archaeology and palaeoanthropology 9
A R C H A E O L O G Y A N D P A L A E O A N T H R O P O L O G Y
9.5 Archaeology and palaeoan- the conference in Cape Town in 1999 an es-
thropology in the new mil- pecially important symbol of a new era.
lennium
The impact of the 1999 WAC conference
I
n January 1999, UCT hosted the 4
th
World was not only political, but it has also sen-
Archaeological Congress (WAC) under sitised archaeologists to the place of indig-
the chairmanship of Martin Hall. The enous peoples in the discovery of their own
conference was very much a welcoming history through archaeology. The presence
of South Africa back into the international of Khoe and San delegates from all over
fold of archaeologists after the long dark southern Africa gave them a voice that was
period of apartheid. The 1983 South African heard by the professional body of scholars.
Association of Archaeologists meeting in Amongst the issues debated at the confer-
Gaborone heard a motion from its mem- ence were the demand for the return and
bers in support of an explicit statement on reburial of human remains of indigenous
the condemnation of apartheid along with people taken overseas during the colonial
other proposals to control the direction of era. Chief amongst these were the skel-
research, but the resolution was not carried. eton and body parts of Sarah Baartman
It is unlikely that the overwhelmingly white who died in France in 1815. The demands
membership was overtly racist, but there of Khoe and San activists were met in 2002
was a misguided attitude that somehow when Baartman’s remains were returned
science and society were separate, and also and given a state funeral in Hankey in the
a fear that political motions at conferences Eastern Cape.
infringed on academic freedom.
The issue of the disturbance of graves and
The result was that some members with- the reburial of previously excavated hu-
drew from the association and interna- man skeletons has been at the forefront
tional support for South African scientists of discussions of both professionals and
was divided. In 1985, 19 South African and the lay public, but not all issues have been
Namibian archaeologists were refused per- resolved satisfactorily. The attempt to pre-
mission to join the meeting of the Interna- vent the excavation of 18
th
century burials
tional Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric in Cape Town during the redevelopment of
Sciences (IUPPS) to be held in Southamp- a downtown district in 2003 was not suc-
ton. There was acrimonious debate in the cessful, but the study of the human remains
journals and in the newspapers in which was blocked. This is a major loss to archaeo-
arguments were aired both for and against logical knowledge that has not occurred
the academic boycott. In the end, the issue elsewhere in the country. Human remains
caused the IUPPS itself to split and WAC was from early 20
th
century Venda graves, the
launched in September 1986 without the burials of mineworkers from the Gladstone
South Africans. The fact that South Africa site in Kimberley and the many burials from
had been at the root of the debate made Mapungubwe and K2 have all been studied
257
TWAS book_Chap9.indd 257 2009/10/06 12:05:24 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290