A history and critical analysis of Namibia’s archaeologies
- Foreword by Ciraj Rassool
- Language: English
- Vol. 29, 2023
- ISBN 978-3-906927-56-5
- eISBN 978-3-906927-57-2
- ISSN 2234-9561
- eISSN 2297-458X
A history and critical analysis of Namibia’s archaeologies
The political, social and institutional settings in which archaeology was introduced in Namibia are examined in this study. The author re-examines the idea of archaeology as a scientific and objective discipline that could be practiced without input from the knowledge systems of local communities. He further problematises the use of archaeology as a discipline of knowledge of the land, as part of the extension of empire and governance over the people, in settings of deep and multiple colonialisms. The author therefore argues that archaeological practice was a form of ordering and governing people in a settler colony, thus, the decolonisation of archaeology must involve the work of undoing the structures of colonialism and include local knowledge. This book is a contribution to the fields of archaeology, history and heritage studies in Namibia.
Goodman Gwasira is an archaeologist and a senior lecturer of archaeology and heritage studies at the University of Namibia. He holds a PhD in History from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He was a post-doctoral researcher for the Remaking Societies, Remaking Persons (RSRP) Forum in the Department of History at the UWC (2021). He was a curator of archaeology at the National Museum of Namibia (1998-2003). His research interests include museum anthropology, decolonial studies, history of archaeology, restitution of cultural property and Stone Age archaeology.