Archaeologies of Contingency: African Tales from the Field

Archaeological and heritage practice, whether in the field, laboratory, curatorial, or community contexts, is marked by contingency rather than certainty. Despite dominant disciplinary narratives that inevitably assert clarity and control surrounding praxis, practitioners routinely navigate those which are not linear or predictable due to shifting circumstances, diverging expectations, contested interpretations, and relational complexities. In this special issue, contributors explore the ways in which the catastrophic, the unexpected, the accidental, and the structurally uncontrollable – ranging from the pandemic, to the environment, community protest, site looting and destruction, financial precarity, limited political interest, and the pressures of tourism – profoundly influence the practice of archaeology and heritage work in Africa. Contributors demonstrate how such disruptions catalyse innovative strategies and deeper reflexivity, recalibrating methods, theories, and modes of engagement in unanticipated generative and transformative ways that might not otherwise have emerged.