Page 89 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(1) (2025)

emerged that did not require the formulation so that it responded to the requirements of con-
of theories and research questions, as was prac- tract archaeology.
ticed in academic processual archaeology. Ac- The emergence of contract archaeology in
cording to Faulkner, artefacts were viewed as South Africa, and by extension in Southern Af-
facts which needed to be recorded in situ to rica, was symbiotically connected to shrinking
preserve an ‘accurate’ record that could be stud- university budgets. The first example of formal-
ied by academic archaeologists in the future ised contract archaeology was in the form of con-
(Faulkner 2000, 27). tracts offices with connections to departments
Contract archaeology is perceived by schol- of archaeology at the University of the Wit-
ars such as Faulkner as some form of official ar- watersrand and the University of Cape Town
chaeology that was legitimised and authorised (UCT). Both offices were established in antici-
by the state, through what he terms Bureaucrat- pation of the promulgation of the Environmen
ic Professional Tendency (Faulkner 2000, 22). Conservation Act (Act 73 of 1989) in South Af- 89
It can be traced back to the time when the ide- rica, which required ‘impact statements, includ-
ology of heritage protection was popularised. ing those on cultural resources for development’
Faulkner argued that state bureaucracy and leg- (Deacon 1998, 3). Contract archaeology in South
islation were the enablers of contract archaeolo- Africa also developed under the circumstanc-
gy. The effect of such state enforcement was that es of economic sanctions that were imposed on
archaeological practice became politically un- South Africa with the aim of ending the apart-
democratic. It restricted the ‘access to archaeol- heid system. The sanctions were imposed by the
ogy to an elite of self-accredited practitioners’ United States of America, European Communi-
(Faulkner 2000, 21). As such, it suppressed oth- ty nations, and Japan through the comprehen-
er archaeologies such as those from communi- sive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (Rodman 1994,
ties. The fact that minimum professional stand- 322). The Commonwealth had also agreed to im-
ards had to be met for one to practice contract pose the sanctions on South Africa in August History and Practice of Contract Archaeology in Namibia
archaeology made it hierarchical. However, the 1986 (Commonwealth Secretariat 2017).
knowledge that was assembled from contract ar- The knock-on effect of sanctions on the
chaeology was also viewed as of a lower standard funding of public life in South Africa was that
than academic archaeology despite being viewed there was a substantial decrease in government
as scientific by both archaeologies. funding for universities and agencies of heritage
The ideology of heritage protection is root- management, with money directed elsewhere.
ed in the concept of endangered heritage, which, According to Hilary Deacon, institutions were
according to Gnecco and Dias, is a creation of forced to seek their own financial sources so that
capitalist expansion (Gnecco and Schmidt Dias they could remain relevant and carry out their
2015, 686). The idea of an endangered past was mandate. In the field of archaeology, contract ar-
incorporated into heritage management as a way chaeology was projected as a viable option (Dea-
of creating commercial opportunities for cultur- con 1998, 2). Similarly contract archaeology
al resources management practitioners. Accord- developed as a response to the demands for fac-
ing to Gnecco and Schmidt Dias, ‘Development ulty members to contribute a certain amount of
creates an endangered past that can be profita- money for the operation of their respective de-
bly studied but that would not have to be stud- partments at the University of Namibia.
ied had it not been endangered by development’ By the time contract archaeology was for-
(Gnecco and Schmidt Dias 2015, 689). Since a malised as a distinct field of archaeological prac-
demand was artificially created, a supply needed tice in South Africa, it was already being prac-
to be generated too. This led to a need for trans- ticed in an ad hoc manner within universities and
forming the archaeology curricula at universities museums. It can be safely stated that formalised