This volume presents the results of Entangled Africa (SPP 2143), a Priority Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) coordinated by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). Between 2018 and 2024, 13 interdisciplinary projects
investigated intra-African interactions north of the equator between 4,000 BCE and 500 CE, a period marked by signifi cant environmental, demographic, and socio-political transformations. The contributions highlight archaeological, linguistic, and environmental perspectives on the movement of people, goods, and ideas, and examine how these dynamics were shaped by and responded to ecological and material conditions. Case studies address topics ranging from ceramic technology and plant domestication to language contact, trade networks, and environmental modeling. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying concrete indicators of interaction and reassessing Africa’s role in broader historical processes.
In bringing together these diverse approaches, the volume demonstrates the value of collaborative and interdisciplinary research, while contributing to a more di erentiated understanding of Africa’s position within ancient global history.
The »TransArea Network Africa« (TANA) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) serves the purpose of better networking the DAIʼs Africa projects with each other and with its African and worldwide partners. Within this framework, the new series »Archäologische Forschungen in Afrika« (AFA) provides the network with a publication organ. The aim of the series is not only to achieve a better visibility of African research, but also to bundle the numerous research results of the individual departments and commissions working on the African continent. Monographs and collective contributions as well as research foci of the respective departments and commissions of the DAI are published in German, English and French. AFA appears in the uniform layout of the Institute, the different colour design of the cover marks the affiliation to the respective department or commission.
