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Peter Schmidt, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor
Email: schmidtp@ufl.edu


Education

  • Ph.D., African History and Anthropology, Northwestern
  • M.A., African History/African Studies, UCLA
  • Graduate Diploma Student, Archaeology/African Studies, Makerere University, Uganda
  • A.B., History, Stanford

Research Interests

Historical Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, Ethnotechnology, Iron Technology, Symbolic Interpretation, African Archaeology, Tanzania, Eritrea, Gabon, Cameroon, Oral Traditions and Archaeology


Personal Statement

My interests range across archaeology, symbolic and linguistic anthropology, visual anthropology, and history. Trained as both an archaeologist and historian, I have researched and written on oral traditions and oral histories as indigenous historiographies-pushing beyond conventional separations of history and prehistory to develop an historical archaeology that examines historical representations and social memory in their multiple expressions.

Ethnoarchaeology has been one of my primary field methods over the last thirty years, with the ethnotechnology of iron production in the forefront. I am concerned with the theoretical issues embedded within the practice of ethnoarchaeology as well as the capacity of ethnoarchaeology to address symbolic life. Symbolic representations in the material world and symbolic analysis of both ethnohistoric texts and material residues continue to be important foci in my research and publications.

More recently my interests have turned to the play of tropes in historical representations as well as in archaeological interpretation. I have also turned my attention to critical perspectives on the use and treatment of time concepts in archaeology, world cultures, history, and anthropology. Issues of representation also figure prominently in my teaching of visual anthropology, particularly film.

African archaeology is my primary region of practice, with a sub-regional interest in eastern Africa. Over the last 10 years, I have been active in Eritrea, where I have developed an archaeology department and a long-term program of research into the growth of complex cultures in the 1st millennium BC. Research sites over the last 20 years also include Gabon, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Uganda.

I teach courses in Film and Anthropology, World Civilizations (undergraduate), Ethnoarchaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Time and Archaeology, and Ideological and Symbolic Approaches in Archaeology.


Positions and Honors

Positions and Employment

  • 2018-Present, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and African Studies, University of Florida
  • 2018, Visiting Professor, Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 2016, Research Fellow, Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Keliniya, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2014- Present, Extraordinary Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria
  • 2013, Visiting Professor, Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Keliniya, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2002–2004, Chief Curator of Archaeology, National Museum of Eritrea
  • 2001-2002, Dean, College of Arts and Social Science, University of Asmara
  • 2001-2003, Special Advisor to the University of Asmara President on Research Development
  • 2001-2002, Professor III of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Asmara, Eritrea
  • 2000–2018, Professor of Anthropology, University of Florida
  • 1998-1999, Professor III of Archaeology, University of Asmara, Eritrea
  • 1998, Acting Head and Founder, Department of Archaeology, University of Asmara
  • 1998–2001, Official Representative from the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1988‑1995, Director, Center for African Studies, University of Florida
  • 1988-2000, Associate Professor, Anthropology, University of Florida
  • 1985‑1987, Associate Professor of History, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 1985‑1987, Head and Founder, Archaeology Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 1984, Visiting Associate Professor, Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley
  • 1981‑1989, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Brown University
  • 1971‑1981, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Brown University

Other Professional Appointments

  • 2021, Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Studies in the African Past
  • 2019—22, Chair of the Scientific Committee for the World Archaeological Congress 9 (WAC-9) to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, July 4-9, 2022.
  • 2015, Member, Executive Board, Kagera Heritage Trust. TZ
  • 2013, International Fellow (lifetime), Postgraduate Institute for Archaeology, Keliniya University, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2012-Present, Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science
  • 2012-2013, Coordinator of the Kagera Heritage Group, a consortium of NGOs dedicated to developing community heritage in NW Tanzania
  • 2008-2011, Chairman, International Advisory Board to the Global Resources Project, Medieval Studies Association
  • 2001-2005, Founding Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Eritrean Studies
  • 2001, First Opponent in Ph.D. dissertation defense of Randi Barndon, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. November 9, 2001
  • 1997-1998, Director, Sub‑Saharan Africa Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
  • 1995‑2019, Member, Editorial Board, The African Archaeological Review
  • 1993‑Present, Member, Editorial Board, East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights
  • 1988‑1990, President, Society of Africanist Archaeologists
  • 1990‑1992, Executive Board Member, Society of Africanist Archaeologists
  • 1984‑1988, Brown University Program Director for African Exchanges.
  • 1984, Academic Specialist to Omar Bongo University, Gabon, to consult in Anthropology and Archaeology
  • 1982, Brown University representative to University of Dar es Salaam and Negotiator of a Brown‑University and Dar es Salaam exchange program
  • 1982‑1984, Steering Committee of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in America
  • 1981, Special Envoy to Tanzania from Brown University
  • 1981-Present, President, Foundation for African Prehistory and Archaeology
  • 1978‑1984, Commissioner, Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission
  • 1978‑1984, Member, Review Board, National Historic Register, Rhode Island
  • 1976‑1980, Research Associate, University of Dar es Salaam
  • 1975‑1977, Chairman, Advisory Council of Professional Archaeologists, Idaho
  • 1975‑1977, State Archaeologist and State Historic Preservation Officer, Idaho

Honors (Selected)

  • 2019, National Geographic Explorer
  • 2018,  CHOICE 2018 Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner:  Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice. Routledge, 2016, ed. with I. Pikirayi.
  • 2016, Peter Ucko Memorial Award, World Archaeological Congress 8, Kyoto, Japan. August 30, 2016
  • 2016, Awarded the Roland and Nela Silva Fellowship Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2014 and 2017, Appointed Extraordinary Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
  • 2013, Elected Honorary Fellow, Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2012, Elected Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science
  • 2009-2010, Fulbright Hays Senior Fellow: Research into Social Memory and Trauma in NW Tanzania
  • 2008, Best Book Prize in African Archaeology, 2006—2008. Awarded at the 18th Biennial Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archeologists, Sept. 11, 2008. For The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, Red Sea Press, 2008
  • 1998, Iron Technology in East Africa: Symbolism, Science, and Archaeology. Nominated for the best book in African Studies in 1997
  • 1998-1999, Fulbright Scholar, University of Asmara
  • 1996, Fulbright Academic Specialist to Design a new Archaeology Curriculum, Degree Course, and Research Program at the University of  Asmara, Eritrea
  • 1995, The Tree of Iron selected for National PBS broadcast as a Black History Month feature
  • 1989, Red Ribbon Award (2nd in Social Sciences) American Film and Video  Festival, Chicago. As Producer of “Tree of Iron”
  • 1988, Golden Apple Award (Best in Division) as Producer of “Tree of Iron.” National Film Festival, San Francisco
  • 1988, Award of Excellence, Society of Visual Anthropology, as Producer of  “Tree of Iron”
  • 1985‑1987, Fulbright Scholar, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 1986, Fulbright Academic Specialist to Omar Bongo University, Gabon, June
  • 1981, Honorary M. A. degree, Brown University, promotion to Associate Professor
  • 1981, Fulbright Fellow, short term, to Tanzania, October‑December 1981
  • 1965, Honors in History, Stanford University

Selected Publications

Books

Schmidt, P.R. 1978. Historical Archaeology: A Structural Approach in an African Culture. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.

Schmidt, P.R., and Patterson, T.C., eds. 1995. Making Alternative Histories: The Practice of Archaeology and History in Non‑Western Setting. School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM.

Schmidt, P.R., ed. 1996. The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production. University Press of Florida, Gainesville FL.

Schmidt. P.R., and R. McIntosh, eds. 1996. The Plundering of Africa’s Past, ed. by P. R. of Indiana Press, Bloomington and James Currey, London.

Schmidt. P.R. 1997. Iron Technology in East Africa: Symbolism, Science, and Archaeology. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

Schmidt, P.R. 2006. Historical Archaeology in Africa: Representation, Social Memory, and Oral Traditions. AltaMira Press, Lanham, MD.

Schmidt, P.R., M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, eds. 2008. The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea. Red Sea Press, Trenton, NJ. 2008. Prize Winner: Best Book in African Archaeology, 2006-2008.

Schmidt, P.R., ed. 2009. Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa. SAR Press, Santa Fe, NM.

Schmidt, P.R., and S. Mrozowski., eds 2013. The Death of Prehistory. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and I. Pikirayi, eds. 2016. Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice. Routledge, London and New York.

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Community-Based Heritage in Africa: Unveiling Local Research and Development Initiatives. Routledge, London and New York.

Schmidt, P.R., ed. 2018. Participatory Archaeology and Heritage: Perspectives from Africa. Routledge: New York and London.                                                              

Schmidt, P.R., and A. Kehoe, eds. 2019. Archaeologies of Listening. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Schmidt, P.R., ed. 2020. History of Kiziba and its Kings, with introduction. Translated by G. Kamanzi. Mkuki na Nyota Press, Dar es Salaam.

Schmidt, P.R., ed. 2020. Kitabu cha Historia ya Kiziba na Wafalme Wake, with introduction. Translated by G. Kamanzi. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Press, Dar es Salaam.

Monographs

1991. The Origins of Iron Smelting in Africa: A Complex Technology in Tanzania. Research Papers in Anthropology, No. 1, Brown University.

1985. Quelques Resultats sur l ‘Age du Fer au Gabon, Universite Omar Bongo, Libreville, Gabon. With L. Digombe, M. Locko, and V Mouleingui-Boukossou.

1992. Archaeological Investigations in the Vicinity of Mkiu, Kisarawe District, Tanzania, Archaeological Contributions of the University of Dar es Salaam, Occasional Paper No. 1. Dar es Salaam. With N.J. Karoma, A. LaViolette, W. Fawcett, A. Mabulla, L. Rutabanzibwa, and C. Sanane.

2009. The 1st Millennium BCE in the Northern Horn of Africa. Special Issue of the African Archaeological Review, Co-editor with David Phillipson. Vol. 26(3) 2009.

2009. African Archaeology and the Ancestors. Bassey Andah Memorial Lectures. Department of   Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.

2011. The Restoration of Kanazi Palace. Foundation for African Prehistory and Archaeology. Dar es Salaam.

2013. Rugomora the Great: The Haya Iron King of the 17th Century: An Oral History. Editor with Augustine Kaindoa, oral expert. Best Deal Publishers and Booksellers, Bukoba, Tanzania.

2017. Editor, Special Series on Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa, the of Community Archaeology and Heritage, vol.4(2):76–114; vol 4(3):186–228.

2017. Co-Editor of Special Series Expanding our Knowledge by Listening, with Alice Kehoe. SAR Record 17(4):15-37.

Films

1982. Beating the Bellows: An Archaeological Experiment in African Iron Technology. A 25 minute, 16mm color documentary. Producer and Director.

1988. The Tree of Iron A 58-minute, color documentary. Producer. A National PBS Black History Month feature, Feb. 1995.

Museum Exhibits

2002. Created the Sembel On-Site Museum, Asmara, Eritrea: Opened December 2002.

“Pathways to Urbanism”:  A Photographic Exhibit about Ancient Eritrea at the Florida Museum of Natural History. March 22—July 22, 2007.

Katuruka Village Museum. A village museum in NW Tanzania that celebrates the history of the Rugomora Mahe site and iron working in Kagera Region. Completed  June 2010.

Kanazi Palace Museum in Kagera Region, Tanzania: Five Exhibits on the History and Archaeology of Kihanja Kingdom at Kanazi. Completed July 2012.

Permanent Exhibit on the “Cave of the Dead” a colonial massacre site in Buhaya, Nyarubale Primary School, Kagera Region, Tanzania. Completed June 2013.

Articles

Peer Reviewed

Schmidt, P.R. 1975. A New Look at Interpretations of the Early Iron Age in East Africa. History in Africa 2: 127‑136.

Schmidt, P.R., and D.H. Avery. 1978. Prehistoric Culture and Complex Iron Smelting in Tanzania. Science 201: 1085‑1089.

Avery, D.H., and P.R. Schmidt. 1979. A Metallurgical Study of the Iron Bloomery, Particularly as practiced in Buhaya. Journal of Metals October: 14‑20.

Schmidt, P.R. 1983. An Alternative to a Strictly Materialist Perspective: A Review of Historical Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, and Symbolic Approaches in African Archaeology. American Antiquity 48(1): 62‑81.

Schmidt, P.R.. 1983. More Evidence for an Advanced Prehistoric Iron Technology in Africa. Journal of Field Archaeology 10(4): 421‑434.

Schmidt, P.R. 1983. Cultural Meaning and History in African Myth. International Journal of Oral History 4(3): 165‑183.

Digombe, L., Schmidt, P.R., M. Locko, A.S. Diop, V. Mouleingui-Boukossou, and J.B. Mombo. 1984. Resultats des Datations au Carbone 14 Concernant la Prehistoire au Gabon—’Results of Carbon 14 Dating Concerning the Prehistory of Gabon.’ L’Anthropologie 88(3): 457 458 (principal author).

Digombe, L., Schmidt, P.R., Locko, M., Mouleingui-Boukossa, and Mombo, J-B. 1985. Radiocarbon dates for the Iron Age in Gabon. Current Anthropology 26(4): 516 (principal author).

Schmidt, P.R., and Childs, S.T. 1985. Innovation and Industry during the Early Iron Age in East Africa: KM2 and KM sites in Northwest Tanzania. African Archaeological Review 353‑96.

Digombe, L., Schmidt, P., Mouleingui-Boukossa, and Mombo, J-B, and Locko, M. 1987. L’Age du Fer Ancien du Gabon. L’Anthropologie 91(2): 711‑715 (principal author).

Digombe, L., Schmidt, P.R., Mouleingui-Boukossa, V., Mombo, J-B., and Locko, M. 1988. The Development of Early Iron Age Prehistory in Gabon. Current Anthropology 29(1): 179‑184 (principal author).

Schmidt, P.R. 1995. A Human Right to a Cultural Heritage: African Expressions and Configurations. East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights 2(1): 41‑52.

Schmidt, P.R. and Childs, S.T. 1995. Ancient African Iron Production. American Scientist 83(6): 524-533.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. The Agricultural hinterland and settlement trends in Tanzania. Azania 29‑30: 261‑62.

Schmidt, P.R., and Mapunda, B.B.B. 1997. Reading Ideology in the African Archaeological Record. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.16: 73‑102.

Schmidt, P.R., and Childs, S.T. 1997. Les Hauts‑Fourneaux de Brousse” La Recherche. May: 54‑58.

Schmidt, P.R. 1997. Archaeological Views on a History of Landscape Change in East Africa. Journal of African History 38: 393-421.

Schmidt, P.R. 2001. Urban Precursors in the Horn: Early 1st Millennium Communities in Eritrea. Antiquity 75: 849-859.

Schmidt, P.R. 2002. The “Ona” Culture of Greater Asmara: Archaeology’s Liberation of Eritrea’s Ancient History from Colonial Paradigms. Journal of Eritrean Studies 1(1) 29-59.

Schmidt, P.R. 2002. Resisting Homogenization & Recovering Variation and Innovation in African Iron Smelting. Special Edition, eds., J-P. Descoeudres, E. Hysecom, V. Serneels, and J-L. Zimmermann. Mediterranean Archaeology 14: 219-228.

Schmidt, P.R. 2003. Heritage and Tourism: Issues and Alternatives in Eritrea. The Journal of Eritrean Studies 2: 29-44.

Schmidt, P.R. 2005. Teaching Revolutionary Archaeology: African Experiments in History Making and Heritage Management. Archaeologies 1(2): 46-59.

Schmidt, P.R., and Walz, J.R. 2007. Re-Representing African Pasts through Critical Historical Archaeologies. American Antiquity 72(1): 53-70.

Ascunce, M.S., Kitchen, A., Schmidt, P.R., Miyamoto, M.M., and Mulligan, C.L. 2007. An Unusual Pattern of Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups in Northern African Cattle. Zoological Studies 46(1): 123-25.

Schmidt, P.R., and Walz, J.R. 2007. Silences and Mentions in History Making. Journal of Historical Archaeology 41(4): 126-143.

Schmidt, P.R. 2009. Tropes, Materiality, and Ritual Embodiment of African Iron Smelting Furnaces as Human Figures. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 16(3): 262-282.

Schmidt, P.R. 2009. Variability in Eritrea and the Archaeology of the Northern Horn During the First Millennium BC: Subsistence, Ritual, and Gold Production. African Archaeological Review 26(3): 305-325.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. Postcolonial Silencings, Intellectuals, and the State: A View from Eritrea. African Affairs 109/435: 293-313.

Schmidt, P.R.. 2010. Trauma and Social Memory in NW Tanzania: Organic, Spontaneous Community Collaboration. Journal of Social Archaeology 10(2): 255-279.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. The Play of Tropes in Archaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Metonymy. Ethnoarchaeology: Journal of Archaeological, Ethnographic, and Experimental Studies 2(2): 131-151.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. Reflections on African Archaeology and the Ancestors. Studies in the African Past:  Journal of the African Archaeological Network 9: 42-62.

Karega-Munene, and Schmidt, P.R. 2010. Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa: Breaking the Silence. African Archaeological Review 27: 333-337.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. African Archaeology and the Ancestors. Africa Review: Journal of the Indian African Studies Association 2(1): 41-64.

Schmidt, P.R. 2014. Rediscovering Community Archaeology in Africa and Reframing its Practice. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage 1(1): 38-56.

Schmidt, P.R. 2014. Hardcore Ethnography: Interrogating the Intersection of Disease, Poverty, Human Rights and Heritage. Heritage and Society 7(2): 170-88.

Schmidt, P.R.. 2014. Community Heritage Work in Africa: Village-Based Preservation and Development. Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage 4(2): 133-150.

Mehari, A., Schmidt, P.R., and Mapunda, B.B. 2014. Knowledge about archaeological field schools in Africa: the Tanzanian experience. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 49(2): 184-202.

Schmidt, P.R. 2016. Historical Archaeology in East Africa: Past Practice and Future Directions. Journal of African History 57(2): 183-194.

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Peter Ucko Award Memorial Lecture–Decolonizing Archaeological Practice: Gazing into the Past to Transform the Future. Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 13(3): 392-411.

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Contests between heritage and history in Tanganyika/Tanzania: Insights arising from community-based heritage research. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage 4(2).85-100.

Schmidt, P.R., and Pikirayi, I. 2018. Will Historical Archaeology Escape its Western Prejudices to Become Relevant to Africa? Archaeologies, Journal the World Archaeological Congress 14(3): 443-71.

Schmidt, P. R. 2019. Presenting the History of Kiziba and its Kings. International Journal of African History 52(2): 311-328.

Schmidt, P. R., and Ichumbaki, E. B. 2020. Is There Hope for Heritage in the Former British Colonies in Eastern Africa: Views from Tanzania. Journal of African Cultural Heritage Studies 3(1): 26-51.

Not Peer Reviewed

1976. Interpreting Idaho’s Heritage. Idaho Yesterdays, 19(4), 1976.

1980. Steel Production in Prehistoric Africa: Insights from Ethnoarchaeology in West Lake, Tanzania. In Proceedings of the 8th Pan African Congress of Prehistory and Quaternary Studies, eds. R.E. Leakey and B.A. Ogot, pp. 335-340. Nairobi, TILLMIAP.

Schmidt, P.R. 1980. Early Iron Age Settlements and Industrial Locales in West Lake. Tanzania Notes and Records, Nos. 84‑85: 77‑94.

Schmidt, P.R., Digombe, L., Locko, M., Mouleingui, V. 1985. Newly dated Iron Age sites in Gabon. Nyame Akuma 26: 16-18.

Schmidt, P.R., and Avery, D.H. 1986. The Use of Preheated Air in Ancient and Recent African Iron Smelting Furnaces: A Reply to Rehder,” Journal of Field Archaeology 13(3): 354-356.

Digombe, L., Schmidt, P.R., Mombo, J., Mouleingui, V., and Mombo, M. 1987. Gabon: The Earliest Iron Age of West Central Africa. Nyame Akuma 28:9-11 (principal author).

Schmidt, P.R. 1988. Eastern Expressions of the Mwitu Tradition: Early Iron Age Industry of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Nyame Akuma 30: 36‑37.

LaViolette, A., Fawcett, W., and Schmidt, P.R. 1989. The Coast and the Hinterland: The University of Dar es Salaam Field School, 1987-88. Nyame Akuma 32: 38‑46.

Schmidt, P.R., and Asombang, R. 1990. Archaeological Survey in Northwestern Cameroon. Nyame Akuma 34: 10‑16.

Asombang, R. and Schmidt, P.R. 1990. Rock‑Shelters and a Greater History of the Bamenda Grassfields, Cameroon. Nyame Akuma 34: 5‑10.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. Rhythmed Time and Its Archaeological Implications,” In Aspects of African Archaeology: Papers of the 10th PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, eds., G. Pwiti and R. Soper, pp. 654—59. University of Zimbabwe Publications, Harare.

Schmidt, P.R. 1998. Review of Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa, ed. Joseph Vogel. American Antiquity 63(4): 719-20.

Schmidt, P.R. 2001. Myth Making and Making Metals: The Practice of History in Central Africa, Reviewed Work(s): Pride of Men: Ironworking in 19th Century West Central Africa by C.E. Kriger; Crown and Ritual: The Royal Insignia of Ngoyo by Z. Volavka. Canadian Journal of African Studies 35(3): 561-74.

Schmidt, P.R., and Walz, J.R. 2005. Historical Archaeology in Africa: Noble Claims, Revisionist Perspectives, and African Voices? Journal of African History 46(2): 315-319.

Phillipson, D., and Schmidt, P.R. 2009. Re-evaluating the Archaeology of the First Millennium BC in the Northern Horn. African Archaeology Review 26(4): 255-56.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. African Archaeology and the Ancestors. Bassey Andah Memorial Lecture delivered at the University of Ibadan, February 20, 2009. World Archaeological Congress. Published Online at World Archaeological Congress homepage, Reports. January 2.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. Book Review of Archaeology and the Postcolonial Critique. M.  Liebmann and U. Rizvi, eds. 2008, AltaMira Press, Lanham MD. American Antiquity 75(2): 412-14.

Schmidt, P.R. 2010. Comments on “Consensus and the Fringe in American Archaeology.” Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 6(2): 215-219.

Schmidt, P.R., and Lejju, J.B. 2015. Archaeological and Paleoenvironmental Research in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region of Western Uganda. Center for African Studies Research Report 2014-2015, p. 48. University of Florida, Gainesville FL.

Schmidt, P.R., and Pikirayi, I. 2015. Community Archaeology and Heritage Work in Africa: Issues, Lessons, and the Future. Center for African Studies Research Report 2014-2015, p. 50, University of Florida, Gainesville FL.

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Preface to Special Series on Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa, as Editor of the Special Issue about Community Heritage and Archaeology in Africa for the Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage, vol.4(2): 76; vol 4(3): 186-88.

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Listening and Waiting, Excavating Later.  Society for American Archaeology Record 17(4): 36–7.

Kehoe, A.B., and Schmidt, P.R. 2017. Introduction: Expanding our Knowledge by Listening. Society for American Archaeology Record 17(4): 15–20.

Chapters in Books

Peer Reviewed

Schmidt, P.R., and Mrozowski, S. 1982. History, Smugglers, Change and Shipwrecks. In Shipwreck Anthropology, ed., R.A. Gould, pp. 143-171. Albuquerque NM.: SAR and University of New Mexico Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Childs, S.T. 1985. Experimental Iron Smelting: The Genesis of a Hypothesis with Implications for African Prehistory. In African Iron Working, Ancient and Traditional, eds., P. Shinnie and R. Haaland, pp. 121-141. Bergen: Norwegian University Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Mrozowski, S. 1989. Documentary Insights into the Archaeology of Smuggling. In Documentary Archaeology, ed., M. Beaudry, pp. 32-42. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 1990. Oral Traditions, Archaeology, and History in Africa: A Short Reflective History. In A History of African Archaeology, ed., P. Robertshaw, pp. 252- 70. London: James Currey.

Schmidt, P.R. 1993. Historical Ecology and Landscape Transformation in Eastern Equatorial Africa. In Historical Ecology, ed., C. Crumley, pp. 99-125. Santa Fe NM: School of American Research.

Schmidt, P.R. 1995. Using Archaeology to Remake African History. In Making Alternative Histories, eds., P. Schmidt and T. Patterson, pp. 118-147. Santa Fe NM: SAR Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Patterson, T. 1995. From Constructing to Making Alternative Histories. In Making Alternative Histories, eds., P. Schmidt and T. Patterson, 1-22. Santa Fe NM: SAR Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. Reconfiguring the Barongo: Reproductive Symbolism and Reproduction among a Work Association of Iron Smelters. In The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production, ed., P.R. Schmidt, pp. 74-127. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. Cultural Representation of African Iron Production. In The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production, ed., P.R. Schmidt, pp. 1-28. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R., and Childs, S.T. 1996. Actualistic Models for Interpretation of Two Early Iron Age Sites in Northwestern Tanzania. In The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production, ed., P.R. Schmidt, pp. 186-233. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R., and Avery D.H. 1996. Preheating: Practice or Illusion. In The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production, ed., P.R. Schmidt, pp. 267-76. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R., and McIntosh, R. 1996. The African Past Endangered. In Plundering Africa’s Past, eds., P.R. Schmidt and R. McIntosh, pp. 1-17 Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. The Human Right to a Cultural Heritage: African Applications. In Plundering Africa’s Past, eds., P.R. Schmidt and R. McIntosh, pp. 18-28. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 1998. Reading Gender in Ancient African Iron Technology. In Gender in African Prehistory, ed., Susan Kent, pp. 139-162. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2000. Are there Tropical African Responses to the 536 AD Event? In Human Responses to the 536 Event, ed., Joel Gunn, pp. xxx. Oxford: Archaeopress, BAR Reports.

Schmidt, P.R. 2003. Why Deep Time Landscape Histories are Needed to Improve Environmental Management in Africa. In Aquatic Resources in Africa, eds., T. Chrisman and L. Chapman, pp. 20-37. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R. 2007. Iron, Tropes of Reproduction. In The Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Macmillan Reference Library, Thompson Gale.

Schmidt, P.R. 2008. The Development of Archaeology in Eritrea. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 1-20. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Curtis, M.C., and Schmidt, P.R. 2008. Landscape, People, and Places on the Ancient Asmara Plateau. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 65-108. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press,

Schmidt, P.R., Curtis, M.C., and Teka, Z. 2008. The Ancient Ona Communities of the 1st Millennium BCE: Urban Precursors and Independent Development on the Asmara Plateau.” In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea. eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 109-162. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Schmidt, P.R., Habtemichael, D., and Curtis, M.C. 2008. Ancient Gold Mining North of Asmara: A Focus on Hara Hot.” In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 179-188. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

A.C. D’Andrea, Schmidt, P.R. and Curtis, M.C. 2008. Paleoethnobotanical Analysis and Agricultural Economy in Early 1st Millennium BCE Sites around Asmara. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 207-16. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Shoshani, J., Ghebregiorgis, M.W., and Schmidt, P.R. 2008. Interpretations of Faunal Remains from Archeological Sites on the Asmara Plateau of Eritrea. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 217-34. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Naty, A. 2008. Bulls’ Heads and Enigmas: Strong Inference and Interpretative Puzzles in Eritrea. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 235-46. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Schmidt, P.R., Haile, M., and Shoshani, J. 2008. The Emba Derho Site: An Aksumite Period Tomb North of Asmara, Eritrea. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds.,P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 247-64. Trenton NJ: Red Sea Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Curtis, M.C. 2008. The Second Millennium CE: Settlement, Economy, and Ritual Life. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds., P.R. Schmidt, M.C. Curtis, and Z. Teka, pp. 265-86. Trenton NJ: Sea Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2009. What is Postcolonial about Archaeologies in Africa? In Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa, ed., P. R. Schmidt, pp. 1-20. Sante Fe NM: SAR Press.

Schmidt, P.R. Postcolonial Silencings and the State. In Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa, ed., P. R. Schmidt, pp. 93-114. Santa Fe NM: SAR Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Karega-Munene. 2010. An Africa-informed View of Postcolonial Archaeologies. In Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology, eds., U. Rizvi and J. Layton, 189-197. Lanham MD: AltaMira Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2011. New Light on Ancient Eritrea: Local Variations during the 1st Millennium BCE. In kaiserlichem Auftrag: Die Deutsche Aksum-Expedition 1906 unter Enno Littmann. Band 2: Altertumskundliche Untersuchungen in Tigray/Äthiopien (Forschungen zur Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen 3.2). Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ed., S. Wenig, pp. 169-190. Aichwald: Linden Soft.

Schmidt, P.R. 2013. Oral history, oral traditions and archaeology: Application of Structural Analysis. In Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, eds., P. Mitchell and P. Lane, pp. 37-47. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2013. Bricolage, Ritual Performance, and Habitus [Forgotten] in Barongo Iron Smelting. In the World of Iron: Proceedings of the World of Iron Conference, eds., J. Humphris, and T. Rehen, pp. 66-72. London: British Museum, London.

Schmidt, P.R. 2013. Historical Archaeology: Colonial Entanglements and Recuperating ‘Timeless’ Histories through Structuralism. In The Death of Prehistory, eds., P.R. Schmidt and S. Mrozowski, pp. 92-116. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmidt, P.R., and Mrozowski, S. 2013. The Death of Prehistory: Reforming the Past, Looking to the Future. In The Death of Prehistory, eds., P.R. Schmidt and S. Mrozowski, pp. 1-28. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mrozowski, S., and Schmidt, P.R. Concluding Reflections on Reforming the Past, Looking to the Future. In The Death of Prehistory, eds., by P.R. Schmidt and S. Mrozowski, pp. 290-302. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2014. Deconstructing Archaeologies of African Colonialism: Making and Unmaking the Subaltern. In The Archaeology of the Colonized and its Contribution to Global Archaeological Theory, eds., N. Ferris, R. Harrison, and M. Wilcox, pp. 445-465. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2016. Collaborative Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Views from the Trench and Beyond. In Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice, eds., P.R. Schmidt and I. Pikirayi, pp. 70-90. New York and London: Routledge.

Pikirayi, I., and Schmidt, P.R.: Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice. In Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice, eds., P.R. Schmidt and I. Pikirayi, pp. 1-20. York and London: Routledge,

Schmidt, P.R. 2017. The Colonial Origins of Myth and National Identity in Uganda.” In Unmasking Ideology: The Vocabulary and Symbols of Colonial Archaeology, eds., B. Effros and G. Lai, pp. 383-402. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA.

Schmidt, P.R. 2018. Intersectionality at work in Participatory Approaches to African Archaeology and Heritage Studies. In Participatory Archaeology and Heritage Studies: Perspectives from Africa, ed., P. R. Schmidt, pp. 1-11. Abington UK and New York: Routledge.

Schmidt, P.R. 2018. Ontology Unveiled, Serpents Forgotten, Time Reconfigured. In Time in History and Prehistory, eds., E. Baysal, S. Souvatzi, and A. Baysal, pp. 58-76. Abington and New York: Routledge.

Schmidt, P.R. 2018. Science in Africa: A History of Ingenuity and Invention in African Iron Technology. In Africa: A Global Perspective, eds., W. Worger, C. Ambler, and N. Achebe, pp. 267-288. Hoboken NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

Schmidt, P. R., and Arthur, K. W. 2018. Community-Based Approaches to African History. Oxford Encyclopedia of African History. DOI:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.617

Schmidt, P.R., and Kehoe, A.B. 2019. Archaeologies of Listening: Beginning Thoughts. In Archaeologies of Listening, eds., P.R. Schmidt and A.B. Kehoe, pp. 1-24. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R. 2019. Listening and Waiting, Excavating Later. In Archaeologies of Listening, eds., P.R. Schmidt and A.B. Kehoe, pp. 177-201. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Weerasinghe, J., and Schmidt, P.R. 2019. Sigiriya Rock: Global Heritage Commodified, Local Heritage Forgotten, and Who Is Listening? In Archaeologies of Listening, eds., P.R. Schmidt and A.B. Kehoe, pp. 224-248. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Peer Reviewed: In Press

Schmidt, P.R. Emerging Female Subaltern Histories in Tanzania: Oral History and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. In Female Voices in Narratives about the Past, eds., S. Kus and K. Kasper. Boulder: University of Colorado Press.

Curtis, M.C., and Schmidt, P.R. The Development of Complex Societies in the Horn of Africa.” In UNESCO History of Africa, ed., A. Holl. Paris: UNESCO.

Not Peer Reviewed

Schmidt, P.R. 1989. Early Exploitation and Settlement in the Usambara Mountains. In Forest Conservation in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, eds., A. Hamilton and R. Bensted‑Srnith, pp. 75-78. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K: International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Schmidt, P.R. An Interpretative Model for Sustainability Based on the Use and Transformation of a Forested Landscape in Eastern Equatorial Africa,” in Environment and Archaeology: Emerging Trends and New Techniques for Heritage Management & Sustainable Development in Tropical Forest Areas, eds., A.G. Pantel and K. Schneider, pp. 30-38. Atlanta: Organization of American States and United States Department of Agriculture.

Schmidt, P.R. Foreword: Human Rights and Governance. In Human Rights and Governance in Africa, eds., by R. Cohen, G. Hyden, and W. Nagan, pp. xi-xii. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R. 1993. Foreword. In Population Growth and Change in Africa, eds., B.L. Turner, G. Hyden, and R. Kates, pp. xiii-xiv. Gainesville FL: University Press of Florida.

Schmidt, P.R. 1996. Rhythmed time and its archaeological implications. In Aspects of African Archaeology, eds., G. Pwiti and R. Soper, pp. 655-662. Papers from the 10th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, Harare.

Schmidt, P.R. 1997. A Culture of Looting in the United States: Genesis of a Trade in Illicit African Art. In the Proceedings of the ICOM (International Commission of Museums) workshop on the protection of the African Heritage, pp. 95-101. Paris: ICOM.

Schmidt, P.R. 1998. Forward. In ‘Tree Against Hunger’: Enset-Based Agricultural Systems in Ethiopia, eds., S. Brandt, A. Spring, et.al., p. v. Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Schmidt, P.R. 2004. New Discoveries in Eritrea: The Early Pre-Aksumite Period and the Rise of Cultural Complexity in the Horn. In XI Congress of Pan African Association of Prehistory and Related Fields: Acts, eds., K. Sanogo, T. Togola, D. Keita, and M. N’Daou, pp. 377-395. Bamako, Mali.

Schmidt, P.R. 2019. Introducing History of Kiziba and its Kings. In The History of Kiziba and its Kings, ed., P.R. Schmidt and translated by G.B. Kamanzi, pp. ix-xxxii. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Press.

Schmidt, P.R. 2020. Utangulizi kwa Historia ya Kiziba na Wafalme Wake na F.X. Lwamgira. In Kitabu cha Historia ya Kiziba na Walfame Wake, pp. xi-xxxi. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Press.

Manuscripts and Reports on Heritage Management (Selected)

Schmidt, P. 1969, 1970, 1971. Research Reports from Buhaya (a series of short notes). TANZANIA ZAMANI: A bulletin of research on pre‑colonial history (an information Bulletin). No. 5 (July, 1969): 3‑4; No. 7 (July, 1970): 4‑6; No. 8 (Jan., 1971): 5‑7.

Schmidt, P.R. 1974. Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University. “An Investigation of Early and Late Iron Age Cultures through Oral Tradition and Archaeology: An Interdisciplinary Case Study in Buhaya, Tanzania.” Ann Arbor: University Microfilms.

Schmidt, P., Hart, A., and Wells, M. 1975. The Historical and Archaeological Resources of the Montour Valley, Idaho. Submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho.

Schmidt, P. 1978. An Interim Report of Prehistoric Research in West Lake Region: Prehistory of Iron Age Africa with a Focus on Northwestern Tanzania.” Submitted to Division of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture, 62 pp.

Schmidt, P. 1979. Recommendations for an On‑Site museum at the KM3 site, Kemondo Bay. Submitted January 26 to Regional Cultural Officer, Bukoba, Tanzania

Schmidt, P. 1981. The Prehistoric and Historic Sites of the Ngono River Flood Basin, Threatened Cultural Resources: A Plan for their Study, Preservation, and Mitigation. Submitted to Division of Antiquities and Archives, Tanzania, 110 pp.

Schmidt, P. 1984. An Assessment of the Potential for Archaeological Research and Teaching in Gabon. A Heritage Assessment Report Submitted to Omar Bongo University, Gabon, 42 pp.

Schmidt, P., and Childs, S.T. 1984. An Assessment of the Clay Resources of Bukoba District, Kagera Region: Building a Model for the Study of Early Iron Age Domestic and Industrial Ceramics. Submitted to Tanzania National Scientific Research Council, Division of Antiquities and Archives, and the Kagera Region Culture Office, May.

Schmidt, P., and Karoma, J. 1987. Preliminary Report: Archaeological Survey in the Western Usambara Mountains West and SW of Lushoto, Tanga Region; and Kilwa Coastal Zone, Kilwa, Lindi Region. Submitted to Department of Antiquities, March.

Schmidt, P., Karoma, J, LaViolette, A., Fawcett, W.B., Mabulla, A.B., Rutabanzibwa, L. and Saanane, C. 1988.  Investigations in the Vicinity of Mkiu, Kisarawe District, Tanzania. Submitted to the Division of Antiquities, Tanzania.

Schmidt, P., and Libsekal, Y. 1996. The Archaeological Potential of Dahlak Kebir Island, Eritrea. A Heritage Assessment Report. Submitted to the University of Asmara, Eritrea.

Schmidt, P. 1999. Preliminary Report on the Results from the 1998 Training Excavations at the Sembel Site. Submitted to the University of Asmara and the National Museum of Eritrea, 26 pp.

Schmidt, P. 2002. A Report on the Destruction of the Sembel Heritage Site: A Story of Inadequate Protective Protocols, Failure to Heed Warnings, and Failure to Notify Responsible Parties. Submitted to President, University of Asmara, Eritrea.

Schmidt, P. 2011. The Restoration of Kanazi Palace: A Foundation for Sustainable Heritage Tourism in Kagera, Tanzania. Submitted to the US Embassy, Tanzania, the Department of Antiquities, Tanzania, COSTECH, Tanzania, and the Kagera Regional Government, Tanzania.

Papers, Colloquia, Symposia (Since 2003)

2003-2004

“Asmara: Built on the Ruins of an Ancient Civilization.” Public Lecture sponsored by the United States Embassy, Asmara. March 10, 2003.

“New Thoughts on the Earliest Pre-Axumite Sites around Asmara.” Lecture at the University of Asmara for the University Community. March 12, 2003.

“800 BC: How and Why an Ancient Civilization Developed around Asmara.” Public Lecture sponsored by the United States Embassy, Asmara.  March 14, 2003.

“Human Rights Issues within the Practice of Archaeology.” World Archaeological Congress (WAC5), Washington DC. June 25, 2003.

“Oral Traditions, Archaeology, and the Political Economy of Historical Memory in East Africa.” World Archaeological Congress (WAC5), Washington DC. June 26, 2003.

“Gold and Prosperity in Ancient Eritrea? Recent UF Research.” Lecture in African Studies, University of Florida. September 19, 2003.

“New Archaeological Discoveries in Eritrea and Tanzania (Session Organizer): “The Rise of Cultural Complexity in the Horn in the Millennium before Aksum.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston. October 31, 2003.

“Urban Development and Preservation of Historic Sites in Eritrea.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston. November 1, 2003.

“Teaching African History through Archaeology.” Lecture to Faculty Seminar in the Teaching of Africa, Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL, January 16, 2004.

“Making New Ancient Histories in Africa.” Featured Black History Month Lecture at University of Michigan-Flint. February 12, 2004.

“Mitochondrial D-loop analysis of bovid skeletal material from Eritrea.” C.J. Mulligan, M. S. Ascunse, P. R. Schmidt, and A. Kitchen. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Tampa, April 2004.

2004-2005

“Sembel On-Site Museum: An Experiment in Identity and Archaeology gone Wrong.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Nov 11, 2004.

Co-Organizer, Symposium on Post-Colonial Archaeology, Pan African Association for African Prehistory and Related Studies, Gaborone, Botswana. July 4-7, 2005.

Keynote Address, “Historical Archaeology: History Making?” Pan African Association for African Prehistory, Gaborone, Botswana, July 5, 2005.

“A Post Colonial Failure of Archaeology: the ‘Bacwezi state’ in Uganda.” Contributed paper presented in the Postcolonial Archaeology symposium, Pan African Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, Gaborone, Botswana. July 6, 2005.

“How Can Historical Archaeology in Africa Engage History Making?: An Eritrean Study.” Contributed paper presented in the Historical Archaeology symposium, Pan African Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, Gaborone, Botswana, July 7, 2005:

Keynote Address: “The Play of Tropes in Technological Studies” at Chacmool Conference, Tools of the Trade: Methods, Techniques, and Innovative Approaches in Archaeology.  Calgary, Nov. 13-16, 2005.

2005-2006

Organizer of Symposium: Advances in Eritrean Archaeology: From Modern Humans to Classical Civilization. For the 18th Biennial Meetings of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, June 22-26, 2006, Calgary, Canada. Invited Symposium.

“Archaeology in Action: Making New Histories through Teaching and Research in Eritrea.” Paper presented at the 18th Biennial Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, June 22-26, Calgary, Canada. Invited Paper.

“First Millennium BC Agricultural Economy in the Asmara Region.” With Catherine D’Andrea and M. C. Curtis. Paper presented at the 18th Biennial Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, June 22-26, Calgary, Canada. Invited Paper.

2006-2007

Organizer of Symposium: Postcolonial Archaeology in Africa. For the annual Chacmool Conference, University of Calgary, November 11-14, 2006. Invited Symposium.

Organizer of a Seminar on Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa, held at the University of Florida, March 30 to April 3, 2007.

“Post Colonial Silencing, Struggles over Knowledge Production, and Failed Vision: Perspectives from Eritrea.” Paper presented at the Postcolonial Seminar, Gainesville FL, April 1, 2007.

2007-2008

Organizer and Chair of a Roundtable “The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea” at the 50th annual meeting of the African Studies Association, New York, October 18-21, 2007.

“The Archaeology of Greater Asmara.” Paper presented at the 50th annual meeting of the African Studies Association, New York, October 18, 2007.

“East African and linkages with other continents between 500 and 1500 CE.” Presentation at the Workshop for the Global Middle Ages Project, University of Minnesota, November 9, 2007. Invited presentation.

“Postcolonial Silencing, Knowledge Production, and Heritage Patronage: Perspectives from Eritrea.” Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archeology, Vancouver, March 25-28, 2008. Invited paper.

2008-2009

“Postcolonial Silencing, Knowledge Production, and Heritage Patronage: Perspectives from Eritrea.” Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology meetings in Vancouver, Canada. March 27, 2009. Contributed paper.

Co-organizer of the Symposium, “Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa,” Society for American Archaeology meetings in Vancouver, Canada. March 26-30, 2009.

“Reclaiming Social Memory from Colonial Constructions that Obscure Multivocality.” Paper presented in the Symposium, ‘Unmasking Multivocality in Archaeology’, part of the Theme, “Memory, Archaeology, and Oral Traditions.” Paper presented at the World Archaeological Congress (WAC 6), Dublin, Ireland. June 29-July 3, 2008. Invited paper.

Discussant for the Symposium ‘Does Archaeology Matter: Evaluating the Relevance of Archaeology Outreach in Diverse Communities’, part of the Theme, “Engaged and Useful Archaeologies” at the World Archaeological Congress (WAC 6) in Dublin, Ireland. July 3, 2008. Invited paper.

“Archaeology in Eritrea: Parallels to Tanzania in Capacity Building.” Paper presented August 1, 2009, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Invited paper.

Plenary Address: “Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa.” Presented at the Biennial Meetings of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists held in Frankfurt, Germany. September 8, 2009. Invited paper.

Co-organizer the symposium “The Pre-Axumite Period in the Horn of Africa” with David Phillipson for the Biennial meetings of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists at Frankfurt, September 10, 2009. Invited symposium.

“The Ancient Ona Culture of Eritrea: Ritual and Subsistence–A Way of De-homogenizing the Pre-Aksumite?” Paper presented at the Biennial Meetings of the Society for Africanist Archaeologists in the Symposium, “The Pre-Axumite Period in the Horn of Africa”. Invited paper.

“How Archaeological Practices Transform Indigenous Histories into Subaltern Texts in Eastern Africa.” [changed to] “Making the Subaltern through Archaeological Intervention in Africa.” With Jonathan Walz. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association in San Francisco, November 19-23. Invited paper.

“Archaeology and the Totalitarian State in Africa.” Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association in San Francisco, November 22, 2009. In the symposium, “Radical Archaeology as Critical Anthropology: papers Honoring Thomas C. Patterson.” Invited paper.

“Deconstructing Archaeologies of African Colonialism: Colonial Processes of Making and Liberating the Subaltern.” Paper presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology annual meetings in Toronto, Canada. January 7-11, 2009. In the symposium “Beyond Conceptual “Borders”: The Contribution of the Archaeology of Indigenous-Lived Colonialisms to Archaeological Theory.” Invited paper.

“Ritual and Gold as Archaeological Conundrums in Ancient Eritrea.” Paper presented at the Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, January 26, 2009. Invited paper.

“Bricolage, Ritual Performance, and Habitus [Forgotten] in Barongo Iron Smelting.”  Paper presented at the World of Iron Conference, British Museum, London, February 18, 2009. Contributed paper.

Bassey Andah Memorial Lecture: African Archaeology and the Ancestors. University of Ibadan, Nigeria, February 20, 2009. Invited address.

“Recovering Archaeological Evidence for Symbolic Meanings in the Iron Technology of Buhaya, Tanzania.” Paper presented in the Archaeologists Without Borders Workshop, sponsored by the World Archaeological Congress, University of Ibandan, Nigeria, February 19-21, 2009. Invited paper.

“Gold, Subsistence, and Ritual on the Asmara Plateau of Ancient Eritrea.” Paper presented in the Archaeologists Without Borders Workshop, sponsored by the World Archaeological Congress, University of Ibandan, Nigeria, February 19-21, 2009. Invited paper.

“The Denial of History by Ethnoarchaeology.” Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Atlanta, April 24, 2009.

2009-2010

Co-Organizer of the Symposium, “Prehistory as History or The End of Prehistory:  Deep-Time non-Western Histories and Issues of Representation—Their Implications for ‘Prehistory’” at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Amelia Island, Florida, January 8, 2010.

“How Historical Archaeologists Erase Non-Western Histories.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Amelia Island, Florida, January 8, 2009. Contributed paper.

Organizer and Convener, Special Symposium on “Prehistory as History or The End of Prehistory:  Deep-Time non-Western Histories and Issues of Representation—Their Implications for ‘Prehistory’”, held at the University of Florida, January 9, 2010.

From Macro to Micro Histories: Change and History in Buhaya, Kagera. Presentation of a paper and a public lecture in the Fulbright Reflection Series at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. June 7, 2010.

2010-2011

“Disease and Social Trauma in NW Tanzania: Implications for Historical Knowledge and Archaeology.” Paper presented at the 13th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies and the 20th Biennial meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in Dakar, Senegal. November 3, 2010. Contributed paper.

 “Postcolonial Teaching of Archaeology: Lessons Learned.” Paper presented at the 13th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies and the 20th Biennial meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in Dakar, Senegal. November 4, 2010. Invited paper.

“History and Memory in Tanzania: Collaboration with Oral Tradition Keepers in Communities Devastated by HIV/AIDS.” Lecture for the Retired Faculty of the University of Florida. Harn Museum, University of Florida, November 17, 2010. 

“Historical Knowledge in NW Tanzania: Damned by Disease and Social Trauma.” Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association at New Orleans, November 21, 2010. Invited paper.

“A Collaborative Experiment with Heritage Tourism in a Tanzanian village Transformed by HIV/AIDS.” Public Lecture presented for the American Institute of Archaeology, Gainesville Chapter, December 2, 2010. Invited lecture.

“HIV/AIDS and Cultural Changes in Northwestern Tanzania; Finding Subaltern Histories.” Lecture presented at the Center for African Studies, University of Florida. January 14, 2011. Contributed lecture.

“The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Social Memory, and Community Initiatives in Heritage Development in NW Tanzania.” Lecture presented at the University of Botswana, Archaeology Unit Symposium Series. January 20, 2011, Gaborone, Botswana. Invited lecture.

2011-2012

Community Archaeology and the HIV/AIDS Crisis in NW Tanzania. Lecture presented at the Fort Ross Foundation, Fort Ross, CA. July 11, 2011.

Bricolage and Iron Smelting: Cultural Improvisation in Iron Production. Lecture present at the University of Cape Town at a workshop to launch the African Archaeological Materials Research Group: the origins, innovations and diversity in African metallurgy. September 29, 2011. Invited Lecture.

Hegemonic Tropes in the Representation of African Iron Working. Lecture presented at the University of Cape Town at a workshop to launch the African Archaeological Materials Research Group: the origins, innovations and diversity in African metallurgy. September 30, 2011. Invited Lecture.

An Overview of Archaeological and Environmental Research in Uganda and Tanzania, 1970-2010. Lecture presented in the Departments of Anthropology and Geography, University of New Hampshire. October 14, 2011.

Prospects for Archaeological and Environmental Research among the Ndali Crater Lakes of western Uganda. Lecture presented at the University of New Hampshire, October 15, 2011.

Community Archaeology, Collaboration, and Heritage Development: Coping with  HIV/AIDS in NW Tanzania. Public Lecture at Rollins College, Winter Part, FL. February 15, 2012. Invited Lecture.

The Symbolic Dimension of Iron Production in Africa. Lecture presented at Rollins College, Winter Part, FL. February 15, 2012.

Hardcore Ethnography: Interrogating the Intersections of Disease, Trauma, Poverty, Human Rights, and Heritage in Tanzania. Paper presented in the Conference, Heritage and Human Rights, Archaeology Center, Stanford University, April 13-14, 2012. Invited Paper.

Ethnographic Approaches to a Longitudinal Historical Ecology in Africa. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN. April 18-22, 2012. Invited Paper.

2012-2013

The Intersection of Heritage Work and Human Rights in Community Archaeology. Public Lecture, Department of History, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda, July 6, 2012. Invited Lecture.

Organized a Workshop on Heritage Preservation and Development for the Kagera Heritage Group, a consortium of five NGOs engaged in heritage preservation. Made a Presentation on: How to Configure Activities for a Long-Term Heritage Development Project. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania    Nov. 24, 2012.

The Inscribed vs. the Spoken Work in African Archaeology and History. Paper presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology annual meetings, Leicester University, United Kingdom, January 11, 2012. Invited Paper.

“Iron Smelting and Its Social Contexts in Africa.” Public Lecture presented at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Kelaniya University, Colombo, Sri Lanka. March 23, 1013. Invited Lecture.

“Emerging Female Subaltern Histories in Tanzania: An Unforeseen Consequence of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii. April 6, 2013. Invited Paper.

“Community Archaeology and Heritage Work: Future Work or Passing Fad?” Public Lecture presented at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Kelaniya University Colombo, Sri Lanka. April 27, 2013. Invited Lecture.

2013-2014

Keynote Address: “Community Heritage in Africa: Preserving a Continent Village by Village.” Presented at the International Conference on Cross-Cultural Approaches to Heritage, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. November 6, 2013.

“Exploring the Past for Cultural Diversity.” A Lecture presented to the Seminar on International Experiences in Heritage Studies. Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies, School of International Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. November 7, 2013.

“Will Historical Archaeology Escape its Western Prejudices to Become Relevant to Africa? Paper presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology annual meetings in Quebec City, January 10, 2014.

“Intellectual Apartheid in Historical Archaeology.” Presentation in a Round Table on Racism and Exclusion in Historical Archaeology Today. Annual meetings of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Quebec City, January 11, 2014.

Distinguished Lecture: “The Rise and Fall of Christianity in East Africa: Making Sense of Heritage and HIV/AIDS.” University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Feb. 3, 2014.

2014-2015

Mysterious Bones, A Massacre, and Erasure of Memory in Kagera, Tanzania. Paper presented at the Conference, Legacies of Struggle in Southern and Eastern Africa: Biography, Materiality and Human remains, held at the British Institute in Eastern Africa, Nairobi, March 18-20, 2015. Invited Paper.

Co-practice amongst Non-Western Peoples: Abandoning Theory at Center Stage. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, April 18, 2015. Invited Paper.

Deep-Time Ritual Ontologies of African Iron Technology. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the African Studies Association, San Diego, November 19, 2015. Invited  Paper.

Participatory Community-Based Research in Tanzania Archaeology and Heritage: Sharing Academic Power.” Inaugural Lecture at new UDSM Museum. February 19, 2015. Invited Lecture.

2015-2016

Co-Organizer of the Panel entitled “The Sound of Theory, with Alice Kehoe at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, April 15-19, 2015.

Organizer of a symposium on the “Archaeology of Listening” held at Timbercove, California, April 18-21; attended by S. Mrozowski, A. Horning, J. Weerasinghe, I. Pikirayi, C. Crumley, P. Schmidt, K. Arthur, A. Kehoe, J. Walz, G. Nicholas, and C. Cameron.

Heritage Tourism in East Africa: Potentials and the Future. Lecture for the Uganda Association of Tour Operators, Kampala, Uganda, January 9,  2016.

Participatory Heritage Studies and the Management of Sigiriya. A Public Lecture at the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology, Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 4, 2016.

Public Lecture at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Digging Deeper into Local Heritage Knowledge around Sigiriya: New Pathways to Interpretation and Management. Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 4, 2016.

Alumnus Lecture, Archaeologies of Listening: Community-Based and Participatory Heritage Research in Tanzania. Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, May 16, 2016.

2016-2017

Symposium Organizer and Chair, with Innocent Pikirayi: Success Stories about Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa. At the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) meeting in Toulouse, France, June 26-July 1, 2016.

Symposium Organizer and Chair: Forest clearance, fisher people, and human burials in western Uganda: New light on environmental history. At the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) meeting in Toulouse, France, June 26-July 1, 2016.

The History of Human Settlement and its Environmental Impacts in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region of Western Uganda: Project Goals and Results. Paper presented in the Symposium Forest clearance, fisher people, and human burials in western Uganda: New light on Environmental History. At the Society Archaeologists (SAfA) meeting in Toulouse, France, June 26-July 1, 2016.

Phytolith and Charcoal Profiles: Articulations to Human Impacts. Paper presented in the Symposium Success Stories about Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa. With Julius Lejju. At the Society Archaeologists (SAfA) meeting in Toulouse, France, June 26-July 1, 2016.

Genocide and Heritage Forgotten & Heritage vs. History in NW Tanzania: Insights from Community-based Research. Paper presented in the Symposium Success Stories about Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa. With Benjamin Shegesha and Jane Schmidt. At the Society Archaeologists (SAfA) meeting in Toulouse, France, June 30, 2016.

Co-Organizer and Chair, with Alice Kehoe and Innocent Pikirayi, of the Symposium: The Archaeologies of Listening at the 8th World Archaeological Congress, Kyoto, Japan, August 26-Sept.1, 2016.

Overcoming the Tin-Ear Syndrome in Archaeology: Therapy through Listening to Others. Paper presented in the Symposium The Archaeologies of Listening at the 8th World Archaeological Congress, Kyoto, Japan, August 26-Sept.1, 2016.

Female Subaltern Voices in African Community Heritage Research:  Local Initiatives arising from Heritage loss during the HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Paper presented in the Symposium Transforming Heritage Practice Contributions from Community Archaeology at the 8th World Archaeological Congress, Kyoto, Japan, August 26-Sept.1, 2016.

Peter Ucko Memorial Lecture, World Archaeological Congress, Kyoto, Japan: Decolonizing Archaeological Practice: Gazing into the Past to Transform the Future. August 30, 2016.

Sacred and Magnificent, Degraded Landscapes: Crater Rims as Sacred Places and Transformed Spaces in western Uganda. Paper Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, BC. March 31, 2017.

2017-2018

The Phoenix Factor in Community Archaeology, NW Tanzania: Disease, Revitalization, and Heritage for the Future. Lecture Presented to the Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, October 27, 2017. Invited Lecture.

Time, Ontologies, and Western Theories: Insights from the Field in NW Tanzania. Paper read at the American Anthropological Association annual meetings. Washington, DC., November 10, 2017. Contributed paper.

Lessons from Community Heritage Initiatives: Post-Trauma Reconciliations in Tanzania. Lecture presented to Conference on Heritage and Reconciliation at Corrymeela, Northern Ireland, sponsored by Queens College, Belfast, and Ulster University, January 18, 2018. Invited lecture.

What is Community Archaeology? Reclaiming the Past in Africa to Remake the Future. Public Lecture, Center for African Studies, University of Florida, January 26, 2018.

Decolonizing Archaeological Practice: An African Imperative. Lecture for Honors Students in Archaeology, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria, February 8, 2018. Invited lecture.

Archaeologies of Listening. Lecture for Faculty Seminar, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria, February 9, 2018. Invited Lecture.

2018-2019

Symposium Organizer with Chris DeCorse: Rethinking the Practice of Historical Archaeology in Africa. Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Toronto, Canada, June 21, 2018. Invited symposium.

Western paradigms that erase deep time historical archaeology in Africa. Paper presented at the bi-annual meetings of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Toronto, Canada, June 21, 2018. Invited paper.

Spirit Snakes: Unveiling ontology & its materiality amongst the Haya. Paper presented at the bi-annual meetings of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Toronto, Canada, June 21, 2018. With Zuriat Mohamed and Eudes Bambanza. Contributed paper.

Labor, Technology, and Labor Again. Presentation in Lightning session, Society for American Archaeology Annual Meetings, Albuquerque NM, April 11, 2019.

Heritage Discourse Analysis of Haya Oral Texts. Presentation in the Forum “Understanding Heritage Values through Discourse Analysis and Rhetoric: International Perspectives” at Society of American Archaeology Annual Meetings, Albuquerque NM, April 13, 2019.


Research Projects

  • 2020, Principal Investigator of a National Geographic supported project, The Rescue and Study of Late Stone Age Burials in the Crater Lakes of western Uganda.
  • 2017, Digital Heritage Project: Assisting Communities with a Digital Archive of Oral Traditions and Heritage Performance: Bukoba Rural District, NW Tanzania
  • 2012-2019, Principal Investigator Ndali, Uganda, Environmental and Settlement Research: Community Engagement and Participation
  • 2012-2017, Lead Consultant for the project, Heritage Preservation and Development in Kagera Region
  • 2011-2012, Lead Researcher on the Ethnography of Heritage Development in Kagera Region, Tanzania
  • 2009-2010, Lead Researcher in a project on: Social Memory, Trauma, and History in Northwestern Tanzania
  • 2010-2014, Chief Consultant for the Restoration of Kanazi Palace, a German colonial palace in Kagera, Tanzania
  • 2008-2012Consultant to and Director of Development for the Committee for Preservation and Restoration of the Bagashani (shrines) of Katuruka village, Kagera Region, Tanzania
  • 2001-2002Director of a Project to establish an On-Site Museum on Sembel Site, Asmara. Stage Three in a Heritage Management Plan for Greater Asmara
  • 2001-2005, Director of a Regional Inventory of Heritage Resources in the Greater Asmara area, Eritrea
  • 2001, Lead Instructor and Director of Advanced Archaeological Field School, University of Asmara: the Mai Chiot Site
  • 1999, Director of Archaeological Excavations and the 4th Year Field School, University of Asmara, Eritrea
  • 1998, Director of Archaeological Survey in the Greater Asmara region; documentation of sites threatened by urban encroachment. Stage Two in formulating a Heritage Management Plan for Greater Asmara
  • 1999, Director of Archaeological Excavations and the 3rd Year Field School, University of Asmara, Eritrea. Stage One in a Heritage Management Plan for Greater Asmara
  • 1997, Co-Leader of University of Florida delegation to the Dedication of the Human Rights and Peace Centre at Makerere University, Uganda
  • 1997, Co-Director of the Remote Sensing Project with US Forest Service in southern and eastern Eritrea in collaboration with the National Museum of Eritrea
  • 1996, Lead Designer for Curriculum and Degree Program in Archaeology at the University of Asmara; Reconnaissance of heritage sites in vicinity of Qohaito, Southern highlands of Eritrea. September and October
  • 1996, Archaeological Reconnaissance of Dahlak Kebir Island, Red Sea, for the National Museum of Eritrea. May
  • 1995, Director of a pilot study in Ancient Land Use: the Crater Lake Region of Fort Portal, Uganda. May and June
  • 1995, Academic Visitor to Eritrea to assess the Cultural Heritage Resources of central Eritrea. May, 1995
  • 1994, Co‑organizer of the International Workshop on The History of Landscape Change in Africa Held at Kibale Forest, western Uganda, May 22‑29, 1994
  • 1992-1999, Director of the USAID Project (Launch Date): Enhancing Human Rights in Uganda. [Started in 1990 with seed money from a USIA grant]
  • 1991‑1994,  Director of the Project to launch the new Journal: East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights at Makerere University, Uganda
  • 1990, Director of archaeological survey in Northwestern Cameroon, in collaboration with the Institute of Human Sciences, Yaounde, Cameroon, June‑July
  • 1987, Director of Archaeological Research and University of Dar es Salaam Archaeological Field School in southern coastal (coast region) Tanzania, April‑June
  • 1986, Chief archaeologist for the Omar Bongo University expedition to investigate Early Iron Age industry in Moanda, Gabon, June. Implementation of Heritage Management Plan
  • 1986, Director of the University of Dar es Salaam Archaeological Field School: The prehistory of the Western Usambara Mountains, April‑June
  • 1985, Chief Archaeologist for the Omar Bongo University expedition to investigate the Early Iron Age of Haut Ogooue Province, Gabon, September. Heritage resource assessment
  • 1984, Director of Excavations at the NG5 site, an early Iron Age site in Kagera Region, Tanzania, June and July. Heritage Management of Iron Age Sites
  • 1984‑1987, Producer of a 58 minute, 16rnm color documentary film The Tree of Iron, filmed in northwestern Tanzania for national PBS TV; NEH funded project
  • 1984, Consulting specialist in the Iron Age archaeology of Ngounie Province, Gabon, July ‑ August
  • 1984, Consulting specialist in the Iron Age archaeology of Haut Ogooue Province, Gabon, January‑February. Heritage Management of archaeological resources
  • 1983‑1984, Negotiator of an academic (research and teaching) relationship between Brown University and Omar Bongo University, Gabon
  • 1983, Director of archaeological research and geological survey in northwestern Tanzania; NEH and SSRC funded research
  • 1981‑82, Producer, Co‑director of a 25 minute, 16mm color documentary film, Beating the Bellows: An Archaeological Experiment in African Iron Technology
  • 1980, Director, ethnographic study of ritual and technology among the Barongo iron smelters; and, archeological excavations and site survey in Kagera Region, Tanzania; NSF funded research. Heritage Management of the Ngono River Basin
  • 1979, Director, ethnographic and ethnotechnological study of Barongo iron smelting, Western Tanzania; NSF funded research
  • 1978, Director, archaeological excavations and ethnohistoric research in western Tanzania; NSF funded research
  • 1976‑1977, Director, ethnographic and ethnotechnological study of iron smelting among the Haya; archaeological excavations and survey in northwestern Tanzania; NSF funded research
  • 1969‑1970, Director, ethnohistoric and archaeological investigations in northwestern Tanzania; NSF funded research

Research Support

Ongoing Research Support

National Geographic Society
  • 2019, Research and Conservation of Late Stone Age Burials in western Uganda, $26,800

Completed Research Support (within the past three years)

Center for Humanities in the Public Sphere, University of Florida
  • 2018, Publishing subsidy for the History of Kiziba and its Kings, $2,300
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida
  • 2016, Digital archiving oral testimonies in Katuruka, Tanzania, $11,000