ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Letaba Archaeology Project looks at how local communities were shaped by both their own traditions and wider regional connections. People living in the Letaba area during the first millennium AD have often been described as mobile and on the fringes of society and the economy, but new research is challenging this view. Work in what is now the Kruger National Park shows that these communities were far more connected and dynamic, with some of the earliest glass trade beads in the southern African interior, imported pottery from the Persian Gulf, active long‑distance trade, large‑scale hunting, metalworking, and signs of rapid population growth.
©Michelle van Aswegen
©Michelle van Aswegen
The project studies how people living along the Letaba River changed over time in their daily lives, including how they got their food, made crafts and tools, and organised their communities. In many parts of southern Africa, the start of long‑distance trade is often seen as the main driver behind growing social complexity. Our project takes a slightly different approach: we are interested in how local communities responded in their own ways, showing that trade could lead to many different paths of social change rather than a single outcome.
The Letaba Archaeology Project is funded by the South African National Research Foundation and US National Science Foundation with support from the University of Pretoria, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Ditsong Museums of South Africa and the Heritage Division of the South African National Parks.
©Daniël du Plessis
