ABSTRACT
A discussion of the challenges of the preservation of archaeological heritage in West Africa cannot be divorced from the origins of archaeology in the region. The western African region was under the control of two principal colonial authorities, the British and the French, and these had divergent philosophies for administering their territories. The different philosophies explain why archaeological research was centralized in the Francophone regions and decentralized in the Anglophone regions. One of the problems associated with the preservation of archaeological heritage in West Africa seems to be the absence, inadequacy or ineffectiveness of implementation of legal instruments. Scholars from West Africa tell the same story of the absence of adequate laws that protect archaeological sites from looting or outright destruction. This chapter evaluates the impact of international conventions and cooperation whose objectives are focused on preservation and conservation of heritage properties as they relate to West Africa.
