Islands around Africa: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Islands around Africa: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Inspired by recent publications, notably Mitchell’s long-anticipated and much-needed “African Islands: A Comparative Archaeology,” this session seeks to bring together leading research that centralizes the contribution of, and future directions in, African island archaeology. Africa has relatively few islands compared to other continents. However, Africa’s islands have been central to the cultural, material, political, and socioeconomic growth of the continent in the past, and remain so today. Presentations that promote and showcase the rigorous work that has brought to light the enduring influence of Africa’s islands on the continent and the wider world are encouraged. Presentations are welcome across thematic topics but may emphasize the long history of island cultural development, environmental outcomes of archaeological research, the impacts of colonialism on African society, the dynamic and influential role of religion, cuisine, and craft on island culture, the maritime context as a mechanism for connecting African islands to the world, and how molecular studies are helping reshape our knowledge of the fascinating islands that circumvent the continent. Speakers are encouraged to devote some time to discussing how to continue renewing and reinvigorating interest in the region’s islands, as well as future directions for research.