UID:
almafu_9960118226502883
Format:
1 online resource (xvii, 313 pages) :
,
digital, PDF file(s).
ISBN:
1-86814-669-3
Content:
The 'Cradle of Humankind' (COH), bordering Gauteng and the NorthWest 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 nonspecialist 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 multidisciplinary approach - from a wide range of specialists - is innovative and groundbreaking.
Note:
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 21 Jun 2019).
,
Part 1. Africa is seldom what it seems. Introduction / Philip Bonner ; White South Africa and the South Africanisation of science : humankind or kinds of humans? / Saul Dubow -- Part 2. Fossils and genes : a new anthropology of evolution. Introduction / Trefor Jenkins ; A history of South African palaeoanthropology / Kevin Kuykendall and Goran Štrkalj ; Fossil hominids of the 'Cradle of Humankind' / Kevin Kuykendall ; Unravelling the history of modern humans in Southern Africa : the contribution of genetic studies / Himla Soodyall and Trefor Jenkins ; Fossil plants from the 'Cradle of Humankind' / Marion Bamford -- Part 3. The emerging Stone Age. Introduction / Amanda Esterhuysen ; The earlier Stone Age / Amanda Esterhuysen ; The middle Stone Age and later Stone Age / Lyn Wadley ; Rock engravings in the Magaliesberg Valley / David Pearce -- Part 4. The myth of the vacant land. Introduction / Philip Bonner ; The early Iron Age at Broederstroom and around the 'Cradle of Humankind' / Thomas N. Huffman ; Tswana history in the Bankenveld / Simon Hall ; The early Boer Republics : changing political forces in the 'Cradle of Humankind', 1830s to 1890s / Jane Carruthers -- Part 5. The racial paradox : Sterkfontein, Smuts and segregation. Introduction / Philip Bonner ; The legacy of gold / Philip Bonner ; The story of Sterkfontein since 1895 / Phillip V. Tobias ; The South African War of 1899-1902 in the 'Cradle of Humankind' / Vincent Carruthers ; White South Africa's 'weak sons' : poor whites and the Hartebeespoort Dam / Tim Clynick -- Epilogue. Voice of politics, voice of science : politics and science after 1945 / Philip Bonner, Amanda Esterhuysen and Trefor Jenkins.
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1-86814-418-6
Language:
English
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