The Prehistoric Origins of African Culture

1964 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Desmond Clark
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
History Of

The paper traces the beginnings of human culture in Africa, its evolution and spread, and shows the feedback relationship that exists between biological evolution and culture. It is demonstrated how environment is the most important factor in producing variability at the food-gathering level, and the present-day regional differences in culture are shown to have been in existence for some 40,000 years. The history of the introduction and spread of domestication is summarized, and evidence is adduced to indicate that the diffusion of Iron Age economy in southern Africa was due as much to adaptation as to immigration, thus demonstrating a real and traceable continuity up to the present day.

Women in Southern African History

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Becker
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Gender Relations ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
History Of ◽  
European Trade ◽  
The Impact

Women have played complex roles in the history of Southern Africa, a vast region that comprises diverse local histories as well as social and cultural forms. The diversity of the region has been both integrated and fragmented through historical connections, which have centered on South Africa as a subimperial power. Prior to colonial conquest and the impact of Christian missions and European trade, gender relations varied, partly due to an array of social and kinship systems. Overall, however, the position of women in southern African societies deteriorated after colonization. Economic, political, and cultural dynamics impacted on gender relations through the interaction of European and indigenous patriarchy, colonial rule, and capitalist modes of production, which reinforced and transformed one another, evolving into new structures and forms of domination. The paradox of similarities due to settler colonialism and differences in respect of timing and pathways to decolonization impacted upon the trajectories of postcolonial gender politics and the representation of women in the postcolonial political structures of southern Africa. Despite initial differences regarding legal gender equality, everywhere that liberation movements in power established themselves in the region, discourses of “African culture and tradition” became pertinent. Colonial customary laws and powers given to traditional leaders remain at the heart of contemporary battles over gender equality and social justice.

The Burden of Tribalism: The Social Context of Southern African Iron Age Studies

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Iron Age ◽  
Age Studies

The study of the archaeology of farming communities in southern Africa is an inherently political activity but there has been little critical analysis of the role of social context in forming problems and in shaping answers. It is argued in this paper that the history of Iron Age research south of the Zambezi shows the prevalent influence of colonial ideologies, both in the earliest speculations about the nature of the African past and in the adaptations that have been made to contemporary archeological methodologies in their application to the subcontinent. Concepts such as ethnicity have acquired specific meanings in southern Africa that contrast with the use of similar ideas in other contexts such as Australasia. Such relativity reinforces the view that specific, detailed critiques of archaeological practice in differing social environments are necessary for an understanding of the manner in which the present shapes the past.

The Burden of Tribalism: The Social Context of Southern African Iron Age Studies (1984)

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

The study of the archaeology of farming communities in southern Africa is an inherently political activity but there has been little critical analysis of the role of social context in forming problems and in shaping answers. It is argued in this chapter that the history of Iron Age research south of the Zambezi shows the prevalent influence of colonial ideologies, both in the earliest speculations about the nature of the African past and in the adaptations that have been made to contemporary archaeological methodologies in their application to the subcontinent. Concepts such as ethnicity have acquired specific meanings in southern Africa that contrast with the use of similar ideas in other contexts such as Australasia. Such relativity reinforces the view that specific, detailed critiques of archaeological practice in differing social environments are necessary for an understanding of the manner in which the present shapes the past. In those countries where descendants of the colonizers mostly practise the archaeology of those colonized, the study of the past must have a political dimension. This has become overt in Australasia where, as one Aboriginal representative has put it, the colonizers ‘have tried to destroy our culture, you have built your fortunes upon the lands and bodies of our people and now, having said sorry, want a share in picking out the bones of what you regard as a dead past’ (Langford 1983: 2). In African countries, such opinions have been less explicit and consequently archaeologists have not frequently been faced with political accountability. Schmidt (1983) points out that there is some awareness that the intellectual constructs of Western archaeologists may have little meaning to African communities, but current literature describing research south of the Zambezi River of precolonial farming societies (by convention, termed the Iron Age) shows little acknowledgement that the social environment of the investigator may play a part in defining issues and colouring interpretations, or indeed, that the results themselves may have diverse political implications.

The Tempo and mode(S) of Prebiotic Evolution

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lazcano
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon ◽  
The Origin Of Life

AbstractDifferent current ideas on the origin of life are critically examined. Comparison of the now fashionable FeS/H2S pyrite-based autotrophic theory of the origin of life with the heterotrophic viewpoint suggest that the later is still the most fertile explanation for the emergence of life. However, the theory of chemical evolution and heterotrophic origins of life requires major updating, which should include the abandonment of the idea that the appearance of life was a slow process involving billions of years. Stability of organic compounds and the genetics of bacteria suggest that the origin and early diversification of life took place in a time period of the order of 10 million years. Current evidence suggest that the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds may be a widespread phenomenon in the Galaxy and may have a deterministic nature. However, the history of the biosphere does not exhibits any obvious trend towards greater complexity or «higher» forms of life. Therefore, the role of contingency in biological evolution should not be understimated in the discussions of the possibilities of life in the Universe.

Itumeleng Mosala: Giving Theology Its World, Feet and Hands

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takatso Mofokeng
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Black People ◽  
Black Consciousness ◽  
History Of ◽  
Black Consciousness Movement

Worthy of celebration is the contribution made by Itumeleng Mosala (hereafter Mosala) to the Black Methodist Consultation, the theological community in Southern Africa, and the Black Consciousness Movement. This article attempts to give theology its world, feet and hands in the person of Mosala. The article departs from the narration of the history of Mosala. It locates Mosala within township life and Old Testament scholarship. Furthermore, the article searches for suitable and effective weapons of intellectual struggle in light of Mosala’s life. The aim of this article is to celebrate the indelible footprints that Mosala made as he communed with black people.

Ores Sources, Smelters and Archaeometallurgy: Exploring Iron Age Metal Production in the Southern Waterberg, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foreman Bandama ◽  
Shadreck Chirikure ◽  
Simon Hall
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Metal Working ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Metal Production ◽  
European Colonization ◽  
Sem Analyses

The Southern Waterberg in Limpopo Province is archaeologically rich, especially when it comes to evidence of pre-colonial mining and metal working. Geologically, the area hosts important mineral resources such as copper, tin and iron which were smelted by agriculturalists in the precolonial period. In this region however, tin seems to be the major attraction given that Rooiberg is still the only source of cassiterite in southern Africa to have provided evidence of mining before European colonization. This paper reports the results of archaeological and archaeometallurgical work which was carried out in order to reconstruct the technology of metalworking as well as the cultural interaction in the study area and beyond. The ceramic evidence shows that from the Eiland Phase (1000–1300 AD) onwards there was cross borrowing of characteristic decorative traits amongst extant groups that later on culminated in the creation of a new ceramic group known as Rooiberg. In terms of mining and metal working, XRF and SEM analyses, when coupled with optical microscopy, indicate the use of indigenous bloomery techniques that are widespread in pre-colonial southern Africa. Tin and bronze production was also represented and their production remains also pin down this metallurgy to particular sites and excludes the possibility of importing of finished tin and bronze objects into this area.

The History of the Judahite Bench Tomb

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Suriano
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Insight Into

The history of the Judahite bench tomb provides important insight into the meaning of mortuary practices, and by extension, death in the Hebrew Bible. The bench tomb appeared in Judah during Iron Age II. Although it included certain burial features that appear earlier in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, such as burial benches, and the use of caves for extramural burials, the Judahite bench tomb uniquely incorporated these features into a specific plan that emulated domestic structures and facilitated multigenerational burials. During the seventh century, and continuing into the sixth, the bench tombs become popular in Jerusalem. The history of this type of burial shows a gradual development of cultural practices that were meant to control death and contain the dead. It is possible to observe within these cultural practices the tomb as a means of constructing identity for both the dead and the living.

Religious Architecture in Latium and Etruria, c. 900-500 BC

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte R. Potts
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Archaic Period ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Detailed History ◽  
Religious Buildings ◽  
Religious Architecture ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of

Religious Architecture in Latium and Etruria, c. 900-500 BC presents the first comprehensive treatment of cult buildings in western central Italy from the Iron Age to the Archaic Period. By analysing the archaeological evidence for the form of early religious buildings and their role in ancient communities, it reconstructs a detailed history of early Latial and Etruscan religious architecture that brings together the buildings and the people who used them. The first part of the study examines the processes by which religious buildings changed from huts and shrines to monumental temples, and explores apparent differences between these processes in Latium and Etruria. The second part analyses the broader architectural, religious, and topographical contexts of the first Etrusco-Italic temples alongside possible rationales for their introduction. The result is a new and extensive account of when, where, and why monumental cult buildings became features of early central Italic society.

Cyprus

2019 ◽  
pp. 479-491
Author(s):  
Sabine Fourrier
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of

This chapter concentrates on the Phoenician presence in the island of Cyprus in the Iron Age (from the eleventh until the end of the fourth century bce). After a brief overview, it addresses the question of identification of the Cypriot Qarthadasht and the issue of a supposed Phoenician colonization in Cyprus. The political and cultural history of the Cypro-Phoenician kingdom of Kition also receives particular attention. At the same time, the widespread and multifaceted aspects of Phoenician presences on the island are underlined: Phoenician presence was not confined to Kition and Phoenician influence did not exclusively spread in the island from Kition.

THE PEACH REPLANT PROBLEM IN ONTARIO: V. THE RELATION OF PARASITIC NEMATODES TO REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN SEVERITY OF PEACH REPLANT FAILURE

1958 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Mountain ◽  
H. R. Boyce
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Previous History ◽  
Soil Particle ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Particle Sizes ◽  
Pratylenchus Penetrans ◽  
Essex County ◽  
Soil Population ◽  
History Of ◽  
Replant Problem

Peach production in Ontario is largely restricted to the Niagara Peninsula and Essex County, areas that are separated by some 200 miles but have a similar climate. The peach replant problem has been much more serious in Essex County than in the Niagara Peninsula. A survey of mature peach orchards showed that Pratylenchus penetrans (Cobb, 1917) Sher & Allen, 1953, is considerably more prevalent in peach soils in Essex County than in the Niagara Peninsula. In both areas, orchards that had a previous history of the replant problem had three to four times greater soil population of P. penetrans than those with no such history. Soils of finer texture were shown to limit the populations of P. penetrans, and the relatively low numbers of this nematode in the Niagara Peninsula appear to result from the influence of the finer soils prevailing in that region. The effect of different soil-particle sizes on the build-up of P. penetrans may explain the distribution of the peach replant problem in Ontario.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document