Making History in Banda
Anthropological Visions of Africa's Past

Stahl explores the theoretical and methodological issues confronting our understanding of Africa's past.

Ann Brower Stahl (Author)

9780521037976, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 July 2007

292 pages, 18 b/w illus. 23 maps
24.3 x 16.8 x 1.5 cm, 0.463 kg

'Banda history from AD 1100 to the twentieth century, a time span that includes pre-colonial contact with northern trade routes, the introduction and expansion of European trade, the rise and fall of the Ashanti empire, and the military exploits of Samori. This is a must-read for students of Ghanian history. … Skilfully tacking back and forth between oral histories, archival sources, and archaeological data, Stahl delineates significant changes in the practices of daily life in Banda's past. Ultimately, the strength of the work lies in its conjoining of disparate lines of evidence to tie global politico-economic forces with local patterns of practices of taste, reproduction and production, and dwelling. … she keeps her sources in a productive tension and thereby arrives at a richly textured account of the socio-historical processes that shaped and continue to shape the making of the past in Banda.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

Drawing on evidence from several disciplines, Ann Brower Stahl reconstructs the daily lives of Banda villagers of west central Ghana, from the time that they were drawn into the Niger trade (around AD 1300) until British overrule was established early in the twentieth century. The case study aims to closely integrate perspectives drawn from archaeology, history and anthropology in African studies.

List of figures
List of Plates
List of tables
Preface
1. Refracted visions of Africa's past
2. Envisioning Africa's lived past
3. The past in the present: history-making in Banda
4. The political-economic context
5. Local life in the context of the Niger trade c.1300–1700
6. The changing social fields of Banda villagers c.1725–1825
7. The changing social fields of Banda villagers c.1825–1925
8. Reflections: historical anthropology and the construction of Africa's past
Notes
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Archaeology [HD], African history [HBJH]