ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author reviews some of the intellectual legacies that foreground community approaches in Africa. He considers both archaeology and heritage together as community actions in Africa, because in his research in Northwest Tanzania heritage sites are the focus of collaborative research that often have archaeological components, with their archaeological dimension seen by some people as an integral part of their heritage. Haya elders reframed their claims to a past through heritage tropes of their own making. Decolonization of archaeological practice looms very large in community archaeology and heritage work because it addresses issues of power and control of archaeology — who initiates archaeological research or heritage work, and who controls the dissemination of results. The real milestone in community archaeology in Africa is Merrick Posnansky’s investigations at Begho in Northwest Ghana. Elderly women command an intimate knowledge of social interactions in the community and clear historical reminiscences about their neighbours and kin.
