210 Field Manual for African Archaeology. Chapter 5

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$UFKDHR]RRORJ\RU]RRDUFKDHRORJ\GHDOVZLWKWKHDQL VHSDUDWHO\IRU¿QHUVLHYLQJRQDPPDQGPPPHVK PDOUHPDLQVIRXQGDWDUFKDHRORJLFDOVLWHV7RJHWKHUZLWK DQG ZLOO DOORZ FRUUHFWLQJ RI YDOXHV REWDLQHG RQ WKH DUFKDHRERWDQLFDO VWXGLHV WKH IDXQDO DQDO\VLV DOORZV PPVFUHHQ6XFKVHGLPHQWVDPSOHVFDQDOVREHVKDUHG UHFRQVWUXFWLRQRIWKHSDVWHQYLURQPHQWDVZHOODVWKH ZLWKDUFKDHRERWDQLVWVLQWHUHVWHGLQPDFURERWDQLFDO UH ZD\SHRSOHLQWHUDFWHGZLWKSODQWVDQGDQLPDOVLQIRUPHU mains and charcoal, and it is therefore useful to agree on WLPHV$QLPDOERQHVDQGWHHWKDUHWKHPRVWFRPPRQO\ WKHVDPSOLQJVWUDWHJLHVZLWKRWKHUVSHFLDOLVWVSULRUWRWKH encountered remains, but mollusk shells, bird feathers, H[FDYDWLRQ:KHQUHWULHYLQJIDXQDOUHPDLQVLQWKH¿HOG ¿VKVFDOHVHJJVKHOOIUDJPHQWVLQVHFWUHPDLQVDQLPDO it is important that no selection is carried out by the ex  droppings are other examples of material that can be FDYDWRUV$OODQLPDOUHPDLQVLQFOXGLQJWKRVHWKDWPD\ found. VHHPXQGLDJQRVWLFRUWRRVPDOOWREHLGHQWL¿DEOHKDYHWR Preservation conditions  YDU\ D ORW LQ VXE6DKDUDQ be kept for analysis by the archaeozoologist. Moreover, $IULFDDQGFHUWDLQUHJLRQV\LHOGYHU\OLWWOHIDXQD7KH WKHSURSRUWLRQRIXQLGHQWL¿DEOHUHPDLQVLQDQDVVHP DFLGVRLOVLQODUJHSDUWVRI&HQWUDO$IULFDUHVXOWLQWKH blage is also important as it is a measure of the degree dissolution of the mineral part of animal bone, teeth of fragmentation and thus the state of preservation. It is DQGVKHOO)DXQDOUHPDLQVIURPWKDWUHJLRQDUHWKHUHIRUH evident that to prevent further breakage, care needs to mainly from cave sites or from particular structures, EHWDNHQWRZUDSDQGEDJWKHPDWHULDODGHTXDWHO\DQGWR such as pits, in rather recent sites. Rapid and deep burial DOZD\VLQFOXGHODEHOV:KHQWKHERQHVDUHVWLOOKXPLG of animal remains is essential for good preservation as WKH\VKRXOGEHDOORZHGWRGU\VORZO\DYRLGLQJH[SRVXUH LWZLOOOLPLWVXUIDFHZHDWKHULQJDQGGHVWUXFWLRQE\VFDY WRWKHVXQDVWKLVZLOOUHVXOWLQVSOLQWHULQJRIWKHERQH engers, bacteria and fungi. The different animal tissues 2QZHWERQHVWKDWDUHSDFNHGLQSODVWLFEDJVPRXOGZLOO DOVRKDYHGLIIHUHQWSUHVHUYDWLRQFKDQFHVWRRWKHQDPHO develop and labels may also be destroyed if they are not preserves better than dentine or bone, and compact bone protected by plastic. There is no need to sort the fau  of mammal preserves better than thin bird bone. These QDOUHPDLQVE\DQLPDOJURXSZKLFKZLOOEHGRQHE\WKH VRFDOOHG GLIIHUHQWLDO SUHVHUYDWLRQ FKDQFHV VKRXOG EH DUFKDHR]RRORJLVW +RZHYHU PDNLQJ VXUH WKDW VPDOOHU NHSWLQPLQGZKHQLQWHUSUHWLQJVSHFLHVUDWLRVRUVNHO fragile bones are packed separately from more bulky re  HWDOHOHPHQWUHSUHVHQWDWLRQZLWKLQDVLQJOHVSHFLHV7KH PDLQVLVYLWDODVWKLVZLOOUHGXFHGDPDJH:KHQZRUNHG exclusive presence of large bovid tooth fragments on a RUKDOI¿QLVKHGREMHFWVDUHIRXQGWKDWDUHPDGHRIERQH VLWHLVOLNHO\WRUHÀHFWSRRUSUHVHUYDWLRQFRQGLWLRQVIRU ivory, or shell, these are often kept separate as artefacts. instance. ,WLVXVHIXOWRVKRZWKHVHLWHPVWRWKHDUFKDHR]RRORJLVW In order to not bias the faunal assemblages preserved VRWKDWLQIRUPDWLRQFDQEHSURYLGHGRQWKHW\SHRIUDZ at a site, it is vital to carry out a correct sampling . Dur  materials used. LQJWKHH[FDYDWLRQDQLPDOUHPDLQVFDQEHKDQGFROOHFW ,GHQWL¿FDWLRQ RIWKHIDXQDOUHPDLQVLVWKHQH[WVWHS HGLQWKHWUHQFK ¿J EXWLWLVLPSRUWDQWWKDWWKHVHGL ¿QGLQJ RXW IRU HDFK IUDJPHQW WKH DQLPDO VSHFLHV LW ment is sieved in order to retrieve the smaller bones that FRPHVIURPDQGWKHVNHOHWDOHOHPHQWIURPZKLFKLWLV ZLOORWKHUZLVHEHLQHYLWDEOHORVW ¿J   ([SHULPHQWV GHULYHG,GHQWL¿FDWLRQLVEDVHGRQWKHPRUSKRORJ\RI KDYHVKRZQWKDWQRWRQO\VPDOOVSHFLHVDUHPLVVHGZKHQ the bones and on their size. Other information that can no sieving is carried out, but that also smaller bones of sometimes be retrieved from isolated bones is the age PHGLXPVL]HG DQG HYHQ ODUJH PDPPDOV DUH ORVW 'H DQG WKH VH[ RI WKH LQGLYLGXDO 3DWKRORJLHV DV ZHOO DV SHQGLQJRQWKHW\SHRIVRLOGU\ ¿J RUZHWVLHYLQJ WUDFHVOHIWRQWKHERQHV±E\KXPDQVDQGDQLPDOV±DUH FDQEHGRQHSUHIHUDEO\ZLWKDPHVKZLGWKRIPP7KLV UHFRUGHG$OO WKHVH GDWD SURYLGH LQWHUHVWLQJ LQIRUPD ZLOOJXDUDQWHHWKHUHWULHYDORIPRVWPDPPDOELUGDQG tion useful for the reconstruction of subsistence prac  ¿VKERQHV6PDOOHUYROXPHVRIVHGLPHQWFDQEHVDPSOHG WLFHV KXQWLQJVWUDWHJLHVKHUGLQJDQGFXOOLQJVWUDWHJLHV RIGRPHVWLFVSHFLHVVHDVRQDOLW\HWF )RUDQDGHTXDWH  Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels. W. Van Neer. Archaeozoology in Sub-Saharan Africa 211

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Edited by Alexandre Livingstone Smith Els Cornelissen Olivier P. Gosselain Scott MacEachern

Online series ‘Documents on Social Sciences and Humanities’ COLOPHON This work belongs to the ‘Documents on Social Sciences and Humanities’. It is only online available on the Royal Museum for Central Africa website: www.africamuseum.be This project has been supported by the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD).

Cover: tomb in the Upemba depression with grid, 3.10.51. Photo © P. de Maret. Sanga 1974, from de Maret, P. 1974. Fouilles archéologiques dans la vallée du Haut-Lualaba, Zaïre, vol. I: Sanga et Katongo. Tervuren: RMCA (‘Annales de Sciences humaines in 8°’), fig. 28, p. 128.

Editorial coordination: Isabelle Gérard (RMAC). Cover layout: Bram de Rudder (RMCA). General layout: Mieke Dumortier (RMCA). Translations & revisions : Emily Divinagracia (RMCA), Lee Gilette, Tadzio Koelb, Scott MacEachern

ISBN 978-9-4922-4427-7 Legal Deposit D/2017/0254/06 © Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren 2017 www.africamuseum.be

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Please address all requests or queries regarding this publication to the RMCA Publications service, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium. [email protected] Contents

Foreword 6

Introduction. Thinking and writing on the past in Africa 7 Introduction. A. Livingstone Smith & S. MacEachern 8 Recovering the African past: looking back from the present. J. Sutton 10 Archaeology in Africa: who or what sets the agenda? S. K. McIntosh 15 Academic research in West Africa: the case of Senegal. M. Sall 18 African perspectives on academic research: the case of Cameroon. C. Mbida Mindzie 24

Chapter 1. How do archaeologists plan projects in Africa? 27 Introduction. A. Livingstone Smith 28 Organising an international archeological research project in Africa. A. Haour and D. N’Dah 30 Cultural heritage management in Africa. P. Mitchell 34 Case study: heritage management in Central Africa. N. Arazi 37 Rescue and preventive archeology: roads, thermal power stations and quarries. R. Oslisly 42 Managing cultural heritage in Africa: a study of Ifan in Senegal. I. Thiaw 45 Relations with local communities. N. David 49

Chapter 2. Finding and describing archaeological sites 53 Introduction. A. Livingstone Smith 54 Archeological exploration in an urban African context: Bangui. A. J.-P. Ndanga 56 Case study: rainforest. M. K. H. Eggert 60 Field survey in the Sahel: an informal guide. K. MacDonald 65 Ancient polities: archaeological survey in a metropolis. A.Ogundiran & B. Agbaje-Williams 69 Surveying towns. J. Fleisher 76 Archaeological field survey and the recording and cataloguing of archaeological materials. P. J. Lane 79 Large scale reconnaissance and excavation strategy on the Loango Coast. J. Denbow 86 Case study: participating as a student in an impact assessment. P. Nlend 91 Surveying funerary sites. I. Ribot 94 Finding rock art. B. Smith 97 4 Field Manual for African Archaeology. Introduction

Chapter 3. How to protect archaeological sites 101 Introduction. A. Livingstone Smith 102 The excavacation of Stone Age sites. R. Vogelsang 104 Village sites. H.-P. Wotzka 109 The pit: archaeological excavation and analysis. A. Assoko Ndong 116 Excavating in urban contexts. J. Fleisher 121 Megalithism. L. Laporte 125 Metallurgic sites. C. Robion-Brunner & V. Serneels 129 Excavating funerary sites. I. Ribot 134 Recording rock art. B. Smith 138 Documenting and studying a rock-art site: the Lovo massif. G. Heimlich 142 Rock art management and conservation. B. Smith 146

Chapter 4. Analysis of materials 149 Introduction. A. Livingstone Smith 150 From the field to the lab.D. Bosquet 152 Cataloguing finds.S. Ozainne 157 Making sense of lithics. N. Taylor 163 A case study: analyzing lithics from Shum Laka, NW province, Cameroon. E. Cornelissen 168 Pottery analysis. A. Livingstone Smith & C. de Francquen 173 Defining pottery styles.T. Huffman 180 Iron objects. D. Killick 187 Copper. L. Garenne-Marot 190 Case study: copper ingots in Central Africa. N. Nikis 197

Chapter 5. Ecofacts and related studies 203 Introduction. E. Cornelissen 204 Archaeobotanical remains. A. Höhn 206 Archaeozoology in Sub-Saharan Africa. W. Van Neer 210 Case study: domesticated or wild? V. Linseele 214 Soil cover in Central Africa. D. Schwartz 218 Case study in a Sudano-sahelian fluvial setting.M. Rasse 223 Human remains. I. Crevecœur 228 Radiocarbon dating. P. de Maret 232 By means of example: Interpreting C14 dates. E. Cornelissen, P. de Maret & D. K. Wright 236 Other radiometric methods of dating. D. K. Wright 237 Relative dating methods. D. K. Wright 243 Contents 5

Chapter 6. From present to past 247 Introduction. O. P. Gosselain 248 The direct historical approach. A. B. Stahl 250 Oral tradition. D. Schoenbrun 253 Historical Linguistics. K. Bostoen 257 The ‘words and things’ method. B. Ricquier 261 Artworks. J. Polet 264 Ethnoarchaeology. D. Lyons 270 Pottery and oral history in the Faro. A. Mezop Temgoua-Noumissing 275 Architecture. V. Brunfaut & J.-F. Pinet 280 Ceramic technology between past and present. A. Mayor 286 Comparative technology. O. P. Gosselain 292 Genetics and African archaeology. S. MacEachern 296

Chapter 7. Publishing archaeological research results 301 Introduction. I. Gérard 302 Preparing a manuscript and the process of peer-review. P. Robertshaw 304 Wheree to publish? Elena A.A. Garcea 307 On-line publication and Open Access. J.-P. Devroey 311

Chapter 8. Afterword 315 The future of the past on the African continent. P. de Maret 316

6 Field Manual for African Archaeology. Foreword

Foreword Alexandre Livingstone Smith, Els Cornelissen, Olivier P. Gosselain & Scott MacEachern

Pierre de Maret retired from the university in October 2015. A prominent scholar with a worldwide reputation, his scientific contributions to the field of African archaeology could have been celebrated through a Festschrift bringing together an international panel of friends and colleagues. Yet Pierre also dedicated an important part of his academic career to the training and funding of students in African archaeology, many of whom became professional archaeologists and currently occupy academic positions. A large number of these students had spent time at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, a Belgian federal institution with which Pierre has been associated since the early 1970s. Besides consulting documents and analysing collections, they often sought practical advice for conducting fieldwork in Africa. They asked basic – but critical – questions, to which Pierre’s colleagues and friends tried to provide effective, no- nonsense answers. Through this process, we gradually realised that despite the wealth of books dedicated to African archaeology and to field archaeology, there was no publication specifically devoted to field practice in African archaeology. Keeping that in mind and wanting to celebrate Pierre’s commitment to the tutoring and supervising of young researchers, we decided to edit a Field Manual for African Archaeology, drawing on the expertise of the international community to which Pierre belongs. This manual is about how to find, excavate and study archaeological sites in sub-Saharan Africa. Obviously, archaeological methods in Africa do not differ from excavations in any other part of the world and any student with an Internet connection will easily find references on how to do things in the field. But knowing about the tool is not the same thing as using it. This is where the experienced professionals contributing to this manual make a difference. Sharing tips, describing possible pitfalls, contextualising field methods and research orientations, they help prospective Africanist archaeologists becoming more knowledgeable and autonomous out in the field. Readability and ease of access were a crucial issue. First, we wanted the text to be as clear and concise as possible. Hence authors were asked to submit short contributions, avoiding jargon and focussing on essential and straightforward concepts and methods. References were kept to a strict minimum, focussing on key and accessible sources. Second, in order to reach as large an audience as possible, especially in Africa, we chose to publish in French and English and opted for an online open-access format. We also decided to offer each chapter as a separate download, which might prove useful where Internet access is expensive and irregular. This manual is certainly not perfect. Not all topics could be covered and there are overlaps between chapters, which sometimes correspond to slightly different perspectives or field conditions. Also, the sheer number and diversity of contributors may lead to some stylistic heterogeneity. At the same time, it definitely opens a wider perspective on doing archaeological fieldwork in Africa. The manual might thus best be viewed as a work in progress, liable to evolve in parallel with the field ofAfrican archaeology. On a final note, we would like to thank all the authors involved in this unusual project, as wellasthe people who helped them directly or indirectly. Special thanks are due to Isabelle Gérard and her team at the Publications Service of the RMCA and to the Belgian Development Cooperation for funding the translations. To Pierre, with respect and admiration for all he has achieved.