Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond
D J Mattingly editor M Sterry editor V Leitch editor C N Duckworth editor A Cuénod editor F Cole editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:30th Nov '17
Should be back in stock very soon

Demonstrates that the pre-Islamic Sahara was a more connected region than previously thought, with trade an essential linking element.
The Sahara was a more connected space in the pre-Islamic period than hitherto believed, with trade an essential linking element. A team of experts examine new evidence pertaining to the earliest trade contacts across this vast desert landscape, highlighting the importance of textiles alongside gold, slaves and salt.Saharan trade has been much debated in modern times, but the main focus of interest remains the medieval and early modern periods, for which more abundant written sources survive. The pre-Islamic origins of Trans-Saharan trade have been hotly contested over the years, mainly due to a lack of evidence. Many of the key commodities of trade are largely invisible archaeologically, being either of high value like gold and ivory, or organic like slaves and textiles or consumable commodities like salt. However, new research on the Libyan people known as the Garamantes and on their trading partners in the Sudan and Mediterranean Africa requires us to revise our views substantially. In this volume experts re-assess the evidence for a range of goods, including beads, textiles, metalwork and glass, and use it to paint a much more dynamic picture, demonstrating that the pre-Islamic Sahara was a more connected region than previously thought.
'This groundbreaking work bridges the scholarship of North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa through a focus on ancient trade networks within the Sahara. … Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond is an innovative anthology in which all scholars of Northern, Saharan, and Sub-Saharan Africa can find material that will inform their future research and their appreciation of the interrelations between these regions.' Matthew Thomas Finnie, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
ISBN: 9781107196995
Dimensions: 255mm x 183mm x 25mm
Weight: 1120g
466 pages