CALOR will be organizing a session at the Society of Africanist Archaeologists Meeting in Algarve, Portugal (July 21 - 26 2025)

Session Title | Catastrophes in African Archaeology: Exploring Responses to Extreme & Incremental Challenges

Session Abstract | Disasters and crises have profoundly shaped both historical societies and the contemporary world. By viewing the past as a completed experiment and employing a usable pasts framework, this session aims to uncover how lessons from historical disaster responses can enhance modern resilience and preparedness. This session seeks to bring together archaeologists focused on human responses to various disaster scenarios in Africa's past. Contributions will alternate between catastrophist and gradualist frameworks to highlight not only sudden, violent events but also incremental stressors. Analyses will review punctuated and accelerated disruptions, as well as progressive and cumulative changes, investigating both causes as well as immediate and long-term impacts on societies. Participants will explore how African communities navigated diverse forms of disaster. Topics include climatic and environmental events, or sociopolitical upheavals like civic and institutional disintegration, colonialism, and warfare. Investigations will highlight how these events reshaped societies, economies, and governance structures, providing valuable insights into how past societies adapted to and managed such challenges. 

Discussant | Paul Lane (University of Cambridge)

Session Organizers | Ioana A. Dumitru (USYD) | Elinaza Mjema (UDSM) | Wolfgang Alders (NYU)