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A Life in African Archaeology: Autobiographical Notes

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Abstract

This account is intentionally selective. After a brief background note, it covers eight years as an employee in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) during the final months of British rule and the early years of independence. This was followed by six years with a UK-sponsored but Kenya-based research organization. The next two years were spent in Scotland at a large municipal museum and finally a full quarter-century at the University of Cambridge in a sequence of positions concerned with museum curatorship and with teaching and research on African archaeology. At that stage in my career, I initiated large-scale excavations at Aksum in Ethiopia and was involved with UNESCO affairs such as the designation of World Heritage sites.

Résumé

Ce compte est volontairement sélectif. Après une brève note d'information, il couvre huit ans en tant qu'employé parapublic en Rhodésie du Nord (Zambie) pendant les derniers mois de la domination britannique, les années du colonialisme et les premières années de l'indépendance. Cela a été suivi de six ans avec une organisation de recherche parrainée par le Royaume-Uni mais basée au Kenya. Les deux années suivantes ont été passées en Écosse dans un grand musée municipal et enfin un quart de siècle à l'Université de Cambridge dans une séquence de postes liés à la conservation du musée et à l'enseignement et à la recherche sur l'archéologie africaine. À ce stade de ma carrière, j'ai lancé des fouilles à grande échelle à Aksoum en Éthiopie et j'ai été impliqué dans des affaires de l'UNESCO telles que la désignation de sites du patrimoine mondial.

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    David W. Phillipson

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Phillipson, D.W. A Life in African Archaeology: Autobiographical Notes. Afr Archaeol Rev 40, 237–262 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-023-09515-y

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