PROFESSIONALISATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY: AN IMPORTANT LEAP TO THE FUTURE

Archaeology as a discipline has developed following generally similar trends around the world. In its infancy days, archaeology was largely dominated by collectors who were not providing much interpretation of the materials they were gathering. As amateurs, their analyses of the last was severely limited. In the case of South Africa, it was only in 1923 that a first South African was trained as an archaeologists. Training of more archaeologists was a slow phenomenon for many reasons, and thus it was not until a growing number of universities introduced archaeological programs in the country that there were concerted efforts to train more scholars in the discipline. While all these developments were taking place, however, the professional was not regulated. Instead, archaeological associations were informally constituted by like-minded people who shared the same passion for the past. It was not until March 2018 that the Association for Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA), administratively and historically based in South Africa, was recognised as a non-statutory body. The discipline has taken a long trajectory to reach this level. In my opinion, the preferred recognition would have been registration as a statutory body established by the law of South African Parliament. That aside, I share the journey South African archaeology has traversed over the period encompassing four centuries, as well as evaluate the impact made by the 2018 recognition by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

Some of the challenges of heritage management in South Africa

Heritage of any kind gives individuals a sense of identity and belonging. As a result, heritage should be considered an important part of human existence.http://www.archaeologysa.co.za/publications/digging-stick/am201

Kuhlwile, sengiyindlela : the curtain closes as the darkness of the night takes over

I used the last two editorials to reflect on my termas the Editorin- Chief of the Bulletin. I was specifically focusing on the strategic issues I had wanted to address during my term of office. I have been successful in some, and not so in others. But I would like to believe that I have laid a strong foundation for the incumbent, Dr Natalie Swanepoel, to take over a ship sailing on steady waters. In this editorial, I specifically focus on four issues, namely, (i) my historically important appointment and what it meant to me, (ii) experiences during my term, (iii) my legacy, and (iv) my appreciation.http://www.archaeologysa.co.za/saabam2021Anthropology and Archaeolog

Wheels coming off? : Critically assessing the peer review process in Southern African archaeology

Peer review has been generally defined as the process through which peers with similar competences to the work they are tasked to review pass judgement to the Editorial Team, advising them on how best to respond to the manuscript under consideration. As Smith (2006: 178) alluded, “peer review is at the heart of the processes of not just medical journals but of all of science. It is the method by which grants are allocated, papers published, academics promoted, and Nobel prizes won.” The significance of peer review, therefore, is very high. Peer review can be taken as a self-policing process by those involved within a certain discipline to ensure that what is published has been evaluated by experienced scholars in the field.https://www.archaeology.org.za/saabpm2020Anthropology and Archaeolog

Incorporating indigenous management in rock art sites in KwaZulu-Natal

The majestic mountains of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg, formed many millennia ago were home to the Bushmen[footnote 1] or San people. They lived at these mountains for thousands of years before they were colonised by the Bantu speakers and the Europeans. Academic writings for many years have perpetuated the thinking that Bushman people were largely extinct. The dominance of this view in the academic writings was encouraged by historical evidence that Europeans and Bantu speakers hunted and killed Bushmen over the last several centuries. Researchers argue that the extermination of the Bushmen was because they were less human in the eyes of the foreigners, due to cattle raiding. There is still some element of this thinking amongst today’s academics, although research in the last decade is questioning this thinking. The question of whether descendants do exist is relevant to issues of rights of access to ancestral sacred sites, in particular rock art sites. At present, access to rock art sites is granted on qualification as an authentic fee-paying tourist (or affordability) rather than on group rights to a cultural heritage resource (cultural rights). Based on this, I argue that access to rock art sites is based on qualification rather than by right. This is largely driven by an approach that emphasises the physical conservation and financial sustainability of a site, rather than its spiritual maintenance. It has become clear that the interests in rock art by tourists and Bushman descendants are distinct from each other. Tourists have an aesthetic significance for rock art while Bushmen descendants have a spiritual significance for the paintings. Beyond any doubt, the physically based and financially driven approach has brought new challenges to today’s Bushmen descendants, whom in reaffirming their identities now have a new challenge to overcome. Not only are the rock art sites physically threatened but also they have lost much of their spiritual powers. Their fate lies in the hands of heritage officers who must determine access rights to the painted shelters. Both the National Heritage Resources Act and the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act acknowledge living heritage. However, the existence of this heritage is judged against the physical approach to rock art management. If the practises of descendants are perceived to be a threat to the rock art, they will not be approved. The case of the Duma is a classic example. Prior to the ritual ceremony at Game Pass Shelter, Kamberg, they were informed of the minimum standards for opening a rock art site to public and rules of how people should behave while visiting painted shelters. While it was evident that there are problems with the two approaches, the spiritual and physical approach, discussed in the thesis, it is important that solutions are identified. I do not believe that one approach on its own will be good enough, for reasons discussed in the thesis. Instead, the two approaches should be implemented together to compliment each other by identifying common grounds. I provide strategies as to how I believe that such a common ground can be reached. In addition, I provide my own analytical thinking as to how these strategies can be achieved. There is no general consensus over which term is appropriate. Both terms are considered by some academics to be derogatory or pejorative (Chennels 2003). San means vagabond and was given to the Bushmen by Khoi-Khoi people, because they considered themselves of a better social class, as they had domesticated animals and were more sedentary than Bushmen. However, according to WIMSA (Thoma 2003) the word San is derived from the Hai||om language meaning “people who gather”. It is normally written Saan but it has been accepted to write San. In 1993 the San requested to be called San when referred to as an entire group. If one refers to individual people/groups they like to be called by their language and cultural name i.e. Khwe, !Kung, !Xun, Ju|’hoansi, ‡Khomani, N|u, |’Auni, Hai||om, etc In this thesis, Bushmen is a preferred term, because it is a better-known term among the people who are central to this study. It is used without any insulting connotations attached to the term

Contract archaeology in South Africa : some ethical concerns

While contract archaeology has played a significant role in South Africa, a number of ethical concerns have become evident over the years. How enabling are the legal frameworks to contract archaeologists? Whose interest are contract archaeologists serving? How well do they consult affected parties in their work? How well do they communicate their findings, with their colleagues and the public at large? What, if any, has been the role of contract archaeologists in the transformation of South African archaeology? How effective is the current accreditation system run by the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA) for contract archaeology in ensuring that specialists operate within fields in which they are experienced? This paper addresses these concerns, focusing on the ethical elements relating to contract archaeology. The aim is to illustrate that while current legislation may have gone some way toward promoting the inclusion of previously excluded communities in the management of heritage resources membership of professional bodies by contract archaeologists still does not best enhance this. ASAPA’s failure to ensure that all its members abide by its code of conduct is a cause for concern and it should take steps to improve this situation.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raza202016-01-31hb201

Before the sun gets down : reflecting on the journey that has been

It is now history that the transformation efforts initiated by the ‘gang of three’ culminated in the unanimous approval of the Transformation Charter) during the 2008 biannual conference of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA). These efforts had been initiated in 2007 (see Ndlovu 2009; Smith 2009) to provide a forum through which the lack of transformation in South African archaeology was to be discussed.https://www.archaeology.org.za/saabpm2020Anthropology and Archaeolog

Debating access to internationally acclaimed rock art sites : has the ‘future generation’ been born?

Rock art is one of the most attractive heritage resources. Yet, some of these sites are either closed from the public or were never officially opened in the first place. Based on them being inaccessible to the public, various replicas have been built to allow tourists to still see their images. While these sites are inaccessible to the general public, they are not spared from natural and human induced damage. Informed by the three issues I discuss in this paper, namely: (1) the idea of selecting identified heritage resources as being important, (2) critiquing the concept of managing heritage resources for future generations, and (3) debating the question of who are we managing rock art for, I conclude that rock art should not be closed to the public. Such an approach promotes a view that such valuable spaces are preserved only for the privileged few.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ycma20hj2022Anthropology and Archaeolog

The management of heritage resources in the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, Lesotho-South Africa : reflecting on the benefits of world heritage status

The boundary of uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (uDP), first inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites on 29 November 2000, was extended in 2013 to include the Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho. The new transboundary World Heritage Site was named the Maloti-Drakensberg Park. This paper offers a critique of the management of heritage resources in the South African portion of the World Heritage Site, the uDP, and the involvement of and benefits for communities living on the borders of the site. I note that the management authority for the South African side of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park does not have cultural heritage management expertise. I further show that the concept of indigeneity is problematic, that neighbouring communities have been historically and in some quarters continually disregarded in the management of protected areas and heritage, and that there are still a number of challenges when it comes to the structures established to improve their involvement in the uDP. However, there have been positive benefits accruing as the result of this inscription.http://www.sahumanities.org/ojs/index.php/SAH2018-06-30am2017Anthropology and Archaeolog

Seliyozilahla kunina : appreciating the colourful skies as the sun sets

As I continue with my reflection, my focus in this editorial, as the sunset is even more eminent, is on South Africa’s transition in 1994. In particular, it is about the expectations that were meant to address inequality that had prevailed in the previously divisive political period. This particular period was characterised by racial laws that relegated Africans to the periphery of the South African population.http://www.archaeologysa.co.za/saabam2021Anthropology and Archaeolog