article
The archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review
Journal of world prehistory • 10 (4) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 439-504
By: Insoll, Timothy.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The spread of Islam throughout sub-Sahara Africa from 650-1900 AD is traced by geographical region, the relevant ones for this tradition being the Western Sahel (Mauritania, northern Senegal and Mali, northwestern Niger), Central Sudan (Niger, northern Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic), and West African Sudan and Forest (the remainder of West Africa south of the Sahel). Relevant archaeological evidence includes mosques, inscriptions, funerary monuments, and imported goods. The author explores the impact Islam had on the various areas and state societies, noting how they not only adopted but adapted Islamic culture and religion. The advantages for local West African rulers in dealing with Islamic traders also are discussed.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Cultural participation
- Religious denominations
- Missions
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- West African Regional Development
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2022
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- Not Applicable
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 650-1900 AD
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- sub-Saharan Africa
- NotesAdditional notes
- Timothy Insoll
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 496-504)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 87655790
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- West African Regional Development