Between AD 900 and 1300, the Shashe-Limpopo basin in Limpopo Province witnessed the development of an ancient civilisation. Like civilisations everywhere, it consisted of a complex social organisation supported by intensive agriculture and long-distance trade. The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, as it is now known, was the forerunner of the famous town of Great Zimbabwe, situated about 200 kilometres to the north, and its cultural connection to Great Zimbabwe and the Venda people allows archaeologists to reconstruct its evolution. This generously illustrated book tells the story of an African civilisation that began more than 1000 years ago. It is the first in a series of accessible books written by specialists for visitors to South Africa’s World Heritage Sites.

This book is the first comprehensive account of the history and current state of South African sociology. Providing a holistic picture of the subject both as it is taught in universities and as a field of research, it reveals the trajectories of a discipline in a challenging socio-political context. With the support of historical and scientometric data, it demonstrates how the changing political situation, from colonialism to apartheid to democracy, has influenced the nature, direction and foci of sociological research in the country. The author shows how, during the apartheid era, sociology was professionally fragmented and divided along language and race lines. It was, however, able to flourish with the advent of democracy in 1994 and has become a unique academic movement. This insightful work will appeal to students and scholars of the social sciences, and all those interested in the history and society of South Africa.

An innovative three hundred year exploration of the social and political contexts of science and the scientific imagination in South Africa.

Scientometrics for the Humanities and Social Sciences is the first ever book on scientometrics that deals with the historical development of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis in scientometric studies. It focuses on its applicability in new and emerging areas of inquiry. This important book presents the inherent potential for data mining and analysis of qualitative data in scientometrics. The author provides select cases of scientometric studies in the humanities and social sciences, explaining their research objectives, sources of data and methodologies. It illustrates how data can be gathered not only from prominent online databases and repositories, but also from journals that are not stored in these databases. With the support of specific examples, the book shows how data on demographic variables can be collected to supplement scientometric data. The book deals with a research methodology which has an increasing applicability not only to the study of science, but also to the study of the disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.

This open access volume presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects. It covers a broad range of themes, including history, policy development and implementation, the status of invasions of animals and plants in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments, the development of a robust ecological theory around biological invasions, the effectiveness of management interventions, and scenarios for the future. The South African situation stands out because of the remarkable diversity of the country, and the wide range of problems encountered in its varied ecosystems, which has resulted in a disproportionate investment into both research and management. The South African experience holds many lessons for other parts of the world, and this book should be of immense value to researchers, students, managers, and policy-makers who deal with biological invasions and ecosystem management and conservation in most other regions.