The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Archaeology brings together contributions from a global community of leading scholars to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of the field. The Encyclopedia covers the breadth of topics and leading questions in the practice and study of archaeology across the continent, from the emergence of human ancestors and the earliest manifestation of human culture to the role of cultural heritage in the present day.
African archaeology is a field where discoveries are continuously being made and disciplinary specializations are constantly emerging. As a result, capturing an accurate snapshot of the current body of research is a challenge. Neither is it always possible to produce a volume that synthesizes local and regional histories, both recent and ancient, into a cohesive understading of the continent. This volume is a major landmark in that it achieves those goals.
The Encyclopedia engages with topical themes such as the changing nature of social organization, innovations in livelihoods and subsistence strategies, changing technology and materials, and human resilience across regions and time periods. This compilation is a must-have companion for anyone interested in the full range of African archaeology in terms of specialization, geographical coverage, gender representation, and sound scholarship. The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Archaeolgy is a resource for transforming understanding and practice in African archaeology, and an essential resource for those from other regions interested in learning about the deep and recent African peoples and pasts.
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Winner of Honorable Mention, RUSA Dartmouth Medal.
1. Livelihoods, Subsistence, and the Environment Archaeology of Food
Production in the West African Forest Zone (Emuobosa Orijemie) The
Archaeology of Natural Disasters and their Impacts on Ancient East African
Communities (Elinaza Mjema) Côte d'Ivoire Shell Middens: Specificity and
Evolution (Siméon Kouassi, Léon Fabrice Loba, and Ettien N'Doua Etienne)
Faunal Exploitation Strategies During the Later Pleistocene in Southern
Africa (Gerrit Dusseldorp and Jerome Reynard) Human and Environment
Interactions in Late Iron Age Kenya (Freda Nkirote M'mbogori) Resilience and
Early States in Southern Africa (Munyaradzi Manyanga) The Shell Midden Sites
of Senegambia (Alioune Dème and Moustapha Sall) Shell Middens and Coastal
Prehistory (John Parkington and Ruan Brand)
2. Managing Cultural Heritage
Archaeological Heritage Management in Tanzania (Richard Bigambo) Communities
and Archaeology in Africa (Thabo Manetsi) Contract Archaeology in South
Africa (Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu) Cultural Heritage and Conflict in Africa (Webber
Ndoro) The Development of Archaeology in Africa (Nonofho Ndobochani)
Development of Contract Archaeology in Southern Africa (Phenyo Thebe)
Heritage and Community in the Sudan (Rebecca Bradshaw and Geoff Emberling)
Heritage Conservation in West Africa (Ishanlosen Odiaua) Heritage Management
in East Africa (Herman Kiriama) Heritage Management in West Africa (Caleb
Folorunso) The Legal Frameworks of Protecting Archaeology in Africa (Ancila
Katsamudanga) Restitution and Archaeological Collections in Africa (Didier
Houenoude, Monica Coralli, and Didier N'Dah) Rock Art Conservation With a
Focus on Southern Africa (Laue, Ghilraen Laue, and Claire Dean) World
Heritage, Sustainable Development, and Africa (Pascall Taruvinga)
3. Methods
in African Archaeology Ancient Human DNA and African Population History
(Kendra Sirak, Elizabeth Sawchuk, and Mary Prendergast) Approaching Identity
in Southern Africa over the Last 5000 Years (Tim Forssman) Archaeoinfomatics
(Erich Fisher) Archaeologies of the Recent and Contemporary Past in Africa
(Rachel King) Bioarchaeology in The Nile Valley (Jenail Marshall and Michele
Buzon) Faunal Analysis in African Archaeology (Jessica Thompson) Genetics and
Domestic Fauna in Southern Africa (K. Ann Horsburgh) Isotopes and Diet in
African Hominins and Hunter-gatherers (Emma Loftus) Maritime Archaeological
Research in Sub-Saharan Africa (Bruno Werz) Recognizing Pastoralism in the
Archaeological Record of the Sudan (Michael Brass, Isabelle Vella Gregory,
Ahmed Adam, and Rayan Abdallah) A Southern African Perspective on the
Contribution of Charcoal Analyses to Archaeology (Joseph Chikumbirike, and
Marion Bamford) Southern Africa's Later Stone Age and Hunter-Gatherer
Ethnography (Tim Forssman)
4. Social Organization African Middle Stone Age
(Alex Blackwood and Jayne Wilkins) The Archaeology and History of Human
Diseases in the Zimbabwean Past (Pauline Chiripanhura, Ancila Katsamudanga,
and Justen Manasa) Archaeology in Sudan: A Sudanese Perspective (Ahmed Adam
and Shadia Taha) The Archaeology of Feasts and Feasting in Africa (Liza
Gijanto) Archaeology of Igboland, Southeastern Nigeria (Chioma Ngonadi) The
Archaeology of Missionization in Colonial Senegambia (Johanna Pacyga) The
Archaeology of Missions in Southern Africa (Natalie Swanepoel) The
Archaeology of Soapstone Figurines in West Africa (Kolawole Adekola)
Chronology of the Hominin Sites of Southern Africa (Andy Herries) The Early
Iron Age of Botswana(Catrien van Waarden) Early Middle Stone Age in South
Africa (Sarah Wurz) Early states and Complex Societies in Eastern and
Southern Africa (Chapurukha Kusimba) Eastern African Stone Age (Yonatan
Sahle) Ethnoarchaeology of Cattle in Zimbabwe and Surrounds (Plan
Shenjere-Nyabezi) Ethnoarchaeology of Coffee in Ethiopia (Worku Derara)
Gender in African Metallurgy (Louise Iles) Glass Beads of 7th to 17th century
CE Sub-Saharan Africa (Marilee Wood) Hunter-Gatherer and Farmer Interactions
in Uganda (Elizabeth Kyazike) Hunter-Gatherer Women (Marlize Lombard and
Katharine Kyriacou) The Internal African Slave Trade as History and
Representation (Marcos Leitão De Almeida) The Medieval Archaeology of
Somaliland (Jorge de Torres Rodriguez) Megalithism and Territoriality in
Eastern Adamawa Plateau (Etienne Zangato) The Middle Stone Age of South
Africa (Gregor Bader, Viola Schmid, and Andrew Kandel) Modern Human Behavior
(Pamela Willoughby) Musical Bows in the Rock Art of Southern Africa (Joshua
Kumbani and Oliver Vogels) Northeastern African Stone Age (Alice Leplongeon)
Ochre Use in the Middle Stone Age (Tammy Hodgskiss) The OsteoDontoKeratic
Culture (Patrick Randolph-Quinney and Anthony Sinclair) Ostrich Eggshell
Beads in Later Stone Age Contexts (Benjamin Collins) People, Plants, Animals,
and Formlings in the Rock Art of Zimbabwe (Ancila Nhamo) Plant Use (Anna
Maria Mercuri)
Politics of Identity in Maloti-Drakensberg Rock Art Research (Andrew Skinner)
Salt Production, Use, and Trade (Alexander Antonites) Shifting Sedentism in
West Africa ( Sirio Canós-Donnay) Southern African Stone Age (Nuno Bicho) The
Stone Age of the Middle Nile Valley (Elena Garcea) The Swahili Civilization
in Eastern Africa (Elgidius Ichumbaki and Edward Pollard) The Trade, Use, and
Circulation of Elephant Ivory in Sub-Saharan Africa Over the Longue Durée
(Paul Lane and Ashley Coutu) Urbanization in the Middle Niger of Mali
(Roderick McIntosh) West African Iron Production in its Cultural Context
(Philip de Barros) The West African Stone Age (Philip Allsworth-Jones)
5.
Technology Archaeological Adhesives (Geeske Langejans, Alessandro Aleo,
Sebastian Fajardo, and Paul Kozowyk) Aterian (Elena Garcea) Bone Tool
Technology in the Stone Age of Africa (Justin Bradfield) Central African
Copper (Nicolas Nikis) Copper and Copper Alloys at the Time of the Kingdoms
of Ghana and Mali (Laurence Garenne-Marot) The Fauresmith and Cultural
Dynamics at the End of the Southern African Earlier Stone Age (Michael
Chazan) Fire Use (Silje Bentsen) The First Emergence of Ceramic Production in
Africa (Eric Huysecom) Glass Beads in West Africa (Abidemi Babatunde
Babalola) Hafting technology in the Stone Age of southern Africa
(Margaret-Ashley Veall) Heat Treatment (Patrick Schmidt) Howiesons Poort
(Paloma de la Peña) Levallois (Michael Chazan) Lupemban (Nicholas Taylor)
Origins of African Metallurgy (Augustin Holl) Pre-Industrial Mining and
Metallurgy in Africa (Foreman Bandama) Sangoan (Nicholas Taylor) Senegambian
Macrolithism in its West African Context (Demba Kebe) Sibudan (Manuel Will)
Techno-Cultural Groups of the Middle Paleolithic of West Africa (Djidere
Balde) West African Acheulean (Djibril Thiam and Isis Mesfin)
Shadreck Chirikure is a British Academy Global Professor at the University of Oxford. He studied at the University of Zimbabwe before pursuing a Masters and PhD in Archaeology at the University of College London. In his work, he applies scientific methods to study ancient materials and technologies. He uses the results of discoveries in the field and laboratory to develop new understands of historic human material relations, conserve heritage, and consider solutions to global challenges, such as colonialism and climate change.
