Cape Field School Programme
South Africa
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The Cape Field School programme is held annually during the
South African summer months of February- May and again in spring
from September Ð December. The school offers a rare opportunity
to learn about southern African archaeology from both a theoretical
and practical perspective. The program is particularly suited
to archaeology graduates and undergraduates who wish to become
archaeologists. However, it will also benefit students who have
an interest in social anthropology, ecology, zoology and botany.
Students will participate in classroom and excavation activities
during an intensive twelve week field school based in Cape Town
and at De Hoop Nature Reserve
Download the Cape Field Introductory
Guide
Download the January to April 2007 Itinerary
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Programme
The
Field School is divided into a number of modules
| Module 1
consists of a week of formal classes held at the African Heritage
Research Institute in Cape Town. Expert local archaeologists and historians
provide a detailed theoretical background to the southern African
Stone Ages. The Field School then moves to De Hoop Nature Reserve
for the next 6 weeks. |
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Module
2 provides two week's practical training in field
craft, geology, faunal osteology, shellfish identification, lithic
technology, surveying, site location and recording and assessing
site potential.
A practical exam on faunal osteology, shellfish and lithics follows. |
Site Surveying |
Osteology practical |
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| Module
3 focuses on hands-on training in all aspects of site excavation. Students receive practical training in laying out a site, excavation techniques, processing and recording finds and finds analysis. For two weeks we excavate a Later Stone Age site, Vaalkrans Shelter,
located in De Hoop. Excavation is on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday, and Wednesday is spent sorting and analysing the recovered
material. Each artifact larger than 2 cm is piece plotted using XYZ
co-ordinates during excavation and then identified to body part, species,
raw material etc. This information is entered on a record sheet and
plotted on graph paper. The artifact is placed in a zip top bag with
the relevant information recorded on the bag. |
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Thus, the excavation process is
slow but accurate and theoretically each piece recovered could
be placed back in the exact position from which it was recovered.
This information is vital when we look at spatial patterning
within the site and tells us how people organised their activities
within the cave.Students are expected to keep a detailed field
journal that is evaluated, as is the performance of field and
analysis tasks. |
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Potberg Education Centre |
| During Module
4 students design and make an informative
poster on a topic of their choice relating to ecology or archaeology
in the De Hoop area. The information included should be accessible
to a diverse, non-archaeologist audience. There is a 15 minute
presentation of the findings on your poster to local school
children during an open day at the centre. |
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| Module
5 comprises a 2 week tour of archaeological sites
within the Western Cape. This includes staying for a week near Blombos
Cave; two nights at Plettenberg Bay visiting Nelson Bay Cave and Matjes
River; two nights at McGregor for a wine tour of the region and three
nights in the Cederberg. Here we visit well known rock art sites and
Hollow Rock Shelter. We then return to Cape Town. |
Blombos cave |
Rock art at Cederberg |
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| During Module
6 you spend 4 weeks in Cape Town. This time
is set aside for researching an essay topic that is handed
in after Week 3. It is then evaluated and you are given your
final grade before you return to Norway. |
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