The Nature of Heritage: The New South Africa

The Nature of Heritage: The New South Africa is a groundbreaking work by archaeologist Lynn Meskell that examines the conflicts inherent in natural versus cultural heritage. The author brings archaeological and ethnographic evidence to bear on a holistic understanding of one nation′s self–identification by developing its protected areas and cultural heritage sites. Post–apartheid South Africa is a classic example of how nations attempt to overcome negative heritage through past mastering. The case study of Kruger National Park vividly demonstrates this process through both cultural and natural resource development, as it becomes enmeshed in the interventions of the state and private sectors, salvage, conservation, and notions of social good. Meskell argues that cultural heritage has emerged as secondary to the conservation of nature, but that the idea of heritage as therapy provides a potential ongoing strategy for socio–economic empowerment and development.

Acknowledgments viii Abbreviations xiii Introduction: Past Mastering in the New South Africa 1 1 Naturalizing Cultural Heritage 13 2 Making Heritage Pay in the Rainbow Nation 37 3 It′s Mine, It′s Yours: Excavating Park Histories 63 4 Why Biodiversity Trumps Culture 98 5 Archaeologies of Failure 125 6 Thulamela: The Donors, the Archaeologist, his Gold, and the Flood 149 7 Kruger is a Gold Rock: Parastatal and Private Visions of the Good 176 Conclusions: Future Perfect 203 References 217 Index 248

Lynn Meskell is Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University (USA) and Honorary Professor at the Rock Art Research Institute in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). She is the founder and editor of the Journal of Social Archaeology , and the author and editor of several books, including A Companion to Social Archaeology (Wiley–Blackwell), Archaeologies of Materiality (Wiley–Blackwell), and Cosmopolitan Archaeologies .

“Lynn Meskell’s book is carefully researched and engagingly written, and is essential reading for anyone interested in archaeology and heritage in South Africa.”  ( South African Archaeological Bulletin , 1 October 2013)