Professor Shadreck Chirikure will present the Department of Archaeology seminar with a talk entitled, "Great Zimbabwe: reclaiming a confiscated past".  

Since the beginning of antiquarian activity in the late 19^th century, until the present, Great Zimbabwe has never been an ‘African affair’. It was captured initially by those who denied local authorship, and later by professional archaeologists, who continue to deny local communities any ties to the site. Controversial as this may sound, it will be argued that substantial concept revision is essential for achieving de-westernised pasts with resonance with local communities and non-experts. This requires not just thinking outside the box, but also a beyond ‘business as usual’ approach to archaeology knowledge production at the site and beyond.