By the time the academic boycott of South African archaeologists began in 1985, archaeologists working inside South Africa had published radiocarbon dates that demonstrated that black South Africans had been in the country for 1,000 years longer than was claimed in official apartheid histories (Features, THES , July 19). It is circumstances such as this that make the question of academic boycotts so complex.
Martin Hall
Deputy vice-chancellor
University of Cape Town
Israel boycott debate: www.thes.co.uk/commonroom