Amanda Esterhuysen

Amanda Esterhuysen obtained her MA (with distinction) and PhD (Science) from Wits. Her principal research focus is the recent historical past, and contemporary issues affecting the practice of archaeology. Over the last 10 years her main research focus has been on building a comprehensive understanding of the siege of 1854 based on the analysis of the physical remains excavated from Historic Cave in the Makapans Valley World Heritage Site, and of the documented and oral recollections of the event. She was a member of the late Kadar Asmal’s Ministerial History project (2000), and more recently served on the Minister of Education’s History Task Team. She has a particular interest in the teaching of evolution in South Africa, and has a long association with the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (CoHWHS). In 2018 she applied to manage the Origins Centre on behalf of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies.