Papers by Alexandre Livingstone Smith
Journal of Southern African Studies, 2017
A rare, scattered resource in Central Africa, copper was produced in the Copperbelt since the 4th... more A rare, scattered resource in Central Africa, copper was produced in the Copperbelt since the 4th?7th centuries CE and traded over large distances from the 9th to the 19th centuries. It was exchanged mainly in the form of cross-shaped ingots, also called croisettes, varying in form and size over time and space. In this article, we explore and compare the spatial distribution of these ingots over time. This approach offers an opportunity to study pre-colonial trade. Indeed, during the 2nd millennium CE, the use of the same type of ingots is attested in distant regions, from the Great Zimbabwe area to the Upemba depression (north Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]). Over the centuries, changes in geographic distribution patterns and styles indicate shifts in contacts and the appearance of new boundaries. These variations reflect changes in the regional distribution networks and suggest areas of exclusive political influence. Historical information available for the 19th century shows that it is possible to link the diffusion of copper with political entities, a hypothesis supported by evidence related to other kinds of production, such as ceramics and salt. For remote periods, confrontation of the croisettes? distribution with other aspects of material culture suggests that such links between socio-political spaces and copper distribution may also have occurred in the distant past.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
De Democratische Republiek van Congo is een onmetelijk groot land, maar de archeologische vondstd... more De Democratische Republiek van Congo is een onmetelijk groot land, maar de archeologische vondstdichtheid bedraagt er nauwelijks 1 site per 1000 km². De stiefmoederlijke behandeling van dit erfgoed is van alle tijden, ondanks de institutionele en individuele inzet van vaak enkeleningen die sinds 1885 terreinwerk uitvoeren. Hun methoden, perspectieven en interesses varieerden doorheen de tij met in het begin bijna exclusief toevalsvodnsten en aandacht voor de prehistorie. De talrijke lacunes op de archeologische kaart vandaag betekenen echter ook een enorm onderzoekspotentieel dat voor verrassingen blijft zorgen.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The development of complex social organisation and trade networks during the first and second mil... more The development of complex social organisation and trade networks during the first and second millennia AD in the Sahel region of West Africa has long been hampered by a paucity of reliable data. Investigations at Birnin Lafiya, a large settlement mound of this period on the eastern arc of the Niger River, help to fill this gap. The site can now be placed within its broader landscape, and discoveries of early mud architecture, circular structures, human burial remains, personal ornamentation and striking potsherd pavements can be contrasted with contemporary sites both within the inland Niger region and at Ife to the south.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This section draws upon information from ethnographic examples of roulette fabrication and usage ... more This section draws upon information from ethnographic examples of roulette fabrication and usage in sub-saharan Africa, to set the initial foundations of a systematic classificatory framework for these tools. The simple and elegant framework adopted here for the categorisation of roulettes is articulated around three key characteristics: the material of which the roulette is made (wood, stip, cord, etc.), the manipulation operated on it (twisting knotting, wrapping, etc.), and finally the manner in which it is applied to the body of the vessel (rolled, single-impressed, rocked, etc.). A distinction is made between simple roulettes, roulettes on a core (be it "continuous" or "independent"), roulettes made from modified materials, and finally unmodified objects used as roulettes. Examples drawn from recent fieldwork and from museum collections are illustrated here with their impressions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Pottery manufacturing processes : reconsitution and interpretation, 2005
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, 2013
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Notae Praehistoricae 33, 15-26, 2013
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
African Pottery Roulettes Past and Present: Techniques, Identification and Distribution, 2010
Text in english and in french.
This paper draws upon information from ethnographic examples of r... more Text in english and in french.
This paper draws upon information from ethnographic examples of roulette fabrication and usage in sub-Saharan Africa, to set the initial foundations of a systematic classificatory framework for these tools. The simple and elegant framework adopted here for the categorisation of roulettes is articulated around three key characteristics: the material of which the roulette is made (wood, strip, cord, etc.), the manipulation operated on it (twisting, knotting, wrapping, etc.), and finally the manner in which it is applied to the body of the vessel (rolled, single-impressed, rocked, etc.). A distinction is made between simple roulettes, roulettes on a core (be it ‘continuous’ or ‘independent’), roulettes made from modified materials, and finally unmodified objects used as roulettes. Examples drawn from recent fieldwork and from museum collections are illustrated here with their impressions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Relevance of museum collections for archaeological mapping of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jul 2014
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Azania:archaeological Research in Africa, 2012
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Archaeometry, 2001
Sillar, B., and Tite, M. S., 2000, The challenge of ‘technological choices for materials science ... more Sillar, B., and Tite, M. S., 2000, The challenge of ‘technological choices for materials science approaches in archaeology, Archaeometry42, 2–20. Livingstone Smith, A., 2000, Processing clay for pottery in northern Cameroon: social and technical requirements, Archaeometry42, 21–42. Sillar, B., 2000, Dung by preference: the choice of fuel as an example of how Andean pottery production is embedded within wider technical, social, and economic practices, Archaeometry42, 43–60. Pool, C. A., 2000, Why a kiln? Firing technology in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz (Mexico), Archaeometry42, 61–76.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bien que la présence de la culture rubanée ait été déjà bien documentée dans le Hainaut occidenta... more Bien que la présence de la culture rubanée ait été déjà bien documentée dans le Hainaut occidental, le résultat des fouilles du site du "Pilori" à Ath-Ormeignies dépasse la valorisation d'un patrimoine culturel international. Site d'habitat jusqu'alors inconnu, le "Pilori" a été fouillé lors de l'opération d'archéologie préventive menée sur le premier segment de l'emprise de la ligne TGV, entre la frontière française et Tubize.
La qualité exceptionnelle des données récoltées a permis une étude pluridisciplinaire ouvrant de nouvelles perspectives sur cette période de l'histoire d'Europe occidentale. Qu'il s'agisse de la reconstitution du cadre naturel, des méthodes de construction des célèbres longues maisons rubanées, de certaines facettes de la vie quotidienne - comme l'alimentation ou les pratiques artisanales - ou des relations entretenues avec d'autres régions, les études présentées permettent de compléter notre connaissance du Néolithique ancien et d'ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives de recherche. Les vestiges fouillés lors de la même opération préventive sur le site voisin de "Coron Maton" à Beloeil/Aubechies, même s'ils sont fragmentaires, s'inscrivent dans la même dynamique. L'ensemble illustre l'extraordinaire potentiel scientifique que recèle encore le Néolithique ancien de nos régions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Alexandre Livingstone Smith
This paper draws upon information from ethnographic examples of roulette fabrication and usage in sub-Saharan Africa, to set the initial foundations of a systematic classificatory framework for these tools. The simple and elegant framework adopted here for the categorisation of roulettes is articulated around three key characteristics: the material of which the roulette is made (wood, strip, cord, etc.), the manipulation operated on it (twisting, knotting, wrapping, etc.), and finally the manner in which it is applied to the body of the vessel (rolled, single-impressed, rocked, etc.). A distinction is made between simple roulettes, roulettes on a core (be it ‘continuous’ or ‘independent’), roulettes made from modified materials, and finally unmodified objects used as roulettes. Examples drawn from recent fieldwork and from museum collections are illustrated here with their impressions.
La qualité exceptionnelle des données récoltées a permis une étude pluridisciplinaire ouvrant de nouvelles perspectives sur cette période de l'histoire d'Europe occidentale. Qu'il s'agisse de la reconstitution du cadre naturel, des méthodes de construction des célèbres longues maisons rubanées, de certaines facettes de la vie quotidienne - comme l'alimentation ou les pratiques artisanales - ou des relations entretenues avec d'autres régions, les études présentées permettent de compléter notre connaissance du Néolithique ancien et d'ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives de recherche. Les vestiges fouillés lors de la même opération préventive sur le site voisin de "Coron Maton" à Beloeil/Aubechies, même s'ils sont fragmentaires, s'inscrivent dans la même dynamique. L'ensemble illustre l'extraordinaire potentiel scientifique que recèle encore le Néolithique ancien de nos régions.
This paper draws upon information from ethnographic examples of roulette fabrication and usage in sub-Saharan Africa, to set the initial foundations of a systematic classificatory framework for these tools. The simple and elegant framework adopted here for the categorisation of roulettes is articulated around three key characteristics: the material of which the roulette is made (wood, strip, cord, etc.), the manipulation operated on it (twisting, knotting, wrapping, etc.), and finally the manner in which it is applied to the body of the vessel (rolled, single-impressed, rocked, etc.). A distinction is made between simple roulettes, roulettes on a core (be it ‘continuous’ or ‘independent’), roulettes made from modified materials, and finally unmodified objects used as roulettes. Examples drawn from recent fieldwork and from museum collections are illustrated here with their impressions.
La qualité exceptionnelle des données récoltées a permis une étude pluridisciplinaire ouvrant de nouvelles perspectives sur cette période de l'histoire d'Europe occidentale. Qu'il s'agisse de la reconstitution du cadre naturel, des méthodes de construction des célèbres longues maisons rubanées, de certaines facettes de la vie quotidienne - comme l'alimentation ou les pratiques artisanales - ou des relations entretenues avec d'autres régions, les études présentées permettent de compléter notre connaissance du Néolithique ancien et d'ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives de recherche. Les vestiges fouillés lors de la même opération préventive sur le site voisin de "Coron Maton" à Beloeil/Aubechies, même s'ils sont fragmentaires, s'inscrivent dans la même dynamique. L'ensemble illustre l'extraordinaire potentiel scientifique que recèle encore le Néolithique ancien de nos régions.
L’objectif principal est de fournir des notes concises et faciles à lire qui puissent être consultées pendant le travail sur le terrain. Chaque chapitre correspond à une phase bien particulière du processus de recherche, depuis la manière de localiser un site et de le fouiller, jusqu’à la manière de publier les résultats, en passant par celle de cataloguer et interpréter les trouvailles.
Le manuel est disponible en ligne, en français ou en anglais. Il comprend 9 parties et un total de 79 textes.
Avec le soutien de la Coopération au développement belge.
It seeks to provide concise and readable notes that can be consulted in the field. Each chapter corresponds to a specific phase in the investigative process, from locating and excavating a site, to cataloguing and interpreting findings, and then publishing the results.
The book is online for free in English and in French. It has 9 parts and a total of 79 texts.
With the support of Belgian Cooperation Development.