Alec Campbell (archaeologist)
Encyclopedia
Alexander Colin Campbell (born 1932, England
) is an archaeologist and museum curator in Botswana
. He is Emeritus Director of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks and National Monuments.
in Southern Rhodesia
in 1951. Transferring to the argricultural department as a tsetse fly
officer in 1954, he entered Rhodes University
in 1959, graduating in SiNdebele. Becoming a district officer in the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1962, Campbell ran the country's first house--to-house census in 1963-4. After independence he became senior warden of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He founded and was later director of Botswana's National Museum and Art Gallery. A founder-member of the Botswana Society
in 1969, he chaired the editorial board of its journal, Botswana Notes and Records, for 30 years.
In the 1970s Campbell worked to overturn the previous consensus that Botswana had little Stone Age
activity.
Campbell lives on a farm near Gaberone with his wife Judy Campbell, who has also written on historical topics with him.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is an archaeologist and museum curator in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. He is Emeritus Director of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks and National Monuments.
Life
Campbell entered the British South Africa PoliceBritish South Africa Police
The British South Africa Police was the police force of the British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes which became the national police force of Southern Rhodesia and its successor after 1965, Rhodesia...
in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
in 1951. Transferring to the argricultural department as a tsetse fly
Tsetse fly
Tsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
officer in 1954, he entered Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
in 1959, graduating in SiNdebele. Becoming a district officer in the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1962, Campbell ran the country's first house--to-house census in 1963-4. After independence he became senior warden of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He founded and was later director of Botswana's National Museum and Art Gallery. A founder-member of the Botswana Society
Botswana Society
The Botswana Society is a learned society in Botswana. Founded in 1969, the Botswana Society aims to advance knowledge "knowledge of Botswana in all disciplines and on all aspects of the nation's cultural, scientific and environmental heritage". The society publishes an annual journal, Botswana...
in 1969, he chaired the editorial board of its journal, Botswana Notes and Records, for 30 years.
In the 1970s Campbell worked to overturn the previous consensus that Botswana had little Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
activity.
Campbell lives on a farm near Gaberone with his wife Judy Campbell, who has also written on historical topics with him.
Works
- (with Thomas TlouThomas TlouThomas Tlou was a Botswana academic and historian, and former representative of Botswana at the United Nations.Tlou studied at Luther College, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States...
) History of Botswana, 1984 - The nature of Botswana : a guide to conservation and development, 1990
- (with David Coulson) African rock art : paintings and engravings on stone, 2001
- (ed. with Larry Robbins and Michael Taylor) Tsodilo hills : copper bracelet of the Kalahari, 2008