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Bananas and the archaeology of Buganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Andrew Reid*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, England. a.reid@ucl.ac.uk

Extract

The Buganda state, which flourished on the northern shores of Lake Victoria from the 17th to the 19th centuries AD, is widely regarded as one of the most significant socio-political developments of the African continent, most notably having featured prominently in Frazer’s The Golden Bough. In bananas, Buganda had a unique subsistence base, and its later history suggests an unusual urban trend of large capitals occupied over short periods of time. Given these prominent characteristics it is incredible, therefore, that there has been no concerted archaeological research programme in Buganda.

Type
Special section
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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References

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