KZNM at the Southern African Mountain conference!

Last week was held the first Southern African Mountain Conference, ground-breaking in its attempt to approach mountains from many different angles, including ecological, social and archaeological.

The KwaZulu-Natal Museum was well represented at the conference with four papers. Dr Igor Muratov spoke about the distribution of terrestrial molluscs in mountain areas and the importance of micro-habitats for their recovery. Dr Thembeka Nxele discussed how more research is needed to understand native mountain earthworms and their possible vulnerabilities. Dr Ghilraen Laue spoke about regional differences in rock art styles from one mountain zone to another. Dr Justine Wintjes and Ms Nothando Shabalala’s paper dealt with ritual practices aimed at transforming rock shelters into homes.

The conference took place at Champagne Sports Resort, surrounded by a dramatic vista of mountain peaks, rain clouds and occasional sunbeams. It was a festive occasion because for many of the delegates it was the first in-person conference attended since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Justine Wintjes, Nothando Shabalala, Ghilraen Laue and Thembeka Nxele at SAMC. Photo: Igor Muratov.

Continued Fieldwork in the Groot Winterhoek Mountains, Eastern Cape Province

In late 2021 Dr Ghilraen Laue of the Human Sciences Department at the KZN Museum returned to the Groot Winterhoek Mountains to undertake further fieldwork. Dr Laue started working in this under-researched area in 2012 and in the last 10 years has documented 70 new sites, including 11 new sites during this field season. There are still large areas of Groot Winterhoek Mountains that need to be explored and many more sites waiting to be discovered.

This heavily painted shelter is situated high up in a narrow valley of one of the tributaries of the KwaZunga River.

Left: Handprints on a naturally smoothed area of rock. Right: View from the shelter showing the steep terrain.

Dr Laue’s research includes the investigation into depictions of bird therianthropes; creatures with the bodies of swifts and human heads. Three new sites with these types of images were recorded, including a unique image where the ‘wings’ are bent up like arms and have human fingers (see below).

Usually, in these types of images, the body is birdlike with wings stretched out on either side. Although this image has a swift tail, the upper body is human. The remains of a hook-head (a common way of depicting human heads in the region) can be seen above. This image has been enhanced using Dstretch.

Among the many images recorded was this well preserved panel of five human figures with antelope-eared caps.

Birds, cloves and baskets

A new donation!

The Human Sciences Department of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum is excited to announce the donation of 160 new items to their collection. The donation was made by Dr John Vincent of Howick. Most of the items belonged to Dr Vincent’s late father Col. Jack Vincent.

Dr John Vincent with some of the items donated.

Col. Jack Vincent was born and schooled in England. He travelled to South Africa for the first time just before his 21^st birthday in 1924. Once in the country he began to take an interest in the local birds and in time ornithology became more than just a hobby. Col. Vincent travelled widely in Africa documenting the birdlife and collecting specimens that were taxidermied and sent to the British Museum. Col. Vincent’s complete taxidermy kit as well as 12 bird specimens were amongst the items donated.

Col. Jack Vincent in the field in the 1930s, in a tent on the back of a lorry.

Taxidermy kit and three of the bird specimens

In 1935 Col. Vincent was commissioned to open a clove oil factory in Zanzibar. His contract stated that he had 18 months to acquire land, build a factory and distil 100 tons of clove oil. He managed to do this in a year. The collection donated to the museum includes Col. Vincent’s notes on the distilling process as well as many different samples of clove oil produced by the factory including a sample from the very first distillation at the factory.

Two of the samples of clove oil donated.

Dr Vincent also donated some historical basketry including two early lidded baskets from the Vukani Association in Eshowe, and a spear that belonged to a game guard in the Hluhluwe game reserve in the 1960s.

Basketry items and a spear.