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THE NATAL MUSEUM: RESEARCH IN THE HUMAN SCIENCES
The Natal Museum had its origins in the Natal Society (founded in 1851), and was established in 1903 by the Government of Natal. Since 1910 it has been one of the national museums of South Africa. The museum has extensive exhibition galleries (and associated study collections) devoted to the archaeology, anthropology, cultural history, geology, palaeontology and zoology of South Africa, with special emphasis on the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The museums human scientists are active in public education, and are honorary lecturers in the School of Anthropology, Gender and Historical Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Human science research in the Natal Museum focusses on archaeology and African material culture of the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries. Collection policy has broadened in the last ten years to include material associated with the apartheid and transformation periods. The museum also houses a comprehensive collection of Victoriana.
The archaeological collections date back to the late 1800s and come from hunter-gatherer, agriculturist and colonial period contexts. Current research focusses on hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and African agriculturists of the last two millennia. The museum manages the Regional Recording Centre for archaeological site data in KwaZulu-Natal and provides specialist advice in heritage impact assessments.
Assistant Director (Human Sciences):
Carolyn Thorp (cthorp@nmsa.org.za)
Other research staff:
Gavin Whitelaw (gwhitelaw@nmsa.org.za)
Bronwen van Doornum (bvandoornum@nmsa.org.za)
Jeremy Hollmann (jhollmann@nmsa.org.za)
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