Spatial analysis of archaeological sites in the Western Cape using an integrated digital archive
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis presents the digital amalgamation of eleven collections spanning six decades of archaeological research in the south-western Cape of South Africa.The oldest recordings were made in the 1950s by Hym Rabinowitz, Percy Sieff and 'Ginger' Townley Johnson while the most recent reports were contributed by members of the eastern Cederberg Rock Art Group (eCRAG).To date over 5100 sites have been captured.An archaeological database designed in 2005 at the University of Cape Town was modified to incorporate the fields required by the various collections before the data input and scanning of the collections took place.Each report was fully typed so that information could be indexed.Upon completion of the archiving work, a new table of rock art analyses was added to the database in order to produce layers suitable for interrogation on a Geographical Information System.Various applications of this database were explored in both the research and heritage management spheres.Given the high volume and broad nature of the data assembled in the archive only preliminary forays into potential research questions were possible.Despite these limitations, the integration of photographic, spatial and written recordings enabled the identification of distributional anomalies that are now being investigated in more detail.A number of other research projects have recently started using this database as a starting point.Undoubtedly the relevance of the information contained in this archive will continue to grow as other uses for the database are explored.Besides the spatial analyses completed in this thesis, over 300 new rock art sites have been added to the body of archaeological knowledge and work on papers related to these findings is ongoing.our sights and it is extremely satisfying to have finished this archive.At first we only envisaged digitisation and analysis of the records from the Spatial Archaeology Research Unit at the University of Cape Town but the project took on a life of its own when other contributors came to the fore.
Author: Nicolas Wiltshire
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: University of Cape Town
OpenAlex ID: W2588060152