16 research outputs found
Cowries in the archaeology of West Africa: the present picture
Despite the perceived importance of cowrie shells as indicators of long-distance connections in the West African past, their distribution and consumption patterns in archaeological contexts remain surprisingly underexplored, a gap that is only partly explicable by the sparse distribution of archaeological sites within the sub-continent. General writings on the timeline of importation of cowries into West Africa often fail to take into account the latest archaeological evidence and rely instead on accounts drawn from historical or ethnographic documents. This paper is based on a first-hand assessment of over 4500 shells from 78 sites across West Africa, examining chronology, shell species and processes of modification to assess what distribution patterns can tell us about the history of importation and usage of cowries. These first-hand analyses are paralleled by a consideration of published materials. We re-examine the default assumption that two distinct routes of entry existed â one overland from North Africa before the fifteenth century, another coming into use from the time sea links were established with the East African coast and becoming predominant by the middle of the nineteenth century. We focus on the eastern part of West Africa, where the importance of imported cowries to local communities in relatively recent periods is well known and from where we have a good archaeological sample. The conclusion is that on suitably large assemblages shell size can be an indication of provenance and that, while the present archaeological picture seems largely to confirm historical sources, much of this may be due to the discrepancy in archaeological data available from the Sahara/Sahel zone compared to the more forested regions of the sub-continent. Future archaeological work will clarify this matter
Pourquoi le décorer ?Quelques observations sur le décor céramique en Afrique
Depuis le fameux âWhy pots are decoratedâ (David et al. 1988), le dĂ©cor cĂ©ramique est passĂ© Ă lâarriĂšre plan des prĂ©occupations des archĂ©ologues africanistes, au profit dâautres aspects comme les techniques de fabrication ou les modes de consommation. A lâĂ©poque, lâarticle sonnait le glas dâun interminable dĂ©bat sur le style dominĂ© par la question du marquage des frontiĂšres sociales. En illustrant la dimension religieuse des pratiques ornementales, David et al. (1988) nâouvraient pas seulement de nouvelles pistes dâinterprĂ©tation: ils ramenaient Ă©galement le dĂ©cor parmi les autres Ă©lĂ©ments de la chaĂźne opĂ©ratoire, dont les dimensions symboliques commençaient alors Ă ĂȘtre mises en avant par un nombre croissant dâanthropologues. Cette thĂ©orie semble aujourdâhui aussi problĂ©matique que celle quâelle visait Ă remplacer. Le temps est venu de remettre le dĂ©cor sur la sellette, mais dans une perspective plus large que par le passĂ©. Câest ce que vise cet article, basĂ© sur des observations ethnographiques effectuĂ©es Ă travers le continent. Dans un premier temps, quelques aspects classiques de lâanalyse des dĂ©cors sont Ă©voquĂ©s, afin dâillustrer la complexitĂ© des pratiques ornementales et les dangers dâinterprĂ©tations trop univoques. Dans un second temps, de nouvelles perspectives dâinterprĂ©tation sont illustrĂ©es, liĂ©es Ă la spatialisation et aux dynamiques de constitution des mondes sociaux.SCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedArchaeological Research in Afric
QUALITIES OF HUMANNESS Material Aspects of Greek Neolithic Anthropomorphic Imagery
This article considers the materialization of human representations in Neolithic northern Greece and particularly the materials used in their production. Contending that materialization is contingent upon but not reducible to the materials used, an attempt is made to understand the implications of using different materials to represent humans, especially clay and stone. Thus, it is suggested that in the earlier Neolithic, clay and stone were reserved for different classes of artefacts. Human figures in this period show an interest in action, whereas in the later Neolithic, changes occur that suggest a preoccupation with the substance of the figures. It is suggested that these changes point to the emergence of different subjectivities during the later Neolithic
Archaeological ceramics from eastern Africa: past approaches and future directions
Ceramics are an essential part of the Holocene archaeology of eastern Africa and
the development of increasingly complex typologies has rightly played a key role in
our understanding of chronology and social identity. However, this focus on
taxonomies can also be restrictive, as we lose sight of the communities who
made and used the ceramics in our endless search to classify and re-classify
ceramics. Focusing on ceramics from the Great Lakes and Rift Valley
(Kansyore, Pastoral Neolithic and Urewe), we critique past approaches to
ceramic analysis, and suggest future studies should better recognise their social
role.We end with a case study of Kansyore ceramics, emphasising function and use.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raza202016-10-31hb2016Anthropology and Archaeolog