichotomy model' requires deep deposits and large numbers of artefacts in order to classify assemblages as either produced by hunters or by herders. The dominant model also encourages a focus on the pre-colonial period, as hunter and herder identities are thought to have become less distinct after colonial settlement. In contrast, results of recent work suggest that the best methods for recognising herders in the archaeological record may involve open landscape survey and the study of low-density sites, the study of spatial and technological organisation and the use of a wider range of historical sources, including those from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Raw material properties and availability have always been considered as having a definitive impact on the morphology, size and production technology of Acheulian large cutting tools. Shape and size of the naturally available raw material blocks have been cited as key factors in determining Acheulian biface blank production technology as well as tool morphological variability. In other words, where large blocks of raw material were available (Africa), large flakes were produced, and where only smaller cobbles and nodules were to be found (Europe), they become the primary type of blank used. In this paper, I explore a large body of data collected from Acheulian sites from India to Morocco and from South Africa to England to test this common premise. Different raw material exploitation patterns as reflected in the bifacial tools in the various assemblages are described and analyzed. The results indicate that in large flake based Acheulian assemblages, raw material constraints did not significantly affect either the blank production process or large cutting tool shape and size variability. The Acheulian large cutting toolmakers used the rock types available in the vicinity of their site in a sophisticated reduction sequence aimed to produce large cutting tools that are surprisingly similar regardless of the original shape, size and type of raw material from which they were produced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the possible meanings of uncommon hunter-gatherer rock paintings at Eland Cave in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and at Raiders 1 in Raiders Gorge, Brandberg/Daureb, Erongo Region, Omaruru District, Namibia, that have been identified as moths. The paintings are interpreted in terms of |Xam Bushman beliefs in which the appearance of a moth at the family fire heralds the killing of an animal on the hunting ground. These beliefs are part of a more general 'code' of hunting practices aimed to ensure successful kills of game animals 'owned' and protected by |Kaggen, the |Xam Bushman trickster deity. Central to this interpretation is the hypothesis that hunter-gatherer rock paintings may have been perceived as supernaturally potent images. According to this scenario, the painters modelled the moth paintings on aspects of the appearance and behaviour of certain moths and positioned these on the rock face in certain ways in an attempt to create an ambience in which the balance, usually loaded in the hunted animal's favour, is in the direction of the hunters instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The archaeological record attests to the significance of ostrich eggs as a valuable resource for the people of the Later Stone Age. People over a broad geographic range used ostrich eggs to provide nourishment, storage and ornamentation. This paper focuses on the production, use and discard of ostrich eggshell beads recovered from open-air sites in the Geelbek Dunes of the Western Cape, South Africa. We present a comprehensive production chain for analyzing the manufacture of beads and introduce the concept of a heuristic production value for evaluating the degree of completion reflected by an assemblage. The pattern of fabrication and the distribution in size allow for a detailed analysis of the beads that points to specific behavioral patterns involved in their production. This analysis yields information about the duration and intensity of site use, as well as the individual members and cultural affinities of the groups who made the beads. We document the intentional use of fire to blacken the majority of the beads as an aesthetic choice. Combined with the results from AMS radiocarbon dating, the majority of the beads from Geelbek provide insight into the socio-economic identity of their manufacturers: small groups of hunter–gatherers who inhabited and used specific locations on the strandveld near Langebaan Lagoon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on the importance of seeking to transcend the constraints of the ethnographic and historical records for South Africa archaeology. Emphasis on rock art; Description of rock art as a deliberately created, situationally specific form of material culture expressive of individual and group identity; Discussion of the radiocarbon evidence for early sheep in South Africa.

In the past few decades, a diverse array of research has emphasized the precocity of technically advanced and symbolic practices occurring during the southern African Middle Stone Age. However, uncertainties regarding the regional chrono-cultural framework constrain models and identification of the cultural and ecological mechanisms triggering the development of such early innovative behaviours. Here, we present new results and a refined chronology for the Pietersburg, a techno-complex initially defined in the late 1920’s, which has disappeared from the literature since the 1980’s. We base our revision of this techno-complex on ongoing excavations at Bushman Rock Shelter (BRS) in Limpopo Province, South Africa, where two Pietersburg phases (an upper phase called ‘21’ and a lower phase called ‘28’) are recognized. Our analysis focuses on the ‘28’ phase, characterized by a knapping strategy based on Levallois and semi-prismatic laminar reduction systems and typified by the presence of end-scrapers. Luminescence chronology provides two sets of ages for the upper and lower Pietersburg of BRS, dated respectively to 73±6ka and 75±6ka on quartz and to 91±10ka and 97±10ka on feldspar, firmly positioning this industry within MIS5. Comparisons with other published lithic assemblages show technological differences between the Pietersburg from BRS and other southern African MIS5 traditions, especially those from the Western and Eastern Cape. We argue that, at least for part of MIS5, human populations in South Africa were regionally differentiated, a process that most likely impacted the way groups were territorially and socially organized. Nonetheless, comparisons between MIS5 assemblages also indicate some typological similarities, suggesting some degree of connection between human groups, which shared similar innovations but manipulated them in different ways. We pay particular attention to the end-scrapers from BRS, which represent thus far the earliest documented wide adoption of such tool-type and provide further evidence for the innovative processes characterizing southern Africa from the MIS5 onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses key issues concerning research studies on human remains in South Africa. State of palaeo-anthropological research in the region; Investigations into hominid taxonomy and morphology; Range of fossil hominid resources available for researchers in South Africa.

In post-apartheid South Africa, various uses of the troubled past have been viewed as holding the key to release and change for a different kind of future. Critiques of memory work initiatives identify some of the key limitations to such efforts as being lack of changes in the quality of lives for participants, and limitations on ownership of the knowledge. The Solms-Delta wine farm in the Western Cape provides a case study of a place which claims that genuine transformation has occurred. Intensive grappling with the layers of history in its own past laid a foundation for economic restructuring of the farm. This made it possible to both substantially raise the standard of living of workers living there, as well as allow community participation in defining the content of two museums, an indigenous restaurant and garden. The outcome of the evolving transformation was a creative turn which allowed residents to express themselves and build community in positive ways. The case study shows how multiple levels and approaches to using the past can be effective in bringing lasting changes in the quality of people's lives, as well as lay a foundation for even greater equity in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Carbon isotope analysis of four baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) trees from the Pafuri region of South Africa yielded a 1000-year proxy rainfall record. The Pafuri record age model was based on 17 radiocarbon dates, cross correlation of the climate record, and ring structures that were presumed to be annual for two of the trees. Here we present the analysis of five additional baobabs from the Mapungubwe region, approximately 200km west of Pafuri. The Mapungubwe chronology demonstrates that ring structures are not necessarily annually formed, and accordingly the Pafuri chronology is revised. Changes in intrinsic water-use efficiency indicate an active response by the trees to elevated atmospheric CO2, but this has little effect on the environmental signal. The revised Pafuri record, and the new Mapungubwe record correlate significantly with local rainfall. Both records confirm that the Medieval Warm Period was substantially wetter than present, and the Little Ice Age was the driest period in the last 1000 years. Although Mapungubwe is generally drier than Pafuri, both regions experience elevated rainfall peaking between AD 1570 and AD 1620 after which dry conditions persist in the Mapungubwe area until about AD 1840. Differences between the two records correlate with Agulhas Current sea-surface temperature variations suggesting east/west displacement of the temperate tropical trough system as an underlying mechanism. The Pafuri and Mapungubwe records are combined to provide a regional climate proxy record for the northern summer rainfall area of southern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]