Page 2 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2016

Front cover: Thousands of gold beads that symbolised royalty, wealth and power were recovered from three burials on Mapungubwe Hill (AD 1220−AD 1290). These sacred objects of the past served as adornment and ritual, and probably also signified economic, political and social status, and today are revered and conserved as national treasures. This page: Mapungubwe recurved jar (265mm x 360mm), burnished earthenware, Mapungubwe National Heritage Collection, No. N/219.