Female Archaeologists in West Africa: The Case of Senegal

Senegalese archaeology was born during the colonial period. The discipline was performed by collectors, administrators, and physicians that deeply influenced archaeological practice during the postcolonial era. After independence, archaeological research stagnated due to the lack of resources and the extremely negative connotation of the profession, which was still highly dominated by men. Between the 1970s and 1980s, only foreign female archaeologists worked in the field. In the late 1990s, a limited number of native Senegalese women gambled to venture down this path, which is incompatible with the African conception of femininity and the role that society assigns to them. They all carried out research in historical archaeology and ethnoarchaeology. This chapter highlights their valuable contributions while discussing how the West African ecological context, history, fragile economy, and culture explain the low interest in archaeology and the near absence of females in the field. Although, addressing this last issue cannot be done with a complete extrication from a feminist approach. Therefore, it is argued that unless Senegalese authorities prioritize women’s higher education and depart from the negative view of archaeology, the discipline will remain a “matter of white people” and an exclusive domain of men.