120 Years in 120 Objects
Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museumโs 120th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!
Todayโs Object is from 2014
Archaeology Inspires Art by Aron Mazel, Associate Researcher, Newcastle University
In 2014, the Tatham Art Gallery held an exhibition celebrating the work of renowned ceramicist, Juliet Armstrong (1950-2012). Featured prominently in the exhibition and catalogue (Figure 1) were her โSan Shapeโ pieces, which had been inspired by her visit, in 1994, to Aron Mazelโs archaeological excavation of Mzinyashana Shelter 1, near Rorkeโs Drift. There, she saw a pair of extraordinary 4000-year-old polished ground stones, made by San hunter-gatherers, which were found lying alongside each other (Figures 2 and 3). These pieces, which may have been bound together by string that has since disintegrated, were made from a rock called talcose schist, which came from at least 50 km away.
While these polished ground stones are unique in KwaZulu-Natal, similar shaped stones have been found in the Northern Cape, Northern Province, and Swaziland. The Swaziland specimen has been dated to between 3000 and 4000 years ago, and therefore is of a similar age to the Mzinyashana pieces.
We donโt know what the San hunter-gatherers used them for. Suggestions have included that they may have been seed crackers, used to make a clicking sound to attract animals, or clasps for a kaross, or grinding stones. They could also have been used to gauge arrow shaft thickness or to smooth off arrow shafts.
Page 98 from โFor Juliet: Ceramic Sculptor 1950 to 2012โ, edited by Brendan Bell and Bryony Clark. Published by Tatham Art Gallery Board of Trustees. Photographs by Ian Carbutt.
The polished ground stones pieces as they were found in the excavation. Also, showing the context board indicating where they were found, a scale, and the date.
View of the polished ground stone pieces from above.