Museums Archaeology In West Africa

The contributors, drawing on their practical experiences in eleven countries, analyse problems and attitudes involved in the development of links between museum personnel and archaeologists, underlining the existing gaps and suggesting possible improvements.

"Representing museums throughout western Africa, including those in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, twenty-four contributors argue that their institutions must become active, research-related centres capable of developing historical knowledge and communicating it locally. They urge museums throughout the sub-region to focus their collection building strategies, to use indigenous material culture, to research recent social and cultural changes, and to harness family histories in their efforts to convey their findings more fully and root their activities more firmly in their communities."--Jacket.

The contributors, drawing on their practical experiences in eleven countries, analyse problems and attitudes involved in the development of links between museum personnel and archaeologists, underlining the existing gaps and suggesting possible improvements.

The book contains papers read at the conference West African archaeology, New developments, New perspectives, co-sponsored by the Nigerian Field Society and the Department of Archaeology of the University of Sheffield, with the support of the Universitys Humanities Research Institute, was held at the HRI in Sheffield on 27 June 2009. They are a testimony to the fact that - for all the constraints imposed upon it - archaeological research in West Africa continues to be pursued actively and to make a significant contribution to the subject in the continent as a whole. Contents: Introduction (Philip Allsworth-Jones); Ounjougou: a long Middle Stone Age sequence in the Dogon country (Mali) (Sylvain Soriano, Michel Rasse, Chantal Tribolo, Eric Huysecom); Middle Stone Age Sangoan-Lupemban Lithic Assemblages of Africa (Laura Basell) The archaeological context of the Iwo Eleru cranium from Nigeria and preliminary results of new morphometric studies (Philip Allsworth-Jones, Katerina Harvati, Chris Stringer); A developmental history for early West African agriculture (Katie Manning); Recent developments in iron-working research in West Africa (Len Pole); Beyond Art, Archaeological studies on the Nok Culture, Central Nigeria (Nicole Rupp); Destructive times, constructive measures: Danish funding and collaboration to develop archaeology in Benin (Klavs Randsborg); Between the Forest and the Sudan: The Dynamics of Trade in Northern Ghana (Joanna Casey); Was Benin a forest kingdom? Attempting to reconstruct landscapes in Southern Nigeria (Pauline von Hellermann); The archaeology and palynology of Ajaba, a late iron-age settlement in north-east Yoruba land, Nigeria: some preliminary results (A.E. Orijemie, A. Ogunfolakan, J.O. Aleru, M.A. Sowunmi); The Stone Arm Rings and Related Polished Stone Industries of Hombori (Mali) (K.C. MacDonald); Contextualising the DGB sites of northern Cameroon(Gerhard Muller-Kosack); Ethnoarchaeology at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Ibadan: excavation of the mound at Adesina Oja in the Archaeological Reserve (Philip Allsworth-Jones); The Dundu Museum (Angola): project for its reopening and renovation (2007) (Manuel Laranjeira Rodrigues de Areia); The linguistic geography of Nigeria and its implications for prehistory (Roger Blench).

The contributors to this volume analyse problems and attitudes involved in the development of links between museum personnel and archaeologists in West Africa, underlining the existing gaps and suggesting possible improvements.BR> Published in association with The West African Museums Programme and the International African Institute; North America: Smithsonian Institution Press