Historical Archaeology in Africa: Representation, Social Memory, and Oral Traditions [Hardcover]

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.Peter R. Schmidt is professor of anthropology at the University of Florida.

A tour de force!Historical Archaeology in Africais 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 tlS0