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Material Explorations in African Archaeology. By Timothy Insoll. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015, 488 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-955006-7. £ 90.00 (Hardcover).

Material Explorations in African Archaeology. By Timothy Insoll. Oxford University Press, Oxford,... and concretely descriptive, as well as vocabulary sensitive to indigenous expression as we tack between attempting to describe the trees of our individual case studies and to generalize about the forests of human dynamic and reciprocal engagements with matter. Once past the Introduction, the chapter titles refer to an array of materials/"contents". Insoll is clear in his Introduction concerning what "contents" have been deliberately left out in his main discussion; these include metal and metallurgy, textiles, plants and trees, architecture and urban and domestic space. One explanation he offers for their absence is that he, as well as others, have focused on and consequently discussed them elsewhere. Yet, additionally, these "contents" would seem to be most traditionally amenable to "material" scrutiny/analysis by archaeologists. Insoll chooses instead to study "contents" more inscrutable to the archaeologist's material gaze and consequently less studied. The "contents" discussed are in the following order: (chapter 2) bodies and persons, (3) the dead and the ancestors, (4) animals, (5) stone, (6) earth and clay, (7) shrines, (8) landscapes, (9) healing, medicine and divination. Since Insoll opened the door to metaphor and metonym, I will push it further open at this point with a Malagasy saying http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of African Archaeology Brill

Material Explorations in African Archaeology. By Timothy Insoll. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015, 488 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-955006-7. £ 90.00 (Hardcover).

Kus, Susan
Journal of African Archaeology , Volume 14 (1): 105 – Nov 1, 2016
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1612-1651
eISSN
2191-5784
DOI
10.3213/2191-5784-10285
Publisher site
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Abstract

and concretely descriptive, as well as vocabulary sensitive to indigenous expression as we tack between attempting to describe the trees of our individual case studies and to generalize about the forests of human dynamic and reciprocal engagements with matter. Once past the Introduction, the chapter titles refer to an array of materials/"contents". Insoll is clear in his Introduction concerning what "contents" have been deliberately left out in his main discussion; these include metal and metallurgy, textiles, plants and trees, architecture and urban and domestic space. One explanation he offers for their absence is that he, as well as others, have focused on and consequently discussed them elsewhere. Yet, additionally, these "contents" would seem to be most traditionally amenable to "material" scrutiny/analysis by archaeologists. Insoll chooses instead to study "contents" more inscrutable to the archaeologist's material gaze and consequently less studied. The "contents" discussed are in the following order: (chapter 2) bodies and persons, (3) the dead and the ancestors, (4) animals, (5) stone, (6) earth and clay, (7) shrines, (8) landscapes, (9) healing, medicine and divination. Since Insoll opened the door to metaphor and metonym, I will push it further open at this point with a Malagasy saying

Journal

Journal of African Archaeology – Brill

Published: Nov 1, 2016

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