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Interpreting standing stones in Africa: a case study in north-west Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2015

Raymond N. Asombang
Raymond N. Asombang*
Affiliation:
Department of Arts and Archaeology, University of Yaoundé, PO Box 6544 Yaoundé, Cameroon (Email: asombang_Raymond@yahoo.fr)
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Abstract

Combining history and ethnography with a survey on the ground, the author shows how the megalithic monuments of Cameroon were the remains of many different kinds of site. Some were house platforms, others places for washing dishes. Others are certainly ceremonial, for family and kin-group meetings. The memory and opinion of current residents adds a fascinating aside to the function of these monuments, probably introduced four centuries ago, and their subsequent rôles in society.

Keywords

AfricaCameroonIron Agemegalithsethnoarchaeology
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 78 , Issue 300 , June 2004 , pp. 294 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2004

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