Archaeology in Africa: Why the Past Matters
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Beschreibung
This book presents a comprehensive account of how archaeology in Africa evolved, was challenged, and reimagined. Moving from nineteenth-century antiquarianism through independence to today, the book dismantles “dark continent” myths, foregrounds African ways of knowing, and argues for a praxis of archaeologies: multivocal, community-engaged, and methodologically rigorous. Case-led chapters demonstrate how trade, mobility, religion, and the environment have produced diverse African pasts, while contemporary sections address restitution, heritage policy, tourism, and climate risk.
The book begins by clarifying what “Africa” signifies in scholarly and public discourse, then dismantles the enduring “dark continent” trope by setting colonial narratives against African intellectual traditions and evidence. Subsequent chapters track the emergence of archaeology, beginning with collections, amateurs, and missionaries, and progressing to professional excavations, surveys, and archaeological science, as well as the discipline’s theoretical shifts, from culture history and processualism to post-processual and postcolonial critique, all examined through African case studies. The closing chapters set out why the past matters now: for identity, education, livelihoods, and environmental stewardship.
Clear prose, focused case studies (spanning deep prehistory to the second-millennium trade horizons), and a continent-wide lens make this volume essential for students and researchers, while its emphasis on ethics and engagement resonates with heritage professionals and the broader public. The result is a clear, compelling account of what African archaeology is, how it differs from older traditions, and why it matters—for scholarship, for heritage stewardship, and for public life.
This book presents a comprehensive account of how archaeology in Africa evolved, was challenged, and reimagined. Moving from nineteenth-century antiquarianism through independence to today, the book dismantles “dark continent” myths, foregrounds African ways of knowing, and argues for a praxis of archaeologies: multivocal, community-engaged, and methodologically rigorous. Case-led chapters demonstrate how trade, mobility, religion, and the environment have produced diverse African pasts, while contemporary sections address restitution, heritage policy, tourism, and climate risk.
The book begins by clarifying what “Africa” signifies in scholarly and public discourse, then dismantles the enduring “dark continent” trope by setting colonial narratives against African intellectual traditions and evidence. Subsequent chapters track the emergence of archaeology, beginning with collections, amateurs, and missionaries, and progressing to professional excavations, surveys, and archaeological science, as well as the discipline’s theoretical shifts, from culture history and processualism to post-processual and postcolonial critique, all examined through African case studies. The closing chapters set out why the past matters now: for identity, education, livelihoods, and environmental stewardship.
Clear prose, focused case studies (spanning deep prehistory to the second-millennium trade horizons), and a continent-wide lens make this volume essential for students and researchers, while its emphasis on ethics and engagement resonates with heritage professionals and the broader public. The result is a clear, compelling account of what African archaeology is, how it differs from older traditions, and why it matters—for scholarship, for heritage stewardship, and for public life.
Offers post-colonial critique of Africa as the ‘dark continent’ Presents holistic revision of the history of archaeological research across Africa Demonstrates the importance and value inherent in the archaeology of Africa
Autor*in
Tim Forssman
Themen in »Archaeology in Africa: Why the Past Matters«
African archaeology Post-colonial archaeology History of archaeological research in Africa Why archaeology matters in Africa Archaeological trends in Africa Reconstructing African pasts Archaeological sites in Africa