Repatriating more than Mapungubwe human remains: archaeological material culture, a shared future and an artificially divided past

Schoeman, Maria H.; Pikirayi, Innocent

doi:10.1080/02589001.2011.600847

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The site complex was declared a UNE-SCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Since then, activities at the site have been limited to the reburial and repatriation of human remains (Schoeman and Pikirayi 2011) and the stabilisation of old excavation trenches (Nienaber and Hutten 2006), while material culture studies have concentrated on the analysis of existing collections (e.g. Wood 2000;Steyn 2007;Antonites et al 2016;Tiley-Nel 2018), and excavations have shifted to outlying settlements (e.g.…”

Section: The K2 and Mapungubwe Settlement Complexesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shell disc beads and the development of class-based society at the K2-Mapungubwe settlement complex (South Africa)

Mouton

Antonites

2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The K2-Mapungubwe settlement complex is widely regarded as the centre for the development of class-based society out of earlier ranked communities between c. AD 900 and AD 1300 in northern South Africa, southern Zimbabwe, and eastern Botswana. Beads made from ostrich eggs, the shells of Achatinidae snails, and freshwater bivalves formed an important part of the K2-Mapungubwe economy. Although thousands of shell beads have been excavated at the K2-Mapungubwe complex, this assemblage has never been analysed or even quantified in any meaningful manner. As such, only rough estimates of the distribution, use, and meaning of shell beads at these important sites were done. This article represents the first focussed research effort on this assemblage. The results demonstrate distinct spatial and chronological changes in the shell bead assemblage. Achatina beads are more common earlier in earlier phases, but after AD 1220, ostrich eggshell beads dominate. This could indicate access to new sources of raw materials. Our analysis took into account the spatial and social contexts of beads. This indicated that shell bead assemblage from the higher-status royal living areas remained morphologically constant over time, with a clear preference for smaller-sized beads. In contrast, beads from the lower-status areas could be grouped into distinct clusters of larger and smaller beads. The grouping of smaller bead on lower-status areas closely resembles elite assemblages. Smaller beads however become proportionally rarer outside elite areas over time. This may reflect changes in elite control and preferential access to shell beads. These results demonstrate how the use and manufacture of shell beads intersected with the socio-political changes that characterise the period. It also highlights the need for careful consideration of shell beads as a significant component of the political economy in the southern African Iron Age.

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Section: The K2 and Mapungubwe Settlement Complexesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shell disc beads and the development of class-based society at the K2-Mapungubwe settlement complex (South Africa)

Mouton

Antonites

2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…The repatriation of indigenous ancestral remains excavated from archaeological contexts has also been a topic of discussion in recent years with examples from New Zealand (Douglas 2012;Buckley et al 2010;Brookes et al 2011;Brown and Thomas 2015), Africa (Schoeman and Pikirayi 2011), and the United States (Bray and Killion 1994;Painter-Thorne 2001. Hibbert (1998Hibbert ( -1999 examines the opposition of archaeologists to 1990 NAGPRA legislation on the grounds that they would lose the right to research, he asks, "Are these archaeologists who disinter Native American skeletal remains like modern Galileos, irrationally persecuted because of their scientific method, or are they simply 'grave robbers'?"…”

Section: Researching Māorimentioning

confidence: 99%

Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains.

Aranui¹

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<p>The repatriation of human remains has been the subject of much discussion and debate, especially since the 1990s. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the international literature relating to museums, indigenous peoples and repatriation; however, this literature is mainly written from the perspective of museums and universities. Although there has been some publication of the views on repatriation of indigenous communities there is a conspicuous absence of Māori perspectives in this literature. In particular, there is a lack of Māori voice on the repatriation of ancestral remains, as well as a lack of commentary on the so-called scientific research on ancestral remains that has taken place, and continues to take place, in universities, museums, and medical institutions around the world. This lack of indigenous perspective in the repatriation literature has resulted in mainstream assumptions about why indigenous communities, such as Māori, have been so active in repatriation activities over the last 25 years. The assumptions have tended to view the motives of indigenous peoples as politically motivated and even go as far as describing them as “activist” in nature rather than motivated by cultural beliefs and imperatives. This perceived view, as well as the views of many writers in the scientific and museum professions who do not agree with the repatriation of human remains back to origin communities because of their “loss to science” and therefore humankind, has prompted hotly contested debates concerning these issues. These contested views lead inevitably to the question of consent and whether the taking of skeletal remains from burial contexts to carry out ‘scientific’ research without consent is deemed ethical by today’s standards. The primary aim of this thesis is to document Māori perspectives on the repatriation of ancestral human remains and to understand the significance of Māori ancestral human remains for descendant communities. A secondary aim is to review some of the scientific research which has been carried out on Māori ancestral remains, and to identify the benefits, if any, of that research for descendant communities.</p>

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“…Während der ersten archäologischen Untersuchung des Mapungubwe Hill 1932/33 wurden Skelette entnommen, die 2008 unter archäologischer Leitung und der Beteiligung sogenannter bona fide-Descendants wiederbestattet wurden(Schoeman and Pikirayi 2011) 22. Zum Begriff der bona fide-Community oder -Descendants vergleiche Fußnote 4.…”

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From “Originals” to Replicas: Diverse Significance of Khmer Statues

Miura¹

Kultur Als Eigentum

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war er als studentische, später als examinierte Hilfskraft im Teilprojekt "The Ethics of/in Negotiating and Regulating Cultural Property" der DFG-Forschergruppe 772 beschäftigt. Neben politik-und sozialtheoretischen Fragestellungen liegen seine Interessenschwerpunkte im Bereich der Politischen Ökonomie und Marktsoziologie. Aktuell schreibt er an einer Abschlussarbeit zu Wolfgang Streecks "Gekaufte Zeit: Die vertagte Krise des demokratischen Kapitalismus". Aditya Eggert war im Zeitraum von 2009 bis 2014 als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin zunächst am Institut für Ethnologie, dann am Institut für Kulturanthropologie/Europäische Ethnologie der Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen tätig. Im Rahmen der DFG-Forschergruppe zu Cultural Property untersucht sie als Doktorandin das Konzept des immateriellen Kulturerbes und die Politik der Kulturerbe Implementierung in Kambodscha. Stefan Groth ist Postdoc-Fellow am Käte Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research der Universität Duisburg-Essen. Er studierte Soziologie, Kulturanthropologie/Europäische Ethnologie und Wirtschafts-und Sozialpsychologie in Göttingen und Udine. Als Mitglied der Göttinger Forschergruppe 772 promovierte er aus Perspektive der linguistischen Anthropologie über multilaterale Verhandlungen. Zu seinen Forschungsschwerpunkten gehören normative Dimensionen von Alltagskultur, die Verbindung von Kultur-und Sozialtheorie, kulturwissenschaftliche Innovationsforschung und kompetitive Dimensionen des Breitensports.

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Repatriating more than Mapungubwe human remains: archaeological material culture, a shared future and an artificially divided past

Cited by 12 publications

References 30 publications

Shell disc beads and the development of class-based society at the K2-Mapungubwe settlement complex (South Africa)

Shell disc beads and the development of class-based society at the K2-Mapungubwe settlement complex (South Africa)

Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains.

From “Originals” to Replicas: Diverse Significance of Khmer Statues

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