University of Mpumalanga, Mbombela, South Africa

5 - 9 JULY 2026

Join us in the place where the sun rises

ASAPA 2026 will be hosted at the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela, a young and dynamic institution rooted in African scholarship. Surrounded by rich archaeological landscapes and living heritage, the university offers an ideal setting to reflect on the past and rethink the future of archaeology in southern Africa. We look forward to welcoming you to a province known for its natural beauty, cultural diversity and deep pasts.

The theme of the ASAPA 2026 conference is

Between Past and Present: African archaeology and its relevance today

Africa's past is deeply embedded in its present. It shapes identities, landscapes, politics and heritage practices in visible and powerful ways. The theme of ASAPA 2026 invites us to reflect on this enduring presence of the past and to consider archaeology's relevance in today's world.

Africa's histories include both triumph and trauma: great complexity, innovation, and resilience, but also periods of profound injustice, displacement and distortion. Archaeology offers tools not only to uncover and interpret these histories, but actively to engage with their contemporary meanings and role in shaping the present. By confronting inherited biases and recovering silenced narratives, archaeology can help build a more inclusive and representative understanding of Africa's deep past.

This theme challenges us to think critically about not only the discipline itself, but how it contributes to contemporary society, through public engagement, heritage policy, education, restitution and reparation, and how it might help forge paths toward a more equitable future.

Tim Forssman, Chair of the Local Organising Committee

Prof. Tim Forssman is an Associate Professor in Archaeology at the University of Mpumalanga and serves as Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the ASAPA 2026 meeting. With deep roots in southern African archaeology and a strong commitment to student-centred research and outreach, Tim hopes to contribute to strengthening archaeological research in the region and make heritage meaningful and accessible to wider audiences. He envisages that this conference will foster new connections, encourage inclusive dialogue and spark creative approaches to understanding Africa's past. Guided by collaboration and curiosity, members of the Local Organising Committee aim to create an event that is welcoming, thought-provoking and reflective of the region's rich archaeology. He looks forward to welcoming colleagues to the University of Mpumalanga and to the inspiring conversations that will shape our shared future in the discipline.

Keynote speaker at the conference

Shadreck Chirikure

Shadreck Chirikure is an archaeological scientist specializing in the study of ancient materials and high-temperature technologies, and in how these shaped the development of societies over time. Using Africa as a primary context, his research also engages with materials and technologies from China, the Americas, and Europe, building a comparative understanding of humanity’s encounters with materials and pyrotechnologies across the world. He is Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford, Editor-in-Chief of Archaeometry, and author of Metals in Past Societies.

Plenary speakers

Marlize Lombard

To date, Marlize has published more than 150 scientific papers and chapters, also in leading journals such as Nature and Science. Until December 2018 she was appointed as Director of the Centre for Anthropological Research at the University of Johannesburg. In 2019, the unit became the Palaeo-Research Institute where she now serves as Research Chair with the mandate to develop a hub for human origins research in southern Africa.

As a Professor of Cognitive and Stone Age archaeology, she leads the inter-disciplinary Palaeo-TrACKS (Tracing Ancient Cognition and Knowledge Systems through the Stone Age/Palaeolithic) Research Programme with collaborators from across the globe, and have recently established Hu-MAP (Humans of the Magaliesberg Archaeological Project) with colleagues from the Institute. She received her MSc and PhD degrees in archaeology from the Science Faculty of the University of the Witwatersrand, where she was one of the initial members of the then Institute for Human Evolution. Prior to that, she was Assistant Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum and Head of Human Sciences (Archaeology and Anthropology) at that institution. She currently serves on the editorial boards of three journals, and erved as Editor in Chief of the South African Archaeological Bulletin (2023-2015). In 2015 she was nominated, for the University of Johannesburg’s Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award in Global Excellence and Stature. In 2018 she was second runner-up for the ‘South African Women in Science Award’ bestowed by the Department of Science and Technology, and in the same year she won the University of Johannesburg Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award for Outstanding Research.

Lyn Wadley

Lyn Wadley is an honorary research professor in the Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand. Her research is largely dedicated to the cognition of people who lived in the past. Since daily activities can be proxies for cognitive attributes, she has experimentally replicated Stone Age tasks such as heat treatment of rocks and colouring material, and hafting of stone tools with adhesives made from natural products.

Her multidisciplinary research includes archaeological excavation, analysis of stone, shell and bone artefacts, and botanical fieldwork and microscopy to identify ancient plants used for food, medicine and bedding. She has authored many scientific papers, and recent (co-authored) books include “Rock Art of the Waterberg” and the botanical field guide “Wildflowers of the Waterberg”. She has excavated at long-sequence sites like Rose Cottage Cave, Sibhudu and Border Cave and she now heads a Stone Age excavation programme in the Waterberg, Limpopo Province. She is an NRF A1-rated researcher, a Fellow of the British Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. The Royal Society awarded her the 2026 John Herschel Medal for excellence in multidisciplinary research.

Peter Delius

Peter Delius retired as Professor and Head of the Department of History, University of the Witwatersrand, in 2016. His research has focused on the history of the Pedi kingdom and rural transformations in South Africa. His numerous books include: The Land Belongs to Us (1983), A Lion Amongst the Cattle (1997), Mpumalanga: An Illustrated History (with Michelle Hay, 2009), A Long Way Home: Migrant Worker Worlds, 1800-2014 (with L Philips and F Rankin-Smith) and Forgotten World: The Stone Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment (with Tim Maggs and Alex Schoeman, 2014).

He has written extensively on rural issues and migrant labour. In recent years has been deeply involved in research on and land restitution in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, including work for the Land Claims Court. In 2018 he was one of three authors of Rights to the Land: A Guide to Tenure Upgrading and Restitution in South Africa. Since 2019 his research has focused on the history of trade linking the interior of Southern Africa to the Indian Ocean Trading System and has developed a special interest in the history of Thulamela. His research and publications have often involved interdisciplinary collaboration. His involvement in the 500 Year Project, accessible publications on Mapungubwe, Bokoni research and now the Thulamela research project has fostered his strong interest in the possibilities and challenges of co-operation between archaeologist and historians.

Conference Partners