ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 sets out the key questions this book intends to tackle, notably the absence of, and thus the need for, a comprehensive comparative study of African islands within the general field of island archaeology. It first sets out some preliminary ideas that may help to explain the longstanding neglect of African islands within that sub-discipline and then reviews how archaeologists and historians have previously imagined islands, including whether they can—or should—be considered ‘laboratories’ of cultural change. Next, it shows how the condition of insularity does not necessarily imply isolation, emphasizing the importance of also studying the connections between island communities and between them and mainland regions, while reaffirming the value of island archaeology as a field distinct from a broader archaeology of the sea. Discussing previous archaeological and historical treatments of African islands and their limitations, it concludes by exploring how their study might proceed before ending with a summary of the overall structure of the book.
