From Ancient Tichitt to Zimbabwe: The Archaeology and Arts of the Urban Past in Africa

ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 3741

Urbanism and urbanization - the emergence and development of densely populated towns, often cradles of novel and specific arts, institutions, industries, philosophies, ideologies, and identities - have a deep history on the African continent. From the earliest settled towns of the ancient world in Tichitt (in present-day Mali and Mauretania) and the Nile Valley, to the bustling "Medieval" metropolises of Ilé-Ifè (Nigeria), Great Zimbabwe, and the Swahili coast (East Africa), the continent witnessed a range of trajectories and outcomes of urban development, leading to diverse forms of hierarchy, heterarchy, social organization, technologies, and arts often very distinctive from those of Europe and the Islamic world beyond Africa. Given that much of the continent did not use written documentary sources until relatively recently, approaches and methods from the disciplines of archaeology and art history are among the best tools to investigate and understand its deep-rooted and sophisticated urban past, and the fundamental contributions of this to the modern world. This class explores the origins, development, and florescence of forms of urbanism and statehood across the African continent, focusing on the complex social structures and dynamics that emerged from, and shaped, these processes, as well as the rich archaeological and artistic record that they stimulated. It will begin by moving chronologically through this long history, and later branch into largely coeval regional examples. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the archaeology and arts of critical urbanized polities such as the early Sahelian metropolis of Djenne-Jeno (Mali), the empires of Dahomey, Oyo, Benin (West Africa), and the kingdom of Kongo (Central Africa) among others.
Course Attributes: AS HUM; AS LCD; EN H; FA HUM; AR HUM; AH NW; AH A; BU Hum; BU IS

Section 01

From Ancient Tichitt to Zimbabwe: The Archaeology and Arts of the Urban Past in Africa
INSTRUCTOR: Evans
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