Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Archaeology of Culture Contact on the Kalahari's Fringe, Botswana

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Under the supervision of Dr. Margaret W. Conkey, David Cohen will conduct an archaeological excavation, as well as analyze artifacts and data from the site of Botlhano Fela. Botlhano Fela is located in southeastern Botswana on a hilltop in the present-day village of Thamaga on the fringe of the Kalahari Desert. Botlhano Fela was occupied at various times by different groups, with the final Iron Age village occupation dating to around 1600 A.D., but has yet undated earlier forager occupations that span back into the Later Stone Age, possibly as far as other sites in the immediate area that date to 2300 B.C. This site, combined with materials excavated by Cohen and others in the area from six other sites, will show the changes in the lives of groups of foragers, herders, and farmers living in the area over time as these groups came into increasing contact with each other, as well as wider social and political networks in the region. Anthropological and archaeological research around the Kalahari and further afield has been influenced and dominated by polarized arguments focused on the relationships that developed between indigenous foragers and immigrant farming and herding peoples beginning about 2000 years ago. Arguments have centered around the nature and intensity of group interactions and participation in social, political, and trade networks, and have been influenced by historic observations of the domination and subordination of minority cultural groups by larger consortiums of Bantu-speaking groups that has persisted into the present. This project is designed to examine the development, or lack thereof, of these group relations through time to see how they developed and may have appeared differently than those observed in recent history. By examining the material remains of daily economic and social activities, changes in groups ways of life will tell the stories of how people coped with and modified their daily lives in light of the changing social landscape they were living within. Simple archaeological remains such as ceramics, personal adornment, stone and metal tools, and other artifacts of daily human activities are extremely useful for observing cultural change, and within the scope of this project will contribute to understanding the variability of human behavior and change in the region, aspects of cultural persistence, as well serve as an example for research in other parts of the world. In addition to the important contributions of this research to the social sciences and historical studies, it is designed to have a much broader impact. In earlier stages of this research, and within this current stage, an effort has been made to increase the level of public interest and understanding of the practice and science of archaeology, as well as the importance of stewardship and protecting cultural heritage, in the immediate village of Thamaga. This has involved posters about the project with research progress and findings, participation in community meetings, talks to schoolchildren, and informal conversations initiated by interested persons in the village. Outside of Thamaga, this project has and will continue to be a research and training experience for undergraduate students from the University of Botswana, as it is very important for foreign researchers to contribute to the development of skills and opportunities within the country where they receive permission to conduct research. Cohen has also shared research findings from earlier stages of this research at public lectures hosted by the Botswana National Museum. Finally, in addition to training students within Botswana, the analysis of archaeological materials from this excavation will continue to involve undergraduate students at the University of California Berkeley, providing them hands-on experiences and training in the quantitative and qualitative aspects of archaeology. Finally, a goal of this research is to promote and improve cultural understandings between different groups living within Botswana, and contribute to the world discourse on recognizing the importance of all group histories, voices, and contributions to humanity. Within the context of a democratic nation such as Botswana, this project will promote the power, recognition, and respect of all cultural group histories in the development of a nation, and the importance of these for maintaining the ideals of true democracy.