Department of Environmental Sciences

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    Die Kavango-gebied
    (1991) Smit, Pierre;
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    Local knowledge of natural resources in rural Namibia
    (1998) Mosimane, Alfons W.
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    Une histoire des grands hommes
    (1999) Gillouin, Carine
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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 effect of gracilaria verrucosa on the growth rate of pacific oyster (crassostrea gigas)
    (University of Namibia, 2002) Hipandulwa, Gabriel
    In natural aquatic systems, there are ecological balances between different species of organisms and individuals. However in culture conditions the systems are usually meant to favour the preferred organisms, but still other organisms might invade and share in the utilization of resources. Gracilaria verrueosa i an unwanted plant that grows in marine cultured beds along the Namibian coast and this experiment showed that it adversely affects the growth performance of the Pacific oyster ( Crassostrea gigas). The decrease in growth of the oyster in rafts was directly linked to the presence of Graci/aria verrucosa. This experiment quantitatively showed that invasion quantities of Graci/aria verrucosa influences the percentage growth reduction rates of oyster. The various seeding rates (0, 400, 800 g) of Graci/aria verrucosa resulted in significantly (P>0.05) reduced growth rates of oysters by 21 % and 37¾ in medium and high seeding rates of the seaweed, respectively. This was shown to be significant using the t-test and Wilcoxon Sum Rank Test (P>0.05). Although conducted over a short growing period of 6 weeks, the experiment demonstrated detrimental invasion of Graci/aria verrucosa in oyster rafts
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    Working toward church unity?
    (2002) Gurirab, Gerhardt;
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    Source of lunette dune sediments: A geomorphic terrain analysis approach in Etosha National Park, Namibia
    (2004) Hipondoka, Martin; Busche, Detlef; Kempf, Jurgen
    The presence of so-called lunette dunes in the lee of pans in northern Namibia sprouted a discussion on the formation of the shallow basins related to them. These lunette dunes are made up of larger particles than those found in the pans, from which the sediments are thought to have originated. At Etosha Pan, this contradiction is compounded by the fact that the dunes are found on the northwestern and western side of the pan, whilst the prevailing dominant wind, believed to have played a formative role in their development, blows from the northeast. Ancillary data, in concert with high-resolution, multi-date satellite imagery were examined through the prism of geomorphic terrain analysis. The resultant indicators unequivocally point to the Ekuma delta, on the northwestern rim of the pan, in direct opposition to the pan floor proper, as the source of these dune sediments. It is therefore probable that coarser sediments found on the lee side of similar pans can be similarly explained as originating from former inlet deposition and not from wind excavation in the process of pan initiation as popularly held.
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    The rider monument
    (The African, 2004) Gwasira, Goodman; Kangumu, Bennett; Likando, Gilbert N.
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    The pre-colonial costumes of the Aawambo significant changes under colonialism and the construction of post-colonial identity
    (University of Namibia, 2004) Shigwedha, Vihlo
    Pre-colonial Oshiwambo costumes played a significant role in ensuring the continuity of the socio-cultural and ethico-moral principles of the Aawambo. This study aims to record, document, describe and analyse the circumstances that caused aspects of Aawambo traditional heritage to disappear. The thesis analyses the meaning of traditional costumes before European influence and the impact that the change from traditional costumes to European fashion has left on the community today. It is strongly argued that Christianity and colonialism should be held accountable for influencing the community to abandon its traditional costumes. The thesis examines the following central questions; what was the impact of cultural imperialism on the material culture of the northern kingdoms? In what ways did material culture change during the initial period of contact and subsequent conquest by colonial forces? Why did new forms of material culture so rapidly displace traditional items? To answer these central questions the thesis is divided into four main chapters with an introduction (Chapter One) and conclusion (Chapter Six). Chapter two examines traditional fashion and identity among the Aawambo. This chapter exhibits a number of photographs that compliment the text and argues that these traditional costumes reflected the value systems of the society that produced it and significantly contributed to the construction of the identity of that society. Chapter three examines the significant influences that led to changes in traditional costumes, the new fashions and the initial community response to these introduced changes. This chapter argues that changes in material culture in the seven kingdoms of northern Namibia were strategically urged by the direct intervention of missionaries and colonialists to get rid of Aawambo traditional costumes and stigmatise them as `primitive’ and `barbaric’. Chapter four examines contemporary ‘traditional costumes’ and the discourse of ‘culture and tradition’ from the perspective of the community. It argues that the new ‘traditional costumes’ demonstrate prominent features of pre-colonial leather costumes, demonstrating that the community is still inspired by their ancestors’traditions. Chapter five examines general public opinion and concerns on the implications of western dress in the community today. It goes further to suggest ways and examine efforts that have been made to preserve our unique cultural heritage and identity. The thesis suggests that the display of costumes and other objects of material culture from the northern kingdoms must be done in more sophisticated ways in Namibian museums and most importantly integrated more into the educational system.
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    The development and evolution of Etosha Pan, Namibia
    (University of Wurzburg, 2005) Hipondoka, Martin
    This study explores and examines the geomorphology of a large endorheic basin, approximately twice the size of Luxemburg, situated in the Etosha National Park, Namibia. The main focus is directed on how and when this depression, known as Etosha Pan, came into being. The opposing view emerged in the 1980s and gained prominence in the 1990s. This view assumed that there were an innumerable number of small pans on the then surface of what later to become Etosha Pan. Since the turn of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, these individual pans started to experience a combined effect of fluvial erosion during the rainy season and wind deflation during the dry period. The climatic regime during that entire period was postulated to be semi-arid as today. This climatic status was used to rule out any existence of a perennial lake within the boundary of Etosha since the Quaternary. Ultimately, these denudational processes, taking place in a seasonal rhythm, caused the individual pans to deepen and widen laterally into each other and formed a super-pan that we call Etosha today. Thus the Kunene River had no role to play in the development of the Etosha Pan according to this model. However, proponents of this model acknowledged that the Kunene once fed into the Owambo Basin and assigned the end of the Tertiary to the terminal phase of that inflow. Geomorphological investigation was complemented and guided primarily by the application and interpretation of satellite-derived information. Etosha Pan has attracted scientific investigations for nearly a century. Unfortunately, their efforts resulted into two diverging and mutually exclusive views with respect to its development. The first and oldest view dates back to the 1920s. It hypothesized Etosha Pan as a desiccated palaeolake which was abandoned following the river capture of its major fluvial system, the Kunene River. The river capture was assumed to have taken place in the Pliocene/Early Pleistocene. In spite of the absence of fluvial input that the Kunene contributed, the original lake was thought to have persisted until some 35 ka ago, long after the Kunene severed its ties with the basin. The current size of the basin and its playa status was interpreted to have resulted from deteriorating climatic conditions. The opposing view emerged in the 1980s and gained prominence in the 1990s. This view assumed that there were an innumerable number of small pans on the then surface of what later to become Etosha Pan. Since the turn of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, these individual pans started to experience a combined effect of fluvial erosion during the rainy season and wind deflation during the dry period. The climatic regime during that entire period was postulated to be semi-arid as today. This climatic status was used to rule out any existence of a perennial lake within the boundary of Etosha since the Quaternary. Ultimately, these denudational processes, taking place in a seasonal rhythm, caused the individual pans to deepen and widen laterally into each other and formed a super-pan that we call Etosha today. Thus the Kunene River had no role to play in the development of the Etosha Pan according to this model. However, proponents of this model acknowledged that the Kunene once fed into the Owambo Basin and assigned the end of the Tertiary to the terminal phase of that inflow.
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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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    Fossil evidence for perennial lake conditions during the Holocene at Etosha Pan, Namibia
    (2006) Hipondoka, Martin; Jousse, H.; Kempf, Jurgen; Busche, Detlef
    ETOSHA PAN, A LARGE (4760km2), ENDORheic depression situated in north-central Namibia, has been claimed to be essentially a wind-deflated landform. The pan was assumed by some researchers to have developed under persistent semi-arid conditions,which were alleged to have prevailed in the region for at least the last 140 000 years. Recent field evidence points to the contrary. This evidence includes a significant number of fossils belonging to, amongst others, semi-aquatic antelopes such as sitatunga, which are diagnostically indicative of perennial lake conditions in the area. These species have previously never been reported from Etosha National Park, either as fossils or extant. Here we indicate the significance of these findings and their implications for the palaeo-environment of the Etosha region.
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