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“Brilliant, creative, unpredictable, sometimes difficult, funny, a tireless field archaeologist.” This is how the late Professor Phillip Tobias once described his colleague archaeologist, Professor Revil John Mason, who passed away in Johannesburg on August 23, 2020. Mason was 91 years old.
I was honored to learn more about Mason, the man and the archaeologist, in February 2019 when the Origins Center at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg hosted an exhibition celebrating his immense contribution to the archeology of southern Africa. It is hard to believe that the enthusiastic, intelligent and capable man with an incredible memory and deep knowledge is no longer with us.
Mapping history
Mason was born on February 10, 1929. He grew up in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and attended St John’s College, from which he enrolled in 1946. He studied a B.Com at Wits and stood out, receiving numerous accolades and awards. But a different path awaited her.
After attending a lecture by Professor Raymond Dart, a world-renowned anatomist, a young Revil Mason became fascinated by archeology and went to the University of Cape Town to study the subject. Again, he was an excellent student, obtaining his Ph.D. in archeology in 1957, when he was 28 years old. He worked for the country’s Archaeological Survey until he held an archaeological post at Wits in the 1960s.
The institution became Mason’s academic home for the rest of his working life. He became a professor and in 1976 was appointed founding director of the Archaeological Research Unit. It was a position he held until his retirement in 1989. With the unit, he launched an extensive reconnaissance and excavation program and was instrumental in laying the foundation for the practice of archeology in South Africa.
Together with his colleagues, he excavated numerous Early, Middle, and Later Stone Age sites (hunter-gatherers) dating to nearly 2.6 million years ago, as well as farmer and shepherd sites (Iron Age and historical), mainly around the Gauteng and Northwest provinces. . Among them were Makapansgat, Cave of Hearths, Sterkfontein, Olieboomspoort, Kalkbank, Munro, Uitkomst, Melville Koppies, Kruger Cave (later called Mohale Cave), and Broederstroom. Revil Mason (center) with fellow Wits Archaeological Research Unit members Tom Maubane (left) and Lewis Matileya at Zambok, a site discovered by Maubane near Haartebeest Poort. Supplied
Mason introduced and demonstrated the value of various analytical methods in the field of archeology. Under his direction, the Archaeological Research Unit carried out smelting furnace experiments to better understand the furnaces found at Melville Koppies and Lonehill, some of which are still there today. He also saw the value of aerial photography in discovering and registering archaeological sites; Combining this with many hours of excavation, he mapped the Herder (Iron Age) archeology of all the North West and Gauteng provinces.
He published numerous articles and books, which are still read and used today. Her books include Cave of Hearths (1988), Origins of Black People of Johannesburg Area (1987), and South African Archeology 1922-1988 (1989).
His work mapping Herder’s archeology clearly demonstrated evidence of well-connected, prosperous communities engaged in significant trade and agricultural endeavors, long before European colonizers arrived in South Africa.
This fitted in with his then progressive ideas about the importance of making all South Africans aware of the country’s archaeological past. During the 1980s, historians and archaeologists began to challenge the fallacy of European colonial myths perpetuated in the school history curriculum. Mason tried tirelessly to convince officials of the need to recognize and celebrate the African past and the role that the African people played in the creation of modern South African society. He welcomed school groups to visit the sites he was excavating and worked with teachers to develop programs to help students understand how people in South Africa lived for the past 2000 years.
Rock art
With his colleagues, Mason investigated the beautiful rock carvings at Magaliesberg, near Johannesburg, which are now curated by the Rock Art Research Institute at Wits and some of which are on display at the Origins Center.
At the age of 25, Mason climbed the Brandberg Mountains in Namibia in search of rock art by the indigenous San. He discovered what he called “the Brandberg Picasso,” an abstract image of San rock art, and documented a San rock art site atop the Brandberg in a cave now known as Mason’s Refuge. Together with the revered artist Judith Menger (whom he married in 1957), the sites were meticulously mapped out, and later beautiful replicas of paintings were made. A young Revil Mason polling for Professor C. Van Riet Louw.
He wasn’t just climbing for work. Mason was a great explorer and mountaineer. He explored Kaokoland and Brandberg in Namibia, Ruwenzori in Uganda, and other African mountains. He walked the great Asian mountains, he climbed the ice mountains in Russia and the Pamirs in Central Asia. He cycled across North America from Canada to Mexico and, at the age of 69, took a solo bicycle trip through the Karakoram Mountains in the western Himalayas, from Pakistan to China.
Mason, who is survived by two daughters, Tamar and Petra Mason, and two grandchildren, was an impulsive but humble and down-to-earth man. He lived his life simply, often preferring to cook food over an open fire: in fact, his braai grill was on display at the Origins Center exhibition.
He will be missed. But it will not be forgotten: Revil John Mason has left an incredible legacy and has inspired many to become (better) archaeologists, instilling a passion to explore true African history. His contribution to archeology and towards an accurate understanding of South African history is immeasurable.
Tammy Hodgskiss does not work, consult, own stock, or receive funds from any company or organization that benefits from this article, and she has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.
By Tammy Hodgskiss, Curator of the Origins Center Museum, University of the Witwatersrand
