Identity area
Identifier
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Other form(s) of name
Type
- University
Contact area
Description area
History
Background of the Recorder
The Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town has strong programmes in a variety of topics. Some are closely affiliated with the arts and humanities; others lie nearer to the natural sciences. We are fortuitously located in the Western Cape of South Africa , a region rich in archaeological heritage, with evidence of human occupation for the last half million years. In order to understand and interpret this heritage, the faculty and students in our department interact widely with a number of other departments (Anthropology, Environmental and Geographical Science, History, Geological Sciences, Human Biology, Zoology) and institutions (such as the Iziko Museums of Cape Town). Specific research interests include issues related to human evolution, the emergence of modern humans, and the history of hunter-gatherer, pastoralist and farming communities in southern Africa, as well as the archaeology of more recent colonial settlement. In addition, the Department is home to archaeometric and materials research, focusing on paleoanthropology, past environments, early human diets and materials analysis. More recently, the Department of Archaeology has developed expertise in Cultural Resource Management, working with both government and private sectors to mitigate the effects of development and widen public awareness of the importance of the past.