Timothy Insoll
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 97727 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Timothy Insoll |
| PRENOMES | Timothy |
| SOBRENOME | Insoll |
| ASSINATURA | INSOLL T |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Manchester |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3072-3088 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 111 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 384 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 99 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 13 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1993 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 12 |
Petrographic insights into Indian Ocean earthenwares
The Illicit Bead Trade in Gao, The Republic of Mali
The Illicit Bead Trade In Gao, The Republic Of Mali, By Timothy Insoll (1994, 24:6-10)
Archaeobotany, Plant Economy, Palaeoenvironment and Religious Identity in Medieval Eastern Ethiopia. The Results of Analysis from Harlaa, Dire Dawa Region
Les recherches archéobotaniques sur les sites médiévaux de l’est de l’Éthiopie étaient inexistantes jusqu’en 2015. Auparavant, l’orientation géographique de la recherche archéobotanique en Éthiopie avait généralement favorisé le nord et le nord-est du pays plutôt que l’est et les contextes préhistoriques ou aksumites plutôt que médiévaux. Les résultats de la recherche archéobotanique achevée au centre commercial de Harlaa (du VIe au XVe siècle) d…
Guest Editor’s Preface
The topic of the archaeology of Islamization in Africa
“Becoming Muslim”
Archaeology is in a unique position to offer a material culture based perspective on Islamization and conversion to Islam, particularly in regions where historical sources might be limited or absent. This is explored with reference to two archaeological areas, Gao in Mali, and Harlaa in Ethiopia to assess if similar material markers can recur archaeologically through evaluating mosques, Muslim burials and Arabic epigraphy, settlement structure an…
Archaeological Perspectives on Contacts between Cairo and Eastern Ethiopia in the 12th to 15th Centuries
A sustained relationship between Cairo, Egypt more broadly, and eastern Ethiopia appears to have existed, particularly in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. In the general absence of historical sources, it is archaeology that provides primary insight into how and why this relationship was maintained, particularly over the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. This is considered through archaeological data from the trading entrepot of Harlaa with particul…
Dariali
Dariali: The “Caspian Gates” in the Caucasus from Antiquity to the Age of the Huns and the Middle Ages, The Joint Georgian-British Dariali Gorge Excavations and Surveys, 2013–2016, edited by E. W. Sauer. 2 volumes. British Institute of Persian Studies Archaeological Monograph Series, volume 6. Oxbow Books, 2020. 1088pp., 700 black and white and colour images. Hb. 75.00. ISBN-13: 9781789251920
Excavations at Samahij, Bahrain, and the implications for Christianity, Islamisation and settlement in Bahrain
The episcopal seat of Meshmahig or Mašmahig is referred to in various historical sources, such as the synods of the Church of the East of 410 and 576. These sources have been extensively explored, and it is suggested that Mašmahig can be linked to the village of Samahij in north‐east Muharraq Island, Bahrain. However, archaeological evidence for a Christian presence in Samahij, or elsewhere in Bahrain, was lacking. Excavations completed within th…
Local Ceramics from the Islamic Trade Center of Harlaa, Eastern Ethiopia
Locally made ceramics from Islamic sites in Ethiopia have been neglected in most archaeological studies, which tend to privilege imported Middle Eastern and Chinese/Southeast Asian ceramics. An assemblage of the local ceramics from the important trading site of Harlaa, in eastern Ethiopia (mid-sixth and fifteenth centuries AD), is the subject of this article. The study emphasizes the value of these ceramics as chronological markers, and for under…
Marine Shell Working at Harlaa, Ethiopia, and the Implications for Red Sea Trade
Twelve species of marine shell were transported in significant quantities from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries AD . Initially, it was thought that species such as the cowries were imported from the Indian Ocean. Subsequent research has found that all were available from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, c. 120 km east of Harlaa. This suggests that a hitherto largely …
Material cosmopolitanism
The investigation of Islamic archaeology in Ethiopia has until recently been neglected. Excavations at Harlaa, a large urban centre in eastern Ethiopia, are now beginning to redress this lack of research attention. By establishing occupation and material sequences, and by assessing the chronology and material markers of Islamisation, recent work provides important new insight on the presence and role of Muslims and Islamic practice at Harlaa, and…
The archaeology of complexity and cosmopolitanism in medieval Ethiopia
Archaeology increasingly attests the complex and cosmopolitan nature of societies in medieval Ethiopia (c. seventh to early eighteenth centuries AD). Without negating the existence of relations of dominance and periods of isolation, key emergent themes of such research are pluralism and interaction. Four religious traditions are relevant to this theme: Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Indigenous religions. This article introduces a special sectio…
West Africa
West Africa is a vast and environmentally diverse region. Its diversity is reflected in its archaeological record, including the Islamic and trans-Saharan trade-associated components. This chapter reviews relevant archaeological research across West Africa through adopting a primarily chronological approach. The indigenous origins of the great medieval empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai are highlighted and their participation in long-distance tr…
Early Islamic North Africa
This volume proposes a new approach to the Arab conquests and the spread of Islam in North Africa. In recent years, those studying the Islamic world have shown that the coming of Islam was not marked by devastation or decline, but rather by considerable cultural and economic continuity. In North Africa, with continuity came significant change. Corisande Fenwick argues that the establishment of Muslim rule also coincided with a phase of intense ur…
Laser ablation strontium isotope analysis of human remains from Harlaa and Sofi, eastern Ethiopia, and the implications for Islamisation and mobility
The ancient city of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia was occupied between the mid-6th and early 15th centuries AD and played a significant role as a trading centre with links internationally. Besides goods, these trade links also served in spreading cultural and religious ideas between continents, including Islamic traditions which became prevalent in Ethiopia during this time. Here, we present the first strontium isotope analysis of human remains from…
Sada Mire
Animal Economies and Islamic Conversion in Eastern Ethiopia
Excavations at three urban sites, Harlaa, Harar, and Ganda Harla, in eastern Ethiopia have recovered substantial assemblages of faunal remains. These, the first to be analysed from Islamic contexts in the country, were studied to reconstruct animal economies, and to assess if it was possible to identify Islamic conversion or the presence of Muslims in archaeological contexts through examining butchery practices and diet via the species present. D…
Glass Beads from Medieval Gao (Mali)
Excavations at several archaeological sites in and around Gao have resulted in the recovery of thousands of glass beads presumed to have been acquired from glass bead-producing centers through trade. The bead assemblages cover the period from the eighth to the fourteenth century CE . Here we report on the results of compositional analysis by LA-ICP-MS of 100 beads, permitting comparison with the growing corpus of chemical analyses for glass from …
The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology
Born from the fields of Islamic art and architectural history, the archaeological study of the Islamic societies is a relatively young discipline. With its roots in the colonial periods of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its rapid development since the 1980s warrants a reevaluation of where the field stands today. This Handbook represents for the first time a survey of Islamic archaeology on a global scale, describing its disciplinary dev…
The Mosques of Harar
The mosques of Harar have been the focus of some architectural and historical study but not archaeological investigation. This was redressed through excavation of six mosques in the city, the results of which are presented. These were identified from existing historical research as significant in the Islamization of Harar. Consensus on either the date or processes of Islamization does not exist. The partial history of the mosques investigated—Aw …
Monitoring Islamic Archaeological Landscapes in Ethiopia Using Open Source Satellite Imagery
The African landscape is set to change dramatically in the coming years, and will have a detrimental impact on the inherent archaeological and cultural heritage elements if not monitored adequately. This paper explores how satellite imagery, in particular open source imagery (Google Earth, multispectral satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2), can be utilized to monitor and protect sites that are already known with particular reference to …
Opening Doors
The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture or Ithra in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia is now 12 months old. Although not explicitly concerned with religion, it contains relevant material, and is
The Archaeology of Shrines among the Tallensi of Northern Ghana
The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines
Figurines dating from prehistory have been found across the world but have never before been considered globally. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines is the first book to offer a comparative survey of this kind, bringing together approaches from across the landscape of contemporary research into a definitive resource in the field
West Africa
Figurines are widely found in archaeological contexts in West Africa. Mostly of clay, more rarely in stone or wood, they served varied purposes. This chapter explores archaeological figurines from across West Africa, focusing upon the main regional concentrations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, before considering broader interpretive themes. These figurines were ascribed different m…
The Archaeology of Identities
Configuring identities in archaeology / Timothy Insoll -- Archaeologies of identity / Lynn Meskell -- Discourses of identity in the interpretation of the past / S. Jones -- The politics of identity in archaeology / Michael Rowlands -- Girling the girl and boying the boy : the production of adulthood in ancient Mesoamerica / Rosemary A. Joyce -- Engendering children, engendering archaeology / Joanna Sofaer -- The constitution of archaeological evi…
Gao and Igbo-Ukwu
A cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, Mali; and a hypothesis of its use
The hippopotamus is a large beast with large teeth-large enough for hippopotamus ivory, then and now, to be a useful alternative to elephant ivory (there are both kinds in the Aegean Bronze Age, as well as the little tusks of wild boar). A newly found cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, medieval city of the south Saharan edge, opens a wider place for the material in contact across the great north African desert
Talensi animal sacrifice and its archaeological implications
The sacrifice of animals in various types of shrines is a major component of Talensi ritual practice and religious belief. The scale of sacrifice would suggest significant faunal remains might be expected archaeologically. In reality they are infrequent in comparison to other categories of material and almost wholly absent from shrine contexts. The potential reasoning behind this absence is explored in relation to the mechanics of sacrifice and t…
Shrine Franchising and the Neolithic in the British Isles
Ethnography of the Tallensi shows how rights of access to shrines could be granted to people in other places and how beneficiaries may take with them samples of stone used at the mother shrine. Reasons for taking the samples are considered. It is suggested that Tallensi practice offers an analogy for selection and transfer of stone in the Neolithic of Britain and Ireland
The social context of food technology in Iron Age Gao, Mali
Songhai communities living in Gao (Mali) today have a distinctive cuisine, in which pounding and boiling/steaming technologies are dominant. Other characteristics include the use of ceramic stoves and kitchen mobility. Archaeological excavation at Gao, together with historical evidence, suggest that certain of these characteristics can be projected back a thousand years to the Iron Age. In turn, these technologies have social implications, partic…
Iron Age Gao
T HE recent debate about Iron Age Gao between John Hunwick and Dierk Lange within the pages of The Journal of African History has prompted the writing of this paper. Hunwick lamented the lack of archaeological research in the region, and hoped that the historical hypotheses which had been proposed would, one day, either be supported or refuted by archaeological work in conjunction with linguistic analysis. The limits of interpretation of the hist…
Towards an understanding of the carnelian bead trade from Western India to sub-Saharan Africa
Materializing performance and ritual
Within much archaeological interpretation and conceptualization in relation to ritual and religion the static is often given prominence. This is potentially due to the fact that static material residues are being considered and, in turn, this static image is transferred onto the ritual practices, beliefs, and communities that generated the archaeological material. Instead some of the material encountered archaeologically might be structured by mu…
Glass Beads from Medieval Gao (Mali)
Excavations at several archaeological sites in and around Gao have resulted in the recovery of thousands of glass beads presumed to have been acquired from glass bead-producing centers through trade. The bead assemblages cover the period from the eighth to the fourteenth century CE . Here we report on the results of compositional analysis by LA-ICP-MS of 100 beads, permitting comparison with the growing corpus of chemical analyses for glass from …
Insights into Past Ritual Practice at Yikpabongo, Northern Region, Ghana
Archaeology, luxury and the exotic
Luxury would appear to be both difficult to define and difficult to identify archaeologically. Evidence from two different Islamic communities in Gao (Mali) and Bilad al-Qadim (Bahrain) indicates that the recognition of the exotic rather than the luxurious is easier to achieve. The notion of luxury within these communities is reflected in culinary skill and preparation, and in communal dining, rather than in the categories of evidence which the a…
Materiality, belief, ritual-archaeology and material religion
Recently, research focused on the archaeology of ritual and religions has developed significantly. Yet the extent to which these studies engage with the materiality of ritual and religions and what this might tell us about their definition and reconstruction in past contexts is variable. This special issue of Material Religion seeks to begin to redress this, and the papers are introduced here
Natural’ or ‘Human’ Spaces? Tallensi Sacred Groves and Shrines and their Potential Implications for Aspects of Northern European Prehistory and Phenomenological Interpretation
Within archaeology features such as sacred groves are often conceived of as ‘natural’ places. Conversely, built or constructed places such as temples or most shrines are frequently regarded as ‘human’ spaces. These categories can be blurred and this is explored with reference to ethnobotanical and archaeological data from the Tongo Hills, the epicentre of Tallensi settlement in Northern Ghana. The potential resonance of this material for aspects …
Archaeological research in Timbuktu, Mali
Urban archaeological survey in Africa is rarely undertaken, and relatively little is known about many important cities and their development. Here Tim Insoll describes the results of a preliminary season at Timbuktu
Marine Shell Working at Harlaa, Ethiopia, and the Implications for Red Sea Trade
Twelve species of marine shell were transported in significant quantities from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries AD . Initially, it was thought that species such as the cowries were imported from the Indian Ocean. Subsequent research has found that all were available from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, c. 120 km east of Harlaa. This suggests that a hitherto largely …
The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines
Figurines dating from prehistory have been found across the world but have never before been considered globally. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines is the first book to offer a comparative survey of this kind, bringing together approaches from across the landscape of contemporary research into a definitive resource in the field
Substance and materiality? The archaeology of Talensi medicine shrines and medicinal practices
Talensi materia medica is varied, encompassing plant, mineral, and animal substances. Healing, medicines, and medicinal practices and knowledge can be shrine-based and linked with ritual practices. This is explored utilising ethnographic data and from an archaeological perspective with reference to future possibilities for research both on Talensi medicine and, by implication, more generally through considering the archaeology of Talensi medicine…
Material cosmopolitanism
The investigation of Islamic archaeology in Ethiopia has until recently been neglected. Excavations at Harlaa, a large urban centre in eastern Ethiopia, are now beginning to redress this lack of research attention. By establishing occupation and material sequences, and by assessing the chronology and material markers of Islamisation, recent work provides important new insight on the presence and role of Muslims and Islamic practice at Harlaa, and…
Monitoring Islamic Archaeological Landscapes in Ethiopia Using Open Source Satellite Imagery
The African landscape is set to change dramatically in the coming years, and will have a detrimental impact on the inherent archaeological and cultural heritage elements if not monitored adequately. This paper explores how satellite imagery, in particular open source imagery (Google Earth, multispectral satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2), can be utilized to monitor and protect sites that are already known with particular reference to …
Introduction
This article discusses the generally positive situation that exists in relation to archaeological approaches to ritual and religions. A 'turn' is also evident whereby serious consideration is being given to the materiality of ritual and religions, and what this might tell us about defining religion and religions, and reconstructing rituals and potentially (albeit often elusively) beliefs. This is vital for, often, archaeological consideration of …
The archaeology of complexity and cosmopolitanism in medieval Ethiopia
Archaeology increasingly attests the complex and cosmopolitan nature of societies in medieval Ethiopia (c. seventh to early eighteenth centuries AD). Without negating the existence of relations of dominance and periods of isolation, key emergent themes of such research are pluralism and interaction. Four religious traditions are relevant to this theme: Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Indigenous religions. This article introduces a special sectio…
Meyer Fortes and material culture
Material culture is almost entirely absent in Fortes's writing on the Tallensi, presumably a correlate of his structural functionalist position. In contrast, his unpublished notebooks compensate for this apparent gap and have been of significant use for interpreting aspects of past material culture use and materiality in the archaeological record of the Tongo Hills of northern Ghana. This point is discussed with reference to Fortes's descriptions…
Negotiating the archaeology of destiny
The concept of `destiny' is perhaps irrelevant to much of modern thinking in Western Europe and North America and hence fails to enter archaeological vocabulary. This is potentially an omission of consequence, for social psychology indicates that the belief that life is beyond the control of human agency can be a powerful one. Drawing upon ethnographic and archaeological data from the Tallensi of Northern Ghana, the potential resonance of `destin…
The origins of Timbuktu
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
A note on a sewn canoe in use at Gao, the Republic of Mali
A note on a sewn canoe in use at Gao, the Republic of Mali
Les Songhai de Gao (Mali) continuent de fabriquer des pirogues a l'aide de planches de bois reliees par une corde. Ils s'en servent pour la peche, et le transport des hommes et des biens. La meme pratique fut mentionnee par H. Barth et M. Park dans la region du Niger
Looting the antiquities of Mali
A further report on what is being snatched away of the antiquities of Mali. The usual story the world over is of export to cash-rich western collectors, and this is something different, the archaeological site as quarry of recycled materials that are treated by another scale of values
A cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, Mali; and a hypothesis of its use
The hippopotamus is a large beast with large teeth-large enough for hippopotamus ivory, then and now, to be a useful alternative to elephant ivory (there are both kinds in the Aegean Bronze Age, as well as the little tusks of wild boar). A newly found cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, medieval city of the south Saharan edge, opens a wider place for the material in contact across the great north African desert
Islam, Archaeology and History
Gao in Mali is situated near the northern bend of the Niger river in the western Sahel; it was of prime importance in the spread of Islam and trans-Saharan contacts and trade. This volume reviews the results of archaeological survey and excavation in the region, including the author's own fieldwork; the spread of Islam is considered from the archaeological evidence and for its effect on the political and social structures of the region
The archaeology of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa
Mosque Architecture in Buganda, Uganda
Mosque Architecture in Buganda, Uganda
Writing this short paper was prompted, first, by the alarming pace at which the destruction of earlier mosques is proceeding in Buganda, as they are replaced by new mosques built out of concrete in what is best termed the Oriental style; and, second, by the general absence of published material on the Islamic religious architecture of Uganda or, indeed, of East-Central Africa as a whole.' The kingdom of Buganda lies within the present-day Republi…
Mark Horton. Shanga
MARK HORTON. Shanga: the archaeology of a Muslim trading community on the coast of East Africa. xvi+458 pages, 131 plates, 307 figures, 30 tables. 1996. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa; 1-872566-09-X hardback £75. - Volume 71 Issue 273
Gao and Igbo-Ukwu
Iron Age Gao
T HE recent debate about Iron Age Gao between John Hunwick and Dierk Lange within the pages of The Journal of African History has prompted the writing of this paper. Hunwick lamented the lack of archaeological research in the region, and hoped that the historical hypotheses which had been proposed would, one day, either be supported or refuted by archaeological work in conjunction with linguistic analysis. The limits of interpretation of the hist…
Ngandu and Ngambezi
Archaeological research in Timbuktu, Mali
Urban archaeological survey in Africa is rarely undertaken, and relatively little is known about many important cities and their development. Here Tim Insoll describes the results of a preliminary season at Timbuktu
The social context of food technology in Iron Age Gao, Mali
Songhai communities living in Gao (Mali) today have a distinctive cuisine, in which pounding and boiling/steaming technologies are dominant. Other characteristics include the use of ceramic stoves and kitchen mobility. Archaeological excavation at Gao, together with historical evidence, suggest that certain of these characteristics can be projected back a thousand years to the Iron Age. In turn, these technologies have social implications, partic…
The Archaeology of Islam
Urbanism, Archaeology and Trade
An unadulterated report on the results of excavations and surveys in the area around Gao, Mali in western Africa. This volume should be studied alongside the report on earlier work at the site ( Islam, Archaeology and History: The Gao Region of Mali BAR S647, 1996), and focuses on the environmental and artefactual remains: botanical evidence, fauna, molluscs, fish bones; beads, lithics, spindle whorls, metal and miscellaneous finds. This project …
The origins of Timbuktu
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Adria La Violetie. Ethnoarchaeology in jene, Mali
Adria La Violetie. Ethnoarchaeology in jene, Mali: craft and status among smiths, potters and masons (British Archaeological reports International series S838; Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 49. vi + 158 pages, 44 figures, 6 tables. 2000. Oxford: Archaeopress; 1-84171-043-1 paperback £ 26. - Volume 75 Issue 287
Carnelian mines in Gujarat
In June-July 2000 a sample collection programme was completed in the extant carnelian mines of Jhagadia Taluka, Broach District, Gujarat, Western India (FIGURE 1). The predominant rationale behind the fieldwork is an Africanist one. Namely, to obtain modern comparative material which could be elementally analysed and compared with samples of carnelian beads from archaeological contexts in West and West-Central Africa. For besides local production…
Introduction
The archaeology of world religions is a vast subject, and one which it might seem foolhardy to attempt to consider within the confines of an edited volume composed of nine chapters, three of which are considerably shorter commentaries. However, this volume does not claim to be universal, rather it aims to examine the relationship between, and the contribution archaeology can make to the study of, what are today termed world religions, through foc…
Archaeology and World Religion
Arkeologi dan agama dunia adalah pekerjaan baru yang penting, menjadi yang pertama untuk memeriksa dua topik besar ini dalam hubungannnya satu sama lain. Volume mengekspolarasi hubungan antara keduanya, dan kontribusi arkeologi dapat membuat studi tentang apa yang sekarang disebut agama- agama dunia yaitu Budha, kristen, hindu, islam dan yahudi karya ini adalah teks definitif untuk bidang arkeologi yang berkembang ini
Early Islamic Bahrain
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa (Cambridge World Archaeology)
Archaeology, luxury and the exotic
Luxury would appear to be both difficult to define and difficult to identify archaeologically. Evidence from two different Islamic communities in Gao (Mali) and Bilad al-Qadim (Bahrain) indicates that the recognition of the exotic rather than the luxurious is easier to achieve. The notion of luxury within these communities is reflected in culinary skill and preparation, and in communal dining, rather than in the categories of evidence which the a…
Archaeology, Ritual, Religion
The archaeology of religion is a much neglected area, yet religious sites and artefacts constitute a major area of archaeological evidence. Timothy Insoll presents an introductory statement on the archaeology of religion, examining what archaeology can tell us about religion, the problems of defining and theorizing religion in archaeology, and the methodology, or how to 'do', the archaeology of religion.This volume assesses religion and ritual th…
History (93 obras) · Archaeology (87 obras) · Geography (67 obras) · History (48 obras) · Ancient history (43 obras) · Sociology (41 obras) · Anthropology (37 obras) · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories (37 obras) · Islam (27 obras) · African history and culture analysis (26 obras)