An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Catherine Namono (African Fellow, 2024-25).
Digital applications for rock art conservation, education and tourism (DRACET): Makgabeng community heritage tourism, Limpopo Province, South Africa
The Makgabeng, one of the densest localised concentrations of rock art in South Africa, diversely authored by San hunter-gatherers, Khoekhoen-speaking herders and Sotho-Tswana (Northern Sotho) speaking farmers, is currently facing one of its biggest threats – mining. In 2014, Canadian mining company, Platinum Group Metals Ltd., operating as Waterberg Jv Resources (Pty) Ltd announced the discovery of platinum, rhodium, gold and palladium in a uniquely rich mix below the Makgabeng cuesta, and expects to extract these for the next 45 years. In 2021 Waterberg Jv Resources (Pty) Ltd secured mining rights to 9 farms and in February 2024 applied for rights to 2 more farms where majority heritage sites are included for nomination as National Heritage site and community tourism. Extractive mining includes blasting and extraction of water that will impact the rock art sites and livelihoods of the community. This collaborative proactive project to this threat attempts to document elected rock art sites using SfM photogrammetry, to construct 3-D, geolocated terrain and object models for education and tourism; an app to plot resilient flexible trails; and to train Makagbeng community on digital photogrammetry for site documentation and monitoring.
Please join us in the Seminar Room, or click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/83015772676
Passcode: b1QpaAD7