Synopses & Reviews
Stahl explores the theoretical and methodological issues confronting our understanding of Africaâs past.
Review
"...a provactive engagement of the multiple layers of tensions in interdisciplinary approaches to historical scholarship, and an eloquent demonstration of the importance of archaeology in historical anthropological project." International Journal of African History"Interdisciplinary work is revitalizing African Studies, and this monograph reveals how exciting the outcome can be.... A fine portrait of daily life emerges...." Choice
Synopsis
Using approaches from several disciplines, Stahl reconstructs the daily lives of Banda villagers of west central Ghana, from when they were drawn into the Niger trade (around AD 1300) until the twentieth century establishment of British overrule. Stahl argues for closer integration of archaeology, history and anthropology in African studies.
Table of Contents
List of figures; List of Plates; List of tables; Preface; 1. Refracted visions of Africaâs past; 2. Envisioning Africaâs lived past; 3. The past in the present: history-making in Banda; 4. The political-economic context; 5. Local life in the context of the Niger trade c. 1300 1700; 6. The changing social fields of Banda villagers c. 1725 1825; 7. The changing social fields of Banda villagers c. 1825 1925; 8. Reflections: historical anthropology and the construction of Africaâs past; Notes; References; Index.