Manfred K. H. Eggert
S. 79 - 90
doi:
10.1553/medievalworlds_no4_2016s79
Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Abstract:
This paper is devoted to the much debated problem of the expansion of Bantu languages over most of the southern half of Africa. Apart from being a major lingustic phenomenon it is a culture-historical and, more specifically, an archaeological topic as well. The reasoning focuses on three aspects: (1) Bantu languages; (2) rainforest archaeology; and (3) Bantu genetics. While the Bantu language dispersal and sub-Saharan archaeology are in some sense historically linked, Bantu genetics is a kind of ›newcomer‹ to the field. As the title indicates, the impact of molecular anthropology on finding an answer to the Bantu expansion – here epitomized by the term ›geneticizing Bantu‹ – claims some importance in this presentation. It has to be stressed, however, that human genetics is by no means the principal topic here. Rather, the emphasis lies on the interplay between Bantu linguistics, archaeology and Bantu genetics. Consequently, it is the combination of all three which is at stake. As the subtitle puts it: we may well ask whether this trinity leads jointly to historical insight or hides a historical trilemma. The paper tries to enumerate some basic points of each field. Likewise, it aims to assess each field’s strengths and weaknesses in order to arrive at an answer to the subtitle’s question.
historical linguistics; prehistoric archaeology; molecular genetics; sub-Saharan Africa; Central African rainforest; Bantu languages; rainforest archaeology; Bantu genetics; Münchhausen trilemma
Published Online:
2016/12/01 13:38:34
Document Date:
2016/12/01 13:01:00
Object Identifier:
0xc1aa5572 0x00348d17
Rights:All rights reserved.For questions regarding copyright and copies please contact us by email.
MEDIEVAL WORLDS provides a new forum for interdisciplinary and transcultural studies of the Middle Ages. Specifically it encourages and links comparative research between different regions and fields and promotes methodological innovation in transdisciplinary studies. Focusing on the Middle Ages (c. 400-1500 CE, but can be extended whenever thematically fruitful or appropriate), MEDIEVAL WORLDS takes a global approach to studying history in a comparative setting.
MEDIEVAL WORLDS is open to regular submissions on comparative topics, but also offers the possibility to propose or advertise subjects that lend themselves to comparison. With a view to connecting people working on related topics in different academic environments, we publish calls for matching articles and for contributions on particular issues.
Table of Contents
Walter POHL, Editor’s Introduction
Stefanie SAMIDA - Jörg FEUCHTER, Why Archaeologists, Historians and Geneticists Should Work Together – and How
Sebastian BRATHER, New Questions Instead of Old Answers: Archaeological Expectations of a DNA Analysis
Stefan BURMEISTER, Archaeological Research on Migration as a Multidisciplinary Challenge
Patrick GEARY - Krishna VEERAMAH, Mapping European Population Movement through Genomic Research
Manfred K. H. EGGERT, Genetizing Bantu: Historical Insight or Historical Trilemma?
Kerstin P. HOFMANN, With víkingr into the Identity Trap: When Historiographical Actors Get a Life of Their Own
Celine WAWRUSCHKA, Genetic History and Identity: The Case of Turkey
The journal is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
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