109-568: Makapansgat ( / m ʌ k ʌ ˈ p ʌ n s x ʌ t / ) (or Makapan Valley World Heritage Site ) is an archaeological location within the Makapansgat and Zwartkrans Valleys, northeast of Mokopane in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is an important palaeontological site, with the local limeworks containing Australopithecus -bearing deposits dating to between 3.0 and 2.6 million years BP . The whole Makapan Valley has been declared
218-619: A South African Heritage Site . Makapansgat belongs to the Cradle of Humankind . This is the oldest of the cave sites in the Makapansgat valley, spanning an age of greater than 4.0 million years until perhaps 1.6 million years ago. This site has yielded many thousands of fossil bones, amongst which were found remains of the gracile australopithecine Australopithecus africanus . The A. africanus fossils are suggested to date to between 2.85 and 2.58 million years ago based on palaeomagnetism by Andy Herries ( La Trobe University , Australia). The site
327-417: A UNESCO report titled "World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate". The Australian government's actions, involving considerable expense for lobbying and visits for diplomats , were in response to their concern about the negative impact that an "at risk" label could have on tourism revenue at a previously designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2021, international scientists recommended UNESCO to put
436-482: A calcified cave infill. In this infill he saw fossil bones, stone tools, and what he took to be ash horizons representing ancient hearths. At first he referred to it as part of Makapan's Cave, but he later renamed it "The Cave of Hearths". Further research during June and October 1937 revealed the Rainbow Cave. The site was visited by Clarence Van Riet Lowe , Raymond Dart , and Robert Broom . H. B. S. Cooke of
545-568: A finding that undermines Cobbing's thesis that Shaka's early military activities were a response to slave raids . Moreover, Eldredge argues that the Griqua and other groups (rather than European missionaries as asserted by Cobbing) were primarily responsible for the slave raids coming from the Cape. Eldredge also asserts that Cobbing downplays the importance of the ivory trade in Delagoa Bay, and
654-488: A minor boundary change, one that does not have a significant impact on the extent of the property or affect its "outstanding universal value", is also evaluated by the advisory bodies before being sent to the committee. Such proposals can be rejected by either the advisory bodies or the Committee if they judge it to be a significant change instead of a minor one. Proposals to change a site's official name are sent directly to
763-514: A name for the "Cave of the Horse's Mandible". After these discoveries, Dr Bernard Price made a research grant available for systematic excavations, which started at the Cave of Hearths in 1947, with field work being carried out by Guy Gardiner, James Kitching , and his brothers Ben and Scheepers. One of the most significant discoveries was a Homo lower jaw from Bed 3, by Ben. In 1953, Dr R. J. Mason
872-427: A number of tight squeezes, the cave opened out into a large chamber. The floor of the chamber was covered in hearths. An inscription on the wall of the cave was from the 19th century and indicated that a previous entrance to the cave had collapsed and sealed the cavity after this date. This cave was located and explored in 1998 by A. Herries and A. Latham. Digging out of the entrance led to a climb and traverse down into
981-520: A period of social breakdown and recombination. Further bolstered in number by escaped slaves, bandits, and people of all ethnicities from the Cape Colony , some of these peoples would eventually become the Korana . Their power increased as trade with and raids upon colonists provided guns and horses, and by the 1780s they began raiding northwards against Tswana polities. From the 1780s to the turn of
1090-756: A remarkable accomplishment of humankind and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of great natural beauty. As of July 2024, a total of 1,223 World Heritage Sites (952 cultural, 231 natural and 40 mixed cultural and natural properties) exist across 168 countries . With 60 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites, followed by China with 59, and Germany with 54. The sites are intended for practical conservation for posterity, which otherwise would be subject to risk from human or animal trespassing, unmonitored, uncontrolled or unrestricted access, or threat from local administrative negligence. Sites are demarcated by UNESCO as protected zones. The World Heritage Sites list
1199-465: A result, the town has been controversially re-renamed to Mokopane , in honour of Chief Mokopane. The cave was proclaimed a National Monument in 1936. Stable isotope analyses of a uranium-series-dated stalagmite from Cold Air Cave provided a record of climate changes for the periods 4400–4000 years and approximately 800 years ago until the present day. This cave was located and explored in 2000 by A. Herries, A. Latham and W. Murzel. After breaking through
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#17327727278231308-544: A series of lower decorated chambers. Katzenjammer Cave is located adjacent to Peppercorn's Cave. An entrance shaft leads down to a narrow climb and entrance to a network of passages at the same level as the far reaches of Peppercorn's Cave. The entrance shaft has formed by the collapse of fossil bearing deposits (including the Giant Dasie) into the lower modern cave system, Katzenjammer Cave. The entrance shaft area and fossil deposits were collectively termed Herries' Hole by
1417-1000: A single text was eventually agreed upon by all parties, and the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. The convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of November 2024, it has been ratified by 196 states: 192 UN member states , two UN observer states (the Holy See and the State of Palestine ), and two states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue ). Only one UN member state, Liechtenstein , has not ratified
1526-434: Is also historically significant, with different versions having been employed to serve a range of political purposes since its inception as a historical concept. The concept first emerged in the 1830s and blamed the disruption on the actions of King Shaka , who was alleged to have waged near-genocidal wars that depopulated the land and sparked a chain reaction of violence as fleeing groups sought to conquer new lands. Since
1635-585: Is maintained by the international World Heritage Program administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee , composed of 21 "states parties" that are elected by the United Nations General Assembly , and advised by reviews of international panels of experts in natural or cultural history, and education. The Program catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to
1744-583: Is situated immediately below the Historic Cave and contains the remains of several putative hearths, suggesting both human occupation and the controlled use of fire. The exposed sediments have yielded Middle Stone Age artefacts of the Pietersburg Culture of between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. Recent studies have shown that the coloured horizons are not hearths but are more likely ancient pool deposits. This site lies immediately adjacent to
1853-674: The Iron Age . European relics from the 19th century, such as brass ware and musket balls were found at the surface when excavations started. The site was re-excavated and re-analysed as part of the 'Makapan Middle Pleistocene Research Project' run by the University of Liverpool (UK) between 1996 and 2001. This work has shown that coloured sediment horizons in the Early Stone Age levels are not from fire use. A Homo mandible also recovered from these layers may also represent one of
1962-665: The Lozi people . The next force was the Mzilikazi and the Matebele who moved across Tswana territory in 1837. Both of these invading forces continued to travel north across Tswana territory without establishing any sort of state. In addition to these major kingdoms, a number of smaller groups also moved north into Tswana territory, where they met with defeat and ultimately vanished from history. Among those involved in these invasions were European adventurers such as Nathaniel Isaacs (who
2071-735: The Magaliesberg mountains, where he subjugated the Bahurutshe , Bakwena , and Bakgatla and regularly raided the Bangwaketse and southern Batswana peoples. A multi-ethnic force under the Kora leader Jan Bloem sought to profit from the Ndebele's wealth with a mid-1828 raid, which proved only a partial success as his Kora and Griqua parties were destroyed before they could escape. By 1830, the Ndebele had extended their political influence over
2180-843: The Mzimkhulu River . This in turn contributed to the rise of the Mpondo Kingdom. The 1810s saw the continued expansion of the Ndwandwe and Mthethwa Paramountcies, as well as the Portuguese Delagoa Bay slave trade. The Ndwandwe Paramountcy would come to blows with the Mthethwa in the late 1810s, ultimately defeating and slaying their leader Dingiswayo kaJobe . The Mthethwa promptly collapsed as its client polities reasserted independence. The Ndwandwe king Zwide kaLanga went on to war with one of these breakaways,
2289-590: The Ndwandwe Paramountcy and Mthethwa Paramountcy respectfully. On the borders of their spheres of influence, the amaHlubi of the upper Mzinyathi , the abakwaDlamini north of the Phongolo, and the abakwaQwabe of the lower Thukela. The latter's rise displaced elements of the abakwaCele and amaThuli further south. The amaThuli managed to secure a sizable chiefdom between the lower Mngeni and Mkhomazi Rivers, which displaced local groups across
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#17327727278232398-698: The Osteodontokeratic Culture. In 1936, the Historical Monuments Commission was asked to declare Makapan's Cave a National Monument and Professor Clarence van Riet Lowe , Secretary of the commission and Director of the Archaeological Survey of the Union of South Africa , visited the site in 1937. He inspected the Historic Cave and discovered, close by, an abandoned limeworker's adit that cut through
2507-575: The Pedi Kingdom and certainly dominating the region between the Olifants and Phongolo Rivers. Msane, Zwangendaba, and the followers of Nxaba, for their part, were displaced farther north. The Gaza Kingdom expanded to the northeast, heavily raiding small Tsonga polities. Slave trading expanded at Delagoa Bay, and the Portuguese worked to expand their regional sphere of influence. In 1826,
2616-796: The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Under the World Heritage Committee, signatory countries are required to produce and submit periodic data reporting providing the committee with an overview of each participating nation's implementation of the World Heritage Convention and a "snapshot" of current conditions at World Heritage properties. Based on the draft convention that UNESCO had initiated,
2725-553: The Vaal and Orange River. There, they absorbed some of their San and Korana neighbors as clients . The Griqua, like other ethnic groups, were not politically unified and differed in their livelihood strategies, which ranged from raiding to agriculture to controlling trade between Batswana and the Cape Colony. By the turn of the century amaXhosa groups also began arriving in the middle Orange River region, fleeing instability along
2834-862: The Venda Kingdom to the north, the Maroteng, amaNdzundza , and Balodebu to the northeast, the Bangwaketse to the far west, and Matiwane's nation in the Caledon Valley. Sebetwane and Moletsane's nations, for their part, were outright put to flight. Between 1827 and 1828 Matiwane's amaNgwane launched a failed attack on Moshoeshoe and, after suffering a major raid (likely perpetrated by the Ndebele), relocated to abaThembu territory in 1828, where they were destroyed by British, Boer, amaGcaleka , amaMpondo , and abaThembu forces. Though Matiwane
2943-480: The amaZulu of Shaka kaSenzangakhona . Their raids and counterraids proved costly and indecisive, contributing to the breakup of the Ndandwe Paramountcy. Groups broke away under Soshangane and Zwangendaba who settled their followers in the Delagoa Bay region, while Msane did the same in what is now eastern Eswatini . King Zwide, now in a position of weakness, evacuated to his territories north of
3052-505: The 1780s. There was significant population growth in the region which lead to more competition for resources. There was an increasing amount of trade with the Cape colony and the Portuguese; this had the consequence of separate chiefdoms becoming more eager to conquer land for themselves in order to control trade routes. Dutch settlers from the Cape Colony encroaching upon the Khoikhoi and San into regions where Tswana people live resulted in
3161-650: The 1820s to the 1830s was driven in large part by slave and cattle raiding by Griqua , Basters , and other Khoekhoe -European groups armed and mounted by European settlers, who benefitted from trading their plunder. The increasing economic pull of the international slave trade also incentivized greater warfare and disruption between polities close to international ports such as Delagoa Bay . The Mfecane began in eastern Southern Africa with increasing competition and political consolidation as chiefdoms vied for control over trade routes and grazing land. Delagoa Bay and its international port saw increasing regional conflict in
3270-610: The 1820s, Shoshangane's Gaza Kingdom and Shaka's Zulu kingdom had established themselves alongside the remains of the Ndwandwe Paramountcy as the major players in the Northeast of Southern Africa. After relocating once again to the Nkomati River region, Zwide successfully raided and recruited his way back to power. By the time of his death in 1825 the Ndwandwe had muscled into the interior, possibly sundering
3379-482: The Cave of Hearths, and preserves Iron Age and Mfecane relics. It is most famous as the clash between a Boer Commando and local Langa and Kekana people after the murders of Voortrekkers at Moorddrift, Mapela and Pruizen. Chief Makapan (Mokopane), together with a large number of his tribespeople and their cattle were besieged in the cave for nearly a month between 25 October and 21 November 1854, during which time many hundreds died of hunger and thirst. Piet Potgieter
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3488-541: The Geology Department of the University of the Witwatersrand conducted a geological survey of the area (1941) followed by L. C. King in 1951. In July 1945, Philip Tobias led a group of students to the valley, where they discovered the "Hyaena Cave" next to Van Riet Lowe's site. Further down the valley, from a cave next to the limeworks, they collected a large fossil horse's lower jaw, which supplied
3597-707: The Great Barrier Reef on the endangered list, as global climate change had caused a further negative state of the corals and water quality. Again, the Australian government campaigned against this, and in July 2021, the World Heritage Committee , made up of diplomatic representatives of 21 countries, ignored UNESCO's assessment, based on studies of scientists, "that the reef was clearly in danger from climate change and so should be placed on
3706-502: The Late Iron Age (1560 AD). The slopes adjacent to the cave are artificially terraced and archaeological finds from these include potsherds, grindstones, hammer stones and relics of iron smelting operations, including ore, slag and fragments of tuyeres . This cave contains Iron Age and ancient relics and an underground lake. It is also home to a large colony of migratory long-fingered bats, Miniopterus schreibersii . This cave
3815-1038: The List of World Heritage in Danger and the World Heritage List. Only three sites have ever been delisted : the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany, and the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in the United Kingdom. The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was directly delisted in 2007, instead of first being put on the danger list, after the Omani government decided to reduce
3924-534: The Makapan Middle Pleistocene Research Project. Makapansgat Valley has been described as having one of the greatest palaeontological records of human evolution in the world. Collecting at the site began in 1925, when a local school teacher, Wilfred Eitzman, was attracted by the activities of limeworkers. Some fossil material was sent to Raymond Dart , who initiated a systematic investigation in 1947. Eitzman also discovered
4033-459: The Maroteng clan, also came into conflict with the amaNdzundza Ndebele, Masemola, Magakala, Bamphahlele, and Balobedu polities. Meanwhile, the region of the modern north and central Free State was increasingly coming under the control of the Bataung . In the late 1790s, expansion by the Cape Colony to the lower Orange River region displaced the mixed-race Griqua peoples to the confluence of
4142-634: The Matebele left a trail of destruction in their wake. From 1837 to 1838, the arrival of Boer settlers and the subsequent battles of Vegtkop and Mosega, drove the Matebele north of the Limpopo. They settled in the area now known as Matabeleland , in present-day southern Zimbabwe . Mzilikazi set up his new capital in Bulawayo . The AmaNdebele drove the MaShona of the region northward and forced them to pay tribute. This caused resentment that has continued to
4251-657: The Mfecane fled to the lands of the Xhosa people. Some of them such as the amaNgwane were driven back by force and defeated. Those who were accepted were obliged to be tributary to the Xhosas and lived under their protection. They were assimilated into the Xhosa cultural way of life, becoming part of the Xhosa people. After years of oppression by the Xhosas, they later formed an alliance with the Cape Colony . Southern Tswana populations had experienced an increase in conflict as early as
4360-608: The Ndwandewe allowed Sekwati to rebuild the sundered Pedi Kingdom around a fortified hilltop base near the Steelpoort River . From this stronghold, he soon gathered a large following by offering protection to groups of refugees. In 1827, Shoshangane relocated the Gaza Kingdom from the lower Nkomati to the lower Limpopo River area. Gaza defeated a Zulu army in 1828 and developed economic and political ties with
4469-515: The Ndwandwe army, fled north with Soshangane after his defeat in 1819. Zwangendaba's followers were henceforth called Ngoni . Continuing north of the Zambezi River , they formed a state in the region between lakes Malawi and Tanganyika . Maseko , who led another part of the Ngoni people, founded another state to the east of Zwangendaba's kingdom. To the east, refugee clans and tribes from
Makapansgat - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-577: The Northern Transvaal. In 1833, Soshangane invaded various Portuguese settlements, and was initially successful. But a combination of internal disputes and war against the Swazi caused the downfall of the Gaza kingdom. The Ngwane people lived in present-day Eswatini (Swaziland), where they had settled in the southwest. They warred periodically with the Ndwandwe. Zwangendaba , a commander of
4687-745: The Phongolo to rebuild. Shaka took advantage of the power vacuum to expand the Zulu state to the Mkhuze River . The 1810s also saw the expansion of British colonial rule in southeastern southern Africa, with Xhosa polities displaced northwards by the Fourth and Fifth Xhosa Wars . Meanwhile, between the Mzimkhulu and Mzimvubu Rivers, some polities fleeing the upheavals further north joined Faku kaNgqungqushe 's Mpondo Kingdom, while most others instead vied for dominance just outside of its reach. By
4796-428: The Portuguese governor. In an attempt to solidify their control over inland trade, the Portuguese launched a failed attack on the Gaza Kingdom in 1834, leaving Gaza dominant over Delagoa Bay and the territories to its north. By the late 1830s, the Kingdom's sphere of influence reached as far as the Zambezi River . In 1836, the Swazi Kingdom weathered a joint attack by Zulu forces and British adventurers. Sometime in
4905-418: The Portuguese. In May of 1828, Shaka launched a successful cattle raid against the Bomvana and the Mpondo Kingdom, following up with another raid north of Delagoa Bay before the first expeditionary force had returned home. Sensing political weakness, his brothers Dingane and Mhlangana assassinated him in September. Dingane subsequently purged Mhlangana and other political rivals and established himself as
5014-499: The South Atlantic, is part of the Europe and North America region because the British government nominated the site. The table below includes a breakdown of the sites according to these regions and their classification as of July 2024 : This overview lists the 23 countries with 15 or more World Heritage Sites: Mfecane The Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho names Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing," "scattering," "forced dispersal," or "forced migration"),
5123-609: The World Heritage Committee for new designations. The Committee meets once a year to determine which nominated properties to add to the World Heritage List; sometimes it defers its decision or requests more information from the country that nominated the site. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one to be included on the list. Until 2004, there were six sets of criteria for cultural heritage and four for natural heritage. In 2005, UNESCO modified these and now has one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and must meet at least one of
5232-499: The World Heritage Fund to facilitate its conservation under certain conditions. UNESCO reckons the restorations of the following four sites among its success stories: Angkor in Cambodia, the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia, the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Kraków in Poland, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. Additionally, the local population around a site may benefit from significantly increased tourism revenue. When there are significant interactions between people and
5341-435: The Zulu Kingdom. 1828 saw a further advance of colonial power as a combined British-Boer force marched far beyond the colonial borders and destroyed Matiwane 's amaNgwane at Mbholompo. Benefitting from the fall of the Ndwandwe and Shaka, Sobhuza's Swazi Kingdom expanded from the core of modern Eswatini to the Sabie River by the early 1830s. In an 1833 trade dispute, Zulu forces briefly captured Delagoa Bay and executed
5450-412: The Zulu king, but also the Boers , and the Griqua and Tswana . Defeats in several clashes convinced Mzilikazi to move north towards Swaziland. Going north and then inland westward along the watershed between the Vaal and the Limpopo rivers, Mzilikazi and his followers, the AmaNdebele, (called Matebele in English) established a Ndebele state northwest of the city of Pretoria . During this period,
5559-451: The Zulu-centric explanation for the Mfecane is not reliable. By the early 2000s, a new historical consensus had emerged, recognizing the Mfecane to be not simply a series of events resulting from the founding of the Zulu Kingdom but rather a multitude of factors caused before and after Shaka Zulu came into power. The debate and controversy within Southern African historiography over the Mfecane has been compared to similar debates about
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#17327727278235668-438: The ability of average people to meet their needs. Though far less susceptible to famine, leaders faced threats to their power as (taxable) agricultural production dropped and ivory became scarcer due to overhunting. Faced with the challenges of fighting famine and maintaining wealth flows, leaders were incentivized to turn to raiding and conquest. Conquest protected conquering peoples against famine by providing immediate access to
5777-405: The awards, because World Heritage listing can significantly increase tourism returns. Site listing bids are often lengthy and costly, putting poorer countries at a disadvantage. Eritrea 's efforts to promote Asmara are one example. In 2016, the Australian government was reported to have successfully lobbied for the World Heritage Site Great Barrier Reef conservation efforts to be removed from
5886-415: The brutality of the Mfecane to justify European colonialism. Cobbing's hypothesis generated an immense volume of polemics among historians; the discussions were termed the "Cobbing Controversy". While historians had already embarked upon new approaches to the study of the Mfecane in the 1970s and 1980s, Cobbing's paper was the first major source that overtly defied the hegemonic "Zulu-centric" explanation at
5995-647: The caves during prehistoric times (1965, 1968, 1980). He interpreted this to represent rudimentary stone tool making activities dated at around 2.3 – 1.6 million years ago, however, recent analysis has shown this information to be incorrect. Recent work at the sites in the late 1990s and early 2000s was done by these groups: Download coordinates as: World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around
6104-408: The century, the southern Tswana chiefdoms underwent fragmentations and consolidations as raids and counter-raids proliferated. The powerful Bahurutshe Chiefdom of the upper Marico River region had their control of the lucrative trade with the Cape Colony eroded by the Bangwaketse to the northwest, the Batlhaping to the southwest, and the emerging Pedi Kingdom to the east. The latter, helmed by
6213-504: The commitment of countries and local population to World Heritage conservation in various ways, providing emergency assistance for sites in danger, offering technical assistance and professional training, and supporting States Parties' public awareness-building activities. Being listed as a World Heritage Site can positively affect the site, its environment, and interactions between them. A listed site gains international recognition and legal protection, and can obtain funds from, among others,
6322-404: The committee. A site may be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger if conditions threaten the characteristics for which the landmark or area was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Such problems may involve armed conflict and war, natural disasters, pollution, poaching, or uncontrolled urbanisation or human development. This danger list is intended to increase international awareness of
6431-417: The common culture and heritage of humankind. The programme began with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, 196 states have ratified the convention, making it one of the most widely recognised international agreements and the world's most popular cultural programme. In 1954,
6540-487: The conquered peoples' livestock and grain stores and, in the long term, by securing arable land and the people (particularly women) to farm it at greater intensities than before. Here another self-reinforcing cycle set in as famine and warfare promoted insecurity and militarism, which promoted political centralization and more warfare as strong leaders expanded their authority by offering a desperately-needed escape from famine to loyal followers. A second stage of turmoil from
6649-412: The convention. By assigning places as World Heritage Sites, UNESCO wants to help preserve them for future generations. Its motivation is that "heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today" and that both cultural and natural heritage are "irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration". UNESCO's mission with respect to World Heritage consists of eight sub targets. These include encouraging
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#17327727278236758-399: The current day in modern Zimbabwe. At the Battle of Mhlatuze River in 1818, the Ndwandwe were defeated by a Zulu force under the direct command of Shaka. Soshangane , one of Zwide's generals, fled to Mozambique with the remainder of the Ndwandwe. There, they established the Gaza kingdom . They oppressed the Tsonga people living there, some of whom fled over the Lebombo Mountains into
6867-440: The death toll range from 1 million to 2 million; however, these numbers are controversial, and some recent scholars revise the mortality figure significantly downward and attribute the root causes to complex political, economic, and environmental developments. The Mfecane is significant in that it saw the formation of new states, institutions, and ethnic identities in southeastern Africa. The Mfecane's historiography itself
6976-558: The earliest representatives of Homo sapiens . A small number of fossils were thought to have been collected by Dr Robert Broom from this site in 1937, including the remains of an extinct 'pygmy buffalo', Bos makapania , for which the cave is named. More recent excavations have revealed an extensive ' Cornelian Land Mammal Age' fauna including antelope, horses, pigs, monkeys and carnivores. The fauna, along with palaeomagnetic age estimates by Andy Herries (La Trobe University, Australia) suggest an age of between 990,000 and 780,000 years for
7085-413: The eastern Cape Colony frontier. There they absorbed Korana, San, and others and engaged in extensive raiding along the Orange and lower Vaal rivers. This proved particularly damaging to the trade activities of their Batlhaping victims. By the 1810s, Boer expansion brought increasing destabilization to the middle Orange River region, not least in that it increased the flow of firearms. The Caledon Valley
7194-452: The endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia . This resulted in the excavation and recording of hundreds of sites, the recovery of thousands of objects, as well as the salvage and relocation to higher ground of several important temples. The most famous of these are the temple complexes of Abu Simbel and Philae . The campaign ended in 1980 and
7303-455: The expansion of the Ndwandwe Paramountcy under Sikhunyana began to threaten the Zulu Kingdom's borders. In response, Shaka marched his army (and allied British traders) to the Izindololwane Hills and put Sikhunyana to flight. Their victory was so total that the Ndwandwe state collapsed shortly thereafter, with some constituent polities fleeing south or joining the Zulu, the Gaza Kingdom, or Mzilikazi 's Matabele/Ndebele Kingdom. The collapse of
7412-417: The extent to which African groups and leaders sought to establish more centralised and complex state formations to control ivory routes and the wealth associated with the trade. She suggests these pressures created internal movements, as well as reactions against European activity, that drove the state formations and concomitant violence and displacement. She still agreed with Cobbing's overall sentiment in that
7521-484: The formation of the Korana who started to launch raids on other communities by the 1780s. The fact that many of them had access to firearms and horses likely exacerbated the devastation caused by their raiders. Xhosa who were escaping the already violent region of the Eastern Cape often launched their own raids as well. All of these events led to making the region progressively more unstable. Missionary interference, internal politics, and raids by Dutch settlers also impacted
7630-409: The government of Egypt decided to build the new Aswan High Dam , whose resulting future reservoir would eventually inundate a large stretch of the Nile valley containing cultural treasures of ancient Egypt and ancient Nubia . In 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assist them to protect and rescue
7739-435: The kingdom of Lesotho . The Tswana were pillaged by two large invading forces set on the move by the Mfecane. Sebitwane gathered the Kololo ethnic groups near modern Lesotho and wandered north across what is now Botswana , plundering and killing many of the Tswana people in the way. They also took large numbers of captives north with them, finally settling north of the Zambezi River in Barotseland , where they conquered
7848-992: The last two decades. These activities endanger Natural World Heritage Sites and could compromise their unique values. Of the Natural World Heritage Sites that contain forest, 91% experienced some loss since 2000. Many of them are more threatened than previously thought and require immediate conservation action. The destruction of cultural assets and identity-establishing sites is one of the primary goals of modern asymmetrical warfare. Terrorists, rebels, and mercenary armies deliberately smash archaeological sites, sacred and secular monuments and loot libraries, archives and museums. The UN, United Nations peacekeeping and UNESCO in cooperation with Blue Shield International are active in preventing such acts. "No strike lists" are also created to protect cultural assets from air strikes. The founding president of Blue Shield International Karl von Habsburg summed it up with
7957-479: The late 1700s, but these processes were greatly accelerated after the international ivory trade opened. The trade allowed leaders to amass unprecedented amounts of wealth, which they could then use to cultivate greater political power. Wealth and power became mutually reinforcing, as wealth enabled leaders to develop state instruments of control and expropriation, which they used to extract further wealth through taxation and military action. The consequence of this cycle
8066-531: The late 1830s the Swazi launched a raid against the Pedi Kingdom, which repelled them. The Mfecane began in the interior regions of Central Southern Africa in the late 18th century with the displacement of Khoekhoe and San peoples by slave and cattle raiders from the expanding Dutch Cape Colony . Arriving in the middle and lower Orange River regions, they competed with local Batwsana peoples, beginning
8175-502: The latter half of the 20th century, this interpretation has fallen out of favor among scholars due to a lack of historical evidence. The Mfecane resulted from the complex interplay of pre-existing trends of political centralization with the effects of international trade, environmental instability, and European colonization. State formation and expansion had already been intensifying in Southeastern African as of at least
8284-601: The leadership of Moshoeshoe . Separately, facing violence and starvation, Sebetwane 's BaFokeng , Tsooane's MaPhuting, and Nkarahanye's BaHlakoana fled their homes. The three joined forces in 1823 to take the BaThlaping town of Dithakong , whose access to water kept it rich in grain and cattle despite the overall drought. The BaThlaping repelled the invasion on 24 June with the aid of a mounted force of Griqua, inflicting heavy casualties and killing Tsooane and Nkarahanye. In 1825, Mpangazita's followers dispersed after he
8393-517: The list." According to environmental protection groups, this "decision was a victory for cynical lobbying and [...] Australia, as custodians of the world's biggest coral reef, was now on probation." Several listed locations, such as Casco Viejo in Panama and Hội An in Vietnam , have struggled to strike a balance between the economic benefits of catering to greatly increased visitor numbers after
8502-836: The local level which can result in the site being damaged. Rock art under world heritage protection at the Tadrart Acacus in Libya have occasionally been intentionally destroyed. Chalcraft links this destruction to Libyan national authorities prioritizing World Heritage status over local sensibilities by limiting access to the sites without consulting with the local population. UNESCO has also been criticized for alleged geographic bias, racism , and colourism in world heritage inscription. A major chunk of all world heritage inscriptions are located in regions whose populations generally have lighter skin, including Europe, East Asia, and North America. The World Heritage Committee has divided
8611-507: The main fossil bearing layers. Basal flowstone deposits are estimated to go back to around 2 million years and show evidence for the beginning of the ' Walker circulation ' at around 1.7 million years ago. The cave gets its name from the fig tree Ficus ingens roots which curtain its entrance. This cave contains Iron Age and 19th-century relics, a large bat colony and an underground lake. An Iron Age site close by yields occupational debris from approximately Early Iron Age (550 AD), 870 AD and
8720-586: The mid-to-late 1700s. The local Tembe and Mabhudu-Tembe competed for control, absorbing or expelling some of their neighboring polities. The abakwaDlamini , who would later form the Swazi Kingdom , were one such group put to flight by the conflict. The mid-to-late 1700s also saw the rise of the Nxumalo and Nyambose chiefdoms between the Phongolo and Thukela rivers, which would eventually become
8829-730: The natural environment, these can be recognised as "cultural landscapes". A country must first identify its significant cultural and natural sites in a document known as the Tentative List. Next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File, which is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union . A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on its Tentative List. The two international bodies make recommendations to
8938-635: The new Zulu king. These chaotic events prompted the secession of a segment of the subject abakwaQwabe nation, though they were dispersed in late 1829 by a Mpondo attack south of the Mzimkhulu. By the late 1820s the power struggles between the Mzimkhulu and Mzimvubu Rivers had produced two victors: the Mpondo Kingdom and the Bhaca Chiefdom. Several weaker polities again relocated, with some moving north, others moving south, and yet others to
9047-562: The protected area's size by 90%. The Dresden Elbe Valley was first placed on the danger list in 2006 when the World Heritage Committee decided that plans to construct the Waldschlösschen Bridge would significantly alter the valley's landscape. In response, the Dresden City Council attempted to stop the bridge's construction. However, after several court decisions allowed the building of the bridge to proceed,
9156-467: The recognition and preserving the original culture and local communities. Another criticism is that there is a homogeneity to these sites, which contain similar styles, visitor centres , etc., meaning that a lot of the individuality of these sites has been removed to become more attractive to tourists. Anthropologist Jasper Chalcraft said that World Heritage recognition often ignores contemporary local usage of certain sites. This leads to conflicts on
9265-629: The region. By the start of the 19th century, the most powerful Tswana chiefdom, the Bahurutse, were increasingly being challenged by the Bangwaketse. Moshoeshoe I gathered the mountain clans together in an alliance against the Zulus. Fortifying the easily defended hills and expanding his reach with cavalry raids, he fought against his enemies with some success, despite not adopting the Zulu tactics, as many clans had done. The territory of Moshoeshoe I became
9374-643: The remains of bones burnt in fireplaces and therefore that Makapansgat was a site of early hominid occupation. Dart named the first hominids discovered at the site Australopithecus prometheus after the mythological Greek hero who stole fire from the Gods. Afterwards the black markings turned out to be manganese stains and Australopithecus prometheus were recognised as specimens of Australopithecus africanus . After analysing 7,159 fossil bones, Dart concluded that these creatures, in an era before stone tools were discovered, used tools made from bone, teeth and horn, naming it
9483-460: The roots of the conflicts lay in the labour needs of Portuguese slave traders operating out of Delagoa Bay, Mozambique and European settlers in the Cape Colony . The resulting pressures led to forced displacement , famine, and war in the interior, allowing waves of Afrikaner settlers to colonize large swaths of the region. Cobbing's views were echoed by historian Dan Wylie, who argued that colonial-era white writers such as Isaacs had exaggerated
9592-638: The so-called " Makapansgat pebble " associated with the bones. About 3,000,000 years ago, the pebble is shaped naturally to resemble a human face, it is thought to have been found by an Australopithecus and carried from its source into the Makapansgat cave. It has been suggested that this pebble represents the earliest known example of symbolic thinking of early hominids. The rocks that Professor Dart received from Mr Eitzman turned out to contain, amongst others, blackened fossil bones which led him to believe that they had been burnt. Although no hominid remains or stone tools were found at first, he concluded that these were
9701-481: The ten criteria. A country may request to extend or reduce the boundaries, modify the official name, or change the selection criteria of one of its already listed sites. Any proposal for a significant boundary change or to modify the site's selection criteria must be submitted as if it were a new nomination, including first placing it on the Tentative List and then onto the Nomination File. A request for
9810-405: The threats and to encourage counteractive measures. Threats to a site can be either proven imminent threats or potential dangers that could have adverse effects on a site. The state of conservation for each site on the danger list is reviewed yearly; after this, the Committee may request additional measures, delete the property from the list if the threats have ceased or consider deletion from both
9919-412: The time. This was followed by fierce discourse in the early 1990s prompted by Cobbing's hypothesis. Many agree that Cobbing's analysis offered several key breakthroughs and insights into the nature of early Zulu society. The historian Elizabeth Eldredge challenged Cobbing's thesis on the grounds that there is scant evidence of the resumption of the Portuguese slave trade out of Delagoa Bay before 1823,
10028-622: The valley was removed from the World Heritage List in 2009. Liverpool 's World Heritage status was revoked in July 2021, following developments ( Liverpool Waters and Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium ) on the northern docks of the World Heritage site leading to the "irreversible loss of attributes" on the site. The first global assessment to quantitatively measure threats to Natural World Heritage Sites found that 63% of sites have been damaged by increasing human pressures including encroaching roads, agriculture infrastructure and settlements over
10137-578: The western Tswana polities. Mzilikazi suffered another major raid from the Griqua leader Berend Berends in 1831, but again managed to decimate the loot-laden attackers. In 1832 it was the Zulu Kingdom's turn to raid the Ndebele, but for the most part they were successfully repelled. Mzilikazi relocated after the Zulu attack, settling in the Bahurutshe's upper Marico territory. The Bahurutshe response
10246-436: The words: "Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible". The UNESCO-administered project has attracted criticism. This was caused by perceived under-representation of heritage sites outside Europe, disputed decisions on site selection and adverse impact of mass tourism on sites unable to manage rapid growth in visitor numbers. A large lobbying industry has grown around
10355-526: The work of the World Heritage Committee was developed over a seven-year period (1965–1972). The United States initiated the idea of safeguarding places of high cultural or natural importance. A White House conference in 1965 called for a "World Heritage Trust" to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry". The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, which were presented in 1972 at
10464-652: The world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site is nominated by its host country and determined by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to be a unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable, having a special cultural or physical significance, and to be under a sufficient system of legal protection. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains or wilderness areas. A World Heritage Site may signify
10573-744: The world into five geographic regions: Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Russia and the Caucasus states are classified as European, while Mexico and the Caribbean are classified as belonging to the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The UNESCO geographic regions also give greater emphasis on administrative, rather than geographic associations. Hence, Gough Island , located in
10682-481: Was a historical period of heightened military conflict and migration associated with state formation and expansion in Southern Africa . The exact range of dates that comprise the Mfecane varies between sources. At its broadest, the period lasted from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, but scholars often focus on an intensive period from the 1810s to the 1840s. Traditional estimates for
10791-444: Was an increasing political and wealth disparity within and between polities, particularly in concern to productive land and food stores. Political centralization became problematic in the early 1800s when deep drought (aggravated by the atmospheric effects of volcanic eruptions in 1809 and 1815) struck Southeastern Africa. Whereas previous droughts hadn't caused serious famine, the unequal distribution of land and food stores lessened
10900-522: Was cast off, Moshoeshoe's forces successfully raided the abaThembu in 1829, greatly enriching his kingdom and allowing it to recruit large numbers of followers from returning refugees. To the south of Moshoeshoe's territory, small San polities eked out independent livelihoods, while others joined Morosi 's Phuthi polity to raid abaThembu, Cape Colonists, and others. Notably, San groups developed new styles of rock art during this period of change. Also between 1827 and 1828, Mzilikazi's Ndebele relocated to
11009-693: Was collected from 50 countries. The project's success led to other safeguarding campaigns, such as saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. Together with the International Council on Monuments and Sites , UNESCO then initiated a draft convention to protect cultural heritage. The convention (the signed document of international agreement ) guiding
11118-973: Was considered a success. To thank countries which especially contributed to the campaign's success, Egypt donated four temples; the Temple of Dendur was moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City , the Temple of Debod to the Parque del Oeste in Madrid , the Temple of Taffeh to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden , and the Temple of Ellesyia to Museo Egizio in Turin . The project cost US$ 80 million (equivalent to $ 295.83 million in 2023), about $ 40 million of which
11227-515: Was divided, with some submitting to Ndebele rule and others relocating to Bathlaping and Griqua territory. In 1834 Jan Bloem launched a second raid against the Ndebele, which ended similarly to his first attack. Mzilikazi responded by maintaining the southern reaches of his domain as an unpopulated buffer zone. Around 1821, the Zulu general Mzilikazi of the Khumalo clan defied Shaka, and set up his own kingdom. He quickly made many enemies: not only
11336-545: Was killed in a war against Matiwane 's amaNgwane . The amaNgwane proceeded to control much of the Caledon River environs, raiding and displacing Sotho and Tswana neighbors. The mid-1820s saw Sebetwane dominate the upper Molopo region and Moletsane's Bataung people heavily raid the Vaal River. The eastern interior, however, was coming under the domination of Mzilikazi's Ndebele Kingdom. His forces raided
11445-458: Was later accused of slave trading). In 1988, Rhodes University professor Julian Cobbing advanced a different hypothesis on the rise of the Zulu state; he contended the accounts of the Mfecane were a self-serving, constructed product of apartheid -era politicians and historians. According to Cobbing, apartheid-era historians had mischaracterised the Mfecane as a period of internally induced Black-on-Black destruction. Instead, Cobbing argued that
11554-721: Was now sustaining raids by Boer, Griqua, and Korana parties. By the early 1820s the instability spread north of the Orange River. In 1822 AmaHlubi under the command of Mpangazita crossed the Drakensberg mountains and attacked Queen MmaNthatisi's Batlôkwa people . Put to flight, MmaNthatisi's followers survived off of pillage before resettling west of the Caledon River in 1824. The Sotho polities of this area sometimes held conflictual relations with these Batlôkwa newcomers, and they began coalescing in 1824 under
11663-531: Was placed in charge of the excavations. The stratigraphic sequence was determined during 1953–1954. After the Kitching brothers discovered an ape-man braincase amongst the limeworks dumps in 1947, Dart organised for the lime miner's dumps to be hand-sorted to recover as much fossil-bearing material as possible. After 45 years of research, many thousands of fossils from this site have been identified and catalogued. Brian Maguire studied rocks which were brought into
11772-638: Was recently excavated by a joint project between the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and Arizona State University in the US. The Cave of Hearths is close to the Historic Cave complex and preserves a remarkably complete record of human occupation from Early Stone Age " Acheulian " times in the oldest sediments through the Middle Stone Age , the Later Stone Age and up to
11881-516: Was shot during the siege and the name of the nearby town was changed from Vredenburg to 'Pieter Potgietersrust', which later changed to 'Potgietersrus'. As of the early 21st century ( c. early 2000s), after the transition from the Apartheid government into majority rule, there has been a trend to rename several national and provincial government institutions (including educational institutions), roads, public infrastructures, towns, cities, etc. As
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