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Congo to Kalahari: data and hypotheses about the political economy of the western stream of the Early Iron Age

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Abstract

This paper provides a preliminary account of archaeological research on sites of early pottery-using people in the coastal region of the Congo Republic. The results obtained are compared with observations from Botswana and used to amplify archaeological and lingustic data relevant to the transformations in social and productive forces that occurred across the western part of sub-equatorial Africa during the period when food production, metallurgy and long-distance trade were established. Particular attention is paid to evidence for developing economic and social relations between indigenous foragers and immigrant food producers.

Résumé

Cet article offre les premiers résultats de recherches sur des sites qui emontent du début de l'utilisation de la potiere par des populations habitant la zone côtière de la République du Congo. Les résultats obtenus sont comparés avec des découvertes au Botswana pour developer les données archéologiques et linguistiques se rapportant à la transformation des forces sociales et productives qui se produisent à travers la partie occidentale de l'Afrique subéquatoriale durant la période où apparutent la production de nourrieture, la métallurgie et le commerce à longue distance. L'article s'attache plus particulièrement aux témoins du dévelopment de relations économiques et socials entre les indigènes, pěcheurs/chasseurs, et les populations immigrantes de producteurs de nourriture.

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  1. James Denbow
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Denbow, J. Congo to Kalahari: data and hypotheses about the political economy of the western stream of the Early Iron Age. Afr Archaeol Rev 8, 139–175 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01116874

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