Spring 2009

ANT 380K • Archaeology of African Thought

Course Description

This course uses archaeological, anthropological and historical works to examine the development and transformation of African societies from the beginning of the Neolithic through the slave trade to the beginning of the colonial period. The course will discuss the historic and prehistoric foundations of contemporary African societies south of the Sahara, focusing especially on equatorial and southern Africa. The intention is to develop an understanding of the cultural dynamics of Bantu societies and traditions, and their transformations through time. This provides an interpretive framework from which to examine emerging archaeological perspectives on the slave trade and its impact on the development of new traditions in the New World.

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