A reminder: this Friday is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the importance of which is expressed very meaningfully in this quote from Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Audrey Azoulay (from 2021). Look forward to posts about some of MAEASaM’s women and their scientific work!
A granary or letlole in Setswana and translated to ‘basket of wealth’ is a large rectangular superstructure usually about 2 metres by 3 metres in diameter, storing grains with a capacity of 1.5-2.5 tonnes. The walls of the structures are constructed using mud/soil mixed with fresh cow dung, …
A view from above but with a different perspective! by Renier van der Merwe Reconstructing past landscapes can be tricky, however there are different freely available applications that can make this process easier! Renier van der Merwe, MAEASaM Researcher based at Wits University in Johannesburg, South, demonstrates this using two …
Today is World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture! To celebrate, our team have been sending us contributions about some of the cultures and cultural features that are important to them within the countries covered by MAEASaM. Firstly, Dr Ezekia Mtetwa, pictured below in traditional Ndau clothing, writes: “The Ndau …
Today, Sunday 5th Dec, is World Soil Day. Soil is of course very important to archaeologists, and variations and features within soil can tell us a lot about the past. For instance, it is important to sieve all excavated soil, to avoid missing any small finds, as can be seen …
At MAEASaM we are evaluating historical maps across all of our countries for potential archaeological and/or heritage sites. Such maps vary widely in content, from wells to already-known antiquities – both can be seen in this excerpt of a 1967 map of the Mokowe area (via https://www.samsamwater.com/maps/kenya/topo.php, available via crown …
Located in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali, Jenne-Jeno is one of the oldest cities in sub-Saharan Africa. With the archaeological sites of Kaniana, Tonomba and Hambarketolo and the ancient fabric of the historic town of Jenne, it makes up the cultural property – Old Towns of Djenné. The city …
It’s #GISDay! Here at MAEASaM we use #GIS everyday to map our sites, #GIS is used to gain greater insights and improved information about our #heritage sites and how to preserve them. MAEASaM’s, Dr Akinbowale Akintayo (@uoyarchaeology), is using predictive modelling to predict areas with low, medium, and maximum likelihood …
The Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya has for a long time supported human and animal populations who continue to coexist in relative harmony, with springs fed by the melting ice on Kilimanjaro sustaining life in this semi-arid environment. However, this balance is under threat, due to the shrinking of the ice …
By: Mamadou Thior, Adama Athie, and Nicolas Sagna (University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar) Voilà ce qu’est devenu le site de Faboura (fig. 1) est l’un des célèbres sites d’amas coquilliers du Sénégal qui atteignait environ 10 m de haut et 400 m de diamètre. Suite à l’exploitation du coquillage comme …