The earliest colonial farms in the Tygerberg region of the Western Cape (Cape Colony): a landscape archaeological study

Abstract

This study examines the earliest colonial farms established in the Tygerberg region of the Western Cape (Cape Colony) as the Cape transitioned from a fragile VOC victualling station to a permanent agrarian colony during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The research investigates the dynamic interaction between early settler farmers and the Tygerberg landscape during a formative phase of colonial settlement. Using a landscape archaeological approach, the study explores how colonists in a rural frontier context conceptualised, organised, and transformed their environment, and how these processes were materialised in the archaeological record. The rural colonial landscape is treated as an artefact shaped by accumulated human activity and influenced by environmental conditions, institutional frameworks, and everyday practices. Drawing on cultural landscape theory, landscape biography, and phenomenological perspectives, the study integrates archival sources, GIS-based spatial analysis, architectural recording, and targeted archaeological investigation. A systematic time–space analytical framework is applied to identify and interpret successive occupational layers across a network of early Tygerberg farms, with particular attention to farm werf layouts, building practices, farming strategies, and land-use patterns. The findings demonstrate that early Tygerberg farms were not static or uniformly planned entities, but rather dynamic, evolving landscapes characterised by adaptation, experimentation, and incremental development. Variations in werf layouts, construction materials, and spatial organisation reflect a pragmatic negotiation between European cultural traditions, VOC regulations, and the environmental realities of the Cape frontier. These practices reveal the emergence of locally grounded colonial identities and ways of dwelling that predate and anticipate the vernacular architectural forms traditionally associated with the eighteenth century. By treating the rural colonial landscape as an active historical agent rather than a passive backdrop, this study contributes to broader debates in historical and landscape archaeology concerning colonialism, identity formation, and human–environment interaction. It also provides the first comprehensive landscape-based archaeological study of the earliest Tygerberg farms, demonstrating the value of integrative and biographical

Hierdie studie ondersoek die vroegste koloniale plase wat gedurende die laat sewentiende en die vroeë agtiende eeu in die Tygerberg-streek van die Wes-Kaap (Kaapkolonie) gevestig is. Dit ondersoek die dinamiese wisselwerking tussen vroeë koloniale boere en die Tygerberg-landskap gedurende die vormingsfase van koloniale nedersettings waartydens die Kaap oorgegaan het van ‘n kwesbare VOCverversingstasie na ‘n permanente landboukolonie. Deur gebruik te maak van ‘n landskapargeologiese benadering, ondersoek die studie hoe Europese setlaars in ‘n landelike grenskonteks hul omgewing gekonseptualiseer, georganiseer en getransformeer het, en hoe hierdie prosesse in die argeologiese rekord vasgevang is. Die landelike koloniale landskap word hanteer as ‘n artefak wat gevorm is deur voortdurende menslike aktiwiteite en beïnvloed is deur omgewingstoestande, institusionele raamwerke en alledaagse praktyke. Deur te steun op kultuurlandskapteorie, landskapbiografie en fenomenologiese perspektiewe, integreer die studie argivale bronne, GIS-gebaseerde ruimtelike analise, argitektoniese opnames en gerigte argeologiese ondersoek. ‘n Sistematiese tyd– ruimte-ontledingsraamwerk word toegepas om opeenvolgende bewoningslae oor ‘n netwerk van vroeë Tygerberg-plase te identifiseer en te interpreteer, met besondere aandag aan die uitleg van plaaswerwe, boupraktyke, boerderystrategieë en grondgebruikspatrone. Die bevindinge toon dat vroeë Tygerberg-plase nie statiese of eenvormig beplande entiteite was nie, maar eerder dinamiese, ontwikkelende landskappe gekenmerk deur aanpassing, eksperimentering en inkrementele ontwikkeling. Variasies in die uitleg van werwe, boumateriaal en ruimtelike organisasie weerspieël ‘n pragmatiese verdiskontering van Europese kulturele tradisies, VOC-regulasies en die omgewingsrealiteite van die Kaapse grensgebied. Hierdie praktyke openbaar die ontstaan van plaaslik gegronde koloniale identiteite en woonwyses wat die Kaapse streeksargitektuur wat tradisioneel met die agtiende eeu geassosieer word, voorafgegaan en geantisipeer het. Deur die landelike koloniale landskap as ‘n aktiewe historiese agent eerder as ‘n passiewe agtergrond te hanteer, dra hierdie studie by tot breër debatte in historiese en landskapargeologie rakende kolonialisme, identiteitsvorming en mens–omgewinginteraksie. Dit bied ook die eerste omvattende landskapgebaseerde argeologiese studie van die vroegste Tygerberg-plase, wat die waarde van integrerende en biografiese benaderings demonstreer vir die ondersoek van vroeë koloniale kontekste wat gekenmerk word deur ‘n vae argeologiese nalatenskap en gefragmenteerde dokumentêre rekords.

Nkambisiso lowu wu kambisisa mapurasi yosungula ya vukoloni lawa ya simekiweke eka ndzhawu ya Tygerberg ya exifundzhakulu xa Western Cape (Cape Colony) eku heleni ka lembe xidzana ravu makume- nkombo na le kusunguleni ka khume-nhungu. Loko Cape yi cinca kusuka eka xitichi xo nyenyela xa VOC lexinga kuya eka koloni ya nkarhi hinkwawo ya “agrarian”, vulavisisi byi lavisisa ku tirhisana loku cinca cincaka exikarhi ka van’wamapurasi vosungula va vavakoloni xikan’we na ndzhawu ya Tygerberg hinkarhi wa xiphemu xo vumba xa vutshamo bya vukoloni. Hi ku tirhisa endlelo ra ndzhawu ya matimu ya khale , ndzavisiso wu lavisisa ndlela leyi vahlapfa va le tindhawini ta le makaya va anakanyeke, va hleleke ni ku hundzula mbango wa vona ha yona, ni ndlela leyi endlelo leri ri humeleleke ha yona eka tirhekhodo ta ndhawu ya matimu ya khale. Tindhawu ta le makaya ta tikoloni ti langutiwa tanihi nchumu lowu vumbiweke hi migingiriko ya vanhu leyi hlengeletiweke ni leyi kuceteriweke hi swiyimo swa mbango, swivumbeko swa minhlangano ni maendlelo ya siku na siku. Ku dirowiwa ka thiyori ya swa vutshami bya mfuwo ku tirhisa matimu ya ndzhavuko na mavonelo ya ntumbuluko, dyondzo leyi yi hlanganisa swihlovo swa vuhlayiselo, ku hlahluvisisa mbango loku sekeriweke eka GIS, ku rhekhoda ka miako na vulavisisi bya ndhawu ya matimu ya khale lebyi kongomisiweke. Ku tirhisiwa endlelo ra nkarhi na ndzhawu ku kumisisa no hlamusela swiyimo swa mintirho leyi landzelanaka hi ku landzelana eka netiweke ya mapurasi yo sungula ya Tygerberg, hi ku yisa nyingiso wo hlawuleka eka ku vekiwa ka mapurasi, maendlelo yo aka, maendlelo ya vurimi na maendlelo yo tirhisa misava Leswi kumiweke swi kombisa leswaku mapurasi ya khale ya Tygerberg a ma nga yimi kumbe a ma kunguhatiwe hi ndlela leyi fanaka, kambe a ma ri ya matimba, a ma cinca-cinca naswona a ma fambisana ni ku cinca-cinca, ku ringeta swilo ni ku hluvuka hakatsongo-tsongo. Ku hambana eka ndlela leyi “werfs layout” swi akiwaka ha yona, swilo swo aka ha swona na nhleleko wa ndhawu swi kombisa ku twanana exikarhi ka mindhavuko ya ndhavuko ya le Yuropa, milawu ya VOC, na mbango wa le ndzilakaneni wa Cape. Maendlelo lawa ya komba ku humelela ka vutitivisi bya tikoloni bya laha kaya na tindlela ta ku tshama leti nga emahlweni na ku langutela swivumbeko swa vuaki bya ndhavuko leswi fambelanaka na lembe xidzana ra vukhume nhungu. Hi ku languta tindhawu ta le makaya ta tikoloni tanihi xiphemu xa matimu ku nga ri ndhawu yo tshama eka yona, ndzavisiso lowu wu hoxa xandla eka minjhekanjhekisano yo anama ya matimu ni vuyimburi bya tindhawu ta khale mayelana ni vukoloni, ku vumbiwa ka vutitivisi ni ku tirhisana ka vanhu ni mbango. Yi tlhela yi nyika ndzavisiso wo sungula lowu heleleke wa vuyimburi bya masimu yo sungula ya Tygerberg, yi kombisa nkoka wa tindlela to hlanganisa ni ta ntivo-vutomi ku lavisisa swiyimo swo sungula swa tikoloni leti nga ni vuthala bya vuyimburi lebyi nga vonakiki kahle ni tirhekhodo ta matsalwa leti nga ni swiphemu-phemu.