Browsing by Author "Gwasira, Goodman"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    The archaeology of the Dome Gorge in the Daureb/ Brandberg, Namibia: Themes, content and context
    (University of Namibia, 2012) Gwasira, Goodman
    The Ddureb' Brandberg, Namibia's highest mountain, is one of the most weJI documented rock art regions in the world. All in a/1 almost 900sites comprising of almost 50 ooo individual images were recorded in the Ddureb. However the rock engravings' which have been found in the Dome Gorge remain relatively sparsely researched. The Dome Gorge is a unique site in the sense that paintings and engravings converge and in some cases superimpose each other. The aim of this research was to understand the entire corpus of the area through conducting empirical documentation of the site. Altogether seven different types of combinations of engravings and paintings were observed in the data. The study a/so investigated the spatial patterning of the rock engravings in the Dome Gorge and established an empirical description of the distribution and Jiguration of engravings based on quantitative analysis.
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    A condition assessment of the prehistoric art from the Bushman Paradise Cave, Groβe Spitzkoppe, Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Gwasira, Goodman; Katjiuongua, Geogine
    The main objective of this study was to assess the overall physical state of the prehistoric rock paintings of the Spitzkoppe. This article presents an evaluation of the condition of the rock art at the Bushman Paradise site. Ideally, a condition survey should be carried out periodically and be used as a monitoring and evaluation tool. This article is a contribution to ideas and methods that can be used to develop integrated and informed conservation strategies for rock art sites in Namibia. It identifies and classifies the causes of deterioration or damage of the rock art at the Bushman Paradise. We argue that systematic documentation is crucial for site management purposes because it is from detailed documentation that a statement of significance of sites can be generated. We conclude from the analysis that anthropogenic causes of deterioration at the Bushman Paradise outweigh natural causes. We conclude by proposing site specific conservation interventions that can be replicated at other sites of similar nature in the Spitzkoppe and Namibia in general.
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    Namibian prehistory: Apollo 11 art, the oldest rock art in the world
    (African Magazine, 2006) Gwasira, Goodman
    More than three quarters of human history remains unwritten either buried underground or simply encoded in archaeological features and artefacts on the surface of the ground or underwater. Archaeology enables people to interpret and write history by using methods that allow them to decode information from material culture that was left millions of years ago and that which was discarded in recent historical times. Namibia has one of the longest recognisable sequences of archaeological evidence stretching from about 3 million years to the present; thus, the largest part of Namibian history is unwritten which leaves the task of documenting it to archaeologists. In Southern Africa in general written history is very recent compared to the length of time that humans have lived in this part of the continent.
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    Preliminary report on the rock engravings of Freiheit Ost (No. 80), Witvlei Namibia
    (Namibia Scientific Society, 2001) Gwasira, Goodman; Kambombo, Foustina; Katjijeko, Betuel
    The rock engravings of Freiheit Ost (Nu. 80) were recorded during the week of 10-15 April 2000. The objectives of the field work at the farm were to locate the art, assess the condition, record and describe them. The final product of the project would be developed guidelines fort he management, presentation and access of the sites by visitors. The fieldwork also aimed at observing the active and possible comes of decay of the engravings. The work was done under the National Monnmcnts Council Permit number 5/99. This preliminary report contains observations made during the fieldwork.
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    Reading between the lines
    (National Museum of Namibia, 2001) Gwasira, Goodman
    I .arge artifacts such as buildings, statues and open spaces are patterned through time in particularpolitical, social and economic circumstances. The dialectics of power, domination and resistance that characterised the period in which the artifacts were fashiontd can be understood by reading the artifacts as silent text􀇑. If we dedpl1er the grammar, metaphors rmd the symbolism that is embedded in the large artifacts then we can understand their meaning. By developing tools that can enable us to understand the spatial setting, time and social contexts of monuments, i t becomes possible to unravel lhe puzzle of their extralinguistic character. This paper discusses some of the issues that appear to be communicated through the symbolism of three statues from the University of Cape Town (U.CL).
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    The relevance of prehistoric rock art in the present
    (University of Namibia, 2017) Gwasira, Goodman; Basinyi, Stella; Lenssen-Erz, Tilman
    Today the rock art of southern Africa enjoys worldwide appreciation, which is based on several factors: Certainly the art of various regions on the subcontinent responds to the aesthetic predilection of a wide, mainly western audience; this phenomenon is enhanced by tourists who add some cultural flavour to their travels that usually aim at the nature and wildlife of southern Africa. In a synchronic development, indigenous people began to re-define their relation to the art and appropriated it in various new ways. Today they are more explicit about their ontological association with the art, partly claiming more or less direct descent from the earlier artists (such as in Tsodilo). Moreover they accept that people made the pictures, an attitude that was less common a few decades ago when San, questioned about authorship of the art, maintained that people cannot paint this way but only the Great God can. This paper explores the connection between local communities and rock art in Southern Africa. It uses examples from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to argue and demonstrate that rock art is no longer the preserve of western sciences and tourism alone but that through appropriation the art has multiple motivations from spiritual to identity issues, and claims of land ownership to economic benefit.
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    The rider monument
    (The African, 2004) Gwasira, Goodman; Kangumu, Bennett; Likando, Gilbert N.
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    To live in the hearts of those we left behind is not to die
    (University of Namibia, 2012) Gwasira, Goodman
    This paper discusses the issues that are conveyed by settlement lay-out and the meaning of space at the first mission station in South Africa, Genadendal. A historical archaeology appwach was used to collect data and analyse the remains building structures, materials and settlement lay·out that have survived at Genadenda/ in an attempt to make a case for c1 "Genadendal identity" and explain the cause for its continuity. The paper argues that the study of architectural structures and settlement /ay·out from an archaeological perspective can be viewed as an exercise in studying metapho1·s since the functional aspect of architecture is a result of" conscious reactions to physical needs" at a given time as Gribble (1998) writes. Such reactions are inevitably and subtly encoded in buildings and use of space. In addition, the paper demonstratc·s that the inhabitants of Genadendai mission str.ilion developed and exhibited a "Genadendal identify" through employing unique architectural technique' and conforming to a set of rules thot the missionories prescribed.
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    Two hairline engravings in The Dome Gorge, Daureb, Namibia
    (South African Archaeological Bulletin, 2010) Lenseed-Erz, T.; Gwasira, Goodman