Tuesday, June 07, 2011

New Project :Wennegren Foundation Research Awards


One of ORI’s researchers, Dr. Susan Keitumetse, an archaeologist and cultural heritage specialist has been named as one of the recipients of the Wennegren Foundation Research award. The project will sponsor one (1) MPhil student at UB and the purchase of archaeological field equipment such as total station and GPsetc. The project, titled “Historical archaeology of marginal landscapes between Kgalakgadi Desert & Limpopo Dry Valleys”, will be carried out in the collaboration with Dr. Zoe Crossland (Co-Applicant), University of Columbia , and Ms Joyce Maphanyane (Co-PI), Environmental Science Dept, UB main campus. In brief the project is a component of the broader Cultural Heritage Programme being developed by Dr Keitumetse at ORI. The project looks at archaeological material and ethnographic evidence from the sparsely populated eco-tone between the Kgalagadi desert and the rich subsidiary valleys of the Limpopo river (Popularly referred to as ‘marginal spaces’) in order to explore the social, economic, and political interactions of the 19th century Botswana. The focus of the study will shift from the hilltop settlements and nucleated towns that have been the object of most research and focus on cattle-post areas to explore patterns of mobility, migration and social contact at a time of political change. This project is carried out in a circuit that will start in Central Botswana (Mosolotshane area) through Boteti area and finally Ngamiland following documented historical Tswana migration to North-West Botswana. The end product will be used by government stakeholders such as local communities, Botswana Tourism Organisation, Botswana National Museum, etc, to develop a tourism product needed to diversify Botswana tourism. We would like congratulate Dr Susan Keitumetse and her team on this achievement and flying the ORI flag high.

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