Past Imperfect : the contested early history of the Mapungubwe Archive

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the contested early history of the Mapungubwe Archive held and curated at the University of Pretoria. The Archive preserves materials of enduring historical value associated with the internationally declared site known as Mapungubwe in South Africa, and consequently the Archive forms an integral part of the University of Pretoria’s institutional memory. This study interrogates the context as well as the many gaps in the Mapungubwe Archive, by examining specific aspects such as the multiple narratives of Mapungubwe discoveries prior to the traditionally viewed discovery in 1933. Furthermore, it elucidates the University of Pretoria’s control of the Mapungubwe gold “treasure trove” during the maiden years of the early 1930s through the lens of the institutional instrument known as the Archaeological Committee (1933-1947) that was governed by the University of Pretoria Council who reported all progress to the State. The context of the Mapungubwe Archive is considered in lieu of content, particularly through decisions by the University that moved away from its foundations as the English Transvaal University College in 1908 towards the decidedly partisan Afrikaner nationalist University of Pretoria in 1932. Research further delves into those individuals linked with the University of Pretoria Archaeological Committee that reported directly to the University Council and the Minister of the Interior, J.H. Hofmeyr. It is argued that the unsung hero in Mapungubwe history is not necessarily the well-known historian Leo Fouché, but rather the unknown but highly influential figure of Jacob de Villiers Roos, an affluent member closely associated to influential politicians such as J.C. Smuts and J.B.M. Hertzog. Smuts as a founding member of the TUC, and his friend J. de Villiers Roos, played a critical financial and legal role in securing rights to Mapungubwe for the University Council within the milieu of the 1933 general elections and at a time when the University was attempting to buttress the ideals of national unity. Beyond the excavation history which is not covered in this thesis, is a subaltern history lying within the Mapungubwe Archive that fuelled the contestation debate, expounded by a Committee that controlled much of Mapungubwe on behalf of the University of Pretoria. Whilst the archaeology of Mapungubwe’s past was of great scientific consequence to South Africa, it generated the controversy between the physical biological anthropologists and the cultural anthropologists, including the controversy between archaeologists and anatomists, whilst those same scholar’s marginalised local knowledge histories. This thesis later focuses on the greater ethical and moral consequence of the questions of legal title, treasure trove, rights of discovery and other legitimate legislative matters that required delicate manoeuvring by the University of Pretoria from the onset of Mapungubwe’s gold discovery. In addition were the changes in historical legislation overtime into heritage legislation which contribute to the debates of ownership and stewardship. It is in this historical and political context, that this study seeks to explore the University’s perceived status and power over Mapungubwe, questioning how, why and within which political and social settings, critical decisions were made such as securing a national treasure on behalf of the Union of South Africa. Although Mapungubwe’s archaeological past has been researched progressively in academia over eight decades, little scholarly attention has been paid to any historical interest in the Mapungubwe Archive. By interrogating the Mapungubwe Archive, a wealth of untapped historical sources could illuminate the origins of some controversies of Mapungubwe’s colonial past and how they mirror present heritage debates and disputes in forming the contemporary history and governance of the Mapungubwe Archive by the University of Pretoria. The central argument is how the Mapungubwe Archive needs to be questioned not only as a historical source, but rather as a discourse within global trends of “reading against the grain”. This study focuses on the conceptual notion of history as an imperfect past. The underlying moral of this thesis is that research argues that Mapungubwe’s contested past is inherently unfinished and flawed, because the past constantly challenges many ideas of the present.