Fragmentary Ancestors? Medicine, Bodies, and Personhood in a Koma Mound, Northern Ghana

Insoll, Timothy; Kankpeyeng, Benjamin W.; Nkumbaan, Samuel N.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3354-5_2

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…These mound sites, dating to ca. 1500-800 BP, are associated with human burials and may have been shrines (Insoll et al 2012;Kankpeyeng et al 2013). Koma Land mound site grinding-stones, initially considered as evidence of cereal grain reduction (Anquandah 1998), have also been taken to indicate the processing of medicinal substances in healing rituals (Kankpeyeng et al 2011).…”

Section: Grinding-stones In the African Archaeological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

2017

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This article presents observations on grinding-stone implements and their uses in ElgeyoMarakwet County, northwest Kenya. Tool use in Marakwet is contextualized with a select overview of literature on grinding-stones in Africa. Grinding-stones in Marakwet are incorporated not only into quotidian but also into more performative and ritual aspects of life. These tools have distinct local traditions laden with social as well as functional importance. It is argued that regionally and temporally specific studies of grindingstone tool assemblages can be informative on the processing of various substances. Despite being common occurrences, grinding-stone tools are an underdiscussed component of many African archaeological assemblages. Yet the significance of grinding-stones must be reevaluated, as they hold the potential to inform on landscapes of past food and material processing.Résumé Cet article présente des observations ethnoarchéologiques sur les outils de pierre meulière et leur utilisation dans le comté d'Elgeyo-Marakwet, au nordouest du Kenya. En s'appuyant notamment sur des exemples issus de la période néolithique pastorale en Afrique de l'Est, il contextualise l'utilisation d'outils à Marakwet en termes d'études sélectionnées portent sur les pierres de meulage en Afrique. Nous soutenons que les études spécifiques à la région portent sur les assemblages d'outils de pierre meulière peuvent aider à avancer nos connaissances sur le traitement de diverses substances. Par ailleurs nous constatons que la pierre meulière fait partie non seulement de la vie quotidienne, mais aussi des aspects performatifs et rituels de la vie à Marakwet. Les outils de pierre meulière font partie des traditions locales distinctes, chargées d'importance sociale et fonctionnelle. Malgré le fait qu'ils soient banals, les outils de pierre meulière sont des composants significatif et pourtant peu discutés de nombreux assemblages archéologiques africains. Nous avançons que la signification de la pierre meulière doive-t-être réévaluée, car elle est essentielle pour mieux comprendre les circonstances de l'alimentation et du traitement des matériaux dans le passé.

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Section: Grinding-stones In the African Archaeological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

2017

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“…These sequences were detected 389 only in the second of two samples taken from this cavity, and were not detected in soil Table 1 Terracotta items (Insoll et al, 2013) …”

Section: Discussion 301mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ritual complexity in a past community revealed by ancient DNA analysis of pre-colonial terracotta items from Northern Ghana

Robinson

Insoll

Kankpeyeng

et al. 2017

Journal of Archaeological Science

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19The pre-colonial 6 th 14 th century terracotta forms of Koma Land, Northern Ghana, contain 20 cavities which may have been intended to hold liquids. These have been linked to traditional 21African libation, but the specific nature of their contents is unclear. We used generic 22 polymerase chain reactions that would amplify DNA from a range of plant and fungal 23 species in order to identify remains of libations applied to fourteen terracotta items. We 24 anticipated difficulties in distinguishing genuine ancient DNA sequences from those resulting 25 from contaminating material, and therefore also carried out a series of control experiments 26 to assess the extent to which the samples had become contaminated with exogenous DNA 27 during burial, excavation and downstream analysis. Taking account of the results of the 28 control experiments, as well as the difficulties in assigning matches between ancient DNA 29 sequences and database entries, we provide evidence for the use of three different types of 30 plant plantain/banana, pine and grasses in libations associated with the terracotta items. 31We also identified DNA from Coniochaeta yeast within the mouth cavity of one figurine, 32 suggesting that this structure was burnt prior to deposition. 33 34

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“…Figurine studies have conventionally paid little attention to the substances of artifacts and have only recently employed techniques like computed tomography scanning, X-ray fluorescence or spectrographic analysis (Clark, 2009;Forouzan et al, 2012;Insoll et al, 2012;Pitblado et al, 2013). The actual clay or stone has had significance only inasmuch as it allows us to imagine other substances that have vanished: flesh-and-blood bodies covered with textiles and adorned with beads.…”

Section: Following the Substances: Clay And Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Substances: ‘Following the material’ through two prehistoric cases

Weismantel

Meskell

2014

Journal of Material Culture

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In this article, we argue for a multi-dimensional research strategy incorporating material, social and phenomenological analysis in the study of figurines and other human effigies. We call this approach 'following the material'. To illustrate, we examine two case studies: figurines from the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük (Turkey) and human effigies from the Formative region of Moche (Peru). We look first at the material substances from which artifacts are made and the material contexts in which they were produced, circulated and deposited, before turning to analysis of the representation of the body. This enables us to see these objects as themselves bodiesnot merely imperfect replicas of actual humans, but material objects made of substances that afford particular kinds of interactions between fleshly and artifactual bodies. This focus on the materiality of artifacts reveals tight connections between objects in human form, material culture, environment, landscape, and political economy.

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Fragmentary Ancestors? Medicine, Bodies, and Personhood in a Koma Mound, Northern Ghana

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

Ritual complexity in a past community revealed by ancient DNA analysis of pre-colonial terracotta items from Northern Ghana

Substances: ‘Following the material’ through two prehistoric cases

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