Limpopo Life

Limpopo Life introduces the reader to the material culture, oral histories, and the negotiation of conservation and landscape in an area now known as Limpopo National Park.

Introducing the archaeology of a region that has not been surveyed or discussed, this book connects to the archaeology, history, heritage and conservation discussions in the southern African region as a whole. Vegetation history and paleoecology are combined with archaeological surveys and excavations, written sources, oral histories and travelogues to draw a picture of the diverse landscape of the Limpopo region. Intermixed within this narrative are sections that focus on an individual species, a life history, or an event providing a view of the complex and dynamic interactions. The role of humans in this diverse environment and how they have co-evolved with other species, shaping each other's destinies in a consequential and accidental way, is outlined.

This book will be of interest to researchers and students interested in the archaeology, heritage and conservation of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa. It will also be of relevance to readers interested in the social history of the Limpopo and Kruger National Parks and this cross-border area.

Anneli Ekblom is a Professor of Archaeology and Global Environmental History in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University. As an archaeologist by training, she has combined archaeobotanical and palaeoecological tools to reconstruct landscape history. Her research focuses on relations between human‑nature ranging from the very physicality of landscape changes in flora and climate to conflicts and contestations when it comes to conservation and heritage. Her research interests converge around landscape history, conservation, and links to sustainability. She is also involved in projects exploring biocultural heritage in Mozambique, Sicily, and Bolivia.

Michel Notelid is a researcher affiliated with the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, at Uppsala University. He is an archaeologist with many years' experience as a lecturer, and is interested in the development of methods and theory in archaeology, as well as the history and philosophy of ideas. With a background in political sciences and economics, he is engaged in questions of sustainability discourse and philosophical inquiries into the construction of identity in late modernity. In the last 20 years, Michel has explored the inspiration zone between arts, photography and research through film, and social media. Michel has also published on archaeology, heritage and environmental history in Mozambique.