You are invited to a seminar at the University of Pretoria by Dr Matt Lotter (UJ PRI) titled "Canteen Kopje: a 21st century Stone Age site". The seminar will present an overview of past and present work at Canteen Kopje and explore extant issues involving tourism, illegal mining and community engagement.

• Date: 21 August
• Time: 13:30 to 14:40
• Venue: Humanities Building Floor 8, Room 18
• Please RSVP to tim.forssman@up.ac.za by 20 August.

Canteen Kopje is a well-known archaeological site in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, having had a long and complex history. The site, and nearby town of Barkly West, were initially put on the map in the late 1800s following the discovery of diamonds in the surrounding Vaal River gravels. It was during these early diamond diggings that extremely large quantities of Stone Age artefacts were unearthed, which attracted the attention of scholars. In 1948, the site was subsequently declared a national monument in recognition of this heritage.

Most recently, Canteen Kopje has been the focus of both local and international collaborative research teams, and a range of studies has been conducted exploring various aspects of this intricate palaeolandscape. From this research we now have a better understanding of how the gravels were deposited at the site, what they contain in terms of the preserved archaeology, and what these assemblages represent within the current framework of our southern African regional Stone Age sequence.

This presentation will provide a general discussion of the significance of Canteen Kopje, and it will provide an overview of both past and present research. It will also explore issues that the site currently faces within the broader context of a developing nation.