TANA meets University of Accra in Ghana [Attribution: Steven Matthews; Copyright: DAI]
Entangled Africa researchers travel to Ghana with TANA
From February 22 to 24, 2022, the members of the DAI network TANA (TransArea Network Africa) traveled to Ghana for the 8th annual meeting. Among the participants were also some researchers of the SPP Entangled Africa. Their research on food habits and ceramics, settlement networks at the tributaries of the Nile, landscape use and environmental change in Africa enriches both networks and connects institutions in Germany and Africa.
This year, the focus of the academic exchange – in addition to reports on projects in e.g. Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan or Eswatini – was on international progress in the field of archaeology concerning the colonial period. Prof. Wazi Apoh and his team from the Department of Archaoelogy and Heritage Studies at the University of Accra have been devoting themselves to this special area of archaeological research for several years. The DAI is particularly concerned with the German colonial history of the African continent as part of its own reappraisal of the past. The most recent project to be included in TANA is the work of Dr. Cornelia Kleinitz, who is currently researching at the KAAK in Bonn. Besides lectures and discussions with the colleagues from Ghana, the TANA and SPP scientists had the opportunity to visit some archaeological sites of the former colony “Togoland” of the German Empire during this trip and to get an insight into current research work on site.
After the long restrictions of the pandemic, the trip to Ghana finally allowed for direct contact with the researchers on site. Thus, beyond the scientific exchange, there was also the opportunity to present the planned exhibition “Planet Africa“, to complete important preliminary discussions for its set-up at various stations in Africa and to deepen the cooperation connecting the continents
