There Is A Presence In The Absence: Exploring Parallels and Discontinuities Between British Isles and West African Belief Systems In North American Folk Tradition

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Social scientists of the mid-19th to early 20th century asserted that the mythos and practices of the Black American south were merely a memetic repository of British folk tradition. Later, West African magico-religious folk practices were recognized in the lifeways of Black Americans, with archaeologists exploring the associated unique material assemblages. Within folk beliefs, a common metaphorical object in both archival accounts and archaeological contexts are pierced or holed, circular objects, such as perforated coins or discs made of bone, sherds, or stone. This paper reexamines the duality of supernatural beliefs shared between British and West African cultures, with a specific focus on the perforated disc and its role in both transatlantic geographies. By emphasizing the use of these dual folk epistemologies, a more effective interpretation of the intersection of belief and practice in a shared world can be expressed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2022 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology