Alexander Colin Campbell (16 April 1932 – 24 November 2012) was an archaeologist and museum curator in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. He was Emeritus Director of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks and National Monuments.

Life

Campbell was born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He entered the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

in the British colony of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

in 1951. Transferring to the agricultural department as a

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

officer in 1954, he entered Rhodes University in 1959, graduating in SiNdebele and

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

. Becoming a district officer in the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Botswana, Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966. History Scottish missionary ...

in 1962, Campbell ran the country's first house-to-house census in 1963–4. After

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

he became senior warden of Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He founded and was later director of Botswana's National Museum and Art Gallery. A founder-member of the Botswana Society in 1969, he chaired the editorial board of its journal, ''Botswana Notes and Records'', for 30 years. In the 1970s Campbell worked to overturn the previous consensus that Botswana had little

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

activity. Campbell lived on a farm near

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

with his wife Judy Campbell, who also wrote on historical topics with him.Sheridan Griswold, review of ''Botswana Notes and Records'' volume 38
Mmegi Online
8 May 2008 He died, aged 80, in Gaborone.

Works

* (with Thomas Tlou) ''History of Botswana'', 1984 * ''The nature of Botswana : a guide to conservation and development'', 1990 * (with David Coulson) ''African rock art : paintings and engravings on stone'', 2001 * (ed. with Larry Robbins and Michael Taylor) ''Tsodilo hills : copper bracelet of the Kalahari'', 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alec 1932 births 2012 deaths British archaeologists British curators British South Africa Police officers Bechuanaland Protectorate people Naturalized citizens of Botswana British emigrants to Southern Rhodesia Immigrants to Botswana Botswana people of English descent People from Gaborone Scientists from Cheltenham Rhodes University alumni Botswana curators Botswana archaeologists White Botswana people