Research Articles (Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies)

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Thulamela : gold, human burials, and a forgotten African kingdom
Forssman, Tim; Van Heerden, Justine; Chewins, Linell; Delius, Peter (Routledge, 2026)
Thulamela was the centre of an African kingdom that flourished during the mid-second millennium AD. Research carried out in the 1990s, however, is incomplete and under-reported, and knowledge of the settlement is largely assumed or based on published scraps of information and borrows heavily and uncritically from research at what are thought to be similar state centres. Thulamela remains an enigma. In this paper, we present the story of Thulamela, and how we aim to redress the dominant narratives of the site and its history. Our study reviews the work carried out during the 1990s at the walled complex and revisits the original collection of finds, most of which remains underanalysed and unpublished. We lay the groundwork for future in-depth inter-disciplinary research that aims to shed new light on this neglected kingdom and the history of southern Africa.
Modelling patterns of past inundation processes combining geoarchaeology and morphometric hydrological analysis in the Shashe-Limpopo Basin, South Africa
Nxumalo, Bongumenzi Sithembiso (Wiley, 2026)
Riverine and valley systems across the globe have been central to the development of past urban centres. By AD 900, the Shashe and Limpopo Rivers seem to have facilitated the interaction and integration of early farming communities in southern Africa. This paper focuses on the application of geoarchaeological perspectives made available by the subsurface environments and the development of advanced morphometric models to understand human behavioural patterns under various climatic conditions in the Shashe-Limpopo basin. Mapungubwe emerged between AD 1220–1300 as the earliest Iron Age state system in the middle Limpopo valley, practising floodplain agriculture together with surplus wealth generated from long-distance trade that bolstered social and political transformations. At about AD 1290, Mapungubwe began to decline and was subsequently abandoned due to erratic rainfall patterns in the region. Despite the general absence of relevant palaeo-environmental proxies, Mapungubwe's dominance lasted to about the 13th Century. The reasons for Mapungubwe's decline remain contested. The role played by changing climate variability is a possible proximate cause. Uneven distribution of rainfall and flooding seem to have resulted in low agricultural productivity in the Shashe-Limpopo Basin and led to the movements of people towards better-watered regions. This paper aims to show how advanced morphometric hydrological analysis of inundation regimes (riverine modelling) and evidence from geoarchaeological records on buried soil sequences can be used as tools to evaluate human responses against the ever changing and deteriorating environmental conditions in southern Africa.
Heritage forfeited and forgotten : some issues with state control in Tanzania
Ichumbaki, Elgidius B.; Schmidt, Peter R. (Cambridge University Press, 2026)
Central governments have controlled cultural heritage management in most African countries since colonial times. Focusing on Tanzania, the authors here argue that heritage sites are at risk from the institutions tasked with managing them, citing an institutional reluctance to protect threatened sites, delegation of responsibility to unqualified organisations, inappropriate development of sites as income-generating entities and a resistance to working with and recognising local community initiatives. The deleterious impacts of such management are explored through four case studies, which the authors hope will help sound an alarm in the international community and provoke calls for a national review of policy.
Social housing for spatial transformation? Examining the operational realities of South Africa's social housing programme
Mokonyama, Dineo; Naidoo, Dhee (Springer, 2026)
Access to affordable housing remains a pressing global challenge. In South Africa, social housing is a strategic policy instrument designed to provide affordable rental housing and restructure apartheid-era spatial inequalities. Its delivery, however, is shaped by a complex institutional framework. This study examines the systemic barriers that Social Housing Landlords face in navigating the Consolidated Capital Grant process. Drawing on conceptual frameworks of spatial justice and institutional capability, the article investigates the operational constraints that hinder South Africa’s Social Housing Programme’s transformative intent. An exploratory qualitative research design was employed, using semi-structured interviews with ten participants (five emerging Social Housing Landlords and five sector experts). Data were analysed thematically to identify common institutional and procedural constraints. Findings reveal that protracted administrative delays, sequential approval processes, and circular dependencies between grant and debt financing create significant implementation bottlenecks. Municipal capacity constraints and an ‘open-door’ policy that disperses scarce resources further undermine project viability. These barriers are analysed as symptoms of deeper systemic misalignments between decommodification goals and market-driven delivery systems, compounded by deficits in Social Housing Landlords’ operational capabilities. The study concludes that a more streamlined, accountable, and collaborative institutional ecosystem is required. This necessitates a strategic shift from quantitative outputs to building institutional resilience, supported by parallel approval mechanisms, structured capacity-building pathways, and formalised partnerships to enhance the sector’s long-term impact and its contribution to spatial justice.
Deconstructing the complexity of measuring food security in South Africa : a systematic review and meta-analysis (2000-2024)
Masamha, Blessing; Gwanzura, Owen; Mutanga, Shingirirai S. (BioMed Central, 2026-03)
BACKGROUND : Measuring the non-observable nature of food security has remained complex mainly because of the construct’s complexity and its continuously evolving nature. The main challenges in measuring food security involve determining what is to be measured and how it is measured. In South Africa, various approaches and indicators have led to divergent food security measurement outcomes, leading to inaccurate assessment, monitoring, and targeting of context-specific food security interventions. This study analyses food access, availability, and stability measurement metrics and proposes a clear food security measurement approach for South Africa. Comprehensive reviews of food security indices with a national scope and subsequent meta-analysis to determine these indicators’ effect size, publication bias, and heterogeneity have not been adequately explored. METHODS : A systematic review and meta-analysis using the PRISMA guidelines were used to select the analysed articles. A search strategy was used to retrieve literature from the Web of Science and Scopus Databases, yielding a total of 1155 articles. Rayyan 1.6 software was used for screening articles and duplicate removal, whilst the Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to qualitatively assess the articles. Perplexity and Quill Bot Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools were used to enhance literature search and paraphrasing, respectively, to improve the validity and reliability of the review. The inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in a final sample of 82 articles being eligible for analysis. RESULTS : Most studies used Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS), (n = 45), Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) (n = 24), Coping Strategy Index (CSI), (n = 13), and the Household Hunger Score (HHS) (n = 4). Few studies used a composite of indicators, while most studies used HFIAS alone. The indicators used provide very different estimates of the prevalence of food insecurity in South Africa. Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces had the most studies distributed across rural communities, while Cape Town City and Gauteng Province had the highest number of urban studies. Meta-analysis was done on HFIAS (n = 16) and HDDS (n = 14) indicators using a Forest plot and Funnel plot, and results showed limited heterogeneity and publication bias across the studies. CONCLUSIONS : More food security studies need to use longitudinal designs, composite indicators across different seasons, and along the urban, peri-urban, and rural settlement gradient, and panel data from national surveys. The routine national surveys need to adopt the full modules of indicators to allow for household and individual food security analysis in South Africa. We recommend the Agency Module, the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), and the Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) to measure the sustainability and agency dimensions of food security.
Between spirits and statutes : sacred land, state power, and the politics of urban space in Nigeria
Bamidele, Seun; Pikirayi, Innocent (Springer, 2026-03)
Sacred lands are critical biocultural landscapes within Yoruba heritage in south-western Nigeria, functioning not only as sites of spiritual governance and ritual continuity but also as contested urban spaces. Despite their cultural and ecological significance, these sites face increasing pressures from rapid urbanisation, state land-use policies such as the Land Use Act, and competing claims from formal and informal authorities. This study examines how state-led land governance frameworks interact with customary and spiritual custodianship systems, and how these interactions reshape the authority, legitimacy, and survival of sacred sites in an urbanising context. Drawing on 45 in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and non-participant observations conducted across three states, the research reveals that rather than a governance vacuum, sacred land governance in Nigeria is characterised by ‘shared but unequal guardianship’—where state economic imperatives often override indigenous spiritual claims. The findings contribute to debates on sacred natural site governance, urban political anthropology, and the tensions between statutory and customary law, by exposing the power asymmetries, negotiation strategies, and socio-political consequences of this governance arrangement. We argue that the marginalisation of custodians and inadequate statutory protections have transformed sacred lands into sites of negotiation, resistance, and, in some cases, violent contestation, with profound implications for heritage preservation in Nigeria’s rapidly urbanising regions.
Land tenure governance in the first decades of the 21st century : progress, challenges, and lessons from 18 countries
Wegerif, Marc C.A.; Coulibaly, Mohamed; Ouedraogo, Hubert (MDPI, 2025-03-22)
This article is based on a review of the governance of land tenure in 18 countries—16 in Africa and 2 in Asia—carried out from 2021 to 2023. It uses international guidelines on land policy and tenure governance as benchmarks to assess progress in each country through reviewing policy documents and literature, and obtaining inputs from key informants. This paper shows that, during the last decade, there has been significant progress in land tenure policies that have improved the recognition of customary and other communal land rights and improved women’s land rights. The formal registration of individual rights to customary and community land has now been achieved cost-effectively, with more rights going to women in a number of settings, and without leading to widespread commoditisation or land dispossession. There is a mixed picture, with countries trying different ways to grapple with common challenges such as securing customary tenure rights, unlocking development potential, improving women’s land rights, and managing the contesting interests in land. There are important examples of best practices in some countries that can be learnt from, such as the legislation of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) requirements and processes of large-scale land rights registration. Despite progress achieved in several countries, too many people are not enjoying the benefits of improved land tenure security; some countries still need to adopt new legislation, while others need to improve their implementation of existing legislation. More needs to be learnt from the range of different approaches to dealing with land tenure as national governments attempt to find solutions that accommodate contesting interests. The lessons and trends identified will be of value to country-level and international work on improving land tenure governance.
Taphonomy patterns at Ratho Kroonkop, a rain-control Site in the Limpopo Valley, South Africa
Croll, Kathryn Deirdre; Reynard, J.R.; Badenhorst, S.; Schoeman, M.H. (Springer, 2025-12)
Abstract : Excavations at Ratho Kroonkop, a rain-control site in the Limpopo Valley, South Africa, yielded a large faunal assemblage consisting of both wild and domestic taxa. This paper reports the results of a detailed taphonomic analysis of the entire faunal assemblage from Ratho Kroonkop. By utilizing standardized zooarchaeological identification methods, combined with established taphonomic indicators of anthropogenic, zoogenic, and natural bone modifiers examined macro- and microscopically, our study determined that there are spatial differences in the frequency of anthropogenic modifications and in carcass dismemberment patterns between two distinct areas of the site. Additionally, we established that the central areas of Ratho Kroonkop were likely used for additional carcass dismemberment, particularly in the case of large and very large mammals, and bones were exposed to heat, natural elements, and carnivore activity in these areas. The taphonomic data also indicates that Ratho Kroonkop was not utilized as a domestic space but rather as a ritual one. Résumé : Les fouilles de Ratho Kroonkop, un site de régulation des précipitations situé dans la vallée du Limpopo en Afrique du Sud, ont mis au jour un important assemblage faunique composé d'espèces sauvages et domestiques. Cet article présente les résultats d'une analyse taphonomique détaillée de l'ensemble de cet assemblage. Grâce à l'utilisation de méthodes d'identification zooarchéologiques standardisées, combinées à des indicateurs taphonomiques établis de modifications osseuses anthropiques, zoogéniques et naturelles, examinés macroscopiquement et microscopiquement, notre étude a permis de déterminer l'existence de différences spatiales dans la fréquence des modifications anthropiques et dans les schémas de démembrement des carcasses entre deux zones distinctes du site. De plus, nous avons établi que les zones centrales de Ratho Kroonkop étaient probablement utilisées pour le démembrement supplémentaire des carcasses, en particulier dans le cas des grands et très grands mammifères, et que les os y étaient exposés à la chaleur, aux intempéries et à l'activité des carnivores. Les données taphonomiques indiquent également que Ratho Kroonkop n'était pas utilisé comme un espace domestique, mais plutôt comme un lieu rituel.
The Johannesburg fresh produce market : an analysis of its operations and contribution to the food system
Malungane, Makhanana; Wegerif, Marc C.A. (Frontiers Media, 2025-08-13)
The Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market (JFPM) is the largest fresh produce market in Africa, in terms of volume and turnover. It plays a central role in making fresh produce accessible across Gauteng Province and surrounding areas. This article describes and analyses the operations of the JFPM giving attention to the social and economic forces that shape it and looking at its contribution within the food system. The research for this article was conducted from between 2019 and 2023, including extensive interviews with 127 research participants and observations conducted during over 60 visits to the Market. It is found that the JFPM involves a complex interaction between economic and social forces still influenced by apartheid era arrangements. This influence is evident in the long-term social relationships among actors of the same ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The findings also highlight the importance of the JFPM as a source of fresh produce, especially for low-income neighbourhoods through the multitudes of informal traders that source produce there. By making fresh produce more accessible and enabling the agency of diverse actors in the food system, the JFPM makes a key contribution to food security. The Market is also essential for farmers, large and smaller scale, who sell there. The positive role of the JFPM is under threat from a range of challenges ranging from internal issue such as decaying infrastructure to external factors, such as the increasing use of direct buying focused supply chains by supermarket groups. Given the important contributions of the JFPM it needs to be invested in and maintained. The lessons from this market have relevance to food markets in other contexts.
The rough hand of the market. extracting semi-precious stones in Namibia for global supply chains
Quemin, Hugo; Latarge, Antoine; Efraim, Kaarina; Forget, Marie; Duval, Melanie (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 2025-12-30)
This article examines how semi-precious stone supply chains in Namibia are territorially embedded and integrated into global markets. It highlights the local dynamics of artisanal extraction in the Erongo region and analyzes the requalification processes that transform these stones as they move from extraction to circulation. The study is based on fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2025 in the mining sites of Xoboxobos and Tubusis, combining participant observation and interviews with miners, intermediaries, and small-scale mining professionals. It first explores the territorialization of mining practices, then examines the role of intermediaries in the circulation of semi-precious stones, and finally interrogates the mechanisms of deterritorialization that integrate these resources into global supply chains. By jointly mobilizing the concepts of extractive territoriality and scalability, this article shows how the local anchoring of semi-precious stone extraction in Namibia structures market dynamics. It also reveals how supply chains adjust their procurement practices to integrate into global circuits.
Hinterland origins : a batch-study of the birth of a lost migration period ceramic technology in Scandinavia, AD 350-450
Fredriksen, Per Ditlef; Lindahl, Anders (Wiley, 2025-08)
While sought for over a century, the birth of the distinctive bucket-shaped ceramic technology on the Scandinavian Peninsula has been overshadowed by its enigmatic senescence or ‘death’ in the sixth century AD. This omnipresent Migration Period container was in use for two centuries, from the mid-fourth to the mid-sixth centuries AD, spreading quickly and widely from the western region to the east and the far north. Its second century is better understood than the first, primarily because of the high-resolution chronology for the decades after AD 450, due to entanglements with Style I metalworking and the well-documented demise of both technologies in the wake of the AD 536–41 climatic events. But where and how did the technology emerge and spread? This comprehensive batch-study traces the origins and unravels the connectivity of the knowledge networks responsible for paste-recipes during the first century bucket-shaped technology (c.AD 350–450). Using a combined macroscopic and handheld-XRF approach that allows for large-scale analysis with high chronological resolution, we present a contextually grounded synthesis that relates the technological development to emerging nodal points of societal power during the fifth century and locates the origins of recipes in their clay- and mineral-rich hinterlands.
Pastoralists, travellers, and miners in the Atbai Desert (Sudan) : surveys and excavations at Khor Rafit
Cooper, Julien; Whiting, Rebecca; Czyżewska-Zalewska, Ewa; Rammutloa, Kefilwe (Taylor and Francis, 2026)
ABSTRACT : Owing to the remote terrain and difficulty of logistics, archaeological investigations of the Atbai Desert of Eastern Sudan are in their infancy. As part of a larger project aimed at surveying and documenting sites at threat from modern gold mining, in 2019 the Atbai Survey Project investigated the site of Khor Rafit, a multi-period site with importance both to ancient nomadic groups and foreign urban states (Rome, the Arab-Islamic Caliphate, Nubia) that were involved in gold extraction there. Surveys and excavations at the site revealed extensive gold-mining operations and a large cemetery exhibiting the burials of local pastoralist nomads, as well as Neolithic burials and rock-art sites. The local archaeology bears witness to the as yet unexplored interactions between nomads and foreigners in the gold mines of the Atbai Desert. Moreover, Khor Rafit was a vital watering station and strategic stopping-point on the long-distance trade route known as the Korosko Road, an important desert bypath shortening the route between Lower and Upper Nubia. With ongoing destruction at such sites from unregulated gold mining, archaeological operations at Khor Rafit and other sites in the Atbai should be conducted with urgency.
When the cross-border remittance system fails : the impact of COVID-19 regulations on the food provision and access for cross-border migrant households in north-western Zimbabwe
Thebe, Vusilizwe (Cambridge University Press, 2025-09)
Cross-border remittances from South Africa have played a central role in the food availability and well-being of migrant labour households in semi-arid Zimbabwe. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures introduced by both the South African and Zimbabwean governments hampered the cross-border remittance system and the movement of goods. This paper explores the food provisioning and availability impacts of the changes brought by the cocktail of policy measures on migrant sending households, and whether these households were able to find alternative food sources locally. The study highlights a precarious situation for affected households, which saw their main source of food provisioning curtailed. It argues that the situation was further aggravated by the risk associated with alternative remittance channels, and the non-availability of local alternatives for these households, which were excluded from accessing food parcels/aid by the criteria used to determine beneficiaries. The paper demonstrates the vulnerability of migrant labour households to economic and labour market changes.
You get HIV because there is no hope a rapid qualitative assessment of the HIV vulnerabilities of transgender women in three South African metros
Naidoo, Dhee; Cloete, Allanise; Skinner, Donald; Savva, Helen; Daniels, Danielle; Kose, Zamakayise; Ramatshekgisa, Malebo Gratitude (Taylor and Francis, 2025)
INTRODUCTION : Epidemiological data show that transgender women are disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Data in South Africa on the HIV vulnerabilities of transgender women are sparse. This paper qualitatively explores the structural, personal, and economic factors that contribute to making South African transgender women vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). METHODS : We conducted a rapid qualitative assessment in the Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Buffalo City metropolitan municipalities to frame the HIV risk vulnerabilities of transgender women. Purposive sampling was used to recruit study participants. We conducted 25 key informant interviews, five focus group discussions, and 26 in-depth interviews with transgender women. Atlas.ti.8 was used to facilitate qualitative data analysis. STUDY FINDINGS : These data illustrate a pervasive theme of social rejection, discrimination, and everyday victimization among transgender women. The ubiquitous presence of stigma and rejection leads to internalized stigmatization, which affects the social and mental well-being of transgender women, who often turn to alcohol and illicit drug use to alleviate negative emotions. We found that transgender women may engage in high-risk sexual activities like sex work where they can express and affirm their gender identity. In this context, transgender women engaging in high-risk sexual activities found it challenging to access pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Stigma also leads to reluctance to use public healthcare services. Despite experiencing stigma and discrimination, qualitative data highlights the resilience of transgender women in the study. CONCLUSIONS : Qualitative data demonstrate that HIV risk for transgender women is complex. Multi-level community-led interventions grounded in empowerment are also required to address interpersonal, biological, structural, and community risk. Successful interventions should address stigma and draw upon the resilience of transgender women. Peer-driven interventions may motivate personal responsibility to use high-impact HIV prevention and treatment services.
Compositional analysis of c13th century AD Mapungubwe ceramics in South Africa : regional, local and household connections
Hurter, Juané; Antonites, Alexander; Lindahl, Anders; Ashley, Ceri Z. (Springer, 2025-11)
The 13th century AD in southern Africa is a period associated with the emergence of class-based society and the establishment of Mapungubwe as the capital of a regional state. This study reports on ceramics excavated from four households at Bosbokpoort, a small Mapungubwe settlement situated approximately 95 km from Mapungubwe. By combining traditional stylistic analysis with chemical (pXRF) and mineralogical techniques (optical petrology), the research explores how pottery production and use reflected both regional Mapungubwe influences and local practices at the household level. The ceramic assemblage was predominantly characteristic of the Mapungubwe ceramic style, along with sherds from the Eiland ceramic facies. Mineralogical analysis indicated that the majority of the Mapungubwe ceramics at Bosbokpoort were made locally, with some produced elsewhere in the Limpopo River valley. The clay utilized in the manufacture of the Eiland ceramics were sourced from regions further to the south, where most Eiland communities occur. This approach highlights the active role of local communities in negotiating their identities and relationships within the larger Mapungubwe sociopolitical landscape.
The contribution of cart traders to fresh produce accessiblity in Soshanguve township, South Africa
Sithole, Oscar; Wegerif, Marc C.A. (Springer, 2025-10)
Mobile cart traders are a vital component of the ‘informal’ food sector and urban food systems in South Africa and beyond. Yet, their contribution to food security remains poorly understood, largely due to limited data on their operations—what they sell, when and where they trade, and how they organize their work. This knowledge gap has led to their exclusion from policymaking and urban planning. This article uses a qualitative case study approach to examine the role of mobile cart traders selling fresh produce in improving access to nutritious and affordable food. Drawing on existing literature on street trading, the study argues that cart traders are integral to the (informal) food economy. They play a crucial role in making fresh, nutrient-rich produce accessible, which is essential for balanced diets and better health outcomes. The research is grounded in multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted primarily in Soshanguve township, complemented by interviews and observations in other low-income urban areas across Gauteng Province, South Africa. The study explores how cart traders organize themselves to make fresh produce available to the urban poor. Findings show that most traders—predominantly immigrants from Southern Africa—entered the trade due to limited opportunities in the formal job market. Their businesses rely on socially embedded networks and informal economic practices that build trust and reciprocity among customers and peers. By meeting essential food needs, creating livelihoods, and mitigating the effects of supermarket-driven “food deserts,” these traders make a significant contribution to urban food security. Their earnings also circulate locally, generating wider economic benefits within the communities where they live and trade. These findings underscore the need for inclusive policies and urban planning frameworks that recognize and support the role of mobile cart traders in sustaining urban food systems.
Sisonke : a critical appraisal of South Africa's Covid-19 vaccine trial
Hodes, Rebecca (Routledge, 2024)
When South Africa’s Covid-19 pandemic emerged in March 2020, scientists mobilised quickly and effectively to parse and produce evidence to inform the state’s response. South Africa became a site for numerous Covid-19 vaccine trials. While many publications in scientific journals have explored the effects of Covid-19 vaccinations, in South Africa and globally, the social aspects of the vaccination rollout remain underexplored, particularly concerning the scientists and medical officials who were responsible for vaccine development. This article analyses the insights and experiences of vaccine trial investigators and other healthcare workers in South Africa. The study is based on in-depth, qualitative interviews conducted with 16 trial investigators and participants in three provinces – the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng – as well as with recipients and providers of the vaccine. Sisonke, meaning ‘together’ in isiZulu, is one of the most ambitious public health endeavours yet pursued in South Africa. Initially targeting frontline healthcare workers and then a more broadly defined notion of ‘healthcare worker’, the vaccination trial brought almost half a million South Africans into a new ‘experimental order’, facilitated by a consortium of vaccine providers. Crucially, the Sisonke trial was conducted largely through the same healthcare system that provided public treatment for another pandemic of communicable disease: HIV. Collaborations built in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic provided a critical framework upon which partners built the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zwisima na zwipise ndi fhethu ha zwifho : traditional hydrological knowledge, conservation and protection of groundwater among the Venda, northern South Africa
Magoma, Munyadziwa; Pikirayi, Innocent (Frontiers Media, 2025-09-22)
Springs are vital freshwater and hydrothermal groundwater sources. We pose the research question how springs are perceived in indigenous worldview and employ ethnographic and historical sources highlighting springs as sacred sites protected by myths and legends. The Venda regard water as a cultural entity deeply imbued with spiritual importance. Such knowledge is critical in conservation of groundwater, which surfaces through springs. Springs are not only associated with riverine headwaters, but also conform to particular drainage patterns, contributing to the overall water flow and drainage. This is of profound cultural importance where watershed and springs are associated with beginnings of life. Venda myths and legends demonstrate how such sacred environments regulated exploitation and conservation of biodiversity. Given modern infrastructure development, groundwater conservation must be located within particular indigenous worldviews.
Cultivating complexity : Thirteenth Century AD crop systems and wild plant utilization, South Africa
Steyn, Bianca; Antonites, Alexander (Springer, 2025-09)
The thirteenth century AD was a period that was marked by significant social changes, including the development of a class-based social system and the rise of elite sites like Mapungubwe, which became regional political centers. While substantial gains have been made in understanding MIA agriculture, some problems remain. For one, our knowledge of the spatial distribution and variability of agricultural practices is limited. As a result, this article provides a detailed analysis of macrobotanical assemblages from six archaeological sites located north of the Soutpansberg. Five crop species and 11 wild taxa were identified. Cenchrus americanus, Sorghum bicolor, and Vigna unguiculata were present at most sites. Eleusine coracana was identified from a single site within a higher rainfall zone. Vigna radiata was present at two sites, which attests to the incorporation of this imported crop into the interior. Our study is the first to compare macrobotanical results from communities that occupied different sociopolitical strata within the Mapungubwe world and from different regions. The results shed light on thirteenth-century crops and potential factors that influence plant use, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the diet and agricultural practices of MIA communities. Résumé Le treizième siècle de notre ère fut une période marquée par d'importants changements sociaux, notamment le développement d’un système social basé sur les classes et l’essor de sites élitaires comme Mapungubwe, qui devinrent des centres politiques régionaux. Bien que des avancées significatives aient été réalisées dans la compréhension de l’agriculture de l’Âge du fer moyen, certaines problématiques subsistent. En particulier, notre connaissance de la répartition spatiale et de la variabilité des pratiques agricoles reste limitée. En conséquence, cet article propose une analyse détaillée des assemblages macrobotaniques provenant de six sites archéologiques situés au nord du massif du Soutpansberg. Cinq espèces cultivées et onze taxons sauvages ont été identifiés. Cenchrus americanus, Sorghum bicolor et Vigna unguiculata étaient présentes sur la majorité des sites. Eleusine coracana a été identifiée sur un seul site situé dans une zone à plus forte pluviométrie. Vigna radiata était présente sur deux sites, ce qui atteste de l’intégration de cette culture importée dans l’intérieur du territoire. Notre étude est la première à comparer des résultats macrobotaniques issus de communautés ayant occupé différentes strates sociopolitiques au sein du monde de Mapungubwe et provenant de différentes régions. Les résultats apportent un éclairage sur les cultures du treizième siècle ainsi que sur les facteurs susceptibles d’influencer l’usage des plantes, contribuant ainsi à une compréhension plus complète de l’alimentation et des pratiques agricoles des communautés de l’Âge du fer moyen.
Africa's cultural crossroads : archaeological evidence for ritual syncretism in western Uganda from western Kansyore, transitional Urewe, and bigo-period burials
Schmidt, Peter R.; Besigye, Jackline N.; Oteyo, Gilbert; Krigbaum, John; Asiimwe, Raymond; Niwahereza, Amon; Schmidt, Jane H.; Walz, Jonathan; Lejju, Julius; Lea, Sheridan (Springer, 2025-09)
Archaeological research in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region (NCLR) in western Uganda has contributed significant insights into first millennium AD multilingual communities. These diverse communities, sharing food ways, ceramic technologies, and ritual beliefs, are traced to Bantu speakers who interacted with Sudanic speakers who made Kansyore ceramics. One of the significant exchanges of cultural beliefs was the adoption of Kansyore burial urns by Bantu makers of Transitional Urewe and Boudiné ware (Early Iron Age). This article provides additional evidence for a region of tropical Africa where burials are well preserved. These conditions allow unusual opportunities to assess syncretism in ritual treatments of the dead, using funerary practices that add significantly to evidence previously documented in the NCLR. Ritual interment of the dead on western caldera rims, where celestial renewal is assured, shows long-term continuities through documentation of later Bigo-period burials. Résumé La recherche archéologique dans la région des lacs de cratère Ndali (NCLR), dans l'ouest de l'Ouganda, a apporté des informations significatives sur les communautés multilingues du premier millénaire après JC. Ces diverses communautés, partageant des méthodes alimentaires, des technologies céramiques et des croyances rituelles, sont attribuées aux locuteurs bantous qui ont interagi avec les locuteurs soudanais qui fabriquaient des céramiques Kansyore. L'un des échanges importants de croyances culturelles a été l'adoption de l'urnes funéraire du Kansyore par les fabricants bantous de céramiqués Urewe de Transition et Boudiné (Le Début de L’Age du Fer). Cet article fournit des preuves supplémentaires sur une région d’Afrique tropicale où les sépultures sont bien conservées. Ces conditions offrent des opportunités inhabituelles d'évaluer le syncrétisme dans les traitements rituels des morts, en utilisant des pratiques funéraires qui ajoutent de manière significative aux preuves précédemment documentées dans le NCLR. L'inhumation rituelle des morts sur les bords occidentaux de la caldeira, où le renouveau céleste est assuré, montre une continuité à long terme grâce à la documentation des enterrements ultérieurs de la période Bigo.

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