Beyond the Colonial Shipwreck: Envisioning a Transformative African Maritime Archeology - PANAF 2026 [Conference Session]

Register and learn more about the conference at the PANAF 2026 Website

The Slave Wrecks Project will host the panel “Beyond the Colonial Shipwreck: Envisioning a Transformative African Maritime Archeology” at the Pan-African Archaeological Association Conference, “Discovering African Archaeology and Heritage Without Borders,” in July 2026.

Session Description

“Until recently maritime archaeological research received little attention from African scholars, due in part to a lack of resources and specific training programs, but also because those few interventions that did occur in the African region typically sought shipwrecks that spoke to colonialist-centered histories and often embodied the extractive and exploitative objectives of salvage.

This panel will bring together African, diasporan, and international scholars, who are contributing to an exponential increase in maritime archeological research across Africa – to plot new directions for a more inclusive maritime heritage research and practice.

It will consider how a less wreck centric paradigm – that draws upon archeological, heritage, archival, and oral history sources – might recover long neglected histories of African seafaring, but also capture the waterway practices that have always played a fundamental role in shaping African economic, political, social, and cultural life not only along its coasts but throughout its interior. They will also discuss the challenges to overcome in order to achieve a decolonized African maritime archeology that not only recovers neglected pasts but also harnesses heritage work to the task of multi-dimensional transformative empowerment in the present by contributing to local community well-being and finding solutions for securing genuine sustainability for African professional maritime heritage practice.”

Conference Overview

“…[The PanAfrican Archaeological Association (PAA)] belongs to all who work in African archaeology, history, and related disciplines. PAA is a non-profit organization, staffed by volunteers who work in the interests of all.

Every four years, members of the PAA convene for the Pan-African Congress for Prehistory and Related Studies. PanAf 2026… will be hosted by the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique. Organized by the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from July 26 to 31, 2026, Mozambique will have the distinct honor of being the first Lusophone African country to host this historic conference.

PanAf 2026’s theme, “Discovering African Archaeology and Heritage Without Borders,” asks scholars to consider the common challenges and opportunities faced by all those interested in studying and presenting the African past. Scholars globally face various challenges when considering, designing, and implementing their research projects across two or more neighboring African countries.”- PANAF 2026

Organizers

• Cezar Mahumane,
• Luis Felipe Santos
• Madicke Geye