Introducing the De Hoop Foundation
For more than a decade, De Hoop Collection has been guided by a simple belief:when people flourish, nature flourishes too.
6 + 7 March 2026: Digging De Hoop 2026
DIGGING DE HOOP - ARCHEOLOGICAL WEEKEND
Book for this very special weekend at De Hoop Collection featuring renowned archeologists sharing insights into the wonders of De Hoop.
The weekend includes lectures, workshops and a guided tour of the “Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour” exhibition.
Day visitors are welcome.
Friday, 6 March 2026
14h00
• Guests arrive and check in to De Hoop
18h00
• Introduction to De Hoop, SapienCE and Origins of Early Southern Sapiens exhibition
• Dalfrenzo Laing, Zarko Tankosic
• (Origins Room)
Saturday, 7 March 2026
10h00-17h00
• Fire experiments - Using heat to prepare different materials used in the production of tools, e.g. ochre, ostrich eggshell, stone, etc.
• Marzena Cendrowska, Maciej Ehlert (Boma)
10h00-17h00
• Bare Bones - Learn about identifying animals from their bones and how scientists use this knowledge.
• Asia Alsgaard, Alexandra Pearson
• (Boma)
10h00-17h00
• Stone Tools - Try your hand in making stone tools the prehistoric way and learn how archaeologists use stone tools to understand the past.
• Maciej Ehlert, Antoine Muller (Boma)
10h00-17h00
• Making tools and ornaments the prehistoric way: a workshop in shaping and decorating various objects in the same way that our ancestors did. Get trained in recognising different types of use-wear using a microscope and learn what it can tell us about the past.
• Marzena Cendrowska
10h00-17h00
• Exploring the semi-arid Klein Karoo landscape and how it shaped past human mobility.
• Kurt Wogau
12h00-13h00
• Guided Tour of the “Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour” - “Mother Africa – Welcome Home” exhibition. Meet the scientists and ask them questions!
• Various scientists
• (Exhibition)
14h30-15h00
• Lecture: “Food for the braai: Life along the coast during the Later Stone Age”. From shellfish to tortoises, the inhabitants of Klipdrift Cave would have had a variety of animals to cook on the fire. This talk will discuss how their preferences changed as they adapted to changing sea levels and coastlines between 11,000 and 17,000 years ago.
• Asia Alsgaard
• (Origins Room)
17h00
• Lecture by Prof Christopher Henshilwood
• (Origins Room)
18h00
• Boma Dinner (R325 for non-inclusive guests)
• (Vlei Deck)
