Pipeline archaeology will re-write history of central Africa

Past Horizons ^ | Tuesday, July 12, 2011 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

In May this year, researchers from around the world gathered in Yaounde the capital of the west African country of Cameroon, for the International Conference on Rescue Archaeology.

At the conference, archaeologists introduced new findings from the book: "Kome-Kribi: Rescue Archaeology Along the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline; 1999-2004". Archaeologists say the results have marked a major breakthrough that will begin a rewrite of the history of Cameroon and the rest of Central Africa.

The fieldwork was carried out as construction took place along the line of the underground petroleum pipeline from Chad to the port of Kribi, Cameroon...

According to Professor Scott MacEachern, a specialist in African archaeology at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (USA), 472 archaeological sites were found along the 1000 kilometre pipeline -- some dating back 100,000 years.

[SunkenCiv]

The full archaeological transect along pipeline. Red marks indicate sites found. Image: Bowdoin College

[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discovery  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
· History topic · history keyword · archaeology keyword · paleontology keyword · · Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword ·

[afraidfortherepublic]

Oh yeah. But those evil oilmen are just out to destroy all vestiges of civilization, doncha know?

[RadiationRomeo]

Thanks Sunken.
I can’t wait for more info on the older civilizations in that part of Africa.

[colorado tanker]

That map shows one heck of a lot of sites.

[SunkenCiv]

It sez the dating of the sites is (ahem) all over the map, from 100K to recent centuries.

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, no one had a gun to the head of civilization to keep its vestiges there.

[SunkenCiv]

Considering how much work has been done digging for primate and hominid fossils, when it comes to ancient African civilization, very little has been done other than in the Nile Valley.

[colorado tanker]

I don't know how much of interest they may find. I'm not aware that any of the great civilizations of West Africa got as far east as Cameroon.