Research Articles (Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies)

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The contribution of cart traders to fresh produce accessiblity in Soshanguve township, South Africa
Sithole, Oscar; Wegerif, Marc C.A. (Springer, 2025-10)
Mobile cart traders are a vital component of the ‘informal’ food sector and urban food systems in South Africa and beyond. Yet, their contribution to food security remains poorly understood, largely due to limited data on their operations—what they sell, when and where they trade, and how they organize their work. This knowledge gap has led to their exclusion from policymaking and urban planning. This article uses a qualitative case study approach to examine the role of mobile cart traders selling fresh produce in improving access to nutritious and affordable food. Drawing on existing literature on street trading, the study argues that cart traders are integral to the (informal) food economy. They play a crucial role in making fresh, nutrient-rich produce accessible, which is essential for balanced diets and better health outcomes. The research is grounded in multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted primarily in Soshanguve township, complemented by interviews and observations in other low-income urban areas across Gauteng Province, South Africa. The study explores how cart traders organize themselves to make fresh produce available to the urban poor. Findings show that most traders—predominantly immigrants from Southern Africa—entered the trade due to limited opportunities in the formal job market. Their businesses rely on socially embedded networks and informal economic practices that build trust and reciprocity among customers and peers. By meeting essential food needs, creating livelihoods, and mitigating the effects of supermarket-driven “food deserts,” these traders make a significant contribution to urban food security. Their earnings also circulate locally, generating wider economic benefits within the communities where they live and trade. These findings underscore the need for inclusive policies and urban planning frameworks that recognize and support the role of mobile cart traders in sustaining urban food systems.
Sisonke : a critical appraisal of South Africa's Covid-19 vaccine trial
Hodes, Rebecca (Routledge, 2024)
When South Africa’s Covid-19 pandemic emerged in March 2020, scientists mobilised quickly and effectively to parse and produce evidence to inform the state’s response. South Africa became a site for numerous Covid-19 vaccine trials. While many publications in scientific journals have explored the effects of Covid-19 vaccinations, in South Africa and globally, the social aspects of the vaccination rollout remain underexplored, particularly concerning the scientists and medical officials who were responsible for vaccine development. This article analyses the insights and experiences of vaccine trial investigators and other healthcare workers in South Africa. The study is based on in-depth, qualitative interviews conducted with 16 trial investigators and participants in three provinces – the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng – as well as with recipients and providers of the vaccine. Sisonke, meaning ‘together’ in isiZulu, is one of the most ambitious public health endeavours yet pursued in South Africa. Initially targeting frontline healthcare workers and then a more broadly defined notion of ‘healthcare worker’, the vaccination trial brought almost half a million South Africans into a new ‘experimental order’, facilitated by a consortium of vaccine providers. Crucially, the Sisonke trial was conducted largely through the same healthcare system that provided public treatment for another pandemic of communicable disease: HIV. Collaborations built in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic provided a critical framework upon which partners built the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zwisima na zwipise ndi fhethu ha zwifho : traditional hydrological knowledge, conservation and protection of groundwater among the Venda, northern South Africa
Magoma, Munyadziwa; Pikirayi, Innocent (Frontiers Media, 2025-09-22)
Springs are vital freshwater and hydrothermal groundwater sources. We pose the research question how springs are perceived in indigenous worldview and employ ethnographic and historical sources highlighting springs as sacred sites protected by myths and legends. The Venda regard water as a cultural entity deeply imbued with spiritual importance. Such knowledge is critical in conservation of groundwater, which surfaces through springs. Springs are not only associated with riverine headwaters, but also conform to particular drainage patterns, contributing to the overall water flow and drainage. This is of profound cultural importance where watershed and springs are associated with beginnings of life. Venda myths and legends demonstrate how such sacred environments regulated exploitation and conservation of biodiversity. Given modern infrastructure development, groundwater conservation must be located within particular indigenous worldviews.
Cultivating complexity : Thirteenth Century AD crop systems and wild plant utilization, South Africa
Steyn, Bianca; Antonites, Alexander (Springer, 2025-09)
The thirteenth century AD was a period that was marked by significant social changes, including the development of a class-based social system and the rise of elite sites like Mapungubwe, which became regional political centers. While substantial gains have been made in understanding MIA agriculture, some problems remain. For one, our knowledge of the spatial distribution and variability of agricultural practices is limited. As a result, this article provides a detailed analysis of macrobotanical assemblages from six archaeological sites located north of the Soutpansberg. Five crop species and 11 wild taxa were identified. Cenchrus americanus, Sorghum bicolor, and Vigna unguiculata were present at most sites. Eleusine coracana was identified from a single site within a higher rainfall zone. Vigna radiata was present at two sites, which attests to the incorporation of this imported crop into the interior. Our study is the first to compare macrobotanical results from communities that occupied different sociopolitical strata within the Mapungubwe world and from different regions. The results shed light on thirteenth-century crops and potential factors that influence plant use, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the diet and agricultural practices of MIA communities. Résumé Le treizième siècle de notre ère fut une période marquée par d'importants changements sociaux, notamment le développement d’un système social basé sur les classes et l’essor de sites élitaires comme Mapungubwe, qui devinrent des centres politiques régionaux. Bien que des avancées significatives aient été réalisées dans la compréhension de l’agriculture de l’Âge du fer moyen, certaines problématiques subsistent. En particulier, notre connaissance de la répartition spatiale et de la variabilité des pratiques agricoles reste limitée. En conséquence, cet article propose une analyse détaillée des assemblages macrobotaniques provenant de six sites archéologiques situés au nord du massif du Soutpansberg. Cinq espèces cultivées et onze taxons sauvages ont été identifiés. Cenchrus americanus, Sorghum bicolor et Vigna unguiculata étaient présentes sur la majorité des sites. Eleusine coracana a été identifiée sur un seul site situé dans une zone à plus forte pluviométrie. Vigna radiata était présente sur deux sites, ce qui atteste de l’intégration de cette culture importée dans l’intérieur du territoire. Notre étude est la première à comparer des résultats macrobotaniques issus de communautés ayant occupé différentes strates sociopolitiques au sein du monde de Mapungubwe et provenant de différentes régions. Les résultats apportent un éclairage sur les cultures du treizième siècle ainsi que sur les facteurs susceptibles d’influencer l’usage des plantes, contribuant ainsi à une compréhension plus complète de l’alimentation et des pratiques agricoles des communautés de l’Âge du fer moyen.
Africa's cultural crossroads : archaeological evidence for ritual syncretism in western Uganda from western Kansyore, transitional Urewe, and bigo-period burials
Schmidt, Peter R.; Besigye, Jackline N.; Oteyo, Gilbert; Krigbaum, John; Asiimwe, Raymond; Niwahereza, Amon; Schmidt, Jane H.; Walz, Jonathan; Lejju, Julius; Lea, Sheridan (Springer, 2025-09)
Archaeological research in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region (NCLR) in western Uganda has contributed significant insights into first millennium AD multilingual communities. These diverse communities, sharing food ways, ceramic technologies, and ritual beliefs, are traced to Bantu speakers who interacted with Sudanic speakers who made Kansyore ceramics. One of the significant exchanges of cultural beliefs was the adoption of Kansyore burial urns by Bantu makers of Transitional Urewe and Boudiné ware (Early Iron Age). This article provides additional evidence for a region of tropical Africa where burials are well preserved. These conditions allow unusual opportunities to assess syncretism in ritual treatments of the dead, using funerary practices that add significantly to evidence previously documented in the NCLR. Ritual interment of the dead on western caldera rims, where celestial renewal is assured, shows long-term continuities through documentation of later Bigo-period burials. Résumé La recherche archéologique dans la région des lacs de cratère Ndali (NCLR), dans l'ouest de l'Ouganda, a apporté des informations significatives sur les communautés multilingues du premier millénaire après JC. Ces diverses communautés, partageant des méthodes alimentaires, des technologies céramiques et des croyances rituelles, sont attribuées aux locuteurs bantous qui ont interagi avec les locuteurs soudanais qui fabriquaient des céramiques Kansyore. L'un des échanges importants de croyances culturelles a été l'adoption de l'urnes funéraire du Kansyore par les fabricants bantous de céramiqués Urewe de Transition et Boudiné (Le Début de L’Age du Fer). Cet article fournit des preuves supplémentaires sur une région d’Afrique tropicale où les sépultures sont bien conservées. Ces conditions offrent des opportunités inhabituelles d'évaluer le syncrétisme dans les traitements rituels des morts, en utilisant des pratiques funéraires qui ajoutent de manière significative aux preuves précédemment documentées dans le NCLR. L'inhumation rituelle des morts sur les bords occidentaux de la caldeira, où le renouveau céleste est assuré, montre une continuité à long terme grâce à la documentation des enterrements ultérieurs de la période Bigo.
Hunting by farmers in the Central Lowveld of South Africa : the Late Iron Age fauna from Mluwati
Badenhorst, Shaw; Hurter, Karien; Kusel, Udo (Springer, 2025-09)
Mluwati is a Late Iron Age site in the central Lowveld of South Africa. Historically, this region is known to host several fatal diseases for humans and livestock, including malaria and nagana. Mluwati was excavated in 2002 as part of rescue excavations during the construction of a lodge. The faunal assemblage from Mluwati contains a variety of mammals, notably larger ungulates such as blue wildebeest, impala, and plains zebra. The giant African land snail and tortoise remains are also common. The fauna from Mluwati is similar to that of other Early and Late Iron Age sites from the central Lowveld, where large ungulates were also hunted. The faunal assemblage from Mluwati is relatively large yet lacks any domestic animals. Faunal samples from the Early and Late Iron Ages in the central Lowveld indicate that there are several sites lacking livestock, which is not the result of small sample sizes. When samples do contain livestock, they are represented in lower numbers, and hunted animals dominate. Some of the common animals in all the faunal samples from the central Lowveld include plains zebra, blue wildebeest, impala, tortoise, and the giant African land snail. The area has been an attractive hunting ground for several centuries, where people may have been practicing seasonal sedentism. Résumé Mluwati est un site de la fin de l'âge du fer dans le Lowveld central d'Afrique du Sud. Historiquement, cette région est connue pour héberger plusieurs maladies mortelles pour les humains et le bétail, y compris le paludisme et la nagana. Mluwati a été excavé en 2002 dans le cadre de fouilles de sauvetage lors de la construction d'une lodge. L'assemblage faunique de Mluwati contient une variété de mammifères, en particulier des ongulés plus grands tels que le gnou bleu, l'impala et le zèbre de plaine. Les restes du grand escargot terrestre africain et de la tortue sont également communs. La faune de Mluwati est semblable à celle d'autres sites de l'âge du fer précoce et tardif dans le Lowveld central, où des ongulés similaires étaient également chassés. L'assemblage faunique de Mluwati est relativement grand mais ne contient aucun animal domestique. Les échantillons fauniques des âges du fer précoce et tardif dans le Lowveld central indiquent qu'il existe plusieurs sites dépourvus de bétail, ce qui n'est pas le résultat d'un petit échantillon.
Against the odds : engaged young fatherhood in contemporary South Africa
Hodes, Rebecca; Morrell, Robert (Routledge, 2025)
This article explores the positions of young fathers living in contexts of unemployment and poverty in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. We use two primary sources of data to explore young men’s ideas about fatherhood, as articulated in letters written to their children as well as in ethnographic fieldnotes based on conversations with 11 young fathers. This article highlights the ambitions that young men have for themselves as providers for their children, despite the precarity they face. We explore contextual factors which impact on how fatherhood is experienced. We identify issues of precarity (joblessness; lack of resources, prospects and customary transactions) which limit the ability of fathers to realise their own expectations and hopes for decent fatherhood. We examine how a group of young fathers convey both their aspirations for, and regrets about, their relationships with their children. Ultimately, the conditions of precarity frustrate young fathers’ ambitions, and continue to work against the enactment of new gender orders and positive masculine norms in South Africa.
Too many rights? Women’s reproductive freedom in post-apartheid South Africa
Hodes, Rebecca (Transformation, 2024)
This article explores the contestations over the legislation and enactment of sexual and reproductive rights in South Africa. The rights to free, quality sexual and reproductive health and rights are inscribed in the Constitution (1996) and within copious legislation and policy documents, yet their realisations remains elusive for much of the population. Teenage pregnancy is a particular node for controversy and public disapprobation in present-day South Africa. Public anxieties and opposition to teenage pregnancy relates, in complex ways, to broader suspicions about moral atavism among young women, in particular. There is a sense that the democratic transition has dismantled established modes of social regulation, resulting in a rupture in the social fabric and in concomitant social damage. This article explores two elements of this idea. Firstly, that the legislation of democratic freedoms has licensed sexual promiscuity among young women. Secondly, that this sexual promiscuity is related to other forms of profligate consumption among the ‘born free’ generation – those born after the first democratic elections in 1994. Based on seven years of qualitative research in the Eastern Cape as part of a study on post-apartheid youth, this article contrasts claims about the social damage brought about by the empowerment of women in the post-apartheid era, with the experiential accounts of young men and women themselves, as well as their older caregivers.
From promised land to perilous plight : unpacking tensions, contestations and marginalisation in resettlement schemes of Zimbabwe
FleMandipaza, Brian (Sage, 2025-06)
Phase 1 of the Land Reform Programme soon after independence redistributed land previously owned by white farmers to the majority of black Zimbabweans. In understanding this phase, previous studies have emphasised on how it was structured, the tenure systems, the beneficiaries and land use patterns. However, the existing socio-political landscape, livelihoods and well-being of resettled farmers have been understudied. This article examines tensions between resettled farmers and illegal settlers using empirical qualitative data from a case study in the Nyajezi resettlement scheme, Nyanga District. The article presents new forms of conflicts, contestations and marginalisation in resettlement schemes.
Notes on Zhizo leokwe macro botanical remains from Schroda Limpopo Valley
Antonites, Annie R.; Steyn, Bianca; Antonites, Alexander (South African Archaeological Society, 2024)
We present the results of a macro-botanical analysis of carbonised seeds from Schroda, considered the earliest Limpopo Valley settlement of socio-economic and political prominence in the Mapungubwe sequence. Although not systematically collected during excavation, the identified Cenchrus americanus (pearl millet), Sorghum sp. (sorghum), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), and wild plant remains contribute towards building the regional dataset necessary to understand Middle Iron Age plant use in the Limpopo Valley. The probable identification of Vigna radiata (mung bean), introduced to the region through Indian Ocean trade networks, could be the earliest example of this crop’s presence in the interior of southern Africa.
Technology and microwear of worked bone from Letaba, an Early Iron Age site in the Limpopo province, South Africa
Bradfield, Justin; Antonites, Alexander; Antonites, Annie R. (Springer, 2025-07)
Letaba is a large first millennium AD settlement located within the present-day boundaries of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The site was excavated in three phases starting in the 1970s, with the most recent phase still in progress. The site is of regional significance because of its connections to early Indian Ocean trade networks. A large number of worked bones have been recovered at the site, which could point to either endogenous manufacture, or, as per the more conventional interpretation, exchange with autochthonous hunter-gatherers. In this paper, we present the results of a technological and use-wear study of the ninety-four worked bone artefacts that have been recovered to date. We also consider the use and deposition contexts of the bone artefacts and compare the findings to that of two contemporaneous Early Iron Age settlements in South Africa. Our results show the bone working strategy at Letaba bears closer resemblance to contemporaneous Iron Age sites than it does to Later Stone Age ones, but is also distinct in a number of respects. The results enable a more nuanced understanding of Early Iron Age bone manufacturing practices and the activities in which these objects were used.
The contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane village, Limpopo province, South Africa
Ramatshekgisa, Malebo Gratitude; Naidoo, Dhee (Global Commerce and Communication, Inc., 2024-03-25)
Although South Africa is considered to be food secure at the country level, large numbers of households within the country remain food insecure (De Cock et al. 2013). Food inaccessibility in many rural areas of South Africa has manifested itself in many formats but has positioned poor households to struggle to meet their basic household requirements and be more vulnerable to food insecurity. Details of such food insecurity, however, may differ (De Cock et al. 2013; D’Haese et al. 2013). This study aimed to investigate the contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane Village, in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A quota sampling method was used to select 20 smallholder farmers in Chabelane Village. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the analysis of data was done using thematic analysis. This study has highlighted the prevalence of food security status among smallholder farmers. Household food security in rural areas is a significant matter, as it is necessary to have appropriate access to healthy foods that lead to active life. Furthermore, the study highlighted the smallholder farmers’ agricultural practices which are crop farming and livestock farming. Moreover, increased food supply, job opportunities, and income generation were highlighted as the contributions of the smallholder farmers toward household food security. However, the smallholder farmers in this study area experienced challenges such as lack of finances, water shortages, and lack of access to formal market. This study recommends access to financial aid through access to loans from the banks, raising awareness among smallholder farmers about the knowledge on how to access formal markets. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture or local municipality to provide water tanks or boreholes for smallholder farmers to have undisrupted access to water for productive farming practices. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the contributions of smallholder farmers towards household food security by providing valuable insights into the relationship between food security and smallholder farmers, particularly in Chabelane Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Large dam–induced displacements, compensation and conflicts : interpreting conflict over LHWP II implementation in Lesotho
Lehema, Reitumetse Elizabeth; Thebe, Vusilizwe (Sage, 2024-09)
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II (LHWP II) implementation in Mokhotlong district has generated bitter conflict between affected communities and the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA). This conflict has been explained in terms of dissatisfaction by affected communities over compensation. This article argues that the compensation question is complex and that the LHDA failed to appreciate the complexity of the issue. As a result, it did not grasp the realities of displacement and resettlement and treated community losses like a transaction, which could be traded off at market value. It, thus, stresses the significance of the socio-cultural element and the need to consider this for any compensation policy. The conclusion is that conflict occurred due to the gap between the compensation package and realities of losses, which could result in the impoverishment of affected households.
Global currents, local tides : an examination of the dynamic interplay between global value chains and local food markets
Mangnus, Ellen; Wegerif, Marc C.A. (Elsevier, 2025-06)
This article contributes to a special issue critically examining the shift from an “international” to a “global” development paradigm. Focusing on global value chains, the paper critiques the convergence-divergence thesis of Horner and Hulme (2019), which posits that globalization leads to converging development trends across countries but diverging inequalities within them. The article argues for a more in-depth examination of how local contexts, market practices, and actors interact with global dynamics. Through a narrative review, the paper traces the evolution of global value chains—from a framework for analysing transnational supply chains to a development tool—and critiques its limitations in addressing the complex inequalities that emerge both within and between countries. Focusing on food production, trade, and consumption, the article proposes a practice-based approach to globalization that more effectively captures the dynamics of global–local interactions and offers a nuanced understanding of how people shape—and are shaped by—globalization in their daily lives.
Granite landforms and water storage at Great Zimbabwe
Pikirayi, Innocent (Sage, 2024-05)
Recent research at Great Zimbabwe (1100–1750 ad) interpreted the earthen scars or depressions located within the monumental complexes and referred to in the archaeological record as dhaka pits, as water storage facilities. Beyond these pits, I examine the broader landscape context of Great Zimbabwe to understand the site’s catchment area, which, though limited in extent, comprises a hilly terrain that allows for rapid run-off. This necessitated the harvesting and storage of water for consumption at Great Zimbabwe. The associated granite geology is part of the crystalline rocks characterising much of the Zimbabwe craton, and such geological contexts served as aquifers that also stored water that the ancient residents used. Geological research during the past two or so decades on the potential of composite or weathered-fractured rock aquifers developing within the weathered overburden calls for a deeper understanding of granite hydrogeologic properties in the context of water conservation. In this article, I demonstrate that this knowledge was already known by residents of Great Zimbabwe more than five centuries ago.
New evidence for early Indian Ocean trade routes into the South African interior
Antonites, Alexander; Antonites, Annie R.; Peterson, Christian E.; Hopf, Tyron Denis; Ndlovu, Ndukuyakhe (National Academy of Sciences, 2025-02)
The rise and spread of ancient Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) trade networks profoundly impacted southern Africa. Control over this trade played a critical role in the rise and maintenance of complex societies of the second millennium CE such as Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. While the African origins of this trade lie in the first millennium CE, understanding its earliest phases and subsequent development in the far south has been hampered by a general paucity of research. The recovery of Persian Gulf ceramic sherds and Asian glass beads from the Letaba region of northeastern South Africa demonstrates that communities up to 400 km inland were already part of IOR trade by the 10th century. Although glass beads have been found at several late first millennium CE sites throughout the region, glazed wares are much rarer by comparison. In southern Africa, archaeological sites with Persian Gulf ceramics largely date to between the 9th and 10th centuries with a distribution limited to the Limpopo River’s main tributaries. This distribution poses new questions about early IOR trade routes into the southern African interior and suggests Xai-Xai in southern Mozambique as a possible entry point for early IOR trade.
"Faith it, till you make it" : prosperity gospel and spiritual hustling among young pentecostal Christians in Harare
Taru, Josiah; McNeill, Fraser G. (Cambridge University Press, 2024-12)
Pentecostal charismatic churches that preach prosperity gospel in Zimbabwe have attracted a youthful membership. In the context of a deeply uncertain economic future, young Pentecostal Christians devise performativity strategies for optimizing their chances of converting prosperity gospel into material prosperity. These strategies include sartorial elegance in adorning counterfeit suits, the performance of obedience, and the use of social media technologies. The picture that emerges is a complex and at times contradictory one in which the potential realization of upward spiritual and social mobility rests, ultimately, on the transformative and volatile nature of value. Data for this project was collected in Harare through ethnographic research and interviews over a year-long period.
Ostrich eggshell beads from Little Muck Shelter, southern Africa : first impressions and regional perspectives
Kuhlase, Siphesihle; Forssman, Tim (UJ Press, 2024-07)
Hunting and gathering communities in southern Africa produced ostrich eggshell (OES) beads for personal ornamentation, trade and exchange, and various forms of symbolism. OES beads convey information related to not only technological processes, but also social histories, making them useful tools for investigating these processes in the archaeological record. In the middle Limpopo Valley, hunter-gatherers produced beads from periods that predated the arrival of farmer societies, before ca. AD 150, until the decline of the Mapungubwe capital, AD 1300. Their analysis may therefore lead to insights into local economies, craft activities, trade and exchange, and social roles. However, no study in the middle Limpopo Valley has sufficiently investigated these beads and their status within forager society. In this paper we study the manufacture of OES beads from one of the excavated forager-occupied shelters in the valley, Little Muck. This study is the first of its kind from a hunter-gatherer context in the region. It shows that Little Muck’s beads were standardised but produced in varying frequencies across temporal periods, and made following different production strategies. Use-wear analysis hints that some of the beads were pigmented and possibly altered using heat treatment. As an initial foray into a forager bead assemblage of the region, this study demonstrates the value such an approach may yield, and it aids in guiding future attempts. It also compares Little Muck’s bead assemblage with those from other sites across a much wider region where such studies have taken place. The findings demonstrate similar patterns to other parts of southern and eastern Africa, but also illustrate local shifts in bead production that follow changes in local socio-political dynamics.
Contested visions of sustainable development in conflicts over renewable energy, land, and human rights : a case study of Union Hidalgo, Mexico
De La O, Lorena Schwab; Jones, Peris (Sage, 2024-03)
The so-called ‘green shift’ poses dilemmas in developing sustainable sources of energy while ensuring the respect and protection of the rights of affected communities. The article seeks to advance understanding of how prevailing conceptualisations of Sustainable Development – as formulated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – are constructed and adopted at different scales and are implicated in and shape struggles over land and environmental conflicts. The exceptional geographical conditions for wind energy production in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca have led to significant investments in wind energy projects. In Unión Hidalgo, two projects are already in operation, the focus here. A content analysis was carried out of 36 documents published by three key actors involved (local defenders, companies, and the government at the state and federal levels). The results are then triangulated with insights from semi-structured interviews with local environmental defenders. The article shows how rights-based dimensions are perceived in a highly variable way and power relations unfold in discursive practices. That the project was eventually stopped, does, however, suggest the polyvalence of human rights, but that they are highly contingent – in this case, critically, part of social mobilisation, domestic litigation, and extra-territorial obligations of a company headquartered in France, all of which appear to rebalance power asymmetries uncovered in the analysis here.
The design and implementation of a new travelling museum initiative to bring heritage to people in Southern Africa
Forssman, Tim; Van Heerden, Justine (Routledge, 2025)
Traditional museums are faced with many challenges in Africa. One of these is the public's ability to access museum collections as well as heritage sites. This problem is worsened where physical barriers, such as distance, and financial constraints inhibit people's ability to view, visit, and engage heritage, resulting in a growing void. To overcome this, we developed and are testing a travelling museum initiative that presents the findings of an active archaeological research project currently underway in northern South Africa's middle Limpopo Valley. This paper presents the travelling museum and its theoretical underpinnings from inception to production. We provide details regarding the design and development of the museum and discuss the initial limitations and challenges. Our intention is to outline the details of this initiative because we believe that it may be of interest to others who wish to use similar approaches for their own community engagement programmes.

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