Annual General Meeting followed by a lecture by Justin Bradfield
By:
Justin Bradfield
Date:
Thu, 08/05/2025 - 19:00
Venue:
The Auditorium, Roedean School, 35 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown, Johannesburg
Branch:
Northern
Please note earlier start time due to the AGM
19:00 for the AGM which is expected to take 30 minutes
19:30 for the talk
Charge: Free for members, R50 for non-members
AGM will be followed by a talk by Justin Bradfield, an Associate Professor of archaeology at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg:
Ancient medicines and poisons: detecting traditional pharmacological knowledge systems in the Later Stone Age
Justin Bradfield will talk about two recent discoveries, both of which have featured in the international media: the oldest chemically verified medicinal container found in South Africa and a 7000-year-old complex poison that combined multiple different plant ingredients together. These two discoveries highlight the potential of modern bioanalytical techniques for enhancing our understanding of archaeological residues and for solving questions from the past. Ongoing research delves into the articulation of traditional pharmacology and culture, and explores some of the tensions between indigenous medicinal knowledge systems and Western allopathic medicine.
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Bio:
Dr Bradfield is Associate Professor of archaeology at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg. His main research interest centres around the study of bone tools: both the technology of their manufacture and in how they were used. He has explored the taxonomic identification of pervasively modified bone tools, using two techniques: collagen biomarkers and CT-rendered bone histology, an attempt to identify which mammal taxa people were targeting for tool manufacture and the extent to which this representation might differ over time. Other research areas include investigating biochemical characterisation of poison residues on Stone Age hunting kits and in this way he aims to explore the antiquity and variability of indigenous knowledge systems by looking at the plant ingredients used to make poison weapons.
Charge: Free for members, R50 for non-members
AGM will be followed by a talk by Justin Bradfield, an Associate Professor of archaeology at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg:
Ancient medicines and poisons: detecting traditional pharmacological knowledge systems in the Later Stone Age
Justin Bradfield will talk about two recent discoveries, both of which have featured in the international media: the oldest chemically verified medicinal container found in South Africa and a 7000-year-old complex poison that combined multiple different plant ingredients together. These two discoveries highlight the potential of modern bioanalytical techniques for enhancing our understanding of archaeological residues and for solving questions from the past. Ongoing research delves into the articulation of traditional pharmacology and culture, and explores some of the tensions between indigenous medicinal knowledge systems and Western allopathic medicine.
Bio:
Dr Bradfield is Associate Professor of archaeology at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg. His main research interest centres around the study of bone tools: both the technology of their manufacture and in how they were used. He has explored the taxonomic identification of pervasively modified bone tools, using two techniques: collagen biomarkers and CT-rendered bone histology, an attempt to identify which mammal taxa people were targeting for tool manufacture and the extent to which this representation might differ over time. Other research areas include investigating biochemical characterisation of poison residues on Stone Age hunting kits and in this way he aims to explore the antiquity and variability of indigenous knowledge systems by looking at the plant ingredients used to make poison weapons.