Apply for Membership
 
Membership of the Society offers many opportunities for sharing knowledge and increasing understanding of the history of the many peoples and their ancestors who lived in southern Africa over the past 3-million years.
 
All members automatically receive copies of the South African Archaeological Bulletin (published in June and December each year), the Goodwin Series (published occasionally) and The Digging Stick (published in April, August and December).
 
All South African members automatically become members of the branch nearest to them and will receive notices of lectures and outings from the branch. Members in good standing may apply for a password to gain internet access to back issues of the Bulletin and Goodwin Series on online academic archive JSTOR
 
Members of the South African Archaeological Society agree to observe The Constitution and Rules of the Society and any branch of which they are a member. They accept that participation in any activities of the Society or its branches is at their own risk.
 
Period of membership: Our year runs from January to December. Members joining between September and December of any year, however, pay the following year’s rate for their category. For that, they will receive the December Bulletin and The Digging Stick for the year in which they join, as well as information on branch activities. Their membership is valid for the full period of the following year as well.

For 2025, we have made the following important updates to our subscription arrangements following the trial period to address our postage challenges in 2024:

1. Free postage of The Digging Stick to our local members living in South Africa will continue via the SA Post Office (SAPO). Members can opt out of printed/posted Digging Sticks (i.e. subscribe only to the digital versions of our journals) and simply let our secretary know via an email to secretary@archaeology.org.za if they wish to do so.

2. Postage of the printed SAAB is an opt-in service at an additional cost – all members will receive the digital editions by default and only have to pay the postage amount if they wish to receive a printed copy delivered to their preferred location. This will now take place once a year in February following the completion of the print run for the December issue. We will be using a door to door courier service which costs R135.00 in South Africa and R750.00 for overseas subscribers (including Africa). You will receive 2 SAABs (June and December of the year up to February).

3. We will NO LONGER replace any missing issues lost in the post (this will only affect The Digging Stick as it is using SAPO which, regrettably, is proving to be highly unreliable). For subscribers opting into the SAAB courier service outlined above we will happily include your Digging Sticks along with your printed SAABs that were published over the same period. This is the only way to guarantee delivery to you.
 
4. Members may choose to collect a printed copy of the SAAB (and/or Digging Stick) at no additional cost. Please liaise with our secretary if you wish to use this option so that convenient collection arrangements can be made.
 
5. International/Overseas members will NO LONGER pay a higher subscription fee than our SA Ordinary members. All members, regardless of their location, will now pay the same fees as many members have moved over to the digital subscriptions of our journals. If you are an overseas member needing the print/posted copies, then see point 2 above for the postage costs (add R750.00).
 
6. We have introduced a new 2 year and 3 year upfront subscription option for our loyal individual members (this does not apply to institutions). Members can now pay early for 2 or 3 years and take advantage of the slight discounts on offer as well as the additional discount achieved by avoiding the annual price increases.
 
RATES 2024 2025** 2025 (2 years)* 2025 (3 years)*
Ordinary Member (Single) R 390.00 R 415.00 R 810.00 R 1,200.00
African Ordinary R 470.00 R 415.00 R 810.00 R 1,200.00
Overseas Member R 860.00 R 415.00 R 810.00 R 1,200.00
Joint or Family R 435.00 R 460.00 R 900.00 R 1,350.00
Junior/Student Member R 255.00 R 270.00 R 520.00 R 770.00
Local Institutions R 790.00 R 900.00 n/a n/a
Overseas Institutions R 1,725.00 R 2,000.00 n/a n/a
SAAB postage with The Courier Guy, 2025 rates:
South Africa, add R135.00 to your membership fee
Other (overseas) add R750.00 to your membership fee
 
*Please note that postage cannot be paid upfront in the 2 or 3 year memberships – you will be notified each year for the postage costs if you have subscribed for the longer term membership discounts.
**Standard membership includes the digital versions of our journals (The Digging Stick and The South African Archaeological Bulletin) as well as the option to COLLECT a printed copy at no additional charge (please make arrangements with the secretary).

All membership dues must be paid to the Head Office in Cape Town, not to branches. Payment can be made by EFT (see banking details below) or by credit card. 
 
Banking Details
SA Archaeological Society
Standard Bank of South Africa
Branch code: 025009 (Rondebosch)
Current account number: 070510121
Please email proof of deposit to secretary@archaeology.org.za