'n Histories-argeologiese studie van die Plaas Welkomskraal, Distrik Venterstad, Noordoos-Kaap

Abstract

Hierdie histories-argeologiese studie bied ‘n basiese beskrywing van die materiële kultuur van ‘n afgeleë Suider-Afrikaanse plaas wat tussen die 1880’s en die 1930’s bewoon is. Die studie berus op ‘n gedetailleerde ontleding van die opgegraafde vondste wat herwin is van ashope wat met drie wooneenhede op die plaas Welkomskraal, geleë in die distrik Venterstad in die Noordoos-Kaap, verbind word. Die artefakte is aan die hand van die naslaanversameling in die Bloemfonteinse Nasionale Museum en handelsadvertensies geïdentifiseer. Die materiële kultuur dek die volle spektrum van die alledaagse lewe van die plaasbewoners en word aangevul deur genealogiese data, wat aantoon dat die grondeienaars die nasate was van die eerste trekboere wat hulle in die gebied gevestig het. Die bewoningsperiode van Welkomskraal val saam met die tweede industriële revolusie, wat gekenmerk is deur die massaproduksie van goedere en ‘n toenemend globale handelsnetwerk. Die versameling lewer bewys dat boere in die verre binneland toegang tot ‘n wye reeks ingevoerde produkte gehad het, hoewel hulle nie noodwendig welvarend was nie.

This historical archaeological study provides a baseline description of the material culture of a remote southern African farm occupied between the 1880s and the 1930s. The study is based on a detailed analysis of the excavated finds recovered from middens associated with three homesteads, located on the farm Welkomskraal, in the Venterstad district of the north-eastern Cape. Artefacts were identified using the reference collection of the National Museum in Bloemfontein and commercial adverts. The material culture covers the full spectrum of the daily lives of the farm’s occupants and is complemented by genealogical data, which indicate that the landowners were the descendants of the first trekboers who settled in the area. The occupation of Welkomskraal coincided with the second industrial revolution, which was characterised by mass production of goods and an increasingly global trade network. The assemblage attests that farmers in the deep interior had access to a wide range of imported goods although they were not necessarily prosperous.