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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Archaeological Survey, Ceramic Analysis, and State Formation in Western Uganda
Author:Robertshaw, PeterISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:African Archaeological Review
Volume:12
Pages:105-131
Language:English
Geographic term:Uganda
Subjects:State
archaeology
Iron Age
pottery
Anthropology and Archaeology
History and Exploration
External link:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01953040
Abstract:Early archaeological research on the Iron Age of Uganda focused upon earthworks, such as Bigo, with the purpose of validating historians' interpretations of oral traditions. Recent research has continued the emphasis upon large sites but with archaeological interpretation given precedence over historical reconstructions. This paper discusses archaeological surveys undertaken in western Uganda in 1991 with the aim of examining Iron Age settlement patterns from a regional perspective, in which the large sites form only one element. Pottery analyses permit the establishment of a tentative chronology, which in combination with data on site sizes facilitates a new perspective on State formation in the Bunyoro-Kitara region. The proposed model of the development of social complexity is compatible with revisionist interpretations of the historical evidence. Together, they suggest that the Nyoro State emerged after several centuries characterized by competing and often unstable small polities or chiefdoms, and reached its maximum extension around the 18th century. Bibliogr., notes, sum. in English and French.
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