Altamira Press Historical Archaeology in Africa: Representation, Social Memory, and Oral Traditions (African Archaeology Series)

Historical Archaeology in Africa is an inquiry into historical questions that count, proposing different ways of thinking about historical archaeology. Peter Schmidt challenges readers to expand their horizons . Confronting topics of oral traditions, the role of cultural landscapes in social memory, and historical misrepresentations of various cultures, Schmidt calls for a new pathway to an enriched, more nuanced, and more inclusive historical archaeology. Allowing Africa to speak for itself without colonial interpreters, Historical Archaeology in Africa will be of interest not only to historians and archaeologists, but to all concerned with Africa's past and present. Review A tour de force! Historical Archaeology in Africa is the work of an extremely fertile and imaginative mind. Schmidt shows here as he has before why he is a complete scholar. . . We finally have a book that does what it sets out to do: integrate the disciplines, interrogate ways of seeing and writing history, critique both native and non-native scientific perspectives, and engage indigenous voices in a marvelous and seamless narrative. This is a book about African historical experiences that is at once relevant to humanities experiences. . . a must for everyone interested in truly understanding ways of seeing and reading archaeological and historical experiences. . . an inclusive book that will benefit both the humanities and social sciences.--Chapurukha M. Kusimba, Curator and Professor of Anthropology, The Field Museum, University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University Peter Schmidt is an archaeologist for the 21st century. He has a keen awareness of the role of politics in reconstructions of the past and the role of these reconstructions in constructions of the present. He recognizes the boundary between intellectual honesty and irresponsible relativism, and accepts the responsibility entailed by the privileged position American archaeologists occupy in the world. In this book Schmidt explains the ethical imperative of historical archaeology, repositioning it more centrally within debates about heritage and colonialism. Schmidt's research expands what we know about human possibility, both in the past and in the present. In this period when there is much being said about collaborative and community based archaeology, Schmidt is one of the few scholars who really understands not only why but how this should be done.--Anne Pyburn, Indiana University Schmidt's work not only provides key insights to method in African archaeology, but also challenges historical archaeologists working throughout the world to utilize a wide variety of sources when interpreting the past as well as to move beyond the imposed prehistoric/historic period dichotomy as advocated by Lightfoot (1995) and others working in North America.--Liza Gijanto "African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter, December 2007 " About the Author Peter R. Schmidt is professor of anthropology at the University of Florida.