African Archaeology

by David W. Phillipson

• ISBN13: 9780521832366
• ISBN10: 0521832365
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Research in Africa is now accepted as an integral part of global archaeological studies. As well as providing archaeologists with the oldest material, Africa is also widely recognised as the birthplace of modern man and his characteristic cultural patterns. Archaeological study of later periods provides unique and valuable evidence for the development of African culture and society, while ongoing research in Africa provides insights relevant to the interpretation of the archaeological record in other parts of the world. In this fully revised and expanded edition of his seminal archaeological survey, David Phillipson presents a lucid and fully illustrated account of African archaeology from prehistory and the origins of humanity to the age of European colonisation. The work spans the entire continent from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope and demonstrates the relevance of archaeological research to the understanding of Africa today.

Author Biography

David W. Phillipson is Professor of African Archaeology and Director of the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	ix
Sources of illustrations	xiii
Preface	xv
Introduction	1	(14)
Elucidating the African past	1	(2)
Archaeology in Africa	3	(3)
Linguistics	6	(3)
Oral traditions	9	(1)
Ethnoarchaeology	10	(1)
Africa in world prehistory	10	(5)
The emergence of humankind in Africa	15	(37)
Definition and process	15	(5)
World-wide precursors of the hominids	20	(2)
The earliest hominids	22	(10)
The oldest discoveries in eastern Africa	32	(2)
The Lake Turkana Basin and Olduvai Gorge	34	(8)
Central and south-central Africa	42	(1)
South Africa	42	(5)
The earliest tool-makers	47	(5)
The consolidation of basic human culture	52	(39)
Acheulean and Sangoan in Africa	52	(8)
Acheulean in eastern Africa	60	(8)
Acheulean in south-central Africa	68	(5)
Acheulean in southern Africa	73	(2)
Acheulean in West Africa and the Sahara	75	(2)
Acheulean in North Africa	77	(4)
Sangoan assemblages	81	(3)
Acheulean/Sangoan artefacts and their makers	84	(7)
Regional diversification and specialisation	91	(56)
The `Middle Stone Age' and the `Late Stone Age'	91	(5)
Southern Africa	96	(12)
South-central Africa	108	(3)
Rock art in southern and south-central Africa	111	(5)
Central Africa	116	(6)
Eastern Africa	122	(6)
West Africa	128	(3)
North Africa and the Sahara	131	(10)
Changing life-styles and technology	141	(6)
The beginnings of permanent settlement	147	(18)
North Africa, the Sahara and the Nile Valley	147	(9)
East Africa	156	(3)
Overview	159	(1)
African peoples 10,000 years ago	160	(5)
Early farmers	165	(49)
Cultivation and herding	165	(7)
The Sahara and North Africa	172	(9)
The Nile Valley	181	(14)
West and Central Africa	195	(8)
Ethiopia and the Horn	203	(3)
East Africa	206	(8)
Iron-using peoples before AD 1000	214	(60)
Iron	214	(2)
North Africa	216	(5)
Egypt and the Arab invasion	221	(3)
The Sudan	224	(4)
Ethiopia and adjacent regions	228	(6)
West Africa	234	(11)
Central Africa	245	(4)
Eastern and southern Africa	249	(12)
The contribution of Bantu linguistic studies	261	(4)
Mode of dispersal	265	(4)
Madagascar and the Comoro Islands	269	(1)
Stone-tool-using herders of southwestern Africa	269	(5)
The second millennium AD in sub-Saharan Africa	274	(36)
The last 1000 years	274	(1)
West Africa	275	(9)
Ethiopia, the southern Sudan and adjacent regions	284	(4)
The east coast of Africa	288	(3)
Bantu-speakers north of the Zambezi	291	(6)
Southeastern Africa	297	(10)
Southwestern Africa	307	(1)
Epilogue	308	(2)
Bibliographic guide	310	(1)
Bibliographic references	311	(58)
Index	369