A coastal occupation in Bénin, West Africa: Earthenwares and salt at the time of Atlantic entanglement

Haour, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0844-4867, Coulson, Imogen, N'Dah, Didier and Labiyi, Nestor (2022) A coastal occupation in Bénin, West Africa: Earthenwares and salt at the time of Atlantic entanglement. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. ISSN 1556-4894

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Abstract

The archaeology of the immediate coastline of West Africa remains surprisingly little understood, and what research has been undertaken has often focused on questions relating to sea-based interactions and the precolonial polities lying slightly inland. This paper reports the results of excavations on Ohlinhoué, a small lagoonal island in the western Republic of Bénin. A locally manufactured ceramic assemblage was recovered, together with a small suite of artifacts, including glass, metal, shell, and smoking pipes. These archaeological data provide insights into a small-scale, likely fishing and salt-producing community in this area between sea and river. As such, they provide an alternative to historical readings relating to well-known precolonial polities and trade entrepôts that feed popular historical narratives.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: benin republic,coastal archaeology,local pottery
Faculty \ School: University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas
Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Area Studies
Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Centre for African Art and Archaeology
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 21 Jun 2022 09:30
Last Modified: 13 Apr 2023 14:33
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/85721
DOI: 10.1080/15564894.2022.2084654

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