What is the past? It may seem a simple question to answer, but it is more complex than we might think at first. As science, politics, technologies and ways of thinking change, so does our understanding of what went before.
Tim Forssman is an archaeologist who has conducted research in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique. He recently completed a book about how the history of archaeology in Africa has shaped the way we understand the past. Here he shares some thoughts about why the discipline matters.
What are the key phases of archaeological work in Africa?
In my book, I divided the practice of archaeology in Africa into four phases: the early years, the emergence of archaeology, a coming of age, and archaeology’s diaspora across Africa. These are not definitive, and they have fuzzy boundaries, but they made the most sense to me. Each chapter begins with a story that I felt captured that period in time.
The 1798 L’Expédition d’Egypte (Egyptian Expedition) under Napoleon Bonaparte. Painted by Léon Cogniet in 1835 (Louvre). Wikimedia.
