"And the Bones Come Together": Women'sReligious Expectations in Southern Africa, c. 1900–1945

African religious beliefs invaded Christian missions and provided the backdrop for interaction between African converts and women missionaries. African women came to missions not as tabulae rasae; their culture had stamped them with expectations and insights with which they imbibed and moulded the Christian message. They viewed religion as a resource. Their cultural expectations reinforced missionary promises and facilitated Christian conversion. As religious specialists women gained status, respect, social and economic security in pre-colonial society because they provided necessary and important services. These expectations lingered among African women at the missions. Thus, within patriarchal Christian denominations African women often exhibited an assertiveness which missionaries misunderstood and maligned. Mission conflicts were based on missionary attempts to make African women dependent upon their Christian spouses. This role was contradictory to African beliefs and Christian African needs. Differences were further exacerbated by gender discrimination within the church, which affected both European and African women, and colonialism, which provided the background for Christian occupation of the colony. Although familial obligations and cultural expectations were points of contention, motherhood, literacy, and leadership training provided meeting points of mutual concern for African women and missionaries.     

非洲民族主义史学流派及其贡献

非洲民族主义史学既是民族独立运动的产物,也是一种历史现象。民族独立运动将非洲历史的重构提到了日程,国际学术界开始承认非洲历史学科的存在。《剑桥非洲史》和联合国教科文组织《非洲通史》的编写及有关非洲历史的杂志和研究中心的出现对非洲民族主义史学的兴起起到了重要作用。伊巴丹学派、达累斯萨拉姆学派和达喀尔学派等非洲民族主义史学流派在非洲史观的确立、方法论的突破和史学人才的培养方面做出了贡献,但这些学派也有一定的缺陷。非洲民族主义史学的兴起在树立非洲人民的自信和非洲国家建构等方面起到了重要作用。     

非洲港口城市分布特征及其港城规模关系比较

非洲港口城市是联结中非贸易网络的重要节点,承担了资源配置的重要功能。以城市地理学的角度,着眼于非洲港口城市发展现状。选取2015年集装箱吞吐量在5万TEU以上的34个非洲沿海港口城市为研究对象,对非洲主要港口城市的分布格局进行探讨。借助位序规模法则和相对集中指数（RCI）,对34个港口城市的体系分布特征,以及在不同尺度下的港城规模关系现状进行比较。研究认为：①非洲主要港口和城市体系满足位序规模特征,大洲尺度下主要港口体系较为合理,城市体系规模较为集中;②非洲大陆港口城市整体布局不完善,国家内部存在港口城市首位度过高的现象普遍;③部分港口城市港城规模脱节现象较为严重;④不同区域港口城市发展差异较大,表现为北非、南非港口体系较为发达,西非、中非港口规模落后于城市规模,东非港城规模较为均衡但缺少大区级港口。结合非洲港口城市发展特点,提出了中国企业开展对非港口投资的建议。     

Women and the social construction of gender in African development

Because a footnote of Marxism teaches that capitalism must first destroy primitive cultures that lack a dynamic social change mechanism and then rejuvenate them as modern industrialized states, the economic and cultural bases of social relationships in developing countries have been deemed irrelevant. In a similar way, Western feminist paradigms fail to acknowledge epistemological differences from those of African women. This article explores these contradictions and analyzes social change mechanisms within the Igbo culture in Africa that were stunted by colonialism. The first topic considered is the relationship of African literature (using Toni Morrison's "Beloved" as a point of reference) with sustainable African development and African women. The remainder of the article is devoted to an examination of the role of women in light of precolonial and colonial literary traditions. It is noted that continued use of Western feudal and capitalist terms for self-identification alienates Africans from Africa's problems. Traditional African thought assigned women the power to feed the family and to serve as protectors of children and society, and ancestral wisdom directed how societies responded to threats, took charge of their world, and resolved conflict. Problems faced by contemporary African researchers are shown to center on the dilemma faced by those who wish to design a program that analyzes the content of African development and provides contemporary solutions without completely deriving the program completely from contemporary thought. It is, thus, concluded that redefinition of the African development agenda must involve recognition of the essential role of African women as a change agent and a rearticulation of the male role within traditional thought.     

建设以非洲地理研究为特色的非洲学——南京大学非洲地理研究成果回顾与展望

论文全面回顾了南京大学非洲地理研究发展的历史,从自然地理、能源地理、农业地理、矿产地理、工业地理、人口与城市地理等方面总结了南京大学非洲地理的重要领域。指出了当前研究的困境与不足,并探讨了今后南京大学非洲地理研究应关注的重点。     

ENCLOSING THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS: A SURVEY OF TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN GEORGETOWN,SOUTH CAROLINA

Abstract

A cemetery survey was completed in July of 2009 at two African American cemeteries in coastal South Carolina. The objective of this research was to study above-ground artifacts and features in the cemeteries in an effort to better understand life and death for enslaved African and African American communities as evidenced through their mortuary practices. This paper seeks to explore the relationship among African American ideologies about death, cemetery landscape, and the symbolic nature of grave goods.     

“黑色大西洋”:近年来国外学界有关非洲在大西洋史中的地位与作用的研究

大西洋史研究主要关注15世纪末至19世纪上半叶欧洲、美洲与非洲之间的跨大西洋联系。自20世纪90年代以来,一些非洲史学家以及关注美洲与非洲之间历史联系的美洲史学家对以往大西洋史研究存在的“欧洲中心论”提出质疑,他们倡导“黑色大西洋”的概念。这些研究在强调大西洋世界形成过程对于非洲造成严重暴力与剥削的前提下,尤其关注非洲社会在跨大西洋联系形成过程中的能动作用。相关研究涉及非洲奴隶贸易与大西洋世界的形成、与非洲联系对美洲文明的影响、非洲裔美洲移民文化的起源、大西洋联系对于非洲社会的影响等重要论题。这些研究关注的是跨越殖民地或者民族国家地理范畴的历史动力,在很大程度上纠正了大西洋史研究中存在的严重缺陷,并且也极大地拓展了非洲史的研究领域,有助于深入认识非洲在世界历史进程中的贡献。     

What Is a Hunter-Gatherer? Variation in the Archaeological Record of Eastern and Southern Africa

This article reviews the recent history of the archaeology of African hunter-gatherers, focusing on debates around the origins of modern humans and the destiny of hunter-gatherers with the advent of food production. African archaeologists are developing an increasing appreciation for the diversity of African hunter-gatherer societies. Understandings of hunter-gatherers based primarily on ethnography are being successfully challenged and extended.     

The Origin of African Sheep: Archaeological and Genetic Perspectives

Indigenous African sheep genetic resources have been classified into two main groups, fat-tailed and thin-tailed sheep. The fat-tailed sheep are the most widely distributed, being found in a large part of North Africa (from Egypt to Algeria) and in Eastern and Southern Africa (from Eritrea to South Africa). The thin-tailed sheep are present mainly in Morocco, Sudan and in West Africa. African sheep were domesticated outside Africa. They share a common ancestry with European and Asian sheep. Archaeological information supports separate introductions and dispersion histories for the African thin-tailed and fat-tailed sheep. The first sheep entered Africa via the Isthmus of Suez and/or the southern Sinai Peninsula, between 7500 and 7000 BP. They were likely of the thin-tailed type. Fat-tailed sheep entered Africa through its northeastern part and the Horn of Africa. Mitochondrial DNA analysis supports a common maternal ancestral origin for all African sheep, while autosomal and Y chromosome DNA analysis indicates a distinct genetic history for African thin-tailed and sub-Saharan fat-tailed sheep. The main ancestral population of southern African fat-tailed sheep likely originated in East Africa. Further work is needed to assess the possible dispersion of sheep from western Africa to the southern African regions.     

The Dynamics of African Agricultural History: Is it Time for a New Development Paradigm?

Much of our present day perception of African agriculture is still indirectly based on the coloured accounts of the early explorers and administrators. It involves an often very static conception of ‘traditional’ African agriculture. Not only does this fail to dojustice to the rich and dynamic history of African agriculture, it has also led to an inappropriate research and development paradigm which treats African agriculture as a disrupted equilibrial system that needs readjustment to return to an equilibrial and productivestate. A diachronic study of African agricultural history reveals that many of our preconceptions of African society and agriculture are invalid: agriculturists are not inert, but respond in innovative and dynamic ways to the perturbations of their natural and socialenvironment. It appears that their survival is not so much dependent on the establishmentof a fine-tuned equilibrium, but rather on the dynamic responses to these external disturbances. It is very likely that the agro-ecosystems in large parts of Africa function mainly as non-equilibrial (unstable), but nevertheless persistent systems. This has importantimplications for development interventions and agricultural research. It requires a shiftfrom a synchronic approach to a diachronic approach that is firmly based on an understaning of the past.     

House-Yard Burials of Enslaved Laborers in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

Four burials were excavated from discrete house-yard compounds in an eighteenth century African Jamaican slave settlement at Seville plantation. Though only four in number, these individuals provide significant information on burial practices and physical conditions within a clearly defined African Jamaican community. The analysis of material remains illuminate living conditions and social relations within the African Jamaican community. Each individual was interred within a separate house-yard and with a unique set of artifacts that yield information about their unique identities and positions within the Seville community. Bioarchaeological assessments describe the osteological remains and detail findings concerning pathologies. To date, they are the only excavated individuals who represent the African Caribbean practice of house-yard burial.     

Apartheid on Trial: South West Africa and the International Court of Justice, 1960–66

The deputation of Basuto chiefs to England in 1907 provides an example of close co-operation between traditional African chiefs, educated black activists, and white humanitarians in pursuing to the heart of empire the claims of Africans seeking remedy for injustices suffered under colonial rule. The deputation arrived at a time when the Colonial Office felt severely constrained in its ability to fulfil its responsibility of trusteeship towards its African subjects in colonies which were ‘on the eve of responsible government’. This article highlights the support provided in England by Frank Colenso, the son of Bishop Colenso of Natal, in partnership with his sisters in Natal, and argues that, though failing in its immediate aim, this black-led initiative led to a strengthening of relationships between black South African activists and white British-based humanitarians. It also provided an impetus for the development in England of a loosely knit informal organisational framework able to provide material, moral, and political support for South African political activists who were to visit England in deputations from the newly formed South African Native National Congress (forerunner of the ANC) to pursue their grievances against the South African government in the second and third decades of the twentieth century.     

MtDNA origins of an enslaved labor force from the 18th century Schuyler Flatts Burial Ground in colonial Albany,NY: Africans,Native Americans,and Malagasy?

A burial ground located in the Town of Colonie, NY along the Hudson River revealed fourteen individuals dated from the 17th through the early 19th centuries. Bioarchaeological analysis suggested some of these individuals were of African ancestry who had worked and died on the property owned by the prominent Schuyler family. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis was carried out on skeletal remains of seven adults using restriction fragment length polymorphism typing and direct sequencing of the control region to infer their origins and relatedness. Results show that none of the individuals were maternally related, with four individuals identified as African haplogroup L, one identified as Native American haplogroup X, and two identified as haplogroup M and M7. Individuals of African ancestry correlate with published mtDNA data on African Americans and their geographical origins corroborate with the various exit points during the African slave trade to New York State. Individuals identified as haplogroup M7 and M resemble lineages found in Madagascar. Historical documents suggest several hundred people were imported from Madagascar through illegal trading to New York by the end of the 17th century. This study highlights the diverse origins of the enslaved labor force in colonial New York and contributes to our understanding of African American history in the northeast.     

First Lessons in Neo-Colonialism: The Personalisation of Relations between African Politicians and French Officials in sub-Saharan Africa, 1956–66

In scholarly debates, ‘French neo-colonialism’ is defined as the social history of relations between Francophile African elites and French decision-makers in African policy, and it is frequently interpreted as a sinister manipulation of rather passive African populations. Exploring the newly accessible French archival documents, it is now possible to understand better how French officials became neo-colonial players, from the frustration of the last days of colonialism, to a new model of friend and foe in sub-Saharan Africa. A complex and highly emotional interplay of relations with African leaders accounted for the seemingly rational ‘neo-colonialist’ behaviour of French civil servants from 1955 at least to the decade after decolonisation.     

The Many Meanings of “Integration”: Some Thoughts on Relating Rock Art and Excavated Archaeology in South Africa

African Archaeological Review - New and improved methods for obtaining chronometric dates for southern African hunter-gatherer rock paintings raise questions about how researchers can use the new...     

Roulette decoration on African pottery: technical considerations,dating and distributions

African Archaeological Review - The study of roulette decoration on African pottery has received little attention from archaeologists, with the result that a useful tool for culture historical...     

“A Survey of Surveys” Revisited: Current Approaches to Landscape and Surface Archaeology in Southern Africa

African Archaeological Review - Surveys are an important reconnaissance tool in African archaeology, but surface-oriented research is still relatively limited. Thirty years on from John...     

EUROCENTRISM AND AFRICAN URBANIZATION: THE CASE OF ZANZIBAR'S OTHER SIDE

A number of geographers have recently championed the struggle against Eurocentric theoretical categorizations in geographical research on African cities. At the same time, many whose work has concentrated on African urban geography have felt left out in the more abstract theoretical debates of their colleagues based in the West. I argue for the possibility of confronting Western bias and contributing to broader theoretical debates by creating theoretical constructs derived from the African experience. I develop my argument through an analysis of urban development in Ng'ambo, the African “Other Side” of Zanzibar city, and work toward the creation of meso-level conceptual guides for understanding Ng'ambo's development derived from the ideas of Ng'ambo residents themselves.     

Ritual and State Making in Precolonial Rwanda

African Archaeological Review - The interlacustrine states and kingdoms were some of the most influential African kingdoms that arose during the Late Iron Age, after AD 1000. As agrarian tribal...     

“They Laid Planks ‘Crost the Coffins”: The African Origin of Grave Vaulting in the United States

Grave vaulting, a vernacular burial form common in nineteenth and early twentieth century America, consists of a simple primary grave shaft at the bottom of which is dug a smaller secondary shaft or niche within which the body or coffin is placed. Typically loose boards are then placed over the secondary shaft to offer protection from the soil coming into direct contact with the body or burial container. This tradition is documented through historical accounts and hundreds of excavated graves through a survey of 86 historic cemetery investigations. Although its cultural origins have been previously unknown, this study argues that the vaulted burial form in the United States is likely of African origin. An extensive ethnological survey of historical and modern cultures throughout the continent of Africa, from 1602 to the mid twentieth century, documents both the vaulted grave form and its variations. Correlating this African cultural practice to its use in the United States demonstrates a hitherto unrecognized creolization of Euroamerican mortuary tradition with African roots, and its corollary, the retention of an African mortuary tradition by those of African descent.