Excavations at Mlambalasi Rockshelter: a Terminal Pleistocene to Recent Iron Age Record in Southern Tanzania

The Mlambalasi rockshelter in the Iringa Region of southern Tanzania has rich artifactual deposits spanning the Later Stone Age (LSA), Iron Age, and historic periods. Middle Stone Age (MSA) artifacts are also present on the slope in front of the rockshelter. Extensive, systematic excavations in 2006 and 2010 by members of the Iringa Region Archaeological Project (IRAP) illustrate a complex picture of repeated occupations and reuse of the rockshelter during an important time in human history. Direct dates on Achatina shell and ostrich eggshell (OES) beads suggest that the earliest occupation levels excavated at Mlambalasi, which are associated with human burials, are terminal Pleistocene in age. This is exceptional given the rarity of archaeological sites, particularly those with human remains and other preserved organic material, from subtropical Africa between 200,000 and 10,000 years before present. This paper reports on the excavations to date and analysis of artifactual finds from the site. The emerging picture is one of varied, ephemeral use over millennia as diverse human groups were repeatedly attracted to this fixed feature on the landscape.     

The natural and cultural landscape heritage of Northern Friesland

This article argues for an approach to environmental and heritage studies beyond a conceptual divide between nature and culture. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the case of the ongoing debate about the nomination of the Wadden Sea as a UNESCO Heritage Site gives insight into the complexity of attitudes towards the area in question, of widely differing perceptions and values. The focus on the detailed analysis of the controversies about the ‘Schleswig‐Holstein Wadden Sea’ National Park and the public debate in Northern Friesland about the UNESCO heritage highlights the political dimension of conservation strategies. Instead of recurring to the concepts of pure nature, pure culture and its relating marketing value, I propose to adapt the historically rooted concept of political landscape. Once a form of political organisation and practice in Northern Friesland, the concept of political landscape challenges the UNESCO heritage conception and offers new perspectives on conflicts between local population and nature conservation.     

Sold Futures? The Global Availability of Metals and Economic Growth at the Peripheries: Distribution and Regulation in a Degrowth Perspective

In recent years, the strategic role certain metals play is seen as central to the geopolitics promulgated by state agents in the North. While a switch to renewable energy and an increase in energy efficiency might be instrumental to reducing dependence on fossil energy, it increases dependence on metals. This paper starts from an analysis of the likely availability of metals in the near future and then proceeds to investigate political concerns raised by considering the geological fundamentals of social development at the peripheries of the capitalist world‐system. The inequality of metal stocks, future metal requirements and the ensuing political challenges are investigated, taking copper as an example. The final section is dedicated to the discussion of regulatory challenges in view of multiple constraints on metal extraction. This section also highlights the preconditions of a socially legitimate transition to a renewable energy system in the coming period of socio‐ecological transformation.