Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond: (Trans-Saharan Archaeology)

Saharan trade has been much debated in modern times, but the main focus of interest remains the medieval and early modern periods, for which more abundant written sources survive. The pre-Islamic origins of Trans-Saharan trade have been hotly contested over the years, mainly due to a lack of evidence. Many of the key commodities of trade are largely invisible archaeologically, being either of high value like gold and ivory, or organic like slaves and textiles or consumable commodities like salt. However, new research on the Libyan people known as the Garamantes and on their trading partners in the Sudan and Mediterranean Africa requires us to revise our views substantially. In this volume experts re-assess the evidence for a range of goods, including beads, textiles, metalwork and glass, and use it to paint a much more dynamic picture, demonstrating that the pre-Islamic Sahara was a more connected region than previously thought.

Table of Contents:
Preface D. J. Mattingly; 1. The Garamantes and the origins of Saharan trade: state of the field and future agendas D. J. Mattingly; Part I. Connectivity and Networks: 2. The invisible pastoralists: camel-herding, raiding, and Saharan trade and settlement Judith Scheele; 3. What made Islamic trade distinctive, as compared to pre-Islamic trade? Anne Haour; 4. The Trans-Saharan trade connection with Gao during the first millennium AD Mamadou Cissé; 5. Ships of the desert, camels of the ocean: Indian ocean perspectives on Trans-Saharan trade Mark Horton, Alison Crowther and Nicole Boivin; 6. The economies and cultures of the Trans-Saharan gold trade from pre-Islamic times to the modern era Sam Nixon; 7. Saharan exports to the Roman world Andrew Wilson; Part II. Trade in Organic Materials: 8. Early Saharan trade: the organic evidence D. J. Mattingly and Franca Cole; 9. Textiles and textile trade in the first millennium AD: evidence from Egypt Lise Bender Jørgensen; 10. Circulation and trade of textiles at the southern borders of Roman Africa Stéphanie Guédon; Part III. Trade in Inorganic Materials: 11. Early Saharan trade: the inorganic evidence V. Leitch, C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly, M. Sterry and F. Cole; 12. Can we speak of pottery and amphora 'import substitution' in inland regions of Roman Africa? Michael Bonifay; 13. Pottery and trade in North Africa and the Sub-Sahara Anna Leone; 14. Track and trace: archaeometric approaches to the study of early Trans-Sahara trade Sonja Magnavita; 15. Glass beads in Trans-Saharan trade Laure Dussubieux; 16. Concluding discussion D. J. Mattingly, V. Leitch, C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod and M. Sterry.

About the Author :
D. J. Mattingly is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Leicester. He has published widely on the archaeology of North Africa and the Sahara. V. Leitch is Publications Manager at the Society for Libyan Studies and has worked on excavations in Italy, Sicily, Tunisia and Libya. C. N. Duckworth is a Lecturer in Archaeological Materials Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. She specialises in ancient pyrotechnology, particularly glass manufacture and recycling. A. Cuénod is an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Leicester. Her research has centred on metal production and trade in the pre-Islamic Sahara. M. Sterry is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Leicester, specialising in GIS analysis, remote sensing and landscape archaeology, particularly in the study of Saharan oases. F. Cole is an archaeologist, conservator and material culture expert. She has worked extensively in museums and excavations across north Africa, the Levant, Arabia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Review :
'This groundbreaking work bridges the scholarship of North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa through a focus on ancient trade networks within the Sahara. … Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond is an innovative anthology in which all scholars of Northern, Saharan, and Sub-Saharan Africa can find material that will inform their future research and their appreciation of the interrelations between these regions.' Matthew Thomas Finnie, Bryn Mawr Classical Review