The West Coast Fossil Park invites you to attend an evening talk on the following topic: Archaeological Encounters with Recent Karoo History. The speaker is Professor Simon Hall of the Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town.

The landscape of the interior plateau referred to as the Karoo has meant different things to different people, both now and in the past. For |Xam hunter-gatherers it was home in all the complexity of the word, a place of deep dwelling, layered with meaning and memory that was etched into its rocks. For Khoe pastoralists it was a networked home of many places built around a delicate balance between rain, water and grazing. The word Karoo was morphed from Khoe through Dutch and invokes the need for balanced living in a hard and barren place.

This talk discusses some 19th century archaeological residues related to this historical layering and its rich cultural mélange and pursues two interrelated themes. One addresses the contribution these residues may make to an understanding of the Karoo, particularly during the 19th century, when the history of the region is also documented. The second acknowledges the brutal dispossession of home suffered by Khoesan from the 18th century but highlights archaeological contributions that put them back on this landscape by recognizing their cultural continuity.

13 June 2017  18h00 for 18h30 at the West Coast Fossil Park. Price R35 (meal R80)

RSVP:  Nadia/Wendy/Hildegard Tel: 022 766 1606 E-mail: edu@fossilpark.org.za

Please book early as we have limited space!