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Developing a new theoretical model for West African maritime archaeology
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Developing a new theoretical model for West African maritime archaeology

Megan C Crutcher, Madicke Gueye and Akshay Sarathi
Critical African studies, Vol.17(3), pp.315-333
09/02/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2025.2470638
Web of Science ID: WOS:001490715700001

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Abstract

maritime archaeology West Africa underwater archaeology Africana critical theory archaeological theory nautical archaeology arch & eacute;ologie maritime Afrique occidentale arch & eacute;ologie sous-marine th & eacute;orie critique Africana th & eacute;orie arch & eacute;ologique arch & eacute;ologie nautique Africa, Western Maritime History
Maritime archaeology in West Africa, including the study of Indigenous maritime traditions, has immense potential to contribute to global discourses on histories of fishing and whaling, ports and harbours, trade and commerce, ecology and environment, identity and ethnicity, colonialism and empire, and the transatlantic slave trade, subjects common to the study of maritime archaeology across the world. This article applies Africana critical theory to the discipline of maritime archaeology, suggesting that the problems of representation and diverse storytelling in maritime archaeology can only be solved by expanding existing paradigms and developing new theories. Changing the theoretical paradigm in West African maritime archaeology also allows for a stronger dialogue with movements toward Black liberation in historical archaeology. Drawing on perspectives from (Africana) critical theory, ecophilosophy, Indigenous studies, and queer theory, this article experiments with the development of a new theoretical paradigm for the historical approach of maritime archaeology in West Africa through two case studies.

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