{"title":"Pikunda-Munda and Batalimo-Maluba","authors":"Dirk Seidensticker","doi":"10.1007/s10437-024-09576-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-024-09576-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The spread of pottery-producing communities into the Congo rainforest is commonly linked to demic diffusion, driven by the so-called “Bantu Expansion.” It is considered the primary linguistic, cultural, and demographic process in Holocene sub-Saharan Africa. A key region in the reconstruction of this process is the western Congo Basin. This paper presents, for the first time, a coherent picture of the archaeological settlement history in the western and northern Congo Basin, uncovered by fieldwork of the late 1980s along the rivers Ngoko, Sangha, Likwala-aux-Herbes, Ubangi, and Lua. Archaeological research of the <i>River Reconnaissance Project</i>, directed by Manfred K. H. Eggert from 1977 to 1987, produced a pottery sequence for the region. Archaeological features and findings uncovered during the project’s field campaigns in the northern and western Congo Basin have only recently been studied in detail. The present analysis provides the only reliable source for a reconstruction of the cultural dynamics within the region due to the lack of subsequent archaeological fieldwork. Archaeological data and the sequence of pottery styles within the western Congo Basin, along the Sangha river, cannot support the claim that this region, due to a climate-induced extension of savannas, played a unique role as a ‘‘corridor” within the expansion of putatively “Bantu” speaking groups during the latter half of the 1st millennium BCE.\u0000</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 2","pages":"317 - 344"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140368749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Piotr T. Bojakowski, Akshay Sarathi, Raul Palomino Berrocal, Abdallah Khamis Ali, Haji Othman, Bakari Othman
{"title":"Mtepe: Documentation and Analysis of a Sewn-Boat Reconstruction from Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"Piotr T. Bojakowski, Akshay Sarathi, Raul Palomino Berrocal, Abdallah Khamis Ali, Haji Othman, Bakari Othman","doi":"10.1007/s10437-024-09577-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-024-09577-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In one form or another, the sewn-plank boats have been in existence along the Swahili coast of East Africa since at least the first century CE. Although the last such vessel type known later as <i>mtepe</i> vanished in the mid-1930s in Lamu Archipelago, Kenya, a research reconstruction was built in Zanzibar in 2003. It was originally housed in the House of Wonders as part of a large exhibit on the Dhow Cultures of the Indian Ocean. Due to a tragic collapse of the museum’s roof, the <i>mtepe</i> reconstruction named <i>Shungwaya</i> had to be moved to an open outdoor space in 2020. Since then, it has remained unprotected and exposed to the elements, which contributed to further deterioration and damage. The aim of this article is to expand on the initial work related to the reconstruction of <i>Shungwaya</i>, provide documentation and analysis of the structure of this research model and museum exhibit, produce a digital record, and provide ship lines and drawings. The article also draws attention to the importance of preserving vernacular shipbuilding traditions and culture through models, full-scale reconstructions, documentations, interpretations, and museum exhibitions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 1","pages":"139 - 159"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140077471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Landscapes of Memory and Power: The Archaeology of a Forgotten Kingdom in Ethiopia","authors":"Alfredo González-Ruibal","doi":"10.1007/s10437-024-09575-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-024-09575-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Unlike their northern counterparts, the kingdoms of southern Ethiopia have received little attention by archaeologists. Their relatively late emergence and absence of literacy may explain this lack of interest. However, they have much to offer to better understand the history not only of the Horn but also of the precolonial African state more generally. In this paper, the polities that developed in the southern Ethiopian highlands during the second millennium AD are briefly described and then one of them is explored in more detail: the kingdom of Anfillo. An archaeological and historical overview of the polity is provided based on two seasons of fieldwork. It is argued that in Anfillo, as in other southern Ethiopian polities, a fortified landscape materialized at the same time a persistent situation of conflict and the collective memory of the ruling classes, which used it as a mnemonic device to tell history and legitimize social divisions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 1","pages":"71 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-024-09575-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140078140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yemane Meresa, Abel Ruiz-Giralt, Alemseged Beldados, Carla Lancelotti, A. Catherine D’Andrea
{"title":"Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Agricultural Economy at Ona Adi, Tigrai (Ethiopia): First look at a 1000-Year History","authors":"Yemane Meresa, Abel Ruiz-Giralt, Alemseged Beldados, Carla Lancelotti, A. Catherine D’Andrea","doi":"10.1007/s10437-024-09574-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-024-09574-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Archaeobotanical investigations at the site of Ona Adi in Tigrai were conducted during the 2013–2015 field seasons within the framework of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP). The site occupation spanned the Middle/Late Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 750/600 BCE) to the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom (ca. 700 CE), including the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (ca. 400 BCE–CE 1). The main objective of the study was to examine the agricultural economy in Eastern Tigrai during these periods and to evaluate the impact of social and cultural developments on the agricultural practices at Ona Adi. Recovered macrobotanical remains included wheat, barley, linseed, noog, lentil, and wild/weedy plants. In addition, evidence of finger millet was recovered along with tentative identifications of t’ef. The phytolith record shows evidence of grass processing, including morphotypes associated with Chloridoideae, Panicoideae, and Pooideae grasses. Results indicate that plants of both African and Southwest Asian origins were present in the region from the mid-eighth century BCE to the eighth century CE, but their relative importance varied throughout time in relation to socio-political changes at the regional level. Our data demonstrate a significant degree of continuity in the local agricultural economy, which remained largely unchanged even after the decline of Aksumite state.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 2","pages":"239 - 268"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-024-09574-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140077894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“All the world's a stage…”: A Valedictory Note","authors":"Akin Ogundiran","doi":"10.1007/s10437-023-09572-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-023-09572-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"40 4","pages":"593 - 596"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139161971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Future of Human Origins and Modern Behavior in Africa","authors":"Christian A. Tryon, Veronica Waweru","doi":"10.1007/s10437-023-09569-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-023-09569-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"40 4","pages":"793 - 796"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-023-09569-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138961740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phillip L. de Barros: La Métallurgie du Fer en Pays Bassar (Nord-Togo) Depuis 2400 Ans. Tome I: L’Âge du Fer Ancien (de 400 avant J.-C. à 130 après J.-C.)","authors":"Djimet Guemona","doi":"10.1007/s10437-023-09571-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-023-09571-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 1","pages":"161 - 162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-023-09571-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139005438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anneli Ekblom, Michel Notelid, Anders Lindahl, Ezekia Mtetwa
{"title":"Chicumbane Connections: Lower Limpopo Valley During the First Millennium AD","authors":"Anneli Ekblom, Michel Notelid, Anders Lindahl, Ezekia Mtetwa","doi":"10.1007/s10437-023-09567-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10437-023-09567-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The discussion of the transition to farming in southern Africa and the formation of Early Iron Age society, referred to in Mozambican archaeology as the Early Farming Communities (EFC), is complicated by the lack of surveys in key areas of intensive contacts. This article presents the results of excavations at the EFC site Chicumbane in the eastern lower Limpopo Valley, dated 500–800 AD. The variation of ceramic styles in terms of decoration and shape suggests predominantly interior influences (Gokomere and Zhizo facies), but there are also decoration elements similar to what is found on the coast. A wide variety of ceramic technologies were used in terms of clay sources, temper, and ways of building the pot. Here, we reconstruct possible social interactions based on these differences. Together with the other artifact categories, such as slag, metal, and shell beads, the results show some aspects of regional interactions among Early Farming Communities. The combined ceramic analyses suggest a mix of traditions by female potters who, through marriage, moved between regions, bringing new ways of decorating, tempering, and building pots.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46493,"journal":{"name":"African Archaeological Review","volume":"41 1","pages":"119 - 138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10437-023-09567-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139208231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}