First People: The Lost History of the Khoisan

by Andrew Smith

An illuminating exploration of early Southern African hunters and herders.

In  First People , archaeologist Andrew Smith examines what we know about Southern Africa's early people, drawing on evidence from archaeological sites and rock art, the observations of colonial-era travellers, linguistics, and the study of the human genome.

Smith has studied the history and prehistory of the Khoisan throughout his long and distinguished career. These communities represent the early groups of hunter-gatherers and herders and the oldest human lineages of Africa, some migrating from as far as East Africa to settle in countries like Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.

Fully illustrated and including the latest academic research,  First People  is an invaluable and accessible work that reaches from the Stone Age and travels through time to the most recent history of the Khoisan. It paints a knowledgeable and fascinating portrait of their land occupation, migration, survival, culture, and practices.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Sociology, South Africa, Science

272 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Andrew^Smith

others:
Andrew2^Smith : Fiction, Young Adult
Andrew3^Smith : GR Author Historical Fiction, Literature
Andrew4^Smith : wrote Dr Who
Andrew5^Smith : Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist (1797-1872)
Andrew6^Smith : GR Author, Fiction & Nonfiction
Andrew7^Smith : Literature & Fiction, Horror, Gothic
Andrew8^Smith : Philosophy
Andrew9^Smith : GR Author, Fiction
Andrew10^Smith : GR Author, Fiction
Andrew11^Smith : Children's book illustrator
Andrew12^Smith: GR Author
Andrew13^Smith: Sports
Andrew14^Smith: IT
Andrew15^Smith: South Africa, Zoology
Andrew16^Smith: Veterinary, Canada
Andrew17^Smith: Cities
Andrew18^Smith: Business
Andrew19^Smith: Comics
Andrew20^Smith: Stroke
Andrew21^Smith: GR Author, Children's books
Andrew22^Smith: "Haunted historian" (NZ)

Reviews

[Skye Mallac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first picked up this book for research for a novel I'm working on. I've put it down with the conclusion that every South African needs to read it

Andrew Smith had put together a concise, accessible historical timeline of a people who's history has been suffocated and drowned out more so than almost any indigenous people of the world. It was written with both the intention to inform and remind - and it does so with eloquence and considered factuality.

It's short and very accessible considering its historical topic (I struggle to read non-fiction but this read similarly to Sapiens in its simplicity), and covers the bushmans' stone age history, through their own expansion, through SA's Western colonisation right up to today. The book paints a fascinating picture of the intricacies of the people - the stark differences between hunter-gatherers and herders, the differences in language among them, their social structures - in a way that is profoundly informative for anyone who calls Southern Africa their home.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a week exploring the Western Cape, including many of the sites mentioned in this book, and bought it to improve and update my understanding of the Khoisan. Glad I did, Smith is a deep expert in the subject, and here brings together the history of the people to the extent it is understood today. He writes in an engaging way, making it accessible to the lay reader, while distilling the archeological and historical knowledge as an acknowledged expert in both. I'd rate it 5* apart from a chapter or two that went too deep and dry into the migration patterns of herdsmen across the centuries - but otherwise a fascinating and authoritative history of the original people of South Africa from the Stone Age to today. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of humans, of where we came from, and also the ever unfolding story about how we choose to displace, colonise, replace - and might it be possible - celebrate and respect - the aboriginal people of the world.

A hopeful sign - visiting the Buffelsfontein visitor centre at Cape Point to see its exhibition of Khoisan artifacts and cultural interpretation, the overwhelming message was - Khoisan were amongst the first people that we ALL descend from - so - welcome home! The point was clearly made that all "races" are meaningless - over 100,000 years or so, we humans all came from people just like them - how could we not be interested in this fascinating group of ancestors to us all?

[Annlin_the_archaeologist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be reading this again soon. Its THAT good.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently moved to South Africa so wanted to learn more about the history of the people here. This was mostly a very understandable book, though once it started getting into the genetics I got a little lost - it spent quite a bit of time on this which personally I don't find very interesting, but others might.

As vast a variety of topics were covered as possible considering there is no written history of the KhoeKhoe and the San people, but it was really interesting to see just how much can be gathered from archaeological finds.

The conclusion did feel a little all over the place, trying to fit in as many points as possible without giving each the required attention. It is a short book so maybe would have done better with being expanded - I know I certainly would have loved to read more!