In Africa, colonialism has mostly been studied as something imposed from outside, for example from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Scholars looked at the topic from an angle that’s so far been neglected – the archaeology and history of colonialism from within Africa. European colonialism even shaped the way most of us perceive the world via the instruments used to map time and space. Parts of Africa which had previously been under Islamic rule, in turn, experienced European colonialism differently. Archaeology offers a useful way to study colonialism because it leaves material and intangible indicators which the discipline has methods to interpret.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 04, 2026 15:44 UTC