Shadreck Chirikure: Great Zimbabwe. Reclaiming a 'confiscated' past

HUMA Book Lunch Series

Author: Shadreck Chirikure (University of Cape Town, South Africa) 

Introduction: Conditioned by local ways of knowing and doing, Great Zimbabwe develops a new interpretation of the famous World Heritage site of Great Zimbabwe. It combines archaeological knowledge, including recent material from the author’s excavations, with native concepts and philosophies. Working from a large data set has made it possible, for the first time, to develop an archaeology of Great Zimbabwe that is informed by finds and observations from the entire site and surrounding landscape. In so doing, the book strongly contributes towards decolonising African and world archaeology. The book contributes to the broader field of African Studies, African History, and World Archaeology by emphasising synergies between local ways of knowing and archaeology. See the book: Great Zimbabwe: Reclaiming a 'confiscated' past. (Routledge, 2020).

About the author: Shadreck Chirikure is a Professor of Archaeology and Director of the Archaeological Materials Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town and British Academy Global Professor, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford.