Materials gain: Dr Shadreck Chirikure.

UCT's Afropolitan strategy received another boost when the African Archaeological Materials Research Group, an international but 'African-oriented' group, was established recently to promote the study of archaeological materials.

The group was formed at a meeting at UCT in September, when experts from Africa, Canada, the UK, and the US gathered to talk about collaboration.

The meeting was funded by the Vice-Chancellor's Strategic Fund. Organiser Dr Shadreck Chirikure of the Department of Archaeology explains that the plan is to develop an exchange of ideas, staff and students within "the framework of sound and solid research agendas". "We identified critical issues in African archaeology, such as the need for effective dating methods to assign ages in order to understand the beginning of African metallurgy," says Chirikure.