African Communities: Reflections of Coexistence and Cooperation, Session 2 | MetSpeaks

As part of the Annual Charles K. Wilkinson Lecture, join scholars in the fields of Egyptian, Islamic, and Ancient Near Eastern art to explore social, religious, and economic interconnections on the African continent and between Africans and their neighbors. A thirty-minute Q and A follows the presentations.

Ancient Africa: Insights from the Aksumite Town of Beta Samati, Ethiopia

Aksum was one of Africa’s most powerful and influential ancient civilizations, but many details of its history remain scantly understood. How did Aksumite civilization originate? Why, after nearly one thousand years, did it eventually collapse? Drawing on his collaborative research with Ethiopian scholars, including NASA-funded exploration, and the discovery of Beta Samati, Harrower discusses some of the basic facts archaeologists know about Aksumite civilization and its relations with peoples of Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, and the Mediterranean.

Recorded on November 9, 2021.

Speaker:
Michael J. Harrower, Associate Professor of Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Director, Undergraduate Studies for Archaeology Major

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