July 15, 2025 —We are saddened to announce the death of Clavil Garth Sampson, founding member and Professor Emeritus of SMU’s Department of Anthropology.
Sampson received his BA in Archaeology in 1962 from the University of Cape Town. He went on to complete a second BA at the University of Cambridge in 1965, and received his PhD from the University of Oxford in 1969. He taught briefly at University of Cape Town (1967–1968), the University of California at Berkeley (1969–1970), and the University of Oregon (1970–1972).
In 1972, Sampson accepted the position of Associate Professor in Anthropology at SMU. He remained at SMU for 25 years, retiring as Professor of Anthropology in 2007. In retirement, he joined the faculty at Texas State University, where he worked with his former SMU graduate student Britt Bousman to finish decades of archaeological research in South Africa.
During his his career, Sampson published nearly 60 articles and monographs while mentoring six PhD and two MA students using data from his work. He was predeceased by his wife, Beatrix Sampson (née Cameron; 1939–2024). He is survived by his sister Marion, as well as by his nephews Andre and Christian, and their spouses and children.
We thank Britt Bousman and Janette Deacon for informing us of Garth’s passing. Their obituary of Garth will appear in a forthcoming issue of Azania.
