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Archaeological Human Remains pp 141–153Cite as

Human Remains and Archaeologies of Identity in Senegal

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Abstract

This chapter explores the historical interplay between archaeologies of identity and human remains in Senegal against the backdrop of broader colonial and postcolonial projects. Although the methods of anthropometry and bioarchaeology seem to add a scientific objectivity to interpretations of past racial, ethnic, political, and religious identity, the remains of the dead also evoke subjective visions of the once-living, making them important resources in contests over heritage. The chapter begins by summarizing these tensions between the archaeology of human remains and essential definitions of identity over the past century of research in Senegal. A discussion of six individuals excavated at Gorée Island then considers how human remains can become a forum for authoring more nuanced, if no less contested, histories of identity—a move vital to the de-colonization of archaeological practice in Africa.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the editors, Barra O’Donnabhain and Maria Lozada, for the invitation to write this chapter, and Sara Juengst for critical comments on an earlier draft of the text. We also thank the people of Gorée Island and rural communities across Senegal for sharing with us their thoughts and concerns about the archaeology of human remains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

    Cameron Gokee

  2. IFAN, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

    Ibrahima Thiaw

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  1. Cameron Gokee
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  2. Ibrahima Thiaw
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Correspondence to Cameron Gokee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University College, Cork, Ireland

    Barra O'Donnabhain

  2. Department of Anthropology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Maria Cecilia Lozada

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Gokee, C., Thiaw, I. (2018). Human Remains and Archaeologies of Identity in Senegal. In: O'Donnabhain, B., Lozada, M. (eds) Archaeological Human Remains. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89984-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89984-8_10

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