The evolution of symbolic expression

Dr Sarah Wurz
Curator : Pre-colonial archaeology

Social History Collections Department
South African Museum
Iziko Museums of Cape Town
PO Box 61, Cape Town, 8000
South Africa

Tel: +27 21 481 3888
Fax: +27 21 481 3993
Email: swurz@iziko.org.za

Research Interests

My initial venture into the evolution of the symbolic mind has been through the study of Middle Stone Age artefacts. I have undertaken typological, technological and statistical analyses of the lithic artefacts from Klasies River (see Wurz, S. 2002. Variability in the Middle Stone Age lithic Sequence, 115,000 - 60,000 years ago at Klasies River, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 29:1001-1015; Wurz, S., le Roux, N.J, Gardner, S. & Deacon, H.J. 2003. Discriminating between the end products of the earlier Middle Stone Age sub-stages at Klasies River using biplot methodology. Journal of Archaeological Science 30 (9): 1107-1126.)

To investigate the thought processes guiding stone tool technology I am comparing Middle Stone Age artefacts from Klasies River, Florisbad, Blombos Cave, Ysterfontein, Die Kelders and Peers Cave as part of a National Research Foundation African Origins Platform project on the technological behaviour humans and their ancestors. These Middle Stone Age artefacts show that hunter-gatherers between 140 000 – 60 000 years ago invented flexible strategies to manufacture stone tools as hunting and cutting implements. Examples include the denticulate artefacts from Ysterfontein and Howiesons Poort backed artefacts from Klasies River shown below. I am also interested in how symbolic capabilities reflect in bone tool technology and ornamentation.

I have studied the origins of music, focusing on the evolution of the biological the capabilities related to singing and the ability to entrain and synchronise rhythmical movements of the body. Music-making may have facilitated social bonding and the development of a symbolic mnemonic strategy in the evolutionary past. Important biological adaptations include habitual bipedalism, changes in the vestibular system and the enlarged thoracic vertebrate canal. I am particularly interested in how music-making entrain neural oscillators and whether capability of newborns to elicit parental care through synchronized vocal and bodily actions are associated with the evolution of music.

Rock art reproductions, archival records, folklore and myth

Petro Keene
Collections Manager: Pre-colonial Archaeology

Social History Department
Iziko Museums of Cape Town
P O Box 61, Cape Town, 8000

Tel.: +27 21 481 3883
Fax: +27 21 481 3993
Email: pkeene@iziko.org.za

Research Interests

My main research interest is in rock art reproductions, archival records, folklore and myth, with particular focus on the collection of Leo Frobenius and the expedition he undertook in 1928 to 1930. The rock art paintings and legacies of the Frobenius expeditions are being rediscovered. They are appreciated as works of art in their own right and are also of great historical interest. The Frobenius collection of 500 rock art reproductions housed at Iziko Museums, Cape Town, South Africa were purchased from Leo Frobenius in 1931 for a sum of 5 000 pounds. These are copies of the original works of art produced by Frobenius and his team during the 1928 to 1930 expedition. They travelled through parts of Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa and painted over 2000 copies. The reproductions were produced predominantly utilizing the medium, watercolour. The different styles of the individual artists are reflected in the various copies. The artists executed over 400 drawings and paintings of material culture as well as of village scenes and landscapes. Over 3 000 photographs were taken and a 16mm film was produced. Stories, myths and poems from local peoples were recorded. The archival records from this expedition are housed at the Frobenius Institute, Frankfurt/Main Germany, together with an extensive collection of rock art reproductions.

I am also interested in Iron Age archaeology and especially in Venda symbolism and folklore. I have undertaken various excavations at Iron Age sites with UNISA and am researching the folklore recorded by different ethnologists such as Stayt and Junod. In a recent visit to the Frobenius Institute, Frankfurt, Germany collaborative projects with the Institute were discussed. I am creating a database of the sites visited by Frobenius during the expedition of 1928 – 1930 and researching folklore collected during the expedition. With the eCRAG group (Eastern Cederberg Rock Art Recording Group), I have trained in rock art recording techniques under Dr Janette Deacon and Dr Simon Hall. Further training in rock art recording has been undertaken with the Natal Museum in the Drakensberg.