Mobility and African archaeology: an introduction

The papers in this special issue of Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa derive from a Society of Africanist Archaeologists-sponsored session at the annual European Archaeological Association conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in September 2015. Chosen as one of seven conference themes, the issue of mobility is one that has long played a prominent role in archaeological understanding. Nevertheless, mobility as an explanatory concept has had a troubled and contested research history, variously invoked uncritically, derided and rejected, as well as being caught up in modern day political discourses of power, subjugation and colonialism. It is, however, an axiomatic truth that humans are mobile, though to what extent, in which capacities and why remains the challenge. In this introduction, we explore the history of mobility-related research in archaeology,......