Articles on San

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The San’s arrows may look dainty, but when tipped with poison they are lethal for hunting. Fred Dawson/Flickr

April 4, 2017

We’re closer to learning when humans first daubed arrows with poison

Justin Bradfield, University of the Witwatersrand

The early use of poison is one more indicator of an advanced repertoire of behavioural and technological traits that have characterised our species from the earliest times.

A woman arrives for Nelson Mandela’s memorial. The idea of a rainbow nation has been futile. EPA/Jim Hollander

November 22, 2016

Why forging social cohesion still eludes post-apartheid South Africa

Clive Kronenberg, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Despite the noble goals of the new South Africa and its ideals of racial harmony, racial tensions remain a major problem in the country. Prejudice and bigotry persists even in universities.

A worker piles up leaves of rooibos tea for drying. Local people have been marginalised in the industry. Mike Hutchings/Reuters

November 22, 2016

How justice can be brought to South Africa’s rooibos industry

Rachel Wynberg, University of Cape Town

The rooibos industry has been accompanied by dispossession and adversity stretching back over centuries.

President of Botswana Ian Khama. He leads a country that’s lost the shine created by his father Seretse Khama. EPA/Alejandro Ernesto

September 20, 2016

Botswana at 50: The end of an African success story?

James Kirby, La Trobe University

For a global audience, the movie 'A United Kingdom' provides a topical account of race relations. The love story is likely to revitalize the popular viewpoint of Botswana as a national success story.

The annual ‘Living Landscapes’ procession is aimed at raising awareness of the Cedarberg’s KhoiSan cultural heritage. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

February 4, 2016

How the origin of the KhoiSan tells us that ‘race’ has no place in human ancestry

Tim Crowe, University of Cape Town

Human population groups worldwide are highly homogeneous genetically. They are in fact 99.5% similar and their anatomical features vary in an uncorrelated fashion over the landscape.

A painting from Botha’s Shelter in the Ndedema Gorge in the Drakensburg, said to be home to a rich tapestry of San art and life. Wits University Press

October 2, 2015

An enigmatic theme in San rock paintings is finally unlocked

Siyakha Mguni, University of the Witwatersrand

Formlings are representations of flying termites and their underground nests. They are associated with botantical subjects considered by the San to have great spiritual significance.

Impala drink at a waterhole in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Milk used in paint nearly 49,000 years ago could have come from their early antecedents. EPA/Jon Hrusa

August 14, 2015

Paint gives clues about the ingenuity of ancient culture

Lyn Wadley, University of the Witwatersrand

It may have been a cultural tradition to use tempera paint that contained traces of milk on bodies according to a discovery at Sibudu Caves in KwaZulu Natal.

The San are the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, where they have lived for millennia. Shutterstock

August 12, 2015

Excavating meaning from the complex myths of southern Africa’s San people

David Lewis-Williams, University of the Witwatersrand

The San are caught between a rock and an art place. While they face an uncertain future, myths and meaning come under the spotlight in a new book.

Top contributors

James Kirby
PhD candidate in History, La Trobe University
Rachel Wynberg
Associate Professor and DST/NRF Bio-economy Research Chair, University of Cape Town
Lyn Wadley
Honorary Professor, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
David Lewis-Williams
Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand
Siyakha Mguni
Project Manager, International Rock Art Collaboration, Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
Clive Kronenberg
NRF Accredited & Senior Researcher; Lead Coordinator of the South-South Educational Collaboration & Knowlede Interchange Initiative, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Tim Crowe
Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town
Justin Bradfield
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Evolutionary Studies Institute), University of the Witwatersrand