What's in the news?
It is hoped that this page might report progress regarding conservation of the site. Phragmites reed and Eucalyptus encroachment needs to be managed and for this we hope to raise funds and support. [See page "Off-beat Conjectures" - a response to an article which appeared in the Sunday Independent newspaper in September 2003] |
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Tours
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Some comments on the thesis on which this website is based
"A cable-like argument establishes a theoretical framework linking the singular landscape features of Driekopseiland, the placement of the rock engravings, beliefs about water and rain, and Khoi-San cultural practices - particularly female puberty rites. Although other authors have hinted at such connections in the past, no-one has examined the implications so thoroughly before. The candidate modestly notes that the thesis does not deliver a renaissance, but seeks to enlarge the frames of meaning in terms of landscape and of history in one corner of the Northern Cape (p. 22). It has achieved more than that, however, in demonstrating the value of a methodology based on middle-range theory drawn from appropriate ethnography and applied to rock art that was done hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago in a well chosen spot in the landscape. It is therefore a significant contribution to knowledge that will be widely cited." - Dr J. Deacon "The analysis demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the ambiguities and fluidities of [...] Khoi and San beliefs, ritual practices and identity constructions. This historically embedded and anti-essentialist approach to rock art interpretation is a crucial intervention within archaeology. Drawing on contemporary anthropological theory, Morris challenges timeless and bounded notions of 'ethnicity' and culture, and highlights the role of historical contingencies and cultural hybridities in shaping the forms of ritual practices and art forms in the Northern Cape." - Dr S. Robins "The candidate has...made a significant contribution that will undoubtedly attract considerable academic attention." - Prof A.J.B. Humphreys "It is a splendid piece of work! Congratulations! You have produced a marvellous synthesis of the ethnography." - Prof J.D. Lewis-Williams |
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