The Lake Chad Region as a Crossroads: first archaeological and oral historical investigations into early Kanem-Borno and its intra-African connections (Project Director Magnavita, Carlos)

Project description
The Lake Chad region was a major crossroads of unique historical, cultural and economic significance for Medieval and post-Medieval Africa. It was the core area of the Kanem-Borno Empire (ca. 8th-19th centuries AD), amongst other things known for its early trans-Saharan relations with North Africa. Central hypothesis of the present project proposal is that, in addition to its northern linkages, the Lake Chad region was also a key hub for a yet undocumented east-west trans-Sudanic route linking the Middle Nile Valley with West Africa in Medieval times. With a view to address that suggestion, the applicants intend to start carrying out the very first archaeological and oral historical investigations at Kanem-Borno fired-brick elite sites pre-dating the 15th century AD. Those yet unexplored localities are per se unambiguous evidence of exterior contacts from some point in time, as the architectural tradition and the technology involved in the erection of fired-brick structures are alien to Central and Western Africa. Primary goal of the currently applied first project phase is to conduct fundamental research required to collect original material and other evidence related to those locations, amongst others pointing to the source and the time of external linkages. That data will ultimately serve as starting point for initial and, within the scope of the second project phase, systematic comparative analysis regarding evidence from other African regions, including the Middle Nile Valley as well as North and West Africa. Placed in the heart of the northern half of the continent, the current project is as a central geographical and thematic link between various SPP 2143-proposals dealing with the time interval 5th-15th centuries AD. Taken as a whole, we expect that “The Lake Chad region as a Crossroads” will generate unprecedented and objective information on Kanem-Borno’s early historical connections, thus contributing to a broader understanding of Africa’s entangled past in medieval times.
Project members
Dr. Carlos Magnavita
Frobenius Institute for Cultural Anthropological Research at Goethe University Frankfurt
c.magnavita@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Dr. Zakinet Dangbet
Université de N’Djamena, Faculté des sciences humaines et sociales
Further Information
Reports
One (two) suitcase(s) with charcoal in Berlin
Picture 1: A suitcase on a journey. Photo © A. Höhn (Project 5). One (two) suitcase(s) with charcoal in Berlin...
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Wavy Line and Herringbone On 14.07.2020, the ceramic specialists from the priority programme “Entangled Africa” once again met virtually to...
Read MorePottery – The Devil is in the Detail
After a successful meeting at the beginning of the month, the ceramic specialists of the “SPP Entangled Africa” met again...
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During the last months, the archaeological sector has shown itself to be at its most flexible.The effects of the Corona...
Read MoreConnecting Foodways – 2020 fieldwork in Sudan
The Connecting Foodways project has recently returned from a successful fieldwork season in Sudan, studying ancient cuisines and cooking technologies....
Read MoreTwo networks – one goal
First Joint Annual General Meeting of the DFG Priority Programme Entangled Africa and the TANA Network The DFG Priority Programme...
Read MoreEntangled Africa presents projects on Sudan Day 2019
On December 14, 2019 members of the Sudanarchäologische Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. (SAG) and the Department of Archaeology and Cultural...
Read MoreSPP networking meeting ‘Ceramics’
SPP Networking Meeting ‘Ceramics’ in Frankfurt/M, June 18-19, 2019 Attendees: Carlos Magnavita (Frankfurt), Christopher Breninek (Leipzig), Dietrich Raue (Leipzig), Friederike...
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