Stephen Dueppen, Anthropology, and 2024–25 OHC Faculty Research Fellow

In western Burkina Faso many archaeological sites are mounds that were occupied for hundreds to thousands of years. Excavations have revealed that mounds were created by ritual practices for ancestors combining architectural foundations, depositions of broken and unbroken objects, and the remains of feasts. My book project examines how objects produced from three divine substances (clay, iron, and stone) were central to the creation of these contexts, and reflect changes in society from the first millennium BCE through 1500 CE.