Antonia Malan

archaeology dept, beattie building, room 3.12/3.14

phone: +27 21 650-2358

fax: +27 21 650-2352

email: antonia.malan AT uct.ac.za

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Dr Malan is a Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology at UCT. She graduated from UCT in 1976 with majors in anthropology and archaeology, and returned to discover historical archaeology in 1985, completing a PhD in 1993 (‘Households of the Cape, 1750 to 1850: Inventories and the Archaeological Record’).

 

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Since 1985 my research focus has been household inventories of the 18th and 19th century Cape Colony, leading to a deep interest in vernacular architecture and the spatial development of Cape Town and its hinterland.  I also use these rich documents as a means to unearthing the life stories of colonial houses, families and their servants and slaves.

Inventories from the Orphan Chamber at the Cape of Good Hope and associated documents have now been transcribed and/or indexed, see www.capetranscripts.co.za, and can be downloaded from the TANAP website. The TEPC transcription project, which I manage, is a Dutch-funded joint initiative between the departments of Historical Studies at UCT (Nigel Worden) and History at UWC (Sue Newton-King) and the Archives in Cape Town and The Hague .

My main contribution to the Department has been chaperoning the Historical Archaeology Research Group (HARG) for 20 years.  It has provided a perfect opportunity to interact with colleagues from other disciplines and bring together people with a common interest in the more recent history of the Cape.  I work closely with the Archaeology Contracts Office, and produce publications for the Vernacular Architecture Society of SA (VASSA).

Professionally I try to balance research interests with contract work in cultural resource management, and fortunately the two often come together in productive ways.  Much of my time is now spent as consultant in multi-disciplinary heritage assessment teams and on advisory committees. 

Jane Klose and I teach about ceramics excavated from Cape colonial sites and have prepared a CD for researchers: 'Identifying Ceramics'. See HARG Resources for more details.

 

 

Selected publications:  

2005. [with C. Cornell] Household Inventories at the Cape: a guidebook for beginner researchers. Cape Town: Department of Historical Studies, UCT.

2003. [with J. Klose] ‘Nineteenth century ceramics in Cape Town, South Africa.’  In S. Lawrence (ed.), Archaeologies of the British: explorations of identity in Great Britain and its colonies, 1600-1945, p. 191-210.  London: Routledge.

2002. ‘Furniture at the Cape in the eighteenth century: an archaeological approach’. In Titus M. Eliëns (ed.), Domestic Interiors at the Cape and in Batavia 1602-1795, p. 139-159. Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle/Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag.

2002. [with C. Soudien]  ‘Managing heritage in District Six: conflicts past and present.’  In J. Schofield (ed.), The Archaeology of Twentieth Century Conflict.  London: Routledge.

2001. [with E. van Heyningen]  ‘Twice Removed: Horstley Street in Cape Town’s District Six, 1865-1982.’ In A. Mayne & T. Murray (eds), The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes: Explorations in Slumland, p. 39-56.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2000. [with J. Klose]  ‘The ceramic signature of the Cape in the nineteenth century, with particular reference to the Tennant Street site, Cape Town.’  The South African Archaeological Bulletin 55(171): 49-59.

1998/1999. ‘Chattels or Colonists? ‘Freeblack’ women and their households.’  Kronos 25:50-71.

1998. ‘Beneath the surface - behind the doors: historical archaeology of households in mid-eighteenth century Cape Town.’  Social Dynamics, 24(1): 88-118.

1997. ‘The material world of family and household in 18th century Cape Town: the Van Sitterts, 1748-1796.’  In L. Wadley (ed.) Our Gendered Past: Archaeological Studies of Gender in Southern Africa.  Wits University Press.