Research Series: Place Making within the Bantu Expansion

The Sociology and Anthropology Department will be hosting its second of three research series talks this semester. For this second event, Dr. Abby Stone, assistant professor of anthropology at Illinois State University, will be giving a research talk titled, “Place Making within the Bantu Expansion.”

The Bantu Expansion is one of the central narratives of cultural change in Africa’s past. According to this model, beginning around 4,000 years ago, waves of proto-Bantu-speaking peoples moved south out of west-central Africa, bringing with them new languages, technologies, and forms of subsistence. These waves reached southern Africa around 1,500 years ago, radically transforming life for existing populations and incoming peoples alike. As illuminating as these big picture narratives are, they often obscure the human side of the equation. How was this mass migration and sweeping change experienced by the people themselves? How did in-migrating peoples construct a sense of place and belongings in their new environments? Using archaeological and historical-linguistic data, this project explores the lived experience of populations in south-central Zambia as they encountered a radically new environment and constructed mental and physical landscapes of belonging. Our deep local focus gives texture to the overarching narrative of the Bantu Expansion, bringing the human experience to the forefront. Such work, far from providing mere footnotes within the larger story, has enormous explanatory power as we construct more nuanced narratives of the archaeological past.

This lecture is open to the public. Dr. Abby Stone will present for the first 45 minutes, leaving about 30 minutes for discussion. This lecture will also be accessible via Zoom ID 937 3719 5628, Passcode: Stone. An ISU account is not necessary.