A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
African urban landscapes over time: Idiosyncrasies, expressions and contexts
As new urban histories emerge from marginal regions, archetypal city models became increasingly untenable to capture the sheer variety of past urban expressions. A shift of focus from origin and (re-) evolution to forms, dynamics and properties is now challenging archaeological approaches to urbanism. Africa offers ample expressions of the intrinsic diversity of ancient urban phenomena with ‘unconventional’ urban forms found alongside model-like cities. Yet, past urban footprints are hard to trace on African ground due to visibility and recovery constraints: even prolonged urban sequences are often condensed into shallow stratigraphies. The risks of missing key information or simplifying urban trajectories are thus particularly acute. To illustrate the point, this paper develops a contextual and integrative approach to examine two very different urban landscapes (1st mill. AD). First, Aksum in the Ethiopian highlands represents a ‘conventional’ urban expression (built environment, literacy, state-formation) unfolding within a rise-and-demise narrative. However, integrated analysis of environmental, archaeological and historical records now redefine a long-lived, textured urban landscape trajectory. Second, coastal settlement in East Africa first appears as almost physically intangible but remarkably rich in goods and connectivity – whereby coastal towns emerged as an outgrowth of trade. However, tangible footprints are now emerging from the first contextual analyses of domestic deposits and landscape sequences. Rather than new narratives, what emerges from these examples is the potential of developing contextual approaches, integrating different methods and working at multiple scales, to move from a conservative, idiosyncratic model to refined, dynamic, and culturally relevant understandings of past urban expressions.
African urban landscapes over time: Idiosyncrasies, expressions and contexts
As new urban histories emerge from marginal regions, archetypal city models became increasingly untenable to capture the sheer variety of past urban expressions. A shift of focus from origin and (re-) evolution to forms, dynamics and properties is now challenging archaeological approaches to urbanism. Africa offers ample expressions of the intrinsic diversity of ancient urban phenomena with ‘unconventional’ urban forms found alongside model-like cities. Yet, past urban footprints are hard to trace on African ground due to visibility and recovery constraints: even prolonged urban sequences are often condensed into shallow stratigraphies. The risks of missing key information or simplifying urban trajectories are thus particularly acute. To illustrate the point, this paper develops a contextual and integrative approach to examine two very different urban landscapes (1st mill. AD). First, Aksum in the Ethiopian highlands represents a ‘conventional’ urban expression (built environment, literacy, state-formation) unfolding within a rise-and-demise narrative. However, integrated analysis of environmental, archaeological and historical records now redefine a long-lived, textured urban landscape trajectory. Second, coastal settlement in East Africa first appears as almost physically intangible but remarkably rich in goods and connectivity – whereby coastal towns emerged as an outgrowth of trade. However, tangible footprints are now emerging from the first contextual analyses of domestic deposits and landscape sequences. Rather than new narratives, what emerges from these examples is the potential of developing contextual approaches, integrating different methods and working at multiple scales, to move from a conservative, idiosyncratic model to refined, dynamic, and culturally relevant understandings of past urban expressions.
African urban landscapes over time: Idiosyncrasies, expressions and contexts
Sulas, Federica (author) / Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (author)
2017-11-01
Sulas , F & Wynne-Jones , S 2017 , ' African urban landscapes over time: Idiosyncrasies, expressions and contexts ' , High-Definition Narratives , Aarhus , Denmark , 15/11/2017 - 17/11/2017 pp. 13 . < http://www.e-pages.dk/aarhusuniversitet/1793/ >
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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