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The historical archaeology of Vergelegen, an early Farmstead at the Cape of Good Hope

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Abstract

Excavations at Vergelegen, a large estate in the Western Cape of South Africa that dates to the earliest years of the 18th century, have allowed archaeologists to address a number of questions about the nature of colonial settlement in this former Dutch colony. Primary among these were questions about slavery and about the interrelationships between slaves, colonists, and the indigenous inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope. This article offers some of the results of this investigation, and an interpretation of those results in light of the original questions about slave community, slave-indigenous interaction, and early colonial architecture in the Cape.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa

    Ann Markell & Martin Hall

  2. Department of Anthropology, Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, 08903

    Carmel Schrire

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  1. Ann Markell
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  2. Martin Hall
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  3. Carmel Schrire
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Markell, A., Hall, M. & Schrire, C. The historical archaeology of Vergelegen, an early Farmstead at the Cape of Good Hope. Hist Arch 29, 10–34 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374206

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