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SPECIAL EDITION OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES NOW AVAILABLE

On Monday, 17 July 2023, the KwaZulu-Natal Museum published a special issue of the journal Southern African Humanities (SAH). The issue celebrates the work of the archaeologist, Simon Hall, who taught at both Wits and UCT. Titled Beyond boundaries: a Festschrift for Simon Hall, the volume comprises thirteen contributions, an introduction by the two editors (Alex Schoeman from Wits and Joanna Behrens from UNISA), and a foreword by renowned scholar, Carolyn Hamilton.

The digital version is now available to all subscribers of SAH at: Southern African Humanities (sahumanities.org) or to institutions who have access to SABINET, EBSCO or PROQUEST subscriptions that include access to SAH. The journal also has a generous author-distribution policy and for those who don’t have access via the routes mentioned, you can contact the authors directly or through Academia.edu or ResearchGate for the full published version (not a final preprint!).

humanities

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Night at the Museum preparations start during the day

By Matabaro Ziganira

Our annual Night at the Museum Winter Edition was no exception this year when it comes to success. This event was packed with loads of fun-filled activities including displays from most departments of the KZN Museum showcasing the beging the scenes. For the first time in a while, the department of natural science was challenged with the idea of displaying live invertebrate specimens towards providing the public with a real field collection experience. This was challenging because finding invertebrates in winter is challenging due to the cold weather, but as a team we succeeded! Invertebrate population is low in winter and starts rising in springtime, reaching a peak in summer due to warm weather; and a decline follows in autumn. Looking at the fascination and the positive feedback we received during the event, it was worthwhile collecting in the cold for such an impactful event.

BeFunky collage

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Celebrating Fifty Years of Archaeology-Remembering Past Staff: Gavin Anderson

stm gavin louise20230719

Gavin Anderson joined the museum as an archaeologist in the Institute of Cultural Resource Management (ICRM) in 1995 after obtaining his M.Phil. in archaeology and social psychology from the University of Cape Town. He resigned from the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in 2004 when he and Louise Anderson started their own Heritage Impact Assessment company.

During his time at the museum he turned the ICRM into a profitable department and contributed to the museum’s knowledge database by recording over 1000 heritage sites, of which he excavated approximately 60. He worked extensively with Richards Bay Minerals and increased knowledge of the eastern seaboard Late Iron Age communities. He was also part of the initial Amangwane and AmaZizi community rock art projects and formed part of a team that assessed selected sites recorded by Harald Pager in the northern Drakensberg.

Picture: Gavin, Louise and Bonginkosi at Shark Tooth Midden - the first excavated LSA coastal site in KZN with domestic spatial patterns.

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Excavations at Emseni

Members of the Human Sciences Department, KwaZulu-Natal Museum joined Kefilwe Rammutloa, PhD candidate at Yale University and Lecturer at the University of Pretoria for continuing excavations at the Early Iron Age of Emseni near Weenen. This collaborative project is investigating how farmer peoples lived 1000 to 1400 years ago.

The site is around 25 hectares in size. Two excavation areas were opened totalling 25 m².

Emseni 1 Excavations uncovered a floor, charred posts, and pottery (Photo: G. Laue).

Emseni 2 Nothando Shabalala and Phumulani Madonda sorting finds (Photo: M. Munzhedzi).

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