IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Ritual Ecologies and the Reconstruction of Economic and Environmental Histories in West Africa

Ritual Ecologies and the Reconstruction of Economic and Environmental Histories in West Africa
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Stephen Dueppen (University of Oregon, USA)and Daphne Gallagher (University of Oregon, USA)
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 24
Source title: Palynology and Human Ecology of Africa
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Emuobosa Akpor Orijemie (Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria)and Sylvester Onoriode Obigba (Palynology Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-7801-1.ch002

Purchase

View Ritual Ecologies and the Reconstruction of Economic and Environmental Histories in West Africa on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

Organic remains from archaeological research in the Mouhoun Bend of western Burkina Faso have primarily been recovered from discrete pits and concavities associated with diverse material culture and architectural remnants within mounds. Recent research at the site of Kirikongo indicates that these contexts are generally derived from funerary, veneration or foundation rituals connected to ancestors. Contents were highly structured in nature, and as the result of highly ritualized practices are not direct reflections of the general economy or environmental setting. This paper explores the challenges inherent in interpretation and the deep insights that can be made through recognition of the choices involved in deposition. It examines the broader implications of Kirikongo's site formation processes for earlier sites in the region, suggesting that ritualized deposition processes may have deeper histories, and explores the potential impacts on reconstructions of agricultural origins in the region.

Related Content

Romdhane Ben Khalifa. © 2026. 30 pages.
Kaushal Kishore Mishra, Pawan Pant, Azmee Zaheer, Pushpak Sharma. © 2026. 32 pages.
Romdhane Ben Khalifa. © 2026. 38 pages.
Leevesh Kumar, Sitesh Kumar Singh, Sagor Kumar Podder, Md Asaduzzaman Rasel. © 2026. 38 pages.
Muhammed Enes İlgazi. © 2026. 44 pages.
K. Madhukumar. © 2026. 54 pages.
Dhirendra Patel. © 2026. 32 pages.
Body Bottom