Archaeological sensitivity model : a cultural resource management exercise

The coastline of South Africa is used by diverse groups of people for a wide variety of reasons ranging from economic, scientific, social, and recreational. For the users to obtain optimum utility it is imperative that ways and means of developing the coast and its potential are put in place, in the face of rapid urban, industrial, and rural development. In the past the coast was an important place for human settlement, as it still is today. Past human settlement left traces that are now threatened by development. The fragile nature of these past settlements means that there is an urgent need to preserve these archaeological sites. Archaeologists and other conservationists recognise that development is a fact of life. Therefore in order to realise fully the potential of the coast a proper management plan for archaeological resources is needed. The management plan should be drafted with input from natural and social scientists, economists, technical experts, and communities that depend on the coastline for their livelihood. This will ensure that development is well planned, user conflicts resolved, and ecological damage minimised. The management plan for coastal archaeological resources will take into consideration the sensitiveness of the area and the potential for development. This project will be undertaken in consultation with professional archaeologists, the Department of Environmental Affairs, the National Monuments Council, biologists, geologists, local communities, town planners, architects, and other stakeholders. The objective here is to formulate a "red flagging" system that will alert the appropriate regulatory institution and therefore enable the institution to encourage development where it will do least harm to archaeological resources. The broad aim above is addressed by first documenting existing information on archaeological resources and current patterns of distribution which are then entered as overlays in a Geographical Information System model. The distribution maps of archaeological resources together with geological, geomorphological and vegetational GIS overlays are used to predict site distribution in unsearched areas in order to produce an Archaeological Sensitivity Model.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Archaeology

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Jakavula, Zukisani Vincent

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Parkington, John

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9726

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9726