Presenter: Auschere Caufield
Mentors: Stephen Dueppen and Daphne Gallagher, Anthropology
Poster: 9
Major: Anthropology
The purpose of this research is to understand the economic and cultural processes that created the unique assemblage of animal remains at the archaeological site of Diouboye in the Upper Senegal region of West Africa. Diouboye is a late Iron Age site occupied from AD 1000 to 1300. The faunal record from this site shows a focus on wild resources from the riverine environment. Overall, Diouboye produced a large faunal assemblage with particularly high frequencies of medium bovids and reptiles. In addition, pottery decoration indicates the inhabitants were closely related to the Mande society to the south. Long distance trade was a major part of the economy of the Mande state. This included trade in secondary animal products such as leathers and skins. Oral histories and ethnographies also document the spiritual importance hunting held in Mande society. Through an analysis of taxa distribution, element representation, burning, and cut marks conclusions were drawn from the archaeological record. It appears as though the inhabitants of ancient Diouboye were actively involved in trading secondary animal products with the large trading empires of the region. This research adds an entirely new dimension to the role that small, decentralized villages, such as Diouboye, may have had in the dynamic economic system of Medieval West Africa.