Politics, ideology and indigenous perspectives

Since its inception, African archaeology has been influenced and harnessed by various political ideologies. From European colonialism, when at times archaeological narratives reproduced racist colonial dogma, to African nationalism and the celebration of an African past, African archaeology has been used for ideological legitimation. More recently, archaeologists working in Africa have reflected on the political nature of the discipline. They have identified the inherent colonialism of previous archaeologies and now seek to undertake postcolonial ones that have contemporary relevance for the societies in which they work. This includes the identification and incorporation of indigenous knowledge systems something that is, in turn, leading to new indigenous archaeological drivers. African archaeology thus continues to exist in overtly political contexts. Yet archaeological interpretation is not simply dictated by political biases. It may also be influenced by methodological, logistical, and theoretical developments, as well as by the availability and nature archaeological data (Trigger 1990). However, ignorance of political influences in, and political use of, archaeology neglects the discipline's subjectivity and agency beyond the academy. Thus, while this chapter describes political trends in African archaeology, it recognizes that its history is also the product of non-political factors.