A Search for Origins
Science, History and South Africa's 'Cradle of Humankind'
Published on 15. April 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
332 pages
978-1-86814-418-1 (ISBN)
Description
A study of the 'Cradle of Humanity and its history.
The 'Cradle of Humankind' (COH), bordering Gauteng and the North-West Province, was declared a World Heritage Site for the wealth of the human and animal fossils found there. Research based on fossils found in the area as well as signs of early human habitation have shed new light on the evolution of humankind and on the significant role that southern Africa played in the development of modern humans. A Search for Origins aims to provide an overview of the history of the COH, and of the important discoveries that have been made there, for a non-specialist audience. A number of general accounts have been written which have concentrated on the palaeontological discoveries made there. No systematic account written by specialists in their disciplines has, however, been published about the wider history of the COH and surrounding areas. In particular, no overview spanning the evolution of early plant and animal life, human development and recent and colonial history as reflected in discoveries linked to the COH, has been attempted. This edited volume frames the scientific advances that have been made in the COH against the intellectual and political background out of which they emerged. The multi-disciplinary approach - from a wide range of specialists -is innovative and ground-breaking.
The 'Cradle of Humankind' (COH), bordering Gauteng and the North-West Province, was declared a World Heritage Site for the wealth of the human and animal fossils found there. Research based on fossils found in the area as well as signs of early human habitation have shed new light on the evolution of humankind and on the significant role that southern Africa played in the development of modern humans. A Search for Origins aims to provide an overview of the history of the COH, and of the important discoveries that have been made there, for a non-specialist audience. A number of general accounts have been written which have concentrated on the palaeontological discoveries made there. No systematic account written by specialists in their disciplines has, however, been published about the wider history of the COH and surrounding areas. In particular, no overview spanning the evolution of early plant and animal life, human development and recent and colonial history as reflected in discoveries linked to the COH, has been attempted. This edited volume frames the scientific advances that have been made in the COH against the intellectual and political background out of which they emerged. The multi-disciplinary approach - from a wide range of specialists -is innovative and ground-breaking.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Johannesburg
South Africa
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
151 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 173 mm
Thickness: 48 mm
Weight
842 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86814-418-1 (9781868144181)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Trefor Jenkins | Phil Bonner | Amanda Esterhuysen
A Search for Origins
Science, history and South Africa's 'Cradle of Humankind'
E-Book
10/2007
Abingdon Press
€40.99
Available for download
Persons
Trefor Jenkins was appointed the first Professor of Human Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1975, and has done research into the genetic relationships between living peoples, as well as training and mentoring a large number of clinical geneticists, molecular geneticists and genetic counsellors.
Phil Bonner was Professor of History at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he held the National Research Foundation (NRF) Chair in Local Histories and Present Realities.
Amanda Esterhuysen is Associate Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Phil Bonner was Professor of History at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he held the National Research Foundation (NRF) Chair in Local Histories and Present Realities.
Amanda Esterhuysen is Associate Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Content
Foreword Phillip Tobias; Part 1; Introduction Philip Bonner Africa is seldom what it seems; Chapter 1 Saul Dubow The South Africanisation of Science (working title); Part 2; Introduction Trefor Jenkins Fossils and genes: A new anthropology of evolution; Chapter 2 Kevin Kuykendall/Goran Strkalj A history of South African palaeoanthropology; Chapter 3 Kevin Kuykendall Fossil hominids of the Cradle of Humankind; Chapter 4 Himla Soodyall/Trefor Jenkins Unravelling the history of modern humans in southern Africa: The contribution of genetic studies; Chapter 5 Marion Bamford Fossil plants from the Cradle of Humankind; Part 3; Introduction Amanda Esterhuysen The Emerging Stone Age; Chapter 6 Amanda Esterhuysen The Earlier Stone Age; Chapter 7 Lynn Wadley The Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age; Chapter 8 David Pearce Rock engravings in the Magaliesberg Valley; Part 4; Introduction Philip Bonner The myth of the vacant land; Chapter 9 Tom Huffman The Early Iron Age at Broederstroom and around the Cradle of Humankind; Chapter 10 Simon Hall Tswana history in the Bankenveld; Chapter 11 Jane Carruthers Early Boer republics: Changing political forces in the Cradle of Humankind, 1830s to 1890s; Part 5; Introduction Philip Bonner The racial paradox - Sterkfontein, Smuts and segregation; Chapter 12 Philip Bonner The legacy of gold; Chapter 13 Phillip V. Tobias The story of Sterkfontein, 1895-1947; Chapter 14 Vincent Carruthers The Anglo-Boer War in the Cradle of Humankind; Chapter 15 Tim Clynick White South Africa's 'weak sons': Poor whites and the Hartebeespoort Dam; Epilogue Bonner/ Esterhuysen.