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Archaeology Field Schools
| Africa - Bénin - Abomey Plateau Archaeological Project |
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Archaeology Field School Location and Dates
Start Date
2010-07-17
End Date
2010-08-21
Archaeology Field School Location
Situated in a ‘wet savanna’ zone approximately 100 kilometers north of coastal Bénin
Archaeology Field School Tuition and Credits
Sponsoring College/Institution
Archaeology Field School Tuition
UC Undergrads: $4,900 UC Grad Students: $5,350 Visiting Students": $5,350
Archaeology Field School Travel
$3,300
Additional Information on Tution/Room and Board/Travel Costs
Meals (estimate): $250 Spending money: $200
Archaeology Field School Description
This course has two goals; 1) to introduce students to field methods in archaeology, and 2) to provide a practical working knowledge of survey, excavation, lab, and field cataloging methods. The broad directives of the course are to enable students to better understand how archaeology is practiced in the field, to introduce students to the history, culture, and archaeology of the Republic of Bénin in West Africa. The course will take place on the Abomey Plateau, 100 kilometers north of Cotonou, major port town and economic capital of Bénin. We will be staying in the bustling city of Abomey, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey. This field school is a collaborative project between the University of California and the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Bénin. The course begins on Sunday, July 18th (arrive in Cotonou by the evening of July 17th) and will meet every weekday until Friday, August 20th. Plan to leave Abomey Saturday the 21st at the earliest. Students will spend the first 3 days in Cotonou and Abomey for lectures, museum instructional tours, and laboratory training. The remainder of the five weeks will be spent in the field in survey and excavation around Cana, a precolonial city 11 kilometers southeast of Abomey. Students will live in a modest field house near Bohicon. There will be optional weekend tours on Sundays, which students may participate in for an additional fee (~$25 per student per trip depending on distance). If students do not wish to participate in tours, they may do what they please on the weekends. Course Requirements: Grading will be based fieldwork participation (40%), one in-field exam (20%), and submission of field documents (40%). Prerequisites: An introductory course in Archaeology or African History is STRONGLY recommended. Familiarity with French is encouraged but not required. Program: • Survey: Students will conduct systematic survey in the hinterlands of Cana. • Excavations: Students will participate in excavations at selected sites. • Recordation: Students will participate in filling out specific excavation forms, map finds, and record stratigraphy. • Cataloging: Students will participate in field sorting and cataloging of finds. • Laboratory: Scheduled lab tasks will include washing, sorting, cataloging of finds, and field form data entry.
Archaeology Field School Additional Information
Archaeology Field School Type
Field Archaeology
What is the daily schedule for the field school
Week 1: Introduction Saturday 7/17 Welcome Dinner and Orientation Sunday 7/18 Morning Optional Field Trip: Ganvie Lake Village Afternoon Lecture: “West African Archaeology” Readings: Posnansky 1986; Mac-Eachern 2004. Monday Morning Lecture: “Atlantic West Africa” Readings: DeCorse 1998; Kelly 1997 Afternoon Required Field Trip: Whydah and Savi Afternoon: Transfer to Bohicon Tuesday Morning Lecture: “The Abomey Plateau Archaeological Project” Readings: Field Manual Part I, Monroe 2007 Afternoon Lecture: “Archaeological Field Methods” Readings: Field Manual Part II Wednesday Morning: Begin Fieldwork at Cana Afternoon Lecture: “Laboratory Analysis 101” Readings: Field Manual Part III Thursday - Friday Fieldwork at Cana Afternoon: Artifact Drawings (2) Saturday Morning Required Field Trip: Abomey Palaces and Marketplace Sunday Free (Possible Tour to Cana) Weeks 2-5: Fieldwork Survey and excavations around Cana on the Abomey Plateau. We will have occasional guest seminars by distinguished guests in the field There will be a FIELD EXAM WEEK 4 Optional Sunday Tours Friday 8/20: Last Day of Field Work Saturday 8/21: Return to Cotonou/continued travel on your own
Number of years this Archaeology Field School has been in operation
2
Directors and Instructors
Dr. J. Cameron Monroe
Will there be additional organized activities?
Planned Field Trips: • Portuguese Fort and Museum at Whydah: The Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá (in English St. John the Baptist of Ouidah Fort) is a small fortress built by the Portuguese in the city of Ouidah on the coast of Dahomey (originally Ajudá, from Hweda, on the Atlantic coast of modern Benin), reached by the Portuguese in 1580, after which it grew around the slave trade, for which the Slave Coast was already renowned. The Fort, built in land given to Portugal by the King of Dahomey, remained under Portuguese control from 1721 until 1961. • Savi: The capital of the Kingdom of Whydah prior to its capture by the forces of Dahomey in 1727. Prior to the conquest of the city it had a circumference of about four miles. There were British East India Company, Dutch West India Company, French East India Company and a Portuguese trading compound in the city, adjacent to the Royal Palace. Overall the city was very populous and filled with throngs of people. • Abomey Historical Museum: The Abomey Historical Museum was created by the French colonial administration in 1943. With a surface of about 5 acres, it is situated on the palatial site and comprises the palaces of King Guézo and King Glèlè. The entire palatial site extends over approximately 108 acres and has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1985. It is a culmination of history, living culture and tourism. Optional Sunday Field Trips: Sunday field trips will be arranged to some or all of the following sites. We will try to arrange packed lunches, at extra cost, but if this isn't possible be prepared to shell out for a restaurant or cafeteria meal. • Agonguinto: An archaeological park in Bohicon. The space of the museum is an archaeological site full of underground shelters the construction of which demonstrates the ingenuity of the peoples that lived in this locality in the pre-colonial era. • Dantokpa Market: The Dantokpa Market is a market in Cotonou, Benin. It is one of the most important retailing areas in Benin, covering over 20 hectares. It is also economically important for the country, with a reported commercial turnover of over a billion CFA Francs a day. • Dassa Region: Dassa is a city in Benin, on the Cotonou to Parakou railway and the main north-south highway. The city is known as a place of pilgrimage, the Virgin Mary said to have appeared in La Grotte Marial Notre Dame d'Arigbo, around which a basilica has since been built, containing several shrines. • Ganvié: A lake village in Benin, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. With a population of around 20,000 people, it is probably the largest lake village in Africa and as such is very popular with tourists. The village was established in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people, established on the lake because the Dan-Homey's religion forbade the Fon warriors from entering water, therefore the lagoon was a safe territory for other tribes. The village's main industries other than tourism are now fishing and fish farming. • Porto Novo: Also known as Hogbonou and Adjacé (population 223,552 as of a 2002 census). P.N, is the official capital of the West African nation of Benin. It is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion of the country. Porto-Novo is Benin's second largest city, but the city of Cotonou is more important, culturally and politically. The region around Porto-Novo produces palm oil, cotton and kapok. Petroleum was discovered off the coast of the city in the 1990s, and has become an important export.
Archaeology Field School Contact Information and Website
Field School Website:
http://www.archaeology.ucla.edu/programs/africa/benin-abomey-plateau-archaeological-field-school
Field School Contact Information
Be sure to let them know you heard about their program on ShovelBums!
Dr. J. Cameron Monroe
Field School Contact E-mail:
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2010 Archaeology Field Schools 
