Gift will provide a new understanding of Africa’s past
San rock art, Drakensberg
A deeper understanding of Africa’s past will be enabled through a new Professorship of the Deep History and Archaeology of Africa in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology.
The Professor will engage with leading institutions and sites of archaeological importance across the continent, not only to push forward the bounds of our knowledge using the latest scientific technologies and ideas, but also to work with communities to promote the protection and interpretation of their material heritage.
A generous gift from the Jonathan and Jennifer Oppenheimer Foundation will establish a new high-level research post, the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Professorship of the Deep History and Archaeology of Africa. Working together with African scholars and researchers, the Professor will look to develop knowledge using the latest scientific technologies and ideas, and to work with communities to promote the protection and interpretation of their material heritage.
Professor Cyprian Broodbank, Head of the Division of Archaeology, said: “The new Professorship will help lead the world in forging a new understanding of Africa’s past, and in shaping a dynamic future built upon the continent’s unique history, cultural heritage and achievements.”
Following a separate donation from the Mandela Magdalene Memorial Foundation, the post holder will also become a Fellow of Magdalene College, in memory of former Magdalene Honorary Fellow Nelson Mandela.
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