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Forests of History: Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeological Survey in Southern Ghana

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Abstract

Archaeological research shows that people have inhabited the southern Ghanaian forest zone for millennia. Yet the cultural landscape is poorly known due to enormous logistical challenges that have frustrated survey efforts for the past century. Establishing long-term archaeological and regional perspectives on the settlement landscape and patterns of material culture is necessary to address larger social, political, and economic questions regarding the precolonial and pre-Atlantic history of West Africa. I argue that satellite remote sensing, combined with topographic data and traditional pedestrian survey methods, provides an important tool for surveying the forests of southern Ghana. These methods are used to identify settlement sites on hilltops and low rises in the coastal hinterlands occupied during the first and early second millennia AD. Satellite imagery is a useful tool not only for expediting archaeological survey but also for visualizing human relationships with the densely vegetated landscapes of West Africa.

Résumé

Les recherches archéologiques montrent que les gens ont habité la zone forestière du sud du Ghana pendant des millénaires, mais le paysage culturel est mal connu en raison d'énormes défis logistiques qui ont frustré les efforts de prospection au cours du siècle dernier. L'établissement de perspectives archéologiques à long terme sur la colonisation et les modèles de culture matérielle dans une perspective régionale est nécessaire pour aborder des questions sociales, politiques et économiques plus vastes concernant l'histoire précoloniale et pré-atlantique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Je soutiens que la télédétection par satellite, combinée à des données topographiques et à des méthodes traditionnelles de prospection pédestre, fournit un outil important pour l'étude des forêts du sud du Ghana. Ces méthodes sont utilisées pour identifier les sites de peuplement au sommet des collines et les faibles élévations dans les arrière-pays côtiers occupés au cours du premier et du début du deuxième millénaire ap. J.-C.. L'imagerie satellite est un outil utile non seulement pour accélérer les recherches archéologiques, mais aussi pour visualiser les relations humaines avec les paysages densément végétalisés de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.

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Acknowledgments

The following individuals have my deepest gratitude for their assistance and support: Samuel Amartey, Benjamin Kankpeyeng, Wazi Apoh, Christopher DeCorse, Gérard Chouin, Samuel Spiers, Ed Carr, Kwame Edwin Otu, Matthew Reilly, Jane M. Read, Adria LaViolette, Natalie Swanepoel, Jana Rosinski, Cecelia Murphy, Cameron Gokee, Carla Klehm, Allison Keiser, Deborah McDowell, and the three anonymous reviewers for their time and productive comments. I would also like to thank the following institutions and councils: Ghana Museums and Monuments Board; Shama Traditional Council and leadership of Supomu-Dunkwa, Beposo, Nyame Bekyere, Sekyere Heman, Jarbiw, Atweabanda, Adiembra, Asamase, and Eguafo; the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Ghana; The Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia; The DigitalGlobe Foundation; Maxwell African Scholars Union; Roscoe Martin; the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section; and the U.S. Student Fulbright Program.

Funding

This study was funded by the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, The Maxwell African Scholars Union, and the Roscoe Martin Committee. Satellite Imagery courtesy of the DigitalGlobe Foundation.

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  1. The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Sean H. Reid

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Reid, S.H. Forests of History: Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeological Survey in Southern Ghana. Afr Archaeol Rev 37, 597–614 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-020-09393-8

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